The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1905-02-02

glacier climbers do their ice picks. The
head yielded barrel after barrel OF Oil
and a fair quantity of bone. The
blubber was taken aboard the junk,
minced up with hatchets and run into
casks.
Last Of all, a Chinaman cut hole
through the "case'' and, actually de-
scending into the inside of the head,
stripped away the spermacet, clear as
crystal, and packed it into buckets,
which were hauled up on the junk's
deck. The work occupied some two or
three days. During this time the Ber-
tina Millner was keeled over to nearly
twenty degrees by the weight of the
dead monster. However, neither Will
bur nor Moran made protest The
Cinnamon -"ould do as they pleased.
That was said and signed. And they
did not release the schooner until the
whale had been emptied of oil and
blubber, spermaceti and bone
At length, on the afternoon of the
third day, the captain of the junk,
whose name was Hoang, presented
himself upon the quarter deck. He
brown torso was cleaning with oil
and sweat. His cue was coiled like
| snake around his neck, his Ratchet
thrust into his belt
"Well?" said Moran, coming up.
Wilbur caught his breath as the two
stood there facing each other, so sharp
was the contrast. The man, the Mon
gOlian, small, weakened, leather color
ed, Secretive-a strange, complex crea-
| ture, STEPPED in all the obscure mys-
terry of the east, nervous, i'll at ease
and the girl, the Anglo-saxon, daugh-
ter of the mortimer, huge, blonde, big
boned, frank, outspoken, simple of
| composition, open as the day, bare
headed, her great ropes Of sandy hair
| falling over her breast and almost to
the top of her knee boots. AS he look
| ed at the two Wilbur asked himself
| where else but in California could such
| abrupt contrasts occur.
"All right announced Hoang.
"Catchum all Oil, catchum all bone,
catchum all same plenty many. You
| help catchum, now you catchum pay.
Sabe?'
The three principals came to a settle
| ment with unprecedented directness.
| Like all Cinnamon, HOang was true to
his promises and had already set apart
three and half barrels of spermaceti,
| ten barrels of oil and some twenty
pounds Of bone as the schooner's share
in the transaction. There was no dis
cussion over the matter. He called
their attention to the discharge Of his
obligations and hurried away to sum-
| mon his men aboard and get the junk
under way again.
The beachcOmberS returned to their
junk, and Wilbur and Moran set about
| cutting the carcass of the whale adrift
They found it would be easier to cut
| away the hide from around the hooks
and loops of the tackle than to unfas-
| ten the tackle itself.
1.-THE knots are damned hard as
Steel" declared Moran. Hand up
that cutting-in spade; stand by with
the other and cut loose at the same
time as I do, so we can ease off the
strain on these lines at the same time.
Ready there, cutr' Moran set free the
hook in the loop of black skin in a
| couple of strokes, but Wilbur was
| more clumsy; the skin resisted. He
struck at it sharply with the heavy
spade. The blade hit the iron hook,
glanced off and opened large slit in
the carcass below the head. A gush
of entrails started from the slit, and
Moran swore under breath.
have the mast out of her next-steady!
Hold your spade-what's that?'
Wilbur had nerved himself against
| the dreadful stencil he expected would
| issue from the putrid monster, but he
| was surprised to note pungent, sweet
and spicy Odor that all at once made
| thick the air about him. It was an
aromatic smell, stronger than that of
| the salt ocean, stronger even than the
reek of oil and blubber from the
schooner's waist-sweet as incense.
penetrating as altar, delicious as a
summer breeze.
1T smells pretty good, whatever it
u.s." he answered. Moran came up to
where he stood and looked at the slit
he had made in the whales carcass.
Out of it was bullying some kind of
dull white matter marbled with gray.
1t was hard lump of irregular shape
and about as big as hogshead
| Moran glanced over to the junk, some
forty feet distant. The beachcombers
were hosting the lug sail. Hoang was
at the steering oar.
Get that stuff aboard she COM
manded quietly.
"Thatv' exclaimed Wilbur, pointing
to the lump.
| Moran's blue eyes were beginning to
CLEAN.
Eyes, and do it before the Cinnamon
see you.'
| "But-but don't understand
Moran stepped to the quarter deck.
unslung the hammock in which Wilbur
slept and tossed it to him.
Reeve it up in that. I'll pass you
line, and We'll laul it aboard. Cod
send those Vormin vOn6or hove rro+