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-\chapter{At a Venture}
-
-The voyage of the Abraham Lincoln was for a long time marked
-by no special incident. But one circumstance happened which showed
-the wonderful dexterity of Ned Land, and proved what confidence
-we might place in him.
-
-The 30th of June, the frigate spoke some American whalers,
-from whom we learned that they knew nothing about the narwhal.
-But one of them, the captain of the Monroe, knowing that Ned Land had
-shipped on board the Abraham Lincoln, begged for his help in chasing
-a whale they had in sight. Commander Farragut, desirous of seeing
-Ned Land at work, gave him permission to go on board the Monroe.
-And fate served our Canadian so well that, instead of one whale,
-he harpooned two with a double blow, striking one straight to the heart,
-and catching the other after some minutes' pursuit.
-
-Decidedly, if the monster ever had to do with Ned Land's harpoon,
-I would not bet in its favour.
-
-The frigate skirted the south-east coast of America with great rapidity.
-The 3rd of July we were at the opening of the Straits of Magellan, level with
-Cape Vierges. But Commander Farragut would not take a tortuous passage,
-but doubled Cape Horn.
-
-The ship's crew agreed with him. And certainly it was possible
-that they might meet the narwhal in this narrow pass.
-Many of the sailors affirmed that the monster could not pass there,
-``that he was too big for that!''
-
-The 6th of July, about three o'clock in the afternoon, the Abraham Lincoln,
-at fifteen miles to the south, doubled the solitary island,
-this lost rock at the extremity of the American continent, to which
-some Dutch sailors gave the name of their native town, Cape Horn.
-The course was taken towards the north-west, and the next day the screw
-of the frigate was at last beating the waters of the Pacific.
-
-``Keep your eyes open!'' called out the sailors.
-
-And they were opened widely. Both eyes and glasses, a little dazzled,
-it is true, by the prospect of two thousand dollars, had not
-an instant's repose.
-
-I myself, for whom money had no charms, was not the least
-attentive on board. Giving but few minutes to my meals,
-but a few hours to sleep, indifferent to either rain or sunshine,
-I did not leave the poop of the vessel. Now leaning on the netting
-of the forecastle, now on the taffrail, I devoured with eagerness
-the soft foam which whitened the sea as far as the eye could reach;
-and how often have I shared the emotion of the majority of the crew,
-when some capricious whale raised its black back above the waves!
-The poop of the vessel was crowded on a moment. The cabins
-poured forth a torrent of sailors and officers, each with heaving
-breast and troubled eye watching the course of the cetacean.
-I looked and looked till I was nearly blind, whilst Conseil kept
-repeating in a calm voice:
-
-``If, sir, you would not squint so much, you would see better!''
-
-But vain excitement! The Abraham Lincoln checked its speed and made
-for the animal signalled, a simple whale, or common cachalot,
-which soon disappeared amidst a storm of abuse.
-
-But the weather was good. The voyage was being accomplished under
-the most favourable auspices. It was then the bad season in Australia,
-the July of that zone corresponding to our January in Europe,
-but the sea was beautiful and easily scanned round a vast circumference.
-
-The 20th of July, the tropic of Capricorn was cut by 105d of longitude,
-and the 27th of the same month we crossed the Equator on the 110th meridian.
-This passed, the frigate took a more decided westerly direction,
-and scoured the central waters of the Pacific. Commander Farragut thought,
-and with reason, that it was better to remain in deep water, and keep
-clear of continents or islands, which the beast itself seemed to shun
-(perhaps because there was not enough water for him! suggested
-the greater part of the crew). The frigate passed at some distance from
-the Marquesas and the Sandwich Islands, crossed the tropic of Cancer,
-and made for the China Seas. We were on the theatre of the last diversions
-of the monster: and, to say truth, we no longer LIVED on board.
-The entire ship's crew were undergoing a nervous excitement, of which I
-can give no idea: they could not eat, they could not sleep--twenty times
-a day, a misconception or an optical illusion of some sailor seated
-on the taffrail, would cause dreadful perspirations, and these emotions,
-twenty times repeated, kept us in a state of excitement so violent that a
-reaction was unavoidable.
-
-And truly, reaction soon showed itself. For three months,
-during which a day seemed an age, the Abraham Lincoln furrowed
-all the waters of the Northern Pacific, running at whales,
-making sharp deviations from her course, veering suddenly
-from one tack to another, stopping suddenly, putting on steam,
-and backing ever and anon at the risk of deranging her machinery,
-and not one point of the Japanese or American coast
-was left unexplored.
