ready for him.  Then ensued a really big fight, the first, in fact, of my experience, for none of the other whales had shown any serious determination to do us an injury, but had devoted all their energies to attempts at escape.  So quick were the evolutions, and so savage the appearance of this fellow, that even our veteran mate looked anxious as to the possible result.  Without attempting to “sound,” the furious monster kept mostly below the surface; but whenever he rose, it was either to deliver a fearful blow with his tail, or, with jaws widespread, to try and bite one of our boats in half.  Well was it for us that he was severely handicapped by a malformation of the lower jaw.  At a short distance from the throat it turned off nearly at right angles to his body, the part that thus protruded sideways being deeply fringed with barnacles, and plated with big limpets.

Had it not been for this impediment, I verily believe he would have beaten us altogether.  As it was, he worked us nearly to death with his ugly rushes.  Once he delivered a sidelong blow with his tail, which, as we spun round, shore off the two oars on that side as if they had been carrots.  At last the second mate got fast to him, and then the character of the game changed again.  Apparently unwearied by his previous exertions, he now started off to windward at top speed, with the two boats sheering broadly out upon either side of his foaming wake.  Doubtless because he himself was much fatigued, the mate allowed him to run at his will, without for the time attempting to haul any closer to him, and very grateful the short rest was to us.  But he had not gone a couple of miles before he turned a complete somersault in the water, coming up behind us to rush off again in the opposite direction at undiminished speed.  This move was a startler.  For the moment it seemed as if both boats would be smashed like egg-shells against each other, or else that some of us would be impaled upon the long lances with which each boat’s bow bristled.  By what looked like a handbreadth, we cleared each other, and the race continued.  Up till now we had not succeeded in getting home a single lance, the foe was becoming warier, while the strain was certainly telling upon our nerves.  So Mr. Count got out his bomb-gun, shouting at the same time to Mr. Cruce to do the same.  They both hated these weapons, nor ever used them if they could help it; but what was to be done?

Our chief had hardly got his gun ready, before we came to almost a dead stop.  All was silent for just a moment; then, with a roar like a cataract, up sprang the huge creature, head out, jaw wide open, coming direct for us.  As coolly as if on the quarter-deck, the mate raised his gun, firing the bomb directly down the great livid cavern of a throat fronting him.  Down went that mountainous head not six inches from us, but with a perfectly indescribable motion, a tremendous writhe, in fact; up flew the