CORRESPONDENCE.
A TRIPLE TRAGEDY.
!TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR "1
SIR,—In the dim and stuffy recesses of the fo'c's'le of the Beluga' a silent, sullen company of men of all shades of colour sat at their 4.30 a.m. breakfast. Some munched stolidly at blocks of fat pork and flinty biscuit, others just drank alleged coffee and smoked. And they were the majority, for few there are who, after a night of sleep, especially in such an atmosphere, can rise and begin the morn- ing meal (and such a meal) in five minutes. But those who did not eat concealed their portions about their persons, usually in the breasts of " jumpers," for there was never more than enough to go round.
Suddenly, with a voice like that of a frantic bull, came the expected command, " Naow, 'way boats there." It was imme- diately followed by a stampede, each man struggling to be first up the narrow ladder, each man dreading the sure and painful position of the last. Reaching the deck, the rushing band divided itself in four, one part to each boat where it hung gleaming spectrally against the violet sky. None cast a glimpse upwards or around, for none had time or thought to spare. Yet the scene was entirely worthy of man's best notice. The daily miracle of dawn always is— but here! The ship lay motionless, anchored apparently upon a lake of transparent ink, in whose still depths strange gleamings occasionally heightened its mystery of utter dark- ness. Around rose the solemn tree-clad hills of Hapai, now in deepest shadow. Away to the south, south-east, and east, the way out to the broad bosom of the Pacific lay clearly open between the several islands, and although from the two former quarters there was as yet no lightening of the deep velvety purple of the night, there was a some- thing remotely like the opening of a door leading from a dark hall into the clear air; a little draught of freshness seemed stealing in from thence. But from the east there cache through that gap a quivering throb of opal- tinted light, just rippling along the horizon and touching the still waters that lay between it and us with the suggestion of glory to come, the first heart-beat of that sweet day before which the modest stars paled and vanished. And overhead the returning legions of flying foxes, fresh from their long night's raid among the fruit trees, passed like squadrons of dark spirits hastening back to their native gloom at the advent of light; and occasionally from their midst came a wail, wringing the heart like a sudden terror. To most of us all this was but suggested, hardly realised; yet we moved with utmost quiet, unconsciously falling in with our environment. And when the rattle of a block, the sharp click of an oar on a gunwale, or a hoarse oath broke the sacred peace of the moment, an involuntary "Hush ! " rose to the lips. Ten minutes after our appearance on deck we were all in our places, and, with the steady, splashless stroke of trained whaling oarsmen, were silently gliding towards the portals of the day. As the oars rose and fell they lifted overflowing chalices of emeralds, and as the sweet dark crept away great lakes of ever-changing colour, of infinite and indescribable variety, stole over the placid sur- face of that quiet sea. A cool breath crept from the dawn- point to meet us; it kissed our heated necks, put fresh vigour into our strokes, freshened, strengthened ; until at a ringing shout of command we flung in our oars with one accord and prepared to make sail. Is it of any use, I wonder, trying to describe the scene that greeted us as we did so? I fear not, where so many master-hands have failed, so let me say simply that the pass ahead, leading seaward, was aflood with molten ruby, amethyst, and opal, with a background of flaming gold, before which the shrinking eyes closed. "And the Glory of the Lord was revealed." Ha, ha! how raptiwously the blood, so sluggish before, courses through our veins as the boats, bird-like, skim over the sparkling waves on their lightsome way to windward. But the business of the day needs remembering. We are out after whales, and unto him who can first report the presence of one, afterwards caught, shall be given ten dollars. So a keen look-out is kept for a while, until the wonderful beauty of the scene obtains the sway over our minds again, and the boats glide -swiftly along the steep shores of the outermost island.
