it was indeed a lucky thing for the narwhal and all upon her that the deaf-mute had been tinkering with the motor and had started the machine at exactly the right instant. scarcely had the schooner cleared the reef when, to the north, the bay was blotted from sight by a white wall, a roar like a cataract came booming across the water and sea birds flew screaming past with wings aslant.
one glance cap’n pem gave and then, at the top of his leathern lungs, he bellowed orders fast and furiously. the men, yet at their posts, leaped to his bidding. captain edwards who was still at the wheel tugged desperately at the spokes. mr. kemp himself led the willing crew aloft and, working like demons, the men stripped the vessel of her lighter sails. and not an instant too soon. before the first reef cringle was knotted in the foresail, the squall was upon them. with a maniacal shriek the gale tore through the rigging, the water dashed in bucketfuls[156] of icy spray across the decks, and at the sudden irresistible pressure the narwhal heeled until half her decks were awash, and a raging blizzard blotted out sea and land.
farther and farther the staunch old schooner heeled to the wind. clinging to shrouds, backstays, and rigging, the men and boys waited, expecting each second that the schooner would actually capsize. the sleet beat upon them, stinging like needles, and the blinding snow swirled and eddied and piled in drifts upon the deck.
cap’n pem’s mouth opened and shut. mr. kemp cupped his hands to his lips, but not a word could be heard above the terrific din of the howling wind, the rattle of hail, the roaring of the gale in the sails, the whipping of loose rigging, the creak and groans of straining spars and the lashing thunder of the rapidly rising seas. then slowly, inch by inch, the narwhal swung around. gradually she righted, the water poured in cataracts from her scuppers and, shaking herself like an impatient horse, she leaped forward and tore madly through the foaming water towards the south.
onward she sped through the blizzard, before the howling gale. with jaws hard set and eyes straining, the three men at the wheel panted and strained[157] and threw their weight upon the spokes in a mighty effort to hold her to her course. forward, mr. kemp and two men huddled in the lee of the winch and peered ahead, striving to pierce the eddying, whirling wall of white. the two boys, awed, frightened, and shivering, crouched beside the deck house, too fascinated, too thrilled to go below for warmer garments. twice great dim shapes loomed ahead. each time the frenzied shout of the lookout came in time and the narwhal sped past the bergs in safety. again and again a thundering crash shook the schooner from stem to stern as her plunging bow sheared through floating cakes of ice. once a dark mass of rocks loomed for an instant within a hundred yards and the next second was gone, swallowed up in the all-enveloping white.
but luck was with those on the narwhal. by a miracle she escaped the bergs; no large pan ice lay in her course; jagged reefs and rock-bound islets were safely passed, and an hour after she had first started on her mad rush before the gale, the squall ceased as suddenly as it had commenced. the wind dropped to a steady blow, the snow ceased to fall, blue sky showed overhead, and, ten minutes later, the decks were streaming with water and there was a steady downpour from aloft as the sun melted the[158] tons of ice and snow that had accumulated during the brief but terrific blizzard.
“didn’t i tell ye it’d blow a rip-snorter?” exclaimed cap’n pem triumphantly, as, with sails once more spread, the narwhal turned back on her course. “i knowed it,” he continued, “drat that there cat!”
“b’gorra thin we’ll be afther havin’ foine luck fer the rist av the cruise,” declared mike. “shure, the poor puss is gone entoirely. didn’t oi see her with me own eyes—washed clane overboarrd whin the old schooner wuz afther thyrin’ for to do the lay-me-down-to-slape stunt back there.”
“oh, that’s too bad!” cried tom. “couldn’t you save her?”
“save her, is it!” exclaimed mike. “shure yez wuz there and ’tis well yez arre afther knowin’ ’twas a-savin’ av our own souls we wuz thinkin’ av—and divvil a bit av the cat’s.”
“derned ef i ain’t glad,” declared pem. “mebbe we’ll be gittin’ on a mite better now.”
mike grinned, winked an eye at the boys and, as he turned away, remarked, “shure, ye ould croaker, oi’d not be afther countin’ av me chickens afore they do be hatched, thin. ’tis noine loives a cat does be afther havin’ and b’gorra by the same token[159] she’ll be a-comin’ back and be a-drowndin’ eight toimes yit, loike as not.”
