moby dick (saddleback classics)

MOBYDICK

HERMAN MELVILLE

MOBYDICK

HERMAN MELVILLE

Melville’s classic tale of madness and revenge on the high seas

“So what say you, mates? Will you helpme give chase to the cursed white whalethat took my leg?”

A bored school teacher seeks adventureas a whale hunter. He has no idea that themad captain of the Pequod is interested inpursuing only one whale—the enormouswhite beast that bit off his leg! Now it’s toolate to turn back. Will Ahab’s insane questfor revenge cost the entire crew their lives?

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Saddleback E-Book

SaddlebackClassicCovers 09/7/06 10:15 PM Page 26

ADAPTED BY

Janet Lorimer

MOBYDICK

HERMAN MELVILLE

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dracula

Great Expectations

Jane Eyre

Moby Dick

Robinson Crusoe

The Time Machine

Development and Production: Laurel Associates, Inc.Cover and Interior Art: Black Eagle Productions

Three WatsonIrvine, CA 92618-2767E-Mail: [email protected]: www.sdlback.com

ISBN 1-56254-258-3

Printed in the United States of America09 08 07 06 05 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronicor mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informationstorage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

Copyright © 1999 by Saddleback Educational Publishing. All rights reserved.

1 The Tattooed Harpooner................ 5

2 Signing on the Pequod................... 12

3 We Meet the Crew .......................... 20

4 Captain Ahab’s Mission ................. 27

5 “There She Blows!” ........................ 34

6 Searching for Moby Dick ................ 42

7 Starbuck Challenges Ahab............. 50

8 The Rachel Seeks Help .................. 58

9 Remembering Fedallah’sProphecy ..................................... 66

10 Moby Dick’s Revenge ..................... 73

CONTENTS

MOBY DICK

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1 The TattooedHarpooner

Call me Ishmael. Teaching school is myprofession. But from time to time I feel agreat need for more adventure. When thatyearning comes over me, I leave myclassroom and go to sea. There is somethingabout the open seas that lifts up my spiritswhen I am feeling down.

I had never gone to sea as an officer oreven as a cook, but as a common sailor.Some years ago I gained some experiencein the merchant service. But this time Ihungered for even more adventure: I wantedto become a whale hunter.

I knew there was good money in thetrade. But that was not the only reason Iwanted to go whaling. I must confess that Iwas interested in the whales themselves.They were such fascinating brutes. They

The Tattooed Harpooner • 1

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seemed both mysterious and magnificent.Once I made up my mind to go, I stuffed

a couple of shirts into my knapsack. Andalthough I had only a handful of coins inmy pocket, I started off.

It was on a stormy Saturday night inDecember when I arrived in the coastal townof New Bedford. An icy wind chased me upand down the narrow streets as I searchedfor a place to stay. I shivered, as much fromthe silence as from the chill. The townseemed as cold and lonely as a tomb. Mydark mood was no way to begin anadventure, but I could not shake myself freeof it. Still, here I was. One way or another Ihad to find a room for the night.

The first lodging houses I passed seemedmuch too fancy and costly. I fingered thefew coins in my pocket and hurried on downthe street. At last I reached the docks. Astrong smell of fish was in the air. I couldhear the cold, dark water slapping the sidesof ships and lapping at the wooden docks.

This was a poorer part of town. Therewere no street lamps to light my way.

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Shivering again, I pulled my coat closeraround me. Then ahead I saw a dim light inthe window of an old building. The sign overthe door read The Spouter Inn—PeterCoffin, proprietor . What a name for alandlord in this dark place! Still, I hadnowhere else to go, and it looked as if Icould afford to stay here.

The door was open, so I walked right in.Just beyond the entry hall was the commonroom. In the dim light I could make out afew tables and chairs. Across the room aweak fire burned in the fireplace, sendingout more smoke than heat or light. On thewall over the fireplace hung a painting of awhale attacking a ship. Years of smoke fromthe fire had darkened the painting. But Icould still make out the gigantic monster ofthe deep looming out of the water over theship. I thought about my business in thattown and shivered a little.

