The serpent and the whale had both disappeared. Doubtless the former had sunk with his prey to those profound depths which form his usual habitat, there to enjoy his meal undisturbed.
“Well,” at last exclaimed Bob, “I’ve been knocking about at sea now nigh on thirty year, and many’s the strange sight these good-looking eyes of mine have looked upon in that time; but this here sarpent beats all. I never seed the likes of the thing afore, and I don’t care if I never sees it ag’in. I’ve heern tell of such things bein’ fallen in with, sartaintly; but I never could meet with a man as had act’ally seed the beast with his own eyes; and I put it all down as a yarn for the marines. But seein’ is believin’; and we’ve had a good look at him, and no mistake. I’m quite satisfied; I don’t want to see no more to make me a believer in sich things.”
“No,” replied I; “it was impossible to make any mistake, with such a view as we obtained of the creature; and I shall henceforward be far more ready than I have hitherto been to give credit to the accounts which are occasionally published of such appearances. I do not at all expect that we shall be believed when we make known our adventure, any more than others have been; but that will not alter the facts of the case. The almost universal scepticism with which announcements of such creatures’ appearances are treated is, after all, not very difficult to account for. They doubtless inhabit only the extreme depths of the ocean, and are probably endowed with the means of sustaining life whilst sunk for long periods—if not for an indefinite time—at those depths; it is easy, therefore (supposing such to be the case) to understand that it may be quite opposed to the creature’s habits to appear at the surface at all; and that, when it does so, it will be—as, indeed, we have every reason to suppose—at very lengthened intervals; and then, probably, only in consequence of some unusually disturbing influence. The opportunities of seeing the reptile must necessarily, under such circumstances, be extremely few; and it is quite possible, or rather I should say, very likely, that many of its visits to the upper world have been entirely unwitnessed. In the present instance, for example, no eyes but ours were witnesses of the scene which so lately took place; and had we been but a dozen miles from the spot, it would have passed unnoticed even by us. And my observation of mankind, Bob, has led me to the conclusion that the race are extremely sceptical as to the existence of everything but what is well known.”
“Very true, Harry, my lad,” returned Bob; “you reels it all off just like a book, and therein you shows the advantages of larning. I knows by my own feelin’s how difficult ’tis to believe a thing a man don’t understand. But it seems to me, ‘to return to the practical’—as I’ve heard the poor old skipper say—that we might as well haul up on our course ag’in now; and I’ll go and look after the dinner; for I shall be afraid to go to sleep ag’in for the next fortnight; that blamed old sarpent ’ll ha’nt me like a nightmare now, if I so much as shut my eyes for five minutes.”
The sheets were flattened in, and the little craft’s jaunty bowsprit once more pointed southward; whilst Bob dived below, and in a few minutes more a thin wreath of smoke issuing from the galley-funnel betrayed his whereabouts and his occupation.
Suddenly he reappeared at the companion, and with a serious countenance remarked:
“I say, Harry, lad, I s’pose there’s no chance of that devil,”—with a jerk of the thumb in the direction of our weather-quarter—“getting a sniff of our dinner, and making sail in chase, is there?”
I assured him that, in my belief, there was a strong probability that the serpent was, at that moment, perhaps miles deep in the ocean, banqueting royally on the dead whale; and, seeing the reasonableness of this supposition, he retired, satisfied.
Nothing further occurred that day to disturb us. We continued to bowl away to the southward; and as we kept our canvas a good rap full, the little barkie tripped along a good honest nine knots every hour. The weather was as fine as we could possibly wish, with every appearance of being thoroughly settled; and there seemed to be a good promise of our making an exceptionally rapid passage.
It was my eight hours out that night; and when Bob relieved me at midnight the sky was as clear as a bell; and, though there was no moon, the stars were shining brilliantly, and with that mellow lustre so peculiar to the tropics.