When within a couple of boat’s lengths of them all were horrified to see the huge black head of the whale suddenly rise ghost-wise on the port bow of the boat, while the gleaming pointed lower jaw emerged from the water on the starboard side. The view was only momentary, for as they gazed horror-stricken they saw the great jaws close, crashing through the flimsy sides of the boat as if she were of so much paper, and with a yell that rang high above the roar of wind and sea the crew sprang clear of the wreck for their lives. But C. B.’s eagle eye noticed on the instant that the harponeer had disappeared, and in a second he had leapt from the boat into the vortex caused by the wallowing of the whale, dived and caught at a black mass far beneath the surface, the body of Pepe entangled by the whale line. Fortunately at that moment the whale, disdaining to seek safety in flight, returned to the surface, and consequently there was little difficulty for such a powerful expert as C. B. to bring his prize to the surface, free him from the line, and assist him back to the boat. I say assist, for Pepe, though grievously injured, had never lost consciousness, and in consequence was able to make some feeble attempts to help himself.
By the time he had been hauled inboard the rest of the crew had been rescued and the bight of the line, which C. B. had dropped as soon as he had cleared it from Pepe’s limbs, was picked up and taken through the notch in the bows, displacing their own line. Now Mr. Merritt was in his element, danger and difficulty of any kind seemed to give the needed stimulus to his otherwise sluggish nature. Charging the rescued crew to double bank the oars, and placing the injured man in the bottom of the boat, he changed ends with C. B. and awaited the onslaught of the whale.
That monster played the usual waiting game, just appearing for an instant to spout, and then only exposing the point of the snout where the spiracle or blow-hole is situated. He was waiting his opportunity to perform the same operation on the second boat as he had done on the first. But Merritt seemed to have placed himself in absolute correspondence with the whale’s mind, for each time that either the great flukes or the ponderous jaws appeared above water the boat by a quiet order had been driven to a safe distance, and the threatened blow or bite did not take effect. In fact the queer yellow man was playing the waiting game also, knowing that the whale’s exertions were rapidly tiring him out.
For, strange to say, vast as is the strength possessed by these monsters, they tire very soon when they have to exert themselves much. And it is only when they are allowed to take things easily, as sometimes happens through cowardice or unskilfulness on the part of the whalemen, that they are able to weary out their aggressors and finally emerge the victors in the long fight. At last Merritt saw with a chuckle of delight that the whale was going to rush him head and head as we call it. He had his bomb gun ready to hand, and laying down his hand lance he put it to his shoulder, crying—
“Now, stern all hard and keep her just as she heads, Christmas.”
With so much power at the oars the boat rushed swiftly astern as the whale came rushing on, the great head rearing high out of water and exposing the gleaming white cavern of the throat.
Coolly, as if ashore at some practising ground, Merritt took aim and pulled the trigger. There was a splash, a report, and an appalling commotion in the sea ahead of the boat, in the midst of which another report was heard, the explosion of the bomb within the whale’s body. “Way ’nough,” shouted Merritt, and the boat stopped a cable’s length away from the place where the mighty mammal was tearing up the deep in his Titanic death throes. For a few moments the scene was appalling, almost akin to a submarine volcanic eruption, then the uproar suddenly ceased and the magnificent beast lay dead, listlessly tossing upon the waves which the exuding oil from his wounds turned into smooth hummocks of water quietly rising and falling around.
The tumult had hardly subsided when the second boat ranged alongside with orders to Mr. Merritt to return at once with his overmanned boat. And he obeyed cheerfully, because nothing is more annoying than to try and work in a boat where the hands, by reason of their being too many, get in one another’s way, this being especially so when, as was now the case, one man grievously hurt was lying in the bottom of the boat. They soon reached the ship and climbed on board, Mr. Winsloe hastening to the skipper and reporting the catastrophe, while all hands rallied on to the falls and ran the boat up with Pepe’s unconscious body in it. He was tenderly lifted out and carried aft on to a mattress, where his clothes were removed, disclosing the severe nature of his injuries. The whale had evidently nipped him sideways, for the great teeth of the lower jaw had made eleven ghastly bruises, each four or five inches across, and in three places the clothing was driven deep into the blackened flesh. Three of the largest ribs were broken, and the right arm was horribly lacerated by the whale line being twisted round it under a great strain.
But owing to the bluntness of the teeth there had been no loss of blood, except in so far as it had blackened and spread under the skin, which of course was highly dangerous from the possibility of mortification and the absence of any but the rudest surgery. However, all that could be done for the poor wretch by way of cooling lotions and bandages was done, and he regained consciousness to fall into a refreshing sleep.
Meanwhile the crew had toiled fiercely under the direction of the mate to get their prize alongside, finding as it was hauled near that its dimensions were more imposing than they had imagined. Measured along the rail it was roughly seventy feet in length, which is as far as is accurately known about the limit of size for a cachalot, while as it lay on its side, its jaw parallel to the ship, it looked as imposing in size as a vessel of two or three hundred tons bottom up. The fluke chain was passed without difficulty, and all the available force of harponeers and officers that could get at it attacked it at once with almost desperate energy, for it was getting late in the day, the night promised to be very dark, and none relished the prospect of pursuing that gigantic task without other light save that afforded by the feeble cressets. To Mr. Merritt and C. B. fell the task of severing the monstrous head, a labour which it is most difficult to realize. There is but a slight crease in the place where a neck ought to be, and here the carcass is nearly twenty feet through—a mass of muscle and sinew with scarcely any soft parts, and right in the centre of it the huge ball and socket joint of the vertebrae which is composed of bones nearly two feet thick. And if those spades plunging down into the depths of that mass darkly (for it is impossible to keep the scarph open) should miss the joint, as it is exceedingly likely they may, the additional work is tremendous. I have seen this task occupy the labours of the whole of the officers and harponeers of a ship, relieving one another at frequent intervals, for a whole day.