Lakeum yelled, “Up with your oar, Bleechly.” That meant, of course, a signal to the other boat for help. The whale took our boat in his teeth, and all of us, with one exception, jumped into the water. The exception was a quiet, inoffensive man, and an excellent sailor whom we all liked, and who had been friends with every one during the voyage. The whale seized him so that the head and arms alone were to be seen. The poor man uttered a fearful shriek, and there came to his face an expression of anguish and despair. Then he disappeared and the whale proceeded to chew our boat into bits. Five men struggling in the water, and an angry whale likely to devour them at any moment! The whale was indifferent to the others. He directed his attention to me. I was a good swimmer and my salvation depended on my successfully eluding him, and on my keeping afloat until help arrived. The monster turned over, closed his jaws and came feeling around slowly and carefully. He passed close to me, and, afraid of his flukes, I grasped the warp attached to the harpoons in his body and was towed a short distance. The moment he slacked speed, I dove under, so as to clear the flukes and come up astern of them. Now I felt rather secure; but strange to say he turned and half breached as he came for me. If he had struck me a full blow, I should have been crushed to pieces. I think the end of his jaw may have just touched my body. At any rate, down I went, and, when I came up, he had turned so that I was able to get hold of the warp again. Now he seemed to be puzzled. My four companions, all of whom appeared to be good swimmers, were struggling in the water, but he paid no attention to them. He pounded the sea with his flukes and then turned over again. I had to release my grasp and as his great body rolled against me, I was half stunned and half drowned, and consciousness left me. When I came to, it was dark. I felt very sore on the side where the whale had rolled against me, and I was extremely weak. I muttered, “Where am I? Where am I? Am I dead or alive?” Assurance came with the voice of Lakeum. “You are all right, Bleechly. Let me tell you the whole story. When the whale turned over, as you were clinging to the warp, he proceeded to bite up what little pieces of the boat there were left. When you put the oar on end as a signal, Silva ordered his warp cut and gave up his whale in order to save us, and he arrived just in the knick of time. You were taken aboard first, of course, and made as comfortable as possible; then the rest of us were rescued.” “What became of the whale?” I broke in. “Oh, he made off. It was then growing dark and the ship was not to be seen, but she’ll pick us up in the morning.”