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1AT FULL STEAM At this cry the whole ship's crew hurried towards the harpooner,--commander, officers, masters, sailors,
2cabin boys; even the engineers left their engines, and the stokers their furnaces. The order to stop her had been given,
3and the frigate now simply went on by her own momentum. The darkness was then profound, and however good the Canadian's
4eyes were, I asked myself how he had managed to see, and what he had been able to see. My heart beat as if it would
5break. But Ned Land was not mistaken, and we all perceived the object he pointed to. At two cables' length from the
6Abraham Lincoln, on the starboard quarter, the sea seemed to be illuminated all over. It was not a mere phosphoric
7phenomenon. The monster emerged some fathoms from the water, and then threw out that very intense but inexplicable light
8mentioned in the report of several captains. This magnificent irradiation must have been produced by an agent of great
9shining power. The luminous part traced on the sea an immense oval, much elongated, the centre of which condensed a
10burning heat, whose overpowering brilliancy died out by successive gradations. "It is only an agglomeration of
11phosphoric particles," cried one of the officers. "No, sir, certainly not," I replied. "Never did pholades or salpæ
12produce such a powerful light. That brightness is of an essentially electrical nature. Besides, see, see! it moves; it
13is moving forwards, backwards; it is darting towards us!" A general cry rose from the frigate. "Silence!" said the
14Captain; "up with the helm, reverse the engines." The steam was shut off, and the Abraham Lincoln, beating to port,
15described a semicircle. "Right the helm, go ahead," cried the Captain. These orders were executed, and the frigate moved
16rapidly from the burning light. I was mistaken. She tried to sheer off, but the supernatural animal approached with a
17velocity double her own. We gasped for breath. Stupefaction more than fear made us dumb and motionless. The animal
18gained on us, sporting with the waves. It made the round of the frigate, which was then making fourteen knots, and
19enveloped it with its electric rings like luminous dust. Then it moved away two or three miles, leaving a phosphorescent
20track, like those volumes of steam that the express trains leave behind. All at once from the dark line of the horizon
21whither it retired to gain its momentum, the monster rushed suddenly towards the Abraham Lincoln with alarming rapidity,
22stopped suddenly about twenty feet from the hull, and died out,--not diving under the water, for its brilliancy did not
23abate,--but suddenly, and as if the source of this brilliant emanation was exhausted. Then it reappeared on the other
24side of the vessel, as if it had turned and slid under the hull. Any moment a collision might have occurred which would
25have been fatal to us. However, I was astonished at the manœuvres of the frigate. She fled and did not attack. On the
26captain's face, generally so impassive, was an expression of unaccountable astonishment. "M. Aronnax," he said, "I do
27not know with what formidable being I have to deal, and I will not imprudently risk my frigate in the midst of this
28darkness. Besides, how attack this unknown thing, how defend one's self from it? Wait for daylight, and the scene will
29change." "You have no further doubt, captain, of the nature of the animal?" "No, sir; it is evidently a gigantic
30narwhal, and an electric one." "Perhaps," added I, "one can only approach it with a gymnotus or a torpedo."
31"Undoubtedly," replied the captain, "if it possesses such dreadful power, it is the most terrible animal that ever was
32created. That is why, sir, I must be on my guard." The crew were on their feet all night. No one thought of sleep. The
33Abraham Lincoln, not being able to struggle with such velocity, had moderated its pace, and sailed at half speed. For
34its part, the narwhal, imitating the frigate, let the waves rock it at will, and seemed decided not to leave the scene
35of the struggle. Towards midnight, however, it disappeared, or, to use a more appropriate term, it "died out" like a
36large glow-worm. Had it fled? One could only fear, not hope. But at seven minutes to one o'clock in the morning a
37deafening whistling was heard, like that produced by a body of water rushing with great violence. The captain, Ned Land,
38and I, were then on the poop, eagerly peering through the profound darkness. "Ned Land," asked the commander, "you have
39often heard the roaring of whales?" "Often, sir; but never such whales the sight of which brought me in two thousand
40dollars. If I can only approach within four harpoon lengths of it!" "But to approach it," said the commander, "I ought
41to put a whaler at your disposal?" "Certainly, sir." "That will be trifling with the lives of my men." "And mine too,"
42simply said the harpooner. Towards two o'clock in the morning, the burning light reappeared, not less intense, about
43five miles to windward of the Abraham Lincoln. Notwithstanding the distance, and the noise of the wind and sea, one
44heard distinctly the loud strokes of the animal's tail, and even its panting breath. It seemed that, at the moment that
45the enormous narwhal had come to take breath at the surface of the water, the air was engulfed in its lungs, like the
46steam in the vast cylinders of a machine of two thousand horse-power. "Hum!" thought I, "a whale with the strength of a
47cavalry regiment would be a pretty whale!" We were on the qui vive till daylight, and prepared for the combat. The
48fishing implements were laid along the hammock nettings. The second lieutenant loaded the blunderbusses, which could
49throw harpoons to the distance of a mile, and long duck-guns, with explosive bullets, which inflicted mortal wounds even
50to the most terrible animals. Ned Land contented himself with sharpening his harpoon--a terrible weapon in his hands. At
51six o'clock day began to break; and, with the first glimmer of light, the electric light of the narwhal disappeared. At
52seven o'clock the day was sufficiently advanced, but a very thick sea fog obscured our view, and the best spy-glasses
53could not pierce it. That caused disappointment and anger. I climbed the mizzen-mast. Some officers were already perched
54on the mast heads. At eight o'clock the fog lay heavily on the waves, and its thick scrolls rose little by little. The
55horizon grew wider and clearer at the same time. Suddenly, just as on the day before, Ned Land's voice was heard: "The
56thing itself on the port quarter!" cried the harpooner. Every eye was turned towards the point indicated. There, a mile
57and a half from the frigate, a long blackish body emerged a yard above the waves. Its tail, violently agitated, produced
58a considerable eddy. Never did a caudal appendage beat the sea with such violence. An immense track, of dazzling
59whiteness, marked the passage of the animal, and described a long curve. The frigate approached the cetacean. I examined
60it thoroughly. The reports of the Shannon and of the Helvetia had rather exaggerated its size, and I estimated its
61length at only two hundred and fifty feet. As to its dimensions, I could only conjecture them to be admirably
62proportioned. While I watched this phenomenon, two jets of steam and water were ejected from its vents, and rose to the
63height of 120 feet; thus I ascertained its way of breathing. I concluded definitely that it belonged to the vertebrate
64branch, class mammalia. The crew waited impatiently for their chief's orders. The latter, after having observed the
65animal attentively, called the engineer. The engineer ran to him. "Sir," said the commander, "you have steam up?" "Yes,
66sir," answered the engineer. "Well, make up your fires and put on all steam." Three hurrahs greeted this order. The time
67for the struggle had arrived. Some moments after, the two funnels of the frigate vomited torrents of black smoke, and
68the bridge quaked under the trembling of the boilers. The Abraham Lincoln, propelled by her wonderful screw, went
69straight at the animal. The latter allowed it to come within half a cable's length; then, as if disdaining to dive, it
70took a little turn, and stopped a short distance off. This pursuit lasted nearly three-quarters of an hour, without the
71frigate gaining two yards on the cetacean. It was quite evident that at that rate we should never come up with it.
72"Well, Mr. Land," asked the captain, "do you advise me to put the boats out to sea?" "No, sir," replied Ned Land;
73"because we shall not take that beast easily." "What shall we do then?"
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