The other "small piece" was hooked on immediately after dinner, and after another struggle at the windlass brakes was raised half out of water, and suspended in the tackles with the "root end" at the plankshear, for baling. A block and whip were rigged over it and we now cleared up the mystery of a certain long vessel of peculiar shape, which we had seen the cooper making a few days before, and which that worthy had solemnly assured us was a sine qua non in navigating the ship; the sun and moon being brought down with a sextant till their images could be seen in contact at the bottom of the bucket. We were lost in admiration as load after load of spermaceti was "whipped" out of the "case," and discharged into tubs placed ready to receive it, and found great amusement in being set to work to pull to pieces, by hand, the fibrous part of the head matter, and squeeze it out ready for the pots. We contrived ingeniously to get saturated with oil from head to foot, to the great enjoyment of Mr. Dunham, who protested we had already appropriated our lays of this whale, and vowed he would try out all our duds when the fare was over.
"Let's see, Cooper," said the fun-loving second mate, "you didn't save the case of that big whale I heard you telling about?"
"In the old Bajazet? No, sir; I wish we had."
"How much do you suppose it would have made?"
"From thirty to forty barrels."
"That's nothing," said Mr. Dunham. "We saw a Sydney whaler last voyage that baled sixty barrels from a case not as big as this one in the tackles."
"How could he do that?" demanded the cooper, innocently.
"Hooked it nib end up, and cut chock through the root. Baled salt water a couple of hours before he found it out."
The cooper turned away, and became suddenly industrious with his hammer and driver, to drown the roar of laughter that saluted him from all quarters.