“If ye had held fast ye wouldn’t have been there,” said Biarne; “where are ye?”
He rose again out of the foam, yelled, and tossed up his arms.
“Can the man not swim?” cried Biarne, in alarm; “pull, boys, pull!”
The men were already pulling with such force that they almost went over the man. As they rubbed past him Hake dropped his oar and caught him by the hair, Biarne leaned over the side and got him by the breeches, and with a vigorous heave they had him inboard.
“Why, Krake, I thought you could swim!” said Biarne.
“Ay, so I can, but who could swim with a coil of rope round his neck and legs?”
The poor man had indeed been entangled in the rope of the spear, so that he could not use his limbs freely.
No more was said, however, for they were still in dangerous proximity to the tail of the struggling fish, and had to pull out of its way.
Meanwhile the large boat, profiting by the experience of the small one, had kept more towards the whale’s head, and, before Krake had been rescued, Thorward sent a Skraelinger spear deep into its shoulder. But this only acted as a spur to the huge creature, and made it heave about with such violence that it managed to slew right round with its head offshore.
At this the men could not restrain a shout of alarm, for they knew that if the whale were to succeed in struggling again into water where it could swim, it would carry away spears and ropes; or, in the event of these holding on, would infallibly capsize and sink the boats.