In The Jaws Of Death

The Diornlng sun rose like a lurid ball of lire. Tlie sea was calin; the sails of tlie wbale strip Vineyard, off the coast of Pera, hung laly against the mast. Suddenly, trom the dueky New Zealander on tlie foretop gallant cross-trees, a prolonged cry riiieing over the still iraten penetrated every corner of the vessel. "There blows! there blows! blows! blowt ! " No need of tlie usual question, "Wliereaway? " us tuiee large sperm whales were rolling along and spouting a mile dlstant of the lee bow. Out of the ciibi", like a lion, sprang the square-shouldered, square-headed, rizzly old Nantucbet captain - Sirnon Block. His round grey eyes shot a glance at the three "oil hutts" to leeward; thea nis voice grated tlirnugk the ship like the rusping of a cable: "(Jall all hands ! Stand by the boats ! " luto their boats sprang the harpooners - two of them KiiDakas, tlie others nimble young fellows trom Nantucket - to prepare their "crafl" (harpoons and lances) and line tuba. Soou the four hoats were ready. The order, "Lower away" was given, and down they went, apltwhlng alongside. The ciews "tumbled" into their places; when squaring liiniself in thestern sheets, :it tlie steering oar, old Block gave the word to "give way ! '' The boats wei e about shootlng f rom the ship"s side, when Bessie, the Captaiu's pretty daughter - a rosy young woman of eighteen rail to the open gangway. 'Father - your pipe ! " and she held tip the briar-ruot pipe whlch he had forgotten to tako with him. "Aye, Ayel Throw it to me," said Block; lirectiug his boat so as to pass the gangway. The Captfttn's harpooner, n flne handBome young fellow, name üeorge Cart wiight, and who was Bessies's acknowledged lover, looked up admiringly at the daalden. She was about throwing the pie, wlien lier fiiot rlipped and down -he went. falling plump into the uring of Cartwright who thus saved her from being hurt. "üh. dear," said the blushing glrl, as sho released herself and passed the pipe to her tutlier. Meanwhile, the boat glided past the sliip's bow, and a lnige t'Mwwhale had just come lip scarcely thirty fathoms nhcid. "This is bad. We w 11 lose the wliale, Bessie, by goiug back to put you aboard," said Block. "I eau stay where I am; yon need nol stop to put me back. I am nol ufraid. 1 have beeu In a 'last boat' (a boat fast to a whale) befure now, fatuer; you know that." "Aye, Aye; you're a Nantucket girl ol tbe true grit,'' answered Block - "a r'a old-fashioned whoi)cr, worth eiglit} bar'ls good ile,' he dded, now ullinling 10 tlie wliale nhcad. The men pullec withawill until about eitfhteen fathoms 1 1 om the leviathan, when teanng íhe niiglit be "galled" (frightened) by tlit nolM ol the oais, tlie skipper ordered tlipni to use their naddles. NiHndcsiily and swit'Uy they now approuehed tli meQBtei until witliin ten futliooJS of lier, when tip sprang Cartuiilit i" th bow, bis harpoon held ri'aily. "Now, tlien, give il to liini I ' roarci Block a inmute later, Wlii. ! went tlui iion to be buried to the gocket in the wliale luinip. 8be jnst ít"ve W6 tremendous swccp with lier fluUcs, scatlering a cloud o spniy around the crew; then 8lie sounded ;ind uw.iy went th(; boat witli the li" apinnini; l lirnnuli the cliooks and hura iiiinjr around tlic log'crliead. Iln less tban --i qfiarier of an hour the whale's speed slackeíied when the men wcre ordered to haul line. Soon the monster canie booming up from the sea not twenty fathomg ahead. l'aking their oars the crew pulled toward lier, Block, fllnglng hi. long lance at hei wit h uuurrlng ata, inflicting wound after wound. Scarcely was he within good reatiÜng (listiiiice of lier, however, wlien whirïlng round and washing the water to fouiii In her terrible anguish, her huie lcft side jiist touched theeide of the boat, almost turiiin t over and spilling out all tinoccupants except Benle and Georjre Cartwright, wlio, from their positions- the girl seated in the bou bolding on to the gttrtwale and her lover standing in the stern sheets grasplng the ileering oar- contriveU to save themselves trom going ovei board. The ruen were good swimiacra, but ere they could regain the boat the whale, churning the sea with her flukes, daslied towards thein, her liuge jaws, wide open, disclosing her long sharp teeth. l'anic9tricken, the sailors swam