“shet up, ye dumb fool!” shouted the old whaleman. “we’re consarned well rid o’ her.”
“well, we’ve still four cats aboard,” jim reminded him teasingly. “and two of them are black.”
cap’n pem glared at the boy and stumped off without another word.
slowly the narwhal beat back to the northward. two days later she entered rowe’s welcome and came to anchor in the sheltered bay within a short distance of the shore. close to the spot, near the mouth of a river, were a score or more of eskimo skin tents, and upon the shingle at the river’s mouth were drawn dozens of kayaks. before the narwhal’s chains roaring from the hawse holes had roused the echoes of the hills, the eskimos were paddling towards the schooner. at their first glance the boys saw that here at last were the eskimos they had always pictured. clad in garments of skin and fur they came scrambling over the narwhal’s rail, laughing and grinning, copper-faced and slant-eyed, but far cleaner than those at hebron or disko, and with something about them which at once marked them as true primitive people untouched by civilization.[160] their spears, harpoons, and arrows were tipped with ivory or bone, their faces were tattooed and their garments were highly decorated with beads and skin embroidery.
presently, from the waist of the ship, came roars of laughter and good-natured shouts. the boys, glancing up, saw a number of the crew leaning over the bulwarks while others were hurrying to join the group.
“what’n tarnation’s up now?” exclaimed cap’n pem as with the boys by his side he hurried forward.
as they reached the crowd of men, swanson straightened up from the rail over which he was leaning, took his pipe from his mouth and grinned under his big yellow mustache. with a humorous twinkle in his deep-set blue eyes he remarked, “ay tank das cat bane come back.”
as the old whaleman peered over the ship’s side, his eyes seemed about to pop from his head, his jaw dropped and he stared down at the kayaks below as if he had seen a ghost. perched on the rounded skin deck of one of the canoes was the black cat!
“well, i’ll be everlastin’ly keelhauled!” ejaculated the old man and, as a roar of laughter rose from the men’s throats, he jammed his cap over his eyes and stumped aft.
[161]
but even the superstitious old whaleman could find nothing in the way of ill luck with which to blame the cat during the next few days. the eskimos had quantities of walrus ivory, many fine skins and pelts and a goodly amount of whalebone on hand, and this was soon in the narwhal’s hold while the natives were richer in calico, knives, iron, beads and matches than they had ever dreamed of being.
old pem fairly beamed, and he rubbed his calloused hands gleefully as he saw the bales, packages, and bundles being stowed. “purty nice little nest egg,” he chuckled. “nigh two thousand dollars wuth o’ stuff i reckon. swan, if this keeps on if we don’t go sailin’ inter new bedford full up.”
the boys were far more interested in the eskimos and their village than in the skins and bone. they spent most of their time ashore, and with mr. kemp or unavik as interpreters they learned much of the eskimos’ life and ways. they watched them fish in the river, made friends with the eskimo boys, played with the roly-poly children, and spent hours in the tents watching the women as they chewed the hides to cure them and deftly fashioned the skins and furs into garments.
“gee, they use bone needles!” exclaimed jim the first time he saw one of the women sewing a pair[162] of moccasins, “and thimbles made of raw hide and threads of sinew. say, i wonder how they’d like real needles and thread.”
the next time they went ashore they carried a supply of needles, thread, thimbles and other sewing material and presented them to the women. instantly the crude bone and rawhide utensils were cast aside and with beaming faces and ejaculations of delight, the women chattered and laughed as they experimented with the bright steel needles and shiny thimbles. as tom said, they were like children with new toys and when in return—for even the least gift calls for a return present with the eskimos—the women loaded the boys down with exquisitely worked moccasins, shirts of eider skins, blouse-like coats of fox and seal and robes of wolf and musk ox skins, the two lads were as pleased and excited as the women had been.
