“ ‘I ’ll go halfway,’ said Mr. Baker. ‘Be ready to take it there. I ’ll stand to my bargain, but I ’ve an idea that the joke ’s on me.’ “And the joke ’s on him, I ’m thinking, Tim, and on us. Come and take a look.” He led me to the side. The whale we had been talking about, with one other, lay there below us. “Now,” said Peter, “if you ’ll notice, that whale looks kind o’ thin and withered-like for a whale of his size. It ’s not enough to see unless you were taking special notice, but the Battles’ mate was; and it ’s my idea that he ’ll not make more ’n thirty-five or forty barrel, when he ought to make sixty. The Battles’ mate no doubt expects to find ambergris in him, and Mr. Baker thinks he will, and I think he will—unless we can find a way to get it out of him without cutting him open. Mr. Baker gave his word not to cut the carcass.” “How could they do that, Peter?” “Well, Tim, I ’ve never seen it done, but we could try. Swing an anchor, or some other heavy thing, say a hogshead o’ water, above him, and let it drop a few times on his stomach or his insides so ’s to stir ’em up well, and we might get a little. It ’d be worth trying.” When we had finished cutting-in, we did try just that. I suppose they were afraid an anchor would tear the carcass, but a cask of sea-water would not. We salvaged {163} a few scraps of ambergris, about a thousand dollars’ worth, just enough to let the officers know what a poor bargain Mr. Baker had made. I never knew how much of the stuff the Battles got from this whale. Probably ten times as much. Altogether that was one of our unlucky days. Mr. Wallet let the Annie Battles herself get between him and his whale, and take it away from him. He did not exert himself or his men to get it, it seemed to us, and Captain Nelson’s displeasure was clear enough. I have no doubt it was clear to Mr. Wallet, for I saw the captain talk forcibly to him when he came aboard, although I do not know what he said. Mr. Snow being on the end of the line farthest from the Battles, got his whale without molestation.