away from her, when 8iiddenly turning, beating the water madly ns if feeling her foes, she now lay alongslde and abreast of the boat, with both bristliiii; jaws wide open, axtending ahove and across it amidships- the lower one just touehing the gunwales. W ith this formidable "archway of death" between him and Bessie, Cartwright now jerceived that a turn of the line, which )y the wild motions of the leviathan, had been tossed about in all directions, had caught around the walst of the younff ;irl, wlio was vainly endeavoring to xricate herself, well knowing that unless he suould get clear before the whale hould go down, 8he would be dragged by t under the sea. There was not a moment to lose, and Cartwright, expecting to oc the monster ound (go down) In a few seconds, reolved at once to tjy the only means left ïlm of reaching her ia time to free her rom the line. Separated from her by the whale's jaws, vhicli, as stated, lay betweon him and the jirl, the young sailor endeavored to get 1 rouli that terrible opening - to pare lirough these huge rows of teeth, whieh night close upon him, however, cutting lim in two ere he could half acuomplUh lis purpose. Bending bis head, he qufckly ei.ed one of the boat thwarts for a suport and tlung himself over the lower aw as a man sometiuies flings himself over a fence. Unfortunately a tooth nught in the belt arouud his waist and lown he went, thus falling crossways on he lower juws of the whale, where he ay on his breast, rlght between the fangs of the monster. It was a terrible moment. From the rews of the other bouts, which were oming up a short distance aatern, a cry of dismay was heard, all the witnesses of he awful siht expecting to sec the whale's upper jaw close on the -darinr adventurer, cutting his body in twaln. ['o add to the horror of the situation, his acket had becouie entangled in the teeth crosa which he lay so that he could not lisengaee himself. As he made ineffectual attempts to get clear, the upper jaw of the huge nninial rose hlgher tlian before, prepuratcry to closing upou him, ineanwhile swaying idcways, with a curious vibratory rno,ion, the result of that prepeusity to tanalize, often shown by the sper in whale. n fact, these species of leviathan seldom strike at once except when terribly goaded. Three or four times its tremendous lukes will fan the air before giving the stroke that rends a boat to atoms, and tsjaws will gometimes remain open a whole minute about the victim it would crush. It was this peculiarity that saved Cartwrlfiht from at once meeting hisfatej but ie had been in his perilous position so ong that it seemed as if the dreaded inale must now take place. There he still hung, struggling in the aws of the monster, presenting a spccta¦le, which by those wlio witnessed it, could never be forgotten. Truly, a more awful sight could not be imagined than the whale's enormous head. which, half covered with barnacle, its diminutive eyes liardly visible, continuing that sidelong yawnlng motion above the intended vlc,im. "There, he's gone ! No hope for him now I " screamed the mate, on one of the boats ast cru. With ominous suddenness the whale's under jaw bccame motionless, then down it went, the teeth coming tojrether, closins; with a terrible snap upon shreds of Cartwriïht's jacket, and upon his cap; for Bessie, obvious of her own peril at sight of her lover's. and nerved to unusual Btrength, had seized him areund tlie waist, pulling him from under those de scending fings, just in time to save him. With bis sheath knife the young man then tevered the line about the girl, rescuing her at a critical moment, the whslc going down a seeond later. The men in the water were now plcked up. When old Block, embraclng both ('artwright and his daughter, dcclarod they were both worthy of each other, and although he lost 'the whale by the harpooner cutting the line, yet he would sooner lose a thousand "bar'la of ile" than his Bessie. No whales were taken that day, but on the next the one that had been cut from was discovered lying dead ahead of the ship, and was towed alonside. Of the whale, Bessie, long since married to Cartwrlght, has in her possession one of the teeth, which she never looks upon without a shudder, thinking of that fearful time when she beheld her lover hang in the jaws of death.