We had come to have feelings of respect for our young shipmate, for he was a kind-hearted lad, and we saw by his conversation that he had been better educated than the most of us, so all our tongues stopped as the eyes of the party turned on him.
"Come, Fred, let's hear it then," said Tom.
"It's not much I have to tell," began Fred, "but it may help to make your minds clearer on this subject.

On my first voyage to the whale fishery (you know, lads, this is my second voyage) I went to the Greenland Seas.

We had a young doctor aboard with us--quite a youth; indeed he had not finished his studies at college, but he was cleverer, for all that, than many an older man that had gone through his whole course.

I do believe that the reason of his being so clever was, that he was for ever observing things, and studying them, and making notes, and trying to find out reasons.

He was never satisfied with knowing a thing; he must always find out _why_ it was.