After about an hour of this state of things, a low moaning of thunder was heard, immediately followed by a few drops of rain large as dollars.  The mutterings and grumblings increased until, with one peal that made the ship tremble as though she had just struck a rock at full speed, down came the rain.  The windows of heaven were opened, and no man might stand against the steaming flood that descended by thousands of tons per minute.  How long it continued, I cannot say; probably, in its utmost fierceness, not more than half an hour.  Then it slowly abated, clearing away as it did so the accumulation of gloom overhead, until, before midnight had struck, all the heavenly host were shedding their beautiful brilliancy upon us again with apparently increased glory, while the freshness and invigorating feel of the air was inexpressibly delightful.

We did not court danger by hugging too closely any of the ugly reefs and banks that abound in this notably difficult strait, but gave them all a respectfully wide berth.  It was a feature of our navigation that, unless we had occasion to go near any island or reef for fishing or landing purposes, we always kept a safe margin of distance away, which probably accounts for our continued immunity from accident while in tortuous waters.  Our anchors and cables were, however, always kept ready for use now, in case of an unsuspected current or sudden storm; but beyond that precaution, I could see little or no difference in the manner of our primitive navigation.

We met with no “luck” for some time, and the faces of the harpooners grew daily longer, the great heat of those sultry waters trying all tempers sorely.  But Captain Slocum knew his business, and his scowling, impassive face showed no signs of disappointment, or indeed any other emotion, as day by day we crept farther north.  At last we sighted the stupendous peak of Comoro mountain, which towers to nearly nine thousand feet from the little island which gives its name to the Comoro group of four.  On that same day a school of medium-sized sperm whales were sighted, which appeared to be almost of a different race to those with which we had hitherto had dealings.  They were exceedingly fat and lazy, moving with the greatest deliberation, and, when we rushed in among them, appeared utterly bewildered and panic-stricken, knowing not which way to flee.  Like a flock of frightened sheep they huddled together, aimlessly wallowing in each other’s way, while we harpooned them with the greatest ease and impunity.  Even the “old man” himself lowered the fifth boat, leaving the ship to the carpenter, cooper, cook, and steward, and coming on the scene as if determined to make a field-day of the occasion.  He was no “slouch” at the business either.  Not that there was much occasion or opportunity to exhibit any prowess.  The record of the day’s proceedings would be as tame as to read of a day’s work in a slaughter-house.  Suffice it to say, that we actually killed six whales, none of whom were less than fifty barrels, no boat ran out more than one hundred fathoms of line, neither was a bomb-lance used.  Not the slightest casualty occurred to any of the boats, and the whole work of destruction was over in less than four hours.