The scenes in a whaleman's life are varied2 and very stirring. Sometimes he is floating on the calm ocean, idling about the deck and whistling for a breeze, when all of a sudden the loud cry is heard, "There she blows!" and in a moment the boats are in the water, and he is engaged in all the toils3 of an exciting chase. Then comes the battle with the great leviathan of the deep, with all its risks and dangers. Sometimes he is unfortunate, the decks are clean, he has nothing to do. At other times he is lucky, "cutting in" and "trying out" engage all his energies and attention. Frequently storms toss him on the angry deep, and show him, if he will but learn the lesson, how helpless a creature he is, and how thoroughly4 dependent at all times for life, safety, and success, upon the arm of God.
"Trying out" the oil, although not so thrilling a scene as many a one in his career, is, nevertheless, extremely interesting, especially at night, when the glare of the fires in the try-works casts a deep-red glow on the faces of the men, on the masts and sails, and even out upon the sea.
The try-works consisted of two huge melting-pots fixed5 upon brick-work fireplaces between the fore6 and main masts. While some of the men were down in the blubber-room cutting the "blanket-pieces", as the largest masses are called, others were pitching the smaller pieces on deck, where they were seized by two men who stood near a block of wood, called a "horse", with a mincing7 knife, to slash8 the junks so as to make them melt easily. These were then thrown into the melting-pots by one of the mates, who kept feeding the fires with such "scraps9" of blubber as remain after the oil is taken out. Once the fires were fairly set agoing no other kind of fuel was required than "scraps" of blubber. As the boiling oil rose it was baled into copper10 cooling-tanks. It was the duty of two other men to dip it out of these tanks into casks, which were then headed up by our cooper, and stowed away in the hold.
As the night advanced the fires became redder and brighter by contrast, the light shone and glittered on the bloody11 decks, and, as we plied12 our dirty work, I could not help thinking, "what would my mother say, if she could get a peep at me now?"
The ship's crew worked and slept by watches, for the fires were not allowed to go out all night. About midnight I sat down on the windlass to take a short rest, and began talking to one of the men, Fred Borders by name. He was one of the quietest and most active men in the ship, and, being quite a young man, not more than nineteen, he and I drew to one another, and became very intimate.
"I think we're goin' to have a breeze, Bob," said he, as a sharp puff13 of wind crossed the deck, driving the black smoke to leeward14, and making the fire flare15 up in the try-works.
"I hope it won't be a storm, then," said I, "for it will oblige us to put out the fires."
Just then Tom Lokins came up, ordered Fred to go and attend to the fires, sat down opposite to me on the windlass, and began to "lay down the law" in regard to storms.
"You see, Bob Ledbury," said he, beginning to fill his pipe, "young fellers like you don't know nothin' about the weather—'cause why? you've got no experience. Now, I'll put you up to a dodge16 consarning this very thing."
I never found out what was the dodge that Tom, in his wisdom, was to have put me up to, for at that moment the captain came on deck, and gave orders to furl the top-gallant sails.
Three or four of us ran up the rigging like monkeys, and in a few minutes the sails were lashed17 to the yards.
The wind now began to blow steadily18 from the nor'-west; but not so hard as to stop our tryworks for more than an hour. After that it blew stiff enough to raise a heavy sea, and we were compelled to slack the fires. This was all the harm it did to us, however, for although the breeze was stiffish, it was nothing like a gale19.
As the captain and the first mate walked the quarter-deck together, I heard the former say to the latter, "I think we had as well take in a reef in the topsails. All hereabouts the fishing-ground is good, we don't need to carry on."
The order was given to reduce sail, and the men lay out on the topsail yards. I noticed that my friend Fred Borders was the first man to spring up the shrouds20 and lay out on the main-topsail yard. It was so dark that I could scarcely see the masts. While I was gazing up, I thought I observed a dark object drop from the yard; at the same moment there was a loud shriek21, followed by a plunge22 in the sea. This was succeeded by the sudden cry, "man overboard!" and instantly the whole ship was in an uproar23.
