“Yes.”
“Well, if the whale should dive the boat would follow. See there!”
“Cut loose!”
This cry came from the mate, who had been watching the whale’s maneuvers.
At the same moment the whale disappeared again.
The hatchet descended and cut the rope in two.
The men resumed their oars and rowed rapidly towards the spot where the whale had last been seen.
A second harpoon, with a smaller reel of rope, was hastily got ready.
Suddenly there was a commotion directly by the side of the boat. The practiced harpooner flung the harpoon as the whale came up, and then a scene of indescribable confusion ensued.
The whale had struck the boat with its tail, crushing the boat in which Will sat and flinging its occupants high in the air.