“say, we’ve got to learn to talk eskimo,” declared tom. “it’ll be lots more fun if we can talk to these people.”
so, with mr. kemp’s help, the two boys set diligently to work to learn the eskimos’ language and progressed rapidly. at first they found it a most difficult task to pronounce the odd, clucking gutturals, but once they mastered the rudiments they got on famously. within a short time they were able to[163] ask questions and understand the replies, and they had acquired quite a vocabulary of names and words.
in the meantime, the crew of the ship had not been idle. the schooner had been stripped of sails, topmasts and yards were sent down, and preparations made for the coming winter. daily the whale boats had been manned, and under their spritsails had gone dancing off across the bay in search of whales. sometimes they were gone for several days and returned empty handed, but often they would come sailing back in a long line and towing the carcasses of one or two huge bowheads. then every one worked like beavers, cutting in and boiling until the oil and bone were safely under hatches.
at first the boys were crazy to go out on these hunts, but after one or two experiences, they decided there was far more of interest about the village and the shores, and devoted their time to hunting and paddling about the welcome in a kayak which they had secured for themselves.
near the village there was little game, for the eskimos’ dogs roamed about, picking up every stray hare, ptarmigan, or other live thing, and so the boys went farther and farther afield on their excursions. the weather still held warm and pleasant, although[164] the nights were cold and the little ponds and lakes between the hills were coated with ice. a few miles from the village the boys found game in abundance. one spot in particular was a favorite hunting ground—a little island in the broad estuary of the welcome where the wager river emptied into the bay. here there were always ducks in the coves, hares nibbled the stunted shrubs among the rocks, ptarmigan gathered in flocks on the southern sides of the hills, and twice the boys had secured seals which they had surprised basking on the shore. one of these was a magnificent silver seal; the other a half-grown hooded seal. the two handsome hides had been cured and made into garments by the boys’ eskimo women friends.
one day as the two boys were paddling their kayak around the island keeping a sharp lookout for game, jim muttered a low exclamation and pointed towards the open water of the estuary. tom peered intently as he ceased paddling, but for a moment could see nothing. then, a few hundred yards away, something broke the surface of the water and a tiny column of spray rose in the air.
“golly, it’s a whale!” cried tom in subdued tones. “say, let’s go for him!”
“all right,” assented jim, “it’s a little fellow—a[165] white whale, i guess. say, won’t it be fine if we can get him all by ourselves?”
swinging the kayak, tom drove his paddle into the water while jim, laying aside his rifle, got out the harpoon and placed the lance ready for use.
apparently totally unaware that enemies were near, the creature remained almost stationary, now and then rolling lazily at the surface, sometimes raising its tail and bringing it down with a resounding splash as if in play, and constantly blowing. rapidly the kayak approached. jim grasped the harpoon firmly, saw that the line was clear and, shaking with excitement, he prepared to strike. then, as the frail craft slipped within a dozen feet of the cetacean and jim raised his arm, he realized that it was no white whale, but a strange, dull-colored, bluish creature with the skin covered with irregular blackish spots. but, whatever it was, the animal was within striking range and, summoning all his strength, jim hurled the iron into the spotted animal’s back just as it rose above the surface to blow.
the next instant a volcano seemed to have burst into eruption beneath the waves. the water boiled and frothed; a broad tail flashed and struck and swung to right and left, the kayak danced and careened and bobbed upon the heaving surface. then[166] as jim, frightened half out of his wits by the actions of the strange beast, was about to cut the line, the creature hurled itself forward and raced off like a cyclone. with a terrific jerk the kayak swung about, tipped until it almost capsized, and went tearing after the stricken animal. this was something the boys had not counted on. they had watched the eskimos when they struck white whales and had intended to follow the native method of throwing overboard the float of skin. they had no intention of being towed in a cranky kayak by a maddened whale. but the line had kinked and had fouled. jim, despite his frantic efforts, could not free it while it was under the terrific strain, and so it was a case of either being towed and trusting to luck to escape being capsized and drowned, or cutting the line.
