Shall I tell you what this
sort of oil's worth? Well, it's worth about thirty pounds a ton. And
how much d'ye think there's aboard? Not less than a hundred ton, if I
don't see double. There's no man can teach me the capacity of a cask,
and there are casks below varying from forty-two to two hundred and
seventy-five gallons, with no lack of whalebone stored dry somewhere,
I don't doubt, if those casks would let us look for it."
But this was no better than idle and ironical chatter in the mouths of
men so hideously situated as we were. For my part I had no thought of
saving the ship; indeed, I had scarce any hope of saving my own life.
We found an American ensign in a small flag-locker that was lashed
near the wheel, and we sent it half-mast high, with the stars
inverted. Then we searched for fresh water, and found three iron tanks
nearly full in the after-hold. The water stunk with keeping, as though
it had grown rank in the bilge, but after it had stood a little while
exposed to air it became sweet enough to use. There was no fear then
of our perishing from hunger and thirst whilst the whaler kept
together. Our main and imminent danger lay in the sudden dissolution
of the ice, or in the capsizal of the berg.
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