-
-The warmest partisans of the enterprise now became its most
-ardent detractors. Reaction mounted from the crew to the captain himself,
-and certainly, had it not been for the resolute determination on the part
-of Captain Farragut, the frigate would have headed due southward.
-This useless search could not last much longer. The Abraham Lincoln
-had nothing to reproach herself with, she had done her best to succeed.
-Never had an American ship's crew shown more zeal or patience;
-its failure could not be placed to their charge--there remained nothing
-but to return.
-
-This was represented to the commander. The sailors could
-not hide their discontent, and the service suffered.
-I will not say there was a mutiny on board, but after a reasonable
-period of obstinacy, Captain Farragut (as Columbus did)
-asked for three days' patience. If in three days the monster did
-not appear, the man at the helm should give three turns of the wheel,
-and the Abraham Lincoln would make for the European seas.
-
-This promise was made on the 2nd of November. It had the effect of
-rallying the ship's crew. The ocean was watched with renewed attention.
-Each one wished for a last glance in which to sum up his remembrance.
-Glasses were used with feverish activity. It was a grand defiance
-given to the giant narwhal, and he could scarcely fail to answer
-the summons and ``appear.''
-
-\begin{equation}
-E=mc^2
-\end{equation}
-
-Two days passed, the steam was at half pressure; a thousand
-schemes were tried to attract the attention and stimulate
-the apathy of the animal in case it should be met in those parts.
-Large quantities of bacon were trailed in the wake of the ship,
-to the great satisfaction (I must say) of the sharks.
-Small craft radiated in all directions round the Abraham Lincoln
-as she lay to, and did not leave a spot of the sea unexplored.
-But the night of the 4th of November arrived without the unveiling of
-this submarine mystery.
-
-The next day, the 5th of November, at twelve, the delay would
-(morally speaking) expire; after that time, Commander Farragut,
-faithful to his promise, was to turn the course to the south-east
-and abandon for ever the northern regions of the Pacific.
-
-The frigate was then in 31@ 15' N. lat. and 136@ 42' E. long.
-The coast of Japan still remained less than two hundred miles to leeward.
-Night was approaching. They had just struck eight bells;
-large clouds veiled the face of the moon, then in its first quarter.
-The sea undulated peaceably under the stern of the vessel.
-
-At that moment I was leaning forward on the starboard netting.
-Conseil, standing near me, was looking straight before him.
-The crew, perched in the ratlines, examined the horizon which
-contracted and darkened by degrees. Officers with their night
-glasses scoured the growing darkness: sometimes the ocean sparkled
-under the rays of the moon, which darted between two clouds,
-then all trace of light was lost in the darkness.
-
-In looking at Conseil, I could see he was undergoing a little
-of the general influence. At least I thought so. Perhaps for
-the first time his nerves vibrated to a sentiment of curiosity.
-
-``Come, Conseil,'' said I, ``this is the last chance of pocketing
-the two thousand dollars.''
-
-``May I be permitted to say, sir,'' replied Conseil, ``that I never reckoned
-on getting the prize; and, had the government of the Union offered a hundred
-thousand dollars, it would have been none the poorer.''
-
-``You are right, Conseil. It is a foolish affair after all, and one upon
-which we entered too lightly. What time lost, what useless emotions!
-We should have been back in France six months ago.''
-
-``In your little room, sir,'' replied Conseil, ``and in your museum, sir; and I
-should have already classed all your fossils, sir. And the Babiroussa would
-have been installed in its cage in the Jardin des Plantes, and have drawn
-all the curious people of the capital!''
-
-``As you say, Conseil. I fancy we shall run a fair chance of being
-laughed at for our pains.''
-
-``That's tolerably certain,'' replied Conseil, quietly; ``I think
-they will make fun of you, sir. And, must I say it---?''
-
-``Go on, my good friend.''
-
-``Well, sir, you will only get your deserts.''
-
-``Indeed!''
-
-``When one has the honour of being a savant as you are, sir, one should
-not expose one's self to---''
-
-\begin{equation}
-E=mc^2
-\end{equation}
-
-Conseil had not time to finish his compliment.
-In the midst of general silence a voice had just been heard.
-It was the voice of Ned Land shouting:
-
-``Look out there! The very thing we are looking for---on
-our weather beam!''
-
-