The Death of a Mariner

The mutineer was the bowsman of the mate, and when fast to a fish, it was his duty to sit next to him while radney stood up with his lance in the prow. The boat struck as against a sunken ledge, and keeling over, spilled out the standing mate that instant as he fell on the whale's slippery back. All four boats gave chase again, but the whale eluded them until they reached her port where no civilized creature resided there. But five or six of the foremast men deliberately deserted among the palms before setting sail for some other harbour.