Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/91

 PREPARATIONS FOR AN ATTACK. 69 enced in the work, as a false tum of the tiller or a prématuré stroke of the oar may in a moment compromise the safety of the whole party. Thus compelled to take ail his trained sailors with him on his venturous expédition, the captain had no alternative than to Icave his appren- tice in charge of the schooner during his absence. Dick*s choice would hâve been very much in favour of taking a share in the whale-hunt, but he had the good sensé to know that the developed strength of a man would bc of far greater service in the boat, and accordingly without a murmur he resigned himself to remain behind. Of the five sailors who were to man the boat, there were four to take the oars, whilst Howick the boatswain was to manage the oar at the stern, which on thèse occasions gene- rally replaces an ordinary rudder as being quicker in action in the event of any of the side oars being disabled. The post of harpooner was of course assigned to Captain Hull, to whose lot it would consequently fall first to hurl his weapon at the whale, then to manage the unwinding of the Une to which the harpoon was attached, and finally to kill the créature by lancc-wounds whcn ît should émerge again from below the sca. A method sometîmes employed for commcncing an attack is to place a sort of small cannon on the bows or deck of the boat and to discharge from it either a harpoon or somc explosive bullets, which makc frightful lacérations on the body of the victim ; but the " Pilgrim " was not provided with apparatus of this description ; not only are ail the contrivances of this kind very costly and difficult to manage, but the fishermen gcncrally are averse to innovations, and prefcr the old-fashioned harpoons. It was with thèse alone that Captain Hull was now about to encounter the finback that was lying some four miles distant from his ship. The weather promised as favourably as could be for the enterprise. The sea was calm, and the wind moreover was still moderating, so that there was no likclihood of the schooner drifting away during the captain's absence. Wbco the starboard whaJe-boat had bcen ovieteà, ^tvÔi