Another wall in the common room wasdecorated with a collection of whalers’tools. I saw harpoons, clubs, and spears. Itwasn’t a very cheerful room, but at least I


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was out of the cold and gloomy weather.A few men sa t about , ta lk ing and

drinking. I found the landlord, Peter Coffin,and asked him for a room.

“Sorry, we’re full up,” he said. Then, asI started to turn away, he called me back.“Wait! You don’t mind sharing a bed with aharpooner, do you?”

“I’d rather sleep alone,” I said, “but ifthat’s all you’ve got, I’ll take it.”

When the landlord asked if I wanted ameal, I was quick to answer yes. Beforelong, Mr. Coffin called out, “Grub, ho!” andall the men crowded around a long table inthe dining room. Having no fireplace, thisroom was as cold as a North Atlanticiceberg. But when the food was served, weall found it good and hot.

After dinner, I asked the landlord if theharpooner had come in yet. Oddly enough,all the other men at the table stoppedtalking. They looked from me to the landlordwith keen interest.

Peter Coffin grinned and shook his head.“No, he’s not come in just yet. Perhaps he’s

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having some trouble selling his head.”“His what?” I cried out. “Did you say he

was trying to sell his head?”“That’s right,” said the landlord. “I told

him he couldn’t sell it in New Bedford. Themarket here is overstocked.”

“Now see here,” I said firmly, “save yourtall tales for someone else. I’m not a stupid,know-nothing greenhorn.”

The landlord and the other sailors burstout laughing. This annoyed me even more,since I could not guess what was so funny.Finally Mr. Coffin took a breath. “Well,” hesaid, “this harpooner just arrived from theSouth Seas . Tha t’s where he got theshrunken heads. He’s sold all but one.”

That did it! I decided I wouldn’t wait upfor the harpooner. I might have to share abed with him, but I didn’t want to talk tohim. I climbed the stairs to the room wewould share, undressed, and lay down on thewide bed.

At first I had a hard time falling asleep,but I must have dozed off. Then suddenly Iheard footsteps outside the room. The door


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banged open and an enormous man walkedin! The flickering light of the bedside candleoutlined his bulky form.

He was a giant of a man. And oh, what aface! He was not actually bad-looking, buthis deeply tanned skin was tattooed all overwith strange designs. When he took off hiscoat, I could see even more tattoos on hisarms and chest. His head was bald exceptfor a long black topknot.

Good heavens, I thought, was I sharingthe bed with a cannibal? Drawing the covers

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over my head, I could hear the harpoonerhumming to himself as he got ready for bed.

He didn’t seem to notice me. Had PeterCoffin forgotten to tell him that I was there?I felt the bed sag a little as he crawled underthe covers. Then, in the next moment, thetattooed man looked in my face, yanked thecovers off, and let out a terrible cry.

Signing on the Pequod • 2

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Signing onthe Pequod

The startled harpooner jumped back inalarm. He looked as frightened as I was!“Who you be?” he shouted.

Before I could answer, he seized histomahawk and raised it over his head. Heshook the tomahawk as if he meant to bashin my skull. “Who you be?” he demandedagain in his broken English.

I sat up against the head of the bed andcalled out, “Landlord! Please save me!”

Awakened by the shouts, Peter Coffinquickly came running in. “What’s all thenoise about?” he hissed. “Everyone’s tryingto sleep!” Then he saw the problem andburst out laughing. “Queequeg, put thetomahawk down, man. This is Ishmael. Hemeans you no harm.”

The landlord then properly introduced me

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to the huge harpooner. He explained thatQueequeg was a native of an island in theSouth Seas. He might look fierce, but he wasreally a gentle soul.

Giving me a big grin, Queequeg slappedme hard on the shoulder. He meant it as afriendly gesture, but he almost knocked meout of bed. Then he dropped his tomahawkon the floor and climbed in beside me.

“Better to sleep with a sober cannibal,” Ithought, “than with a drunken Christian.”So we both closed our eyes and fell asleep.I have never slept better in all my life.

The next day Queequeg and I began toget to know each other. Before the day wasover we were fast friends. Queequeg, Ilearned, was the son of a tribal chief. Histribe were a seafaring people who lived in afaraway land called Aotearoa, which meant“the long white cloud.”

