Evening journal., 1904-05-28

Y#zsII
ine ueau wnae was lying TOUR miles
out OF the entrance of Magdalena bay,
and as the junk and the schooner drew
near seemed like a huge black boat
iloating bottom up. over 1t and upon
It swarmed and clnmored thousands Of
sea birds, while all around and below
the water was thick with gOrging
sharks A dreadful. strangling decay
fouled all the air.
The whale was a sperm whale and
fully twice the length OF the Bertha
Alillncr The work OF trlcing him up
occupied the beachcombors throughout
the entire day II was out Of the ques-
tion to keep them Off the schooner, and
Wilbur ana Moran were too wise to
try. They swarmcd the forward deck
and rigging like a plague OF unclcan
monkeys climbing with an agility and
nimbleness that mnde Wilbur sick at
his stomach They were unlike any
Chinamen-h had ever seen hideous
60 q degree that he had imagined Inn
possible IN q human heing ON two oc-
casions a fight developed. and in an
instant the little hatchcts were flash
ing Ike le fash of a snakes fangs.
Towa4d tho end of the day one OF
tPm returned 20 the junk screaming
like a stuck pig, bit Of his chin Bit
ten or
Moran and Wilbur kept to the quar-
ter deck. always within reach OF the
huge cuttingin spades, but the Chi
nese bcachcombcrs were too clated
over their prize TO pay them much at
tention.
And%ndeed the dead monster proved
a verliabc treasure trove. by the end
Of the day he had been triced up To- the
forcmast ana an hands, strainlng nj
the wlqdlass, had raised the mighty
head out OF the water. The Cinnamon
descended upon the smooth, black
body their bare feet sliding and slip.
ping at every step. They held on by
/ jabhlng their knives into the hide ms
glacier climbers do their ice picks The
head yielded barrel after barrel of oil
and fair quantity Of bone The
hluhbcr was taken aboard the junk
minced up with hatchets and run into
casks.
Last OF all, a Chinaman cut n hole
through the cease" and. actually de
sccnding into the inside Of the head
stripped away the spermaceti clear as
crystal and packed it into buckets
which were hauled up ON the iunk's
deck. The work occupied some two OF
three days During this time the Ber
tha Millner was keeled over 60 nearly
/ twenty degrees by the weight of IN,
dead monster However. neither WI
bur nor Moran made protest The
Cinnamon would 90 as they pleased
That was said and signed And they
did not release the schooner until tn,
whale had been emptled of oil an,
blubber, snermaceu and bone
At length, on the afternoon Of tn
third day, the captain of the junk
whose name was Hoang, presente,
himself upon the quarter deck IL
was naked to the waist, and his bar
brown torso was cleaning with oN
and sweat. His cue was coiled li1
a snake around his neck, his hatche
thrust into his belt
"Wellgo said Moran, coming up.
Wilbur caught his breath as the tw
stood there facing each other, so shar
was the contrast The man, the Mon
golan. small. weazcned, leather color
cd, secretive-a strange. complex crca
ture, stepped IN all the obscure mys
terry Of the east. nervous. IN nc ease
and the girl. the Anglo Saxon. daugh
ter OF the northmen, huge. blonde. bi
boned, frank, outspoken, simple O
composition. opcn MS the day. bare
headed, her great ropes Of sandy hal
falling over her breast and almost {
the top of her knee boots AS he looh
, ed nc the two Wilbur asked himsel
whore else but in California could sue
abrupt contrasts occur
All ll-AtNs AAAANAAANtu AANAAr
"Catchum an oil, catchum all bon,
, catchum all same plenty mnny. Yo
help catchum, now you catchum pay
/, Sabcg
. The three principals came 20 a settle
, mcnt with unprecedented directnes.
Like an Cinnamon, Hoang was true [
, his promises and had already set apai
three and half barrels of spermacet
ten barrels Of oil and some twent
: pounds Of bone as the schooner's shar
in the transaction. There was no di.
I, cussiou over the matter. He calle
their attention to the discharge OF hi
obligations and hurried away to sun
: mon his men aboard and get the jun
= under way again.
The beachcombers returned TO the
junk. nnd Wilbur and Moran set abol
cutting the carcass Of the whale adrif
y They found it would be easier TO cl
, away the hide from around the hool
. and loops OF the tackle than 10 unfa
ten the tackle itself
THE knots arc jammed hard
! i