[CHAPTER X]
THE WHALE ESCAPES
“Towed out to sea?” inquired Ned.
The words had a sort of terror in them. The boys looked at one another.
“Land love you, yes,” went on the old whaler, who seemed as happy as a lad at a picnic. “It isn’t the first time I’ve been towed by a whale. That’s the way they do, sometimes. But they soon tire of it, and then we’ll have another chance at him.”
“But isn’t it dangerous?” asked Jerry, who did not exactly like the idea.
“Not a bit,” replied Sam. “That is, if you cut the line in time, in case the whale sounds.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ned.
“Why, sometimes they’ll take a notion to go down before you know it. Then, if you don’t cut the line in time, they’re liable to swamp the boat.”
“Maybe we’d better cut it now,” suggested Bob.