Queequeg told me that he had left hishomeland to see the world. When a shipdocked at the island, he tried to go aboard.But the captain said there was no room forhim. Later that night he swam out to the ship


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and hid on board. By the time the crew foundhim, it was too late to turn back.

The ship’s captain had taught Queequeghow to harpoon whales. “I sail around wholeworld on that ship,” Queequeg said withpride. “I see many strange places andstrange people. I learn many new things.”

When I told him about my wish for awhaling adventure, we agreed to ship outtogether. Queequeg carr ied his ownharpoon, a huge weapon with a handle madeof whale bone.

Not only did he use the harpoon to killwhales, I discovered that Queequeg alsoshaved wi th i t ! La ter, when we wentdownstairs for breakfast, Queequeg used hisharpoon at the table to spear pieces of meat.He had very good aim. I noticed that no mangot in Queequeg’s way nor made fun of thisgentle giant.

Because it was a Sunday morning, therewas little to do. I wanted to walk about andlook the town over. Queequeg and I foundwe were not alone. The town was quitecrowded with other men who had come from

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every part of the country to seek theirfortunes at sea.

Then the icy wind picked up and theweather went bad. We were looking forshelter when we came upon a small chapeland slipped inside. The service was aboutto begin, so we quickly found seats in oneof the pews. At least it was warmer in thechurch than it was outdoors!

The organist was playing a hymn. The oldorgan tended to squeak at the high notes andwheeze at the low notes. But the membersof the congregation were singing rightalong. As I joined in, I glanced about me.The walls of the chapel were decorated withplaques bearing the names of sailors killedat sea. I also noticed that many of the womenin the church were dressed in black. Theymust be the widows of the dead whalers!Again I began to worry about the dangersof whale hunting, but I decided that it wastoo late to turn back.

A re t i red harpooner named FatherMapple gave the sermon. His pulpit wasbuilt to look like the prow of a ship. Today


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his sermon was about Jonah and the whale.It was a good subject for a bunch of menwho were soon to ship out to sea.

The next day Queequeg and I sailedto Nantucket, an island off the coast ofMassachusetts. Nantucket was a sandy,barren place. But I had heard it was afine seaport, famous as a base for whalehunters. I was sure we would find a whalingship to hire us there.

There were three whaling ships in port.We looked them over very carefully. At lastwe settled on one called the Pequod. Forsome reason we liked the look of her. Shewas a big, old-fashioned ship, well-seasonedand weather-stained.

One of the owners, a crusty old sailornamed Peleg, was on deck. He was signingon a new crew. I explained that I wanted tosign on. I said I wanted to see the world andfind out what whaling was all about.

“Oh, so you want to see what whaling isall about, do you?” the old man said. Hecracked a grin. “Have you seen our CaptainAhab yet?”

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I shook my head. “And who is CaptainAhab?” I asked politely.

“Why, the captain of this ship,” said Peleg.“The man you’ll take your orders from.”

“Well,” I said, “I should very much liketo meet him. Where is he?”

Peleg gave me a strange smile. “He doesnot wish to see anyone right now,” said theold man. “The captain is not, uh—feelingwell. But never fear. He will be well enoughwhen it’s time to sail.”

“I’m sorry to hear that he’s under theweather,” I said. Somehow I sensed thatPeleg was trying to tell me somethingstrange about the captain. But I couldn’t forthe life of me figure out what it was.

“He has only one leg,” Peleg went on.“The other one was bit off by a whale.” Hepeered at me as if wondering how I wouldrespond. When I said nothing, he added, “Nomatter what you may think, your captain isnot as evil as King Ahab in the Bible. Doyou still want to sign on?”

I nodded. I don’t know if he was tryingto make me feel better or trying to scare me


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off. But if he thought I might change mymind, he would have to think again.

“I have a friend who wants to sign on,too,” I added.

“Bring him along,” said the old man. Butwhen he saw Queequeg, he began to havesecond thoughts. “I’m not sure I want awild-looking pagan covered with tattooson my ship,” he said suspiciously. “Can heharpoon whales?”

