“Come along, Jeems,” urged Jo. “You never saw a dead whale.”
“But I have seen a live one, and my curiosity is satisfied,” replied Jeems.
“He won’t bite you, jump in,” said Tom, who was quite brave now.
“How do I know that he is really dead?” replied Jeems. “Like as not he will give a last flop and crush you. The deck for me.”
Realizing that it was useless to urge Jeems the boys pulled away from the Sea Eagle, and rowed over to the dead whale.
“My! but he is a monster,” said Juarez. “Let’s board him.”
“All right,” agreed Jim.
So Tom jammed the bow of the boat against the whale’s side, and the three J’s—Jim, Jo and Juarez—made a landing on Whale Island. It made Jo feel a little squeamish standing upon the mass of the dead monster that yielded under his foot. It seemed that his tread must surely cause the whale to make a final effort to get rid of his enemies.
“He must be all of seventy feet,” cried Jim, pacing as far as he could.