“The devil! the devil!” murmured Captain Hull.  “I have never seen anything like that!  Devilish jubarte!”

Finally the fifth line had to be let out, and it was already half unrolled when it seemed to slacken.

“Good! good!” cried Captain Hull.  “The line is less stiff.  The jubarte is getting tired.”

At that moment, the “Pilgrim” was more than five miles to the leeward of the whale-boat.  Captain Hull, hoisting a flag at the end of a boat-hook, gave the signal to come nearer.

And almost at once, he could see that Dick Sand, aided by Tom and his companions, commenced to brace the yards in such a manner as to trim them close to the wind.

But the breeze was feeble and irregular.  It only came in short puffs.  Most certainly, the “Pilgrim” would have some trouble in joining the whale-boat, if indeed she could reach it.  Meanwhile, as they had foreseen, the jubarte had returned to the surface of the water to breathe, with the harpoon fixed in her side all the time.  She then remained almost motionless, seeming to wait for her young whale, which this furious course must have left behind.

Captain Hull made use of the oars so as to join her again, and soon he was only a short distance from her.

Two oars were laid down and two sailors armed themselves, as the captain had done, with long lances, intended to strike the enemy.

Howik worked skilfully then, and held himself ready to make the boat turn rapidly, in case the whale should turn suddenly on it.

“Attention!” cried Captain Hull.  “Do not lose a blow!  Aim well, boys!  Are we ready, Howik?”

“I am prepared, sir,” replied the boatswain, “but one thing troubles me.  It is that the beast, after having fled so rapidly, is very quiet now.”

“In fact, Howik, that seems to me suspicious.  Let us be careful!”

“Yes, but let us go forward.”

Captain Hull grew more and more animated.

The boat drew still nearer.  The jubarte only turned in her place.  Her young one was no longer near her; perhaps she was trying to find it again.

Suddenly she made a movement with her tail, which took her thirty feet away.

Was she then going to take flight again, and must they take up this interminable pursuit again on the surface of the waters?

“Attention!” cried Captain Hull.  “The beast is going to take a spring and throw herself on us.  Steer, Howik, steer!”

The jubarte, in fact, had turned in such a manner as to present herself in front of the whale-boat.  Then, beating the sea violently with her enormous fins, she rushed forward.

The boatswain, who expected this direct blow, turned in such a fashion that the jubarte passed by the boat, but without reaching it.

Captain Hull and the two sailors gave her three vigorous thrusts on the passage, seeking to strike some vital organ.

The jubarte stopped, and, throwing to a great height two columns of water mingled with blood, she turned anew on the boat, bounding, so to say, in a manner frightful to witness.