“An’ did ye ever hear o’ the whaleman what was act_oo_ally grabbed by a sparm bull an’ taken down to the bottom an’ spit up ag’in?” asked another ex-whaleman. “I disrecollec’ his ship, but he was a chap name o’ Jenkins. Got fas’ to a sparm whale back in ’70. Whale turned an’ bit the boat in two and then made a rush and grabbed Jenkins an’ sounded. The boat weren’t smashed up, jes’ cut clean amidships, an’ the crew was a holdin’ on ter the two pieces a-waitin’ to be picked up an’ a sorryin’ fer their los’ mate, when the whale breaches close alongside, an’ openin’ his mouth, spits Jenkins out and tosses of him into the forrard part o’ his boat. Warn’t much hurt neither—bruised up a bit an’ mauled, but less’n a fortni’t later was back ter work again.”
“That _is_ a tall yarn,” laughed Tom. “Is it true?”
“True as I’m a settin’ here,” maintained the story teller.
“Aye, I’ve heerd of it afore,” supplemented old Lem.
“Seed about it in the ship’s log-book, myself,” Cap’n Pem assured them. “Ye can read it yersel’s when ye go back. It’s over to the Mus’um in New Bedford.”
“Well, I can believe anything after what I’ve seen and heard,” admitted Tom.
“Reckon we’d better be gittin’ ’long back ter the ship,” observed Cap’n Pem. “Skipper’ll think we’ve decided for to settle down here.”
With hearty handshakes and thanks for the islanders’ hospitality, the two boys invited Paul and Getty to visit the _Hector_ when their grandfather came off next day, and accompanied by a group of their new-found friends, they made their way to the landing place. Already, a large amount of provisions had been brought down and the boats were just returning from taking a load aboard the _Hector_. Captain Edwards was already on the bark and he laughed heartily and was much interested at the boys’ accounts of their experiences on the island.
The following day, the islanders visited the ship and after the midday meal, when all the supplies had been loaded, the captain had the decks cleared and the men spent the afternoon skylarking with their visitors.
Early the next morning, the boys were aroused by the clank of the anchor chain and the rousing capstan chantey, as the men, walking the handspikes around, sang lustily: