myself sliot by some of the brave ones behind
me. The second mate, who was the only real man
among them all, seized a large sheath-knife, and
climbed into the boat to help me. I knew it would
not do to attempt to strike the monster with a
knife where he had room enough to defend himself;
I therefore threw it down, and seized a short
handspike of iron-wood, the only weapon within my
reach, and told the second mate to raise the deck,
and I would attempt to finish my antagonist with
the club, for the thought of escaping while I could,
and leave for others to do what belonged to me,
never entered my mind. As the deck rose I beheld
Tiim coiled up about two feet and a half from my
right foot. Suffering the acutest agony from the
deep wound I had already given him, he raised his
head high out of the midst of his huge coil, his red
jaws wide open, and his eyes flashing fire like live
coals. I felt the blood chill in my veins as, for an
instant, we glanced into each other’s eyes, and both
instinctively realized that one of us two must die on
that spot. He darted at my foot, hoping to fasten
his fangs in my canvas shoe, but I was too quick for
him, and gave him such a blow over the head and
neck that he was glad to coil up again. This gave
me time to prepare to deal him another blow, and
thus for about fifteen minutes I continued to strike
with all my might, and three or four times his jaws
came within two or three inches of my canvas shoe.
I began now to feel my strength failing, and that I
could not hold out more than a moment longer, yet, in
that moment, fortunately, the carpenter got his wits