“Why, he’s killed more whales than youcan count!” I said. “Queequeg, show himyour skill.”

Queequeg motioned us to follow him tothe side of the ship. He pointed to a smalldot of tar floating in the water. “You see spotof tar? Suppose that be whale’s eye.” Helifted his great harpoon and threw it. Thesharp point went right into the spot of tar—like an arrow into a bullseye!

As Queequeg reeled in his harpoon, theship owner’s eyes opened wide. “Quick!”he said to me. “I must have that harpooneron my ship.” Then he turned to Queequeg.“You! Quohog, can you write your name?”

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“His name is Queequeg,” I said sharply.“Peequeg, Quohog, whatever he wants to

be called,” Captain Peleg said. He thrust apen at Queequeg. My friend could not reador write English, but he carefully made anX where his name was supposed to go. WhenI signed my name right under his, we turnedto each other and smiled. My adventure wasabout to begin!

We Meet the Crew • 3

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We Meetthe Crew

The next few days were busy ones aboardthe Pequod. What a big job it was to makethe ship ready for her voyage! There weresails to mend and rigging to repair. Therewas food to store—beef, bread, and water—as well as other supplies—tools, iron nails,canvas, and rope. The Pequod would be atsea for three long years. We would have tocarry everything we might need for all thoselong months.

At last the day came when we were tosail. It dawned cold and gray. Queequeg andI had been staying at a nearby inn while theship was being made ready. Now we aroseearly and packed our gear.

After breakfast we set out for the docks.The gray fog wrapped itself around us likea wet muffler. We could see no more than a

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few feet in any direction. I could hear ships’bells clanging, sailors laughing and talking,and the sound of water splashing against thepilings. But all these sounds were muffled.

As we neared the ship, Queequeg and Isaw several shadowy figures hurrying up thegangplank. But before we could join them,I felt a heavy hand clasp my shoulder. Iturned, startled, and found myself face-to-face with an odd-looking old fellow.

He was dressed in the patched and raggedclothes of a sailor. His face was badlyscarred. What startled me so was the strangeglow in his eyes. “Going aboard?” he askedin a voice that cracked like a broken timber.

“Take your hand off ,” I demanded,shoving him away. “Who are you?”

“Name’s Elijah,” said the stranger. Heleaned forward, peering into my face. “Tellme, have you signed on the Pequod?” heasked with a strange glint in his eye.

“Yes, we’ve signed on. And you?”He lowered his voice, glancing left and

right. “Have you seen Old Thunder yet—Captain Ahab himself?”


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“No, not yet,” I said. “We were told hewas not well—but we expect to see himsoon. Why do you ask, old man?”

Elijah let out a horrible chuckle. Heraised his other arm and I saw that his handwas gone. He shook the stump at us. “Theday old Ahab is well is the day this arm ismade whole!” he cackled.

I didn’t like the way the man was actingnor what he said. I motioned to Queequegthat we should move on. “This fellow is notright in the head,” I muttered.

“But if you’ve already signed on, thenit’s too late. What’s done is done,” Elijahstopped suddenly. “Good morning to you.”He started to hobble away.

“Too late for what?” I called after him.“I won’t be seeing you again,” he called

back. “Sailing on a doomed ship, you are.Heaven help you, mates. Heaven help you.”He disappeared into the fog.

As we walked up the gangplank, I noticedhow quie t the ship was . I t was as i fQueequeg and I were the only two peopleon board. I remembered the ghostly figures

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I’d seen hurrying up the gangplank. Wherewere they now? Then I thought of Elijah’swarning. I tried to tell myself that the silenceand the fog were getting on my nerves. Butin spite of my excitement, I could not shakean uneasy feeling about this voyage.

Queequeg and I went below to claim ourbunks and stow our gear. No one was belowdeck either. So we sat back to wait forfurther orders, and before long we heardnoises on deck. The rest of the crew and thelast of the supplies were coming on board.At last the ship was nearly ready to sail.Where was Captain Ahab, and when wouldwe meet him?

The Pequod set sail on Christmas day.We moved off into the cold, gray Atlantic,not knowing what adventures awaited us.

