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82 DÎCK SANDS, THE BOY CAPTAIN. adroitly sheer asidc, and once again did the three lances do their deadly work upon the huge carcase as it rolled impetuously past ; but this time, so great was the wave that was caused by the infurîated animal, that the boat was wcll-nigh full of water, and in imminent danger 6f being capsized. " Baie away, men ! " cried the captain. Putting down their oars, the other saîlors set to work baling with ail their mîght. Captain Hull eut theharpoon- line, now no longer required, because the whale, maddened with pain and grief for the loss of its offspring, would certainly make no further attempt to escape, but would fight desperately to the very end. The finback was obviously bent on a third onslaught upon the boat, which, being in spite of ail the men's exertions still more than half full of water, no longer answered readily to the rudder-oar. No one thought of flight. The swiftest boat could be ovcrtakcn in a very few bounds. There was no alternative but to face the encounter. It was not long in coming. Their previous good fortune failed them. The whale in passing caught the boat with such a violent blow from its dorsal fin, that the men lost their footing and the lances missed their mark. " Whcrc's Howick ?" screamed the captain in alarm. " Hère I am, captain ; ail right ! " replied the boatswain, who had scrambled to his feet only to find that the oar with which he had becn steering was snappcd in half " The rudder*s smashed/' he said. " Take another, Howick ; quick !" cried the captain. But scarcely had he time to replace the broken oar, when a bubbling was heard a few yards away from the boat, and the young whale made its appearance on the surface of the sea. Catching sight of it instantly, the mother made a fresh dash in its direction ; the maternai instincts were aroused, and the contest must become more deadly than ever. Captain Hull looked towards the " Pilgrim," and waved his signal /rantically above his head. It was, however, with