by Stephen B. Castleberry Jr. age 17 ½

It was a foggy, gray morning that found us moving slowly toward Alakanuk, Alaska, and the boat was in no hurry. The waves came rippling through the fog, slapped gently against the boat, and disappeared again. The visibility was no more than a hundred feet, less in some places. We were sailing mainly by the compass. You could hear the water splashing against the hull, the throb of the boat's motor, and now and then the mournful cry of a gull. The morning air was cool and damp, and there was a familiar smell of salt in the air. As we rounded a point on Danger Island, we saw that Ray and Scott, the diver and his tender, were already at work on the old wreck.

The wreck was a ship from the Gold Rush, probably. Two days ago, Ray had been flying over the area with a bush pilot, and had seen the outline of a ship under the water. "Mr. Grant says he thinks the ship was carrying supplies, or the crew would have returned," Igor remarked. "However, the pipes still have the copper fittings. They found that out on their first dive yesterday."

"Yes, those are valuable," I agreed, "but not so valuable the crew would have come back. The crew may have drowned, though."

The small island disappeared into the fog, and we continued for some time without saying anything. It was my brother Igor who broke the silence. "Bruce! Look at that whale!"

"Look at those killer whales behind it!" I exclaimed. We both stared, awed at the sight. Not more than seventy-five feet away, a huge whale arched high into the air, with several killer whales lunging after it. The whale slammed down onto the water, making a huge wave. Since we were so close to the whale, the boat was tossed about like a wood chip in the middle of the ocean during a gale. I turned the wheel, wishing that we would have been able to see the whales before this. The fight was now not more than fifty feet away, and it was moving closer. This is getting dangerous, I thought uneasily. Help us, Lord! I had been so intent on driving and watching the fight that I did not notice when Igor left the wheelhouse.

Bang! That sounded like a gun shot! I thought. Then I noticed that one killer whale was floating on its back, and the water around it was red. Igor was on the deck, still standing where he had fired the shot.

"Bring your guns and ammunition," he shouted, "my gun's jammed. A shell got stuck somehow."

I shut off the motor, then grabbed my .44 Magnum revolvers and some ammunition. On deck I handed Igor one of my guns and two boxes of shells. I shot one killer whale in the spine, and it rolled over, thrashing about. Another killer whale noticed its dying companion, and, excited by the blood, moved in for the kill. The dying one was washed against the side of the boat, and the attacking killer charged for it. It missed, however, and was coming straight at the boat. It came so fast, Igor and I both nearly emptied our guns before it was dead. Its body hit the side of our boat with considerable force. The whale sounded just then, and several killer whales followed it.

Igor went to the other side of the cabin so that if the fight moved over there, we would not be surprised. One killer whale leapt at another, and landed partly on the boat. I was able to stop it only after it crushed the railing. The bow of the Kirsten was suddenly lifted into the air as the whale came up. I was thankful that it merely bumped the boat, or the results would have been catastrophic. Even so, the stern nearly went under the water. A killer whale smashed down on the whale full force, and the whale wheeled and slashed the assailant in two. My wrist was getting tired from the almost constant recoil of my revolver. I should have brought a rifle, but how could I know this was going to happen?

The waves kept washing over the deck. I was afraid that the hold was going to fill with water, which would cause the boat to sink right there. I did not have much time to think about that though, because a killer whale came rushing up chasing another one, and, missing, sank its teeth into the side of the boat and the deck. I ran over and put the barrel of my gun almost on its head. I could see it watching me as I began pulling the trigger in rapid succession. After five shots, its jaws relaxed and it slid into the sea. A large killer whale attacked the one nearest to it. The attacked turned on the attacker, and, with its razor sharp teeth, sliced the attacker's nose off. The fight began to move away form the boat, and gradually stopped as the killer whales died.

Fifteen minutes after the fight began, the remaining killer whale swam slowly away, leaving a thin trail of blood behind. Igor and I looked around. The crimson water was dotted with the mutilated bodies of killer whales bobbing here and there.

"Wasn't that something when they started fighting each other?" Igor exclaimed.

"It certainly was!" I agreed. "I wonder if people will believe it, when we are old men, and we tell them the story of what happened today?"

"People will probably think we are just telling a tall tale," Igor replied, "but you and I will know the truth!"

I walked over to where the killer whale had bitten the boat. In the imprint from the bite there were two teeth. I pulled them loose, and gave one to Igor.

"Where did this come from?"

So I told him about how a killer whale had accidentally sunk its teeth into the Kirsten.

Together we descended into the hold. There was a lot of water down there, so we got the old gasoline pump from the engine room, hooked up the hoses, and started the pump. It sputtered and coughed awhile, then roared loudly. It took about ten minutes for all the water to be pumped out, and while the pump was working, Igor and I began to repair the rail. When the pump was finished, I returned it to the engine room and Igor coiled the hoses. We returned to the deck, and I noticed that empty shells were scattered everywhere. The smell of gun powder hung heavily in the air. Igor began to clean the deck, and I went into the wheelhouse. As I started the motor, I offered a quick prayer.

Lord, thank You for protecting us through the fight and keeping our boat from sinking. Please keep us safe throughout the rest of our voyage, and please help us to remember to always call upon You in the day of trouble.