Fighting the Whales

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Robert Michael Ballantyne. Fighting the Whales

CHAPTER I. IN TROUBLE, TO BEGIN WITH

CHAPTER II. AT SEA

CHAPTER III. OUR FIRST BATTLE

CHAPTER IV "CUTTING IN" THE BLUBBER AND "TRYING OUT" THE OIL

CHAPTER V. A STORM, A MAN OVERBOARD, AND A RESCUE

CHAPTER VI. THE WHALE—FIGHTING BULLS, ETC

CHAPTER VII. TOM'S WISDOM—ANOTHER GREAT BATTLE

CHAPTER VIII. DEATH ON THE SEA

CHAPTER IX. NEWS FROM HOME—A GAM

CHAPTER X. RETURN HOME

Отрывок из книги

My first few days on the ocean were so miserable that I oftentimes repented of having left my native land. I was, as my new friend Tom Lokins said, as sick as a dog. But in course of time I grew well, and began to rejoice in the cool fresh breezes and the great rolling billows of the sea.

Many and many a time I used to creep out to the end of the bowsprit, when the weather was calm, and sit with my legs dangling over the deep blue water, and my eyes fixed on the great masses of rolling clouds in the sky, thinking of the new course of life I had just begun. At such times the thought of my mother was sure to come into my mind, and I thought of her parting words, "Put your trust in the Lord, Robert, and read His Word." I resolved to try to obey her, but this I found was no easy matter, for the sailors were a rough lot of fellows, who cared little for the Bible. But, I must say, they were a hearty, good-natured set, and much better, upon the whole, than many a ship's crew that I afterwards sailed with.

.....

"More than a breeze," muttered the captain, while a look of grave anxiety overspread his countenance; "I'll go below and take a squint at the glass."

"What does he mean by that, Tom?" said I, when the captain was gone; "I never saw a calmer or a finer night. Surely there is no chance of a storm just now."

.....