" Ah-blow-w-w-w-w !" almost in a whisper, and several hands are pointed to where, against the dark green of the cliffs, yet in shadow, three vapoury spirals of varying .heights show clearly. But what can three mean? Two of them we can account for,— the broad bushy one and the tiny jet only four or five feet high. The third, however, closely associated with the other two, and of great height, puzzles us,—does not delay us, though, for, with paddle unshipped, we urge the progress of our craft towards those vast unconscious mammals so pleasantly sojourning in the shade. We are abreast of them, helms are put up, and all four boats bear down upon them with the swoop of gigantic hawks. When but a ship's length away sails are rolled up as if automatically. Noiseless as fish, we glide. into the shadow, and—strike. What an awful uproar breaks up that sweet solitude; the shoutings of excited men, the furious struggles of wounded leviathans, whose mighty tail strokes reverberate in hollow thunder along the echoing cliffs. The heretofore placid sea hisses and boils, and the boats toss as in a maelstrom. What can be amiss ? Not thus is the humpback mother wont to meet an attack, unless her young- ling is injured. Ah ! that is it, surely. Her calf must be dead, and, if so, then heads must need be cool and hands skilful, or there will be many numbers lost from our good ship's messes. Two boats disappear to windward in a smother of spray, and we who remain dimly imagine in some disinter- ested fashion what manner of humpback they may be fast to. But not for long, for suddenly towards us comes rushing a faintly outlined black mass piled high with snowy foam, and we must needs exert every muscle to avoid that terrible on- slaught. We do just succeed,—the mighty one passes, and disappears. Oh for some shelter, if only a shallow reef ! but there is none. Crash! and like an earthquake shock come thd maddened mother's flukes against the side of the other boat, hurling her and her disintegrated contents far shoreward. Never again will that boat molest. a whale. And also, oh sorrow and shame! never again will Hallett Winslow, best, brightest, bravest of harpooners, see the blessed sun rise. His neck is broken. Now, while she is venting her fury upon the floating fragments, let us escape. But there are our shipmates, and as swiftly as our shaking limbs allow, we pick them up, expecting every moment to go even as they went—and then? The next few minutes passed like some hideous nightmare, frantic, joint-wrenching endeavours to keep out of the way of the monster bent upon our destruction, and sudden eruptions, upheavals of the sea, so close to us that destruction seemed impossible of avoidance. And all this time, wherever we went in the turmoil, we never lost sight for one moment of the accusing body of the calf whale. As if to call our crime con- tinually to remembrance, it kept us company, tossing help- lessly upon the tormented waters. At last—and although I feel sure that half-an-hour had not passed, yet the time seemed interminable—we found ourselves, almost exhausted, close to the rocks, where an overhanging ledge, thickly clothed with drooping branches, jutted out above deep water, but only about three feet above the surface. With one last flash of energy, we all sprang for shelter, scrambled like monkeys into the tangle of the trees, just as the unbreathed parent rushed at our deserted boat and crushed it into matchwood, returning again and again to the fragments until they were almost ground into splinters. All the while we hung precariously, fearfully, just above the terrible tumult, obsessed with the idea that even here we were hardly safe from so redoubtable a foe.
And then into the blazing sunshine which had now crept closely up to our refuge there sprang the other whale, towing behind him the two surviving boats, still uninjured. Upon our almost benumbed brains fell a deeper fear. Were we about to witness the destruction of all that little company, so swiftly nearing this place of utmost danger? No long suspense, for out from the shadow of our cliff sprang the vengeful mother to meet her spouse and finish her great work of retribution. But as she came we saw the bull whale slacken speed, saw the two boats spread out fan-wise behind him, saw the cow rush between them fully exposed. A puff of white smoke, and presently a tiny report as of a revolver shot. Then for a few moments our view was obscured by tumbling waves raised by the two monsters in their flurmy, the one of death, the other of escape. And out of that boiling vortex emerged our two boats, still uninjured, a huge black mass floating between them in utter immobility, while far to, wind- ward a t.11 jet as of steam from a high-pressure waste-pipe showed where the agile bull was making his utmost speed from the place of death. And in deepest silence and sorrow we distributed ourselves among the rescuing boats and pre. pared to tow to the ship our hardly won prize.
F. T. BoLLEN.
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