“Aye tank I do it, den,” said the Swede, who had been most interested in the affair; “I catch ’em in de old country—so.”
He drew his sheath-knife and lashed it firmly upon the butt-end of the boat-hook. Then he went forward and leaned over the bow, while we hauled the boat as close to the turtle as we could. Watching his chance, the sailor made a lunge, and drove his blade through the creature’s neck. This had the effect of slowing down his efforts, although it far from finished him. Wounded and harassed as he now was, we gained upon him, and in ten minutes had him landed safely in the bottom of the boat, although he almost swamped the craft in his final struggles.
“He’s big and ugly enough for anything,” said Miss Waters. “Do you mean to eat the monster?”
“He will make excellent steak for all hands,” I answered. “However, if you don’t like him, we might swap some of him for a piece of fresh pork. They have pigs aboard the Countess of Warwick, and Garnett told me they would probably kill one to-day. What do you say, shall we go aboard of her?”
“By all means. I would like nothing better,” she answered.
I looked at the cloudless sky. There was not the slightest sign of a breeze. I determined to risk old man Crojack’s wrath. Then I remembered that I was responsible for the young woman. I had taken her out upon the open ocean almost without her uncle’s consent. We had drifted over a mile from the ship, and, although the weather promised to remain calm and clear, we were on the edge of the equatorial belt, and squalls would soon be of hourly occurrence.
“I reckon we better not go aboard her without first getting the captain’s permission,” I said.
“I suppose you are afraid to,” she answered. “Two officers in one small boat, and not able to do things without permission.”
“I take no responsibility at all,” said Brown, “but I think Mr. Gore is right. Better keep on the good side of the old man, and we may be able to go again to-morrow.”
“A man who is good because afraid to be bad is a mighty mean fellow, I allow,” I said; “but that isn’t the nature of the emotion which governs me in this case.”