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A whaler 'a been over this ground, and killed the spermacety. Maybe I'm wrong about that," he added, after reflecting a short while. "I may be wrong about the ship being over this very ground. I don't like the look o' them drogues." "De drogue?" inquired the Coromantee. "Dem block o' wood dat am driffin' about? Wha' for you no like dem, Massa Brace?"
But although the sailor had been able to accomplish this much, and was also able to keep Snowball from slipping farther down, he soon discovered that he was unable to pull him up again. It was just as much as his strength was equal to, even when supplemented by the weight of the drogue, to keep the sea-cook in the place where he had succeeded in checking him.
The harpoon fortunately happened to be attached to a large buoy, called by whalers a drogue, which was jerked out of the boat like a cannon-shot as the whale went down, carrying harpoon and drogue along with it. "Well done, lad," cried the captain, in great delight, "you've made a noble beginning! Now, lads, pull gently ahead, she won't go far with such an ornament as that dangling at her neck.
And the whole contrivance was rendered self-steering by the attachment of a few fathoms of line to the after-end of the middle plank, at the other extremity of which a drogue, consisting of a short length of plank, was attached.
The next instant down it came, dashed into fragments, while those in it were sent flying in all directions. The first mate, in his desire to go to the rescue of his shipmates, was on the point of heaving his own line overboard with a drogue fastened to it, when the whale he had struck, lifting up its huge flukes, sounded, nearly dragging him overboard as he let out the line.
We tried every way of amusing ourselves; the idlers played at drogue , the younger ones drank. We had also a game called "Cat and Rat," which we played in front of the barracks. A stake was planted in the ground, to which two cords were fastened; the rat held one of these, and the cat the other. Their eyes were bandaged.
"To be sure we do," interrupted Glynn; "we use anchors baited with live crocodiles sometimes elephants, when we can't get crocodiles. But hippopotamuses do best." "Oh! Glynn!" cried Ailie, laughing, "how can you?" "It all depends on the drogue," remarked the doctor.
"What right have you to ask?" replied the captain of the strange ship, an ill-favoured, powerful man, whose countenance was sufficient to condemn him in any society, save that of ruffians. "Don't you see your drogue has broke loose?" "I see nothing of the sort. It's fast at this moment; so you'll be good enough to cut loose and take yourself off as fast as you please."
At dark, or when the catch has filled the dory, the men come back on board, 'nesting' half a dozen dories, one inside the other. But sometimes a sudden storm, especially if it follows fog, will set the chickens straying; and then the men must ride it out moored to some sort of drogue or floating anchor.
"Oh, then you did not see the drogue attached to the whale?" said Mr Tooth, with a glance at the jury; "and you were so taken up with the anticipated fight, I suppose, that you scarcely gave your attention to the whale at all! Were the other men in your boat in a similarly unobservant condition?" "Eh?" exclaimed Scroggles. "Were the other men as eager for the fight as you were?"
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