Over the next few days Queequeg and Imet the other members of the crew. Theyhad come from every corner of the world.Like all groups of men, they were good andbad and all things in between. But all of ushad one thing in common—a love of the seaand a desire to hunt whales.


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The first mate was a fine-looking fellownamed Starbuck. He was a tall, sturdy man,who seemed to have an even temper and akind nature. In time I learned that Starbuckhad lost both a father and a brother to thesea. But these losses had not made himbitter. Killing whales was no less and nomore than a job to him.

A jolly fellow named Stubb was thesecond mate. He didn’t seem to take muchseriously. We often heard him singing tohimself as he went about his work. And heliked to crack jokes with other members ofthe crew.

Flask, the third mate, was a man wholived to kill whales. He made it clear thathe hated all whales, and he was sure thatthey hated him.

The harpooners were next in importance.They had to be very brave, very strong men,with clear eyes and powerful arms. BesidesQueequeg, the other two harpooners werean American Indian named Tashtego and anAfrican named Daggoo. Tashtego was amember of a strong, fearless New England

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tribe that hunted whales. Daggoo’s peoplewere the brave warriors of an African tribe.He had gained his skill with a harpoon bythrowing spears as a lion hunter.

As for those ghostly figures I’d seen theday we came aboard, they were a specialcrew of oarsmen. Ahab had handpicked eachone of them. They would row CaptainAhab’s own boat when a whale was sighted.

The crew leader was an Arab namedFedallah. He was Ahab’s own harpooner. Itwas said that he could tell fortunes and seeinto the future. I wondered what kind offortune he saw for this crew. Then I decidedI didn’t want to know! I also wondered whyAhab would hire a special crew. Were wenot hunting ordinary whales?

We still had not seen the mysteriousCaptain. But we heard stories about himfrom other sailors who’d sailed with him inthe past. Some said that Ahab had a kind ofevil inside him that had poisoned him andconstantly made him suffer. Some said thatthe evil in Ahab was a kind of power passed tohim from the whale that had bitten off his leg.


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I thought all the stories sounded liketall tales, but at the same time I could notshake my uneasy feelings. How long wouldit be before the captain appeared to takecommand of his ship? What kind of captainwould he be?

I did not have too long to wait.

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Captain Ahab’sMission

Heading directly south, the Pequodfinally entered warmer waters. I was gladto leave the North Atlantic behind, with itscold, gray skies and mountains of white icefloating in a cold, gray sea.

The southern waters were a beautiful bluecolor that matched the blue sky overhead.Everything I saw in this part of the worldwas new and exciting. Sometimes we sailednear islands, their green mountains crownedwith white clouds. Sometimes we passedschools of porpoises playing in the sea.

Then one day, while I was scouring thedeck, a shadow fell across me. I looked upand there at last stood Captain Ahab on thequarterdeck. The man was dressed fromhead to toe in black. I gasped. Perhaps hisface had once been good and kind, but now

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Captain Ahab’s Mission • 4

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it had such evil in it as I have never seenbefore and hope never to see again!

A long white scar sliced his weather-beaten face from his forehead down to hisneck. It reminded me of the ugly scar that abolt of lightning sometimes burns into a treetrunk. I wondered if the same whale that hadbitten off his leg had also scarred Ahab’sface. The captain’s dark hair was pepperedwith gray and blew wildly in the wind. Ahabhad strapped a peg leg made of whale ivoryto the stump of his thigh. I saw that heanchored the peg leg into a hole in the deckto help him keep his balance.

It was his eyes that made me shudder.They were filled with a dark fire that couldnot have been natural. His gaze was fierceand fearless. Whatever drove this man, Ithought, was indeed a powerful evil. Iremembered Elijah’s warning: “Heaven helpyou, mates. Heaven help you!”

Suddenly Ahab called out to the crew. “Youmen on top of the mastheads—look sharp now!There are whales in these waters. If you see awhite whale, shout the signal at once!”

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A white whale, I thought to myself—nowthat would be a strange sight. Before I couldwonder more about that white whale, Ahabordered Starbuck to gather the crewtogether.

