Early one morning I was out on deck. I had been sent on some errand by Mr. Wallet. I was never very quick on Mr. Wallet’s errands, and I stopped by the windlass, where I was out of sight from aft, and looked out forward. It was a perfect morning, the sun just up, making a path of gold over the tops of the seas, and the Clearchus lazily rolling along that golden path. Of course I lost myself in contemplation, half shut my eyes, and drank in the beauty of it. Mr. Wallet and his errands were forgotten, the oily, grimy ship was behind me, and the gentle breeze blew on my cheek. It was not strong enough to keep the heavy sails filled out, and the jibs, over my head, almost flapped with every roll of the ship. I imagined myself Magellan, and ahead of me that unknown shore, on which a huge savage, resplendent in yellow paint, danced and made gestures of invitation. It was very real to me, and when there suddenly appeared a tiny, soft feather in the savage’s hair—appeared, seemed to stand still for an instant, a tiny, drooping ostrich plume, drifted, and disappeared—I did not know it for what it was. It came again, the tiny, drooping ostrich plume; and at the same moment the quavering cry from high over my head—“Blo-o-ws!” The dancing savage vanished, and I ran. There were between three and six whales in the pod; I could not tell just how many, but I set those limits. I {157} waited until I was sure Mr. Brown’s boat would go; then I went unobtrusively and stood beside the captain, for I thought he might let me go in it. He took no notice of me, and I walked away, my heart in my boots. All five boats were away. We had seen nothing of the Annie Battles since that day near Hatteras, except a dissolving view of her topsails going south, just as we went in to Fayal. Captain Coffin had not been waiting on the Western grounds, in spite of his promise. I think that all of us, including the officers, had completely forgotten her. I know that her very existence had slipped from my mind, and our last meeting with her was of the same order as our picking up the man with his foot bitten off by sharks, but of less importance. Now, as I watched the boats sailing slowly over that smooth sea, and spreading out fanwise as they went, I caught sight of topmasts rising to the eastward. They must have been in plain sight for some time before I saw them, with their square topsails, for we were already raising her lower sails. It was the Battles, there could be no doubt about it.