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Calvert's ships, and having no prospect of getting any good weather, I thought it most prudent to come in and refit the ship, and compleat my casks and fill my water, and by that time the weather would be more moderate. The day after we came in, the Mary-Ann came in off a cruize, having met with very bad weather, shipped a sea, and washed her try-works overboard.
She presents the curious anomaly of the most solid masonry joining with oak and hemp in constituting the completed ship. It is as if from the open field a brick-kiln were transported to her planks. The try-works are planted between the foremast and mainmast, the most roomy part of the deck.
Meanwhile, others of the ship's company were tumultuously busy at the masonry of the try-works, from which the huge pots had been removed. You would have almost thought they were pulling down the cursed Bastille, such wild cries they raised, as the now useless brick and mortar were being hurled into the sea.
On the day after the castaways had been taken aboard, the whale-ship, having extinguished the fires of her try-works, started in search of the drogued whale. The ex-crew of the Catamaran had by this time given a full account of their adventures to the whalesmen; at the same time expressing their belief that the ruffians on the big raft would be found by the carcass they were in search of.
The try-works consisted of two huge melting-pots fixed upon brick-work fireplaces between the fore and main masts.
Her deck was flush fore and aft, the only obstructions being the brick-built "try-works" in the waist, the galley, and cabin skylight right aft by the taffrail. Her bulwarks were set thickly round with clumsy looking wooden cranes, from which depended five boats. Two more boats were secured bottom up upon a gallows aft, so she seemed to be well supplied in that direction.
A look-out man was unnecessary, since we could not run anybody down, and if anybody ran us down, it would only be because all hands were asleep, for the glare of our try-works fire, to say nothing of the blazing cresset before mentioned, could have been seen for many miles. So we toiled watch and watch, six hours on and six off, the work never ceasing for an instant night or day.
That fellow is no whaler; look at his canvas, no smoke stains from the try-works there: he is a sandal-wood trader, or is after beche-de-mer. I am very glad it is so; it will be much more pleasant for the ladies; and if she is a Yankee, as a good many of these little traders are, the skipper will probably be glad enough to earn a few dollars by running us all across to the mainland."
"Golly! it am a ship," interposed Snowball, "a ship on de fire!" "No! no!" impatiently answered the ex-whalesman, "nothing o' the sort. It's a whaler `tryin'-out' her oil. Don't you see the men yonder, standin' by the try-works, are throwin' in the `scraps'? Lord o' mercy! if they should pass us without hearing our hail! Ship ahoy! whaler ahoy!"
The last of the carcases was launched overboard by about eight o'clock that evening, but not before some vast junks of beef had been cut off and hung up in the rigging for our food supply. The try-works were started again, "trying-out" going on busily all night, watch and watch taking their turn at keeping the pots supplied with minced blubber.
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