“Do you think it was an earthquake, Wolfe?” Before Wolfe could answer, a large whale, evidently the mate of the one that had given them such a scare, rose to the surface to blow, a hundred yards to one side of them, and Breeze exclaimed, “So that’s what it was! Well, I’m mighty glad he didn’t come along and hoist us on his back while the dory was loaded down as she was half an hour ago.” “So am I,” began Wolfe, “but hello!” he cried, stopping his bailing and starting up. “Whatever has got into the old _Vixen_? She must have a steam-engine aboard.” [Illustration: A LARGE WHALE ROSE TO THE SURFACE TO BLOW] Breeze looked, and, to his astonishment, saw the schooner moving away from them, and going through the water at a speed of ten or twelve knots an hour. Her sails were still furled, and apparently her anchor was still down; but she was certainly moving, and that at a rapid rate. The white water was foaming under her bows, and a wake, like that of a steamer, was trailing and eddying behind her. “It’s one of those whales, and he’s caught a fluke of her anchor in his blow-hole or in his jaws. Yes, sir, he’s running away with her!” exclaimed Breeze, who had heard his father describe a similar occurrence as having happened to him once on the Banks. “That’s what it must be,” said Wolfe. “But it beats anything I ever heard of. My eye! isn’t she going, though!” “Well,” remarked Breeze, as they watched the rapidly vanishing schooner, “I should say that fishing in these waters was pretty exciting work. I know it beats mackerelling, or life on George’s. Do you know whether it is always as lively here as it seems to be this morning, Wolfe?” “This goes ahead of anything in my experience,” was the reply. “I only hope the old man will cut his cable before he loses sight of us, or that he has had sense enough to take our bearings so that he can pick us up again. Now that we have got a quiet spell, I suppose we might as well finish bailing before the next performance begins.” After they had rid the boat of all the water she had shipped, they began once more to haul in on their trawl. They reasoned that if the schooner came back they would be so much ahead with their work, and if she did not, they could pitch the fish overboard; while, in the mean time, the occupation would keep them from worrying over what might happen. They had got nearly to the end of their trawl, and the dory was again deeply laden with fish, when Breeze cried out, joyfully, “Here she comes back!” He was right. The white sails of the schooner could be seen, though at a great distance from them, and they knew that she had in some way got rid of her unwelcome tow-boat, and was on her way back. Two of the other dories that had been left behind now approached them, and a man in one of them called out, “I don’t suppose you fellows have got any fresh water aboard, have you?”