“don’t cut it!” screamed tom as he saw jim raise his heavy hunting knife. “wait till we see we’re in danger!”
breathing hard, thrilled with the excitement and yet filled with terror, jim waited, knife in hand, while the whale sped this way and that, sounded and milled; but to the boys’ surprise, never breached. but as the bouyant kayak continued right side up and nothing happened, the boys gained confidence and each time the creature slackened its pace jim hauled[167] in line until the kayak was almost within striking distance of the whale. then, so suddenly that tom could not check the kayak’s motion, the creature halted in its rush and the next instant dashed straight towards the canoe.
jim gave a terrified scream of warning. tom dug his paddle into the water and as the kayak responded to the effort and swung slightly, the spotted creature dashed by within a foot of the craft.
jim, who had been expecting to kill the animal an instant before, still held the lance in his hand. as the cetacean rushed past him, he lunged forward and scarcely knowing what he did, plunged the weapon into the creature’s side. at the blow, the animal threw itself from the water, the lance was wrenched from jim’s grip and the boys’ eyes grew wide in wonder. in the brief instant that the whale was out of water they had seen that a long, gleaming shaft projected from its head!
but before they could utter a cry, before they realized what had happened, the big spotted body crashed back into the water, bloody froth spouted from its blow hole and with a convulsive flip of its tail it rolled over on its side against the kayak, stone dead.
“whew!” cried jim, as he wiped the perspiration[168] from his face and blinked his eyes. “we did catch a tartar that time!”
“you bet we did!” agreed tom heartily. “but we got him just the same. gosh, but that was a dandy stroke of yours—getting him on the wing that way. and did you see his head—he’s been struck before and the lance or iron’s sticking in his nose. i wonder what the dickens he is anyway.”
“gee christopher!” cried jim who had been examining their catch. “that’s not a lance in his nose—it belongs there—it’s a sort of horn. look, it’s like ivory and twisted.”
“hurrah!” shouted tom. “i know what ’tis—we’ve killed the schooner’s namesake. it’s a narwhal!”
“golly, you’re right!” cried jim. “won’t cap’n pem and the others be surprised! but say—i’d never have dared touch him if i’d known. remember how mr. kemp told us about these fellows driving their tusks right through a whaleboat and sinking it?”
“i’ll say i do,” replied tom. “i know what they’ll say—‘fools rush in,’ you know.”
“well, fools or not, we won,” declared jim, “and this old fellow’s horn’ll make some trophy up in our room.”
[169]
elated at their unexpected capture, the boys forgot all about their hunt and, fastening a line about the narwhal’s tail, they started to tow him to the schooner. it was slow, backbreaking work, but when at last they reached their vessel and showed their catch to those on board, they felt amply rewarded for their labors.
“by the love av hivvin!” cried mike, who was the first to see the dead creature. “shure and ’tis a unicorn yez do be afther killin’!”
“i’ll be swizzled!” exclaimed cap’n pem. “ye everlastin’ young scallawags, what ye mean by a-goin’ in on one o’ them critters? ye’re lucky he didn’t sink ye. jes like ye though—fools allers——”
“i know it!” laughed tom. “i told jimmy you’d say that. but we got him and didn’t get hurt, even if the cat did come back!”
“jes dumb luck,” declared the old whaleman. then, as captain edwards appeared, he shouted, “look a-here, didn’t i tell ye these here boys wuz born to be whalers? jes take a squint ’longside an’ see what the young scallawags been a-doin’.”
“i’ll be——” ejaculated the skipper. “reckon you’re proud of yourselves. whoppin’ big fellow, too. give you a tussle, didn’t he?”
“oh, not so much,” replied tom nonchalantly.[170] “but he had us scared. the line fouled and he towed us every which way and then went for us. and say, you ought to have seen jim get him! lanced him as he went scooting by the kayak full speed.”
“darned lucky he did!” declared mr. kemp who had joined the group. “if he hadn’t the blamed critter’d have turned and drove his horn through that kayak and through you too, like as not.”
“well, we didn’t know,” laughed jim, “or we wouldn’t have tackled him. but i’m not sorry now. just the same, we’ll know better next time. i’m not a bit anxious to catch another narwhal.”
“i don’t know as we really did, this time,” said tom. “seems to me the narwhal caught us and we didn’t have much to say about it.”
“h’lo!” exclaimed unavik strolling up. “ugh! me say bimeby you feller be big hunter. gimme t’bac!”