Starbuck seemed worried. “Is somethingwrong, sir?” I understood his concern. Thatorder was given only in an emergency.

“Don’t ask questions,” Ahab growled.“Do as you’re told. And bring me a hammerand nail while you’re at it.”

When we were all gathered together ondeck, Ahab asked what we would do if wespotted a whale. To a man, the whole crewcried out the answer. “Call the signal,Captain: There she blows!”

Ahab nodded, a grim smile twisting hislips. “Yes! And what do you do next?”

“Lower the whale boats , s i r,” weanswered. “We go after the whale. Kill it.Then we tow the body back to the ship, stripthe blubber, and melt it down.”

Ahab nodded, smil ing. He seemedpleased with our answers. Why, I wondered,would he ask such simple questions? Most


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of this crew were seasoned sailors.Then Ahab reached into his pocket and

pulled out a shiny gold coin. He held it upfor every man to see. We gazed at the goldin silence.

“You’ve heard talk of a white whale,”Ahab said. He took the hammer and nailedthe gold coin to the mast. “You see this goldcoin?” he went on. “It’s a Spanish goldounce worth 16 dollars!”

The crew gasped. That was a splendidamount of money for any man!

“The first man who spots the white whalewill have this coin,” Ahab roared. Daggoostepped forward, his forehead knotted withworry. “Captain, is that white whale the onethey call Moby Dick?”

“Aye,” said the Captain excitedly. “Thebeast I seek has a wrinkled brow and acrooked jaw.”

“With many harpoons twisted into hishump?” yelled Tashtego.

Ahab nodded, his eyes glowing. “Yes!Rusted in him like old corkscrews—andsome of those harpoons are mine!”

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“Was that the whale that took your leg,Captain?” asked Starbuck.

Ahab turned on his first mate. His eyeswere wild and wicked looking. “Who toldyou that?” he bel lowed. Then, beforeStarbuck could answer, he almost sobbed.“It’s true. It’s the white monster that tookmy leg—but I’ll have him this time! I’llchase him from here to Norway if I have to.Nay, I’ll chase him across all the seven seasuntil he spouts black blood and is goneforever!” Then Ahab took a ragged breathand gazed at the men around him. “So whatsay you, mates? Will you help me give chaseto that cursed whale?”

“Aye, Captain. Aye! Aye!” the men allshouted. All but one, that is.

As the crew cheered, Starbuck stoodalone and silent, a look of horror and disguston his face.

Ahab saw the look and glared at the firstmate. “Well, Starbuck? Are you not braveenough to give chase to the white whale?”

“Courage has nothing to do with it,”muttered Starbuck. “It is madness to be so


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angry at a dumb animal. The white whaledid not strike you out of hatred, but out offear. I came to hunt whales for their oil,Captain, not to get revenge.”

Ahab’s lip curled in a sneer. He orderedus to get back to work and paid no furtherattention to Starbuck’s grumbling. We knewthat we had work to do. Our job was to killas many whales as we could, strip off theblubber, and melt it down into oil. The morebarrels we filled, the more money we’d bepaid at the end of the voyage.

In the days that followed, we sailedthrough good weather and bad. Some daysthe sea was so peaceful the ship rocked asgently as a baby’s cradle. Other days, stormsripped at the masts and tore at the rigging.

Always, the lookout stood high on themast to watch for whales. It was a dangerousplace to be. First, he had to climb therigging. If he put a foot wrong or missed ahandhold, he could easily fall to his death.

The first time Starbuck ordered me to thelookout, I began my climb willingly. Buthalfway to the top, I made the mistake of

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looking down. The deck seemed a milebelow me, and the sailors looked like tinymice scurrying about.

My head began to whirl, and I felt dizzy.Shutting my eyes, I held tightly to the ropes.Everything swayed—the ship, the mast, andthe rigging. I swallowed hard and took adeep breath. Then I opened my eyes andlooked up until the dizziness passed. I didnot look down again until I reached thelookout.

“There She Blows!” • 5

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“ThereShe Blows!”

“There she blows!” I was mending a sailone day when I heard the lookout give thecry! “Three points to starboard, mates.”