No one who has not heard that cry can understand the dreadful feelings that are raised in the human breast by it. My heart at first seemed to leap into my mouth and almost choke me. Then a terrible fear, which I cannot describe, shot through me, when I thought it might be my comrade Fred Borders. But these thoughts and feelings passed like lightning—in a far shorter time than it takes to write them down. The shriek was still ringing in my ears when the captain roared—
"Down your helm! stand by to lower away the boats."
At the same moment he seized a light hen-coop and tossed it overboard, and the mate did the same with an oar1 in the twinkling of an eye. Almost without knowing what I did, or why I did it, I seized a great mass of oakum and rubbish that lay on the deck saturated24 with oil, I thrust it into the embers of the fire in the try-works, and hurled25 it blazing into the sea.
"HURLED IT BLAZING INTO THE SEA"
"HURLED IT BLAZING INTO THE SEA"
The ship's head was thrown into the wind, and we were brought to as quickly as possible. A gleam of hope arose within me on observing that the mass I had thrown overboard continued still to burn; but when I saw how quickly it went astern, notwithstanding our vigorous efforts to stop the ship, my heart began to sink, and when, a few moments after, the light suddenly disappeared, despair seized upon me, and I gave my friend up for lost.
At that moment, strange to say, thoughts of my mother came into my mind, I remembered her words, "Call upon the Lord, my dear boy, when you are in trouble." Although I had given but little heed26 to prayer, or to my Maker27, up to that time, I did pray, then and there, most earnestly that my messmate might be saved. I cannot say that I had much hope that my prayer would be answered—indeed I think I had none,—still, the mere28 act of crying in my distress29 to the Almighty30 afforded me a little relief, and it was with a good deal of energy that I threw myself into the first boat that was lowered, and pulled at the oar as if my own life depended on it.
A lantern had been fastened to the end of an oar and set up in the boat, and by its faint light I could see that the men looked very grave. Tom Lokins was steering31, and I sat near him, pulling the aft oar.
"Do you think we've any chance, Tom?" said I.
A shake of the head was his only reply.
"It must have been here away," said the mate, who stood up in the bow with a coil of rope at his feet, and a boat-hook in his hand. "Hold on, lads, did anyone hear a cry?"
No one answered. We all ceased pulling, and listened intently; but the noise of the waves and the whistling of the winds were all the sounds we heard.
"What's that floating on the water?" said one of the men, suddenly.
"Where away?" cried everyone eagerly.
"Right off the lee-bow—there, don't you see it?"
At that moment a faint cry came floating over the black water, and died away in the breeze.
The single word "Hurrah32!" burst from our throats with all the power of our lungs, and we bent33 to our oars34 till we wellnigh tore the rollicks out of the boat.
"Hold hard! stern all!" roared the mate, as we went flying down to leeward, and almost ran over the hen-coop, to which a human form was seen to be clinging with the tenacity35 of a drowning man. We had swept down so quickly, that we shot past it. In an agony of fear lest my friend should be again lost in the darkness, I leaped up and sprang into the sea. Tom Lokins, however, had noticed what I was about; he seized me by the collar of my jacket just as I reached the water, and held me with a grip like a vice36 till one of the men came to his assistance, and dragged me back into the boat. In a few moments more we reached the hen-coop, and Fred was saved!
He was half dead with cold and exhaustion37, poor fellow, but in a few minutes he began to recover, and before we reached the ship he could speak. His first words were to thank God for his deliverance. Then he added:
"And, thanks to the man that flung that light overboard. I should have gone down but for that. It showed me where the hen-coop was."
I cannot describe the feeling of joy that filled my heart when he said this.
"Don't know," replied another, "I think it wos the cap'n."
"You'll find that out when we get aboard," cried the mate; "pull away, lads."
In five minutes Fred Borders was passed up the side and taken down below. In two minutes more we had him stripped naked, rubbed dry, wrapped in hot blankets, and set down on one of the lockers39, with a hot brick at his feet, and a stiff can of hot rum and water in his hand.
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1
oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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toils
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| 网 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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mincing
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| adj.矫饰的；v.切碎；切碎 | |
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slash
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| vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩 | |
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scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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plied
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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13
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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31
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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37
exhaustion
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| n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述 | |
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38
enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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39
lockers
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| n.寄物柜( locker的名词复数 ) | |
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