“Golly, wouldn’t that be a dandy cruise to take!” exclaimed Tom. “Just think of seeing penguins and albatrosses and sea elephants and icebergs and everything!”
“Yes, and think of really going whaling on the old Hector!” cried Jim.
“Sea elephanting, you mean,” laughed Tom. “Say, father, will they call the crew ‘sea elephant men’?”
“They’ll do considerable whaling too, I expect,” laughed his father, “and no matter what a whaleman does he’s still a whaler—even when they went to Africa after slaves in the old days and never hunted whales.”
“Then ’twould be all the more fun—if they hunted whales, too,” declared Tom. “Gee, I do wish we could go along. Couldn’t we go as part of the crew or something, Dad? You always said we’d ought to go on a real cruise, you know.”
“Nonsense,” said Mr. Chester. “You two boys would be a nuisance, and besides, even if Nye would let you go, and I didn’t object, and the captain gave his consent, your mother and Jim’s parents would be worried to death. The ship might be sunk by a submarine, and she’ll probably be away for a year or more and where we never could hear from her. Besides, you’d be sick and tired of the trip before it really began. You don’t realize what a whaling cruise is like. Go over and see Nye to-morrow and he’ll tell you a few truths that will make you change your views about a whaling life being a lark.”
“Well if we don’t, and Mr. Nye will let us go, and Jimmy’s folks will let him go, and the captain will sign us on, then will you let me go?” teased Tom.
“There are altogether too many ‘ifs’ in that,” laughed Mr. Chester, “but I’ll make a bargain. If Nye and his skipper are fools enough to let you two go and all the other ‘ifs’ are eliminated I’ll give my consent on one condition, and that is, that old Captain Pem is the mate.”
“Hurrah!” cried the boys in unison.
Mr. Chester chuckled.