Hurrah! This is the way a fellow feels when he’s going to Davy Jones — all a rush down an endless inclined plane! Hurrah! This whale carries the everlasting mail!”

But the monster’s run was a brief one. Giving a sudden gasp, he tumultuously sounded. With a grating rush, the three lines flew round the loggerheads with such a force as to gouge deep grooves in them; while so fearful were the harpooneers that this rapid sounding would soon exhaust the lines, that using all their dexterous might, they caught repeated smoking turns with the rope to hold on; till at last — owing to the perpendicular strain from the lead-lined chocks of the boats, whence the three ropes went straight down into the blue — the gunwales of the bows were almost even with the