Jumping to my feet, I ran to the starboardside of the ship. In the distance I could seea towering fountain of water jutting out ofthe sea. It was blowing out of a hole on topof the whale’s head!

Starbuck was excited. “Quick, men,” heshouted. “Lower the boats!”

Queequeg and I jumped into Starbuck’sboat, I as an oarsman and Queequeg as theharpooner. Starbuck stood in the prow,urging us to row harder toward the whale.We rowed as fast as we could, chasing theblack monster through the slick greenwaves. Then all at once, we felt a chill windblast into our faces. Looking up, we saw the

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sky rapidly darkening with inky clouds.“Row, mates, row! Put your backs into

it, lads,” Starbuck roared. “There’s a stormcoming, but we’ve got time to kill a whale.”

We pulled in as close as we dared. In highexcitement, I found myself staring at asperm whale! Of all the whales in the sea,the sperm whale was the biggest. It alsoproduced the most valuable kind of oil. Thisone was perhaps 90 feet long. Its head alonemade up about a third of the creature. Therest of its body looked much like that of a fish,although it did not have scales and gills.

The whale has an eye on each side of itshead. I was surprised to see that they werenot very large. Nor were its ears big either,being nothing but small holes just behindthe eyes. The whale’s mouth is another story.The jaws are about 15 feet long. Spike-liketeeth line both top and bottom jaws.

Starbuck told us to ship the oars, meaningto pull them from the water. We did so,floating next to the great black hump thatrose out of the water.

“There, Queequeg,” Starbuck whispered.


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“Throw your harpoon, man!”Queequeg rose up in the pitching boat.

Standing with his legs wide to hold hisbalance, he raised the great harpoon. Butjust at that moment, the storm hit us withfull fury. Lightning flashed, thunder rolled,and the skies opened up, lashing us with afreezing rain. As Queequeg threw theharpoon, the great beast dove beneath thewaves and escaped.

By now, all about us was cloaked indarkness. Because we could not see thePequod, we huddled in our boat, wet, coldand growing hungry. For hours the rainpoured down and wind drove the cold rightthrough our clothes, all the way to the bone.Waiting for a break in the weather, wefloated all night in our waterlogged boat.

Then suddenly, jus t before dawn,Queequeg jumped to his feet. He turned thisway and that as if listening for something.

“What is it?” I asked. Then we all heardthe frightening sounds of wood splinteringand rope creaking.

“Look out, men,” Starbuck yelled out to

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us. “Jump! Save yourselves!”I dove overboard with the others—and

not a moment too soon! Just as I hit thewater I heard a terrible crunching sound.The Pequod had hit our whale boat. In thedarkness, the crew had not seen us—but theysoon heard our cries.

We were quickly pulled from the ocean.How grateful we all were for warm, dryclothes and a hot meal! Later, I had a wordwith Starbuck about our near miss.

“Does this kind of thing happen often?”I asked. “We lost the whale and then werenearly killed by our own ship!”

“Aye, lad,” the first mate said with a sadsmile. “Whaling is a dangerous business.The dark angel of death is always with us.”

I was disappointed that we had lost thewhale, but the next bit of excitement wassoon to come. A giant squid! It was thefollowing day when the lookout spotted thecreature. We all ran to the side of the shipto look at this odd beast.

Even now I hardly know how to describeit. It looked as if it were all head and arms.


37

I saw that the arms were lined with suckers.One of the sailors told me that squid couldhold on to things with those suckers. He saidthey had seen the marks of suckers onwhales. It boggled my mind. I tried toimagine a whale and a giant squid in battle.

Two of the creature’s ten arms were muchlonger than the other eight. One of thesailors said that a squid used those arms tograb its prey. Then it would chew the victimwith its sharp mouth. The thought made meshudder. The tentacled beast had eyes thatlooked almost human.

No doubt about it—that squid was themost fearful-looking creature I had everseen. But some of the sailors were glad tosee it. “Where there are squid, there arewhales,” they said.

Not long after that, the lookout spotted aschool of whales—hundreds of them! Againthe cry went up. “There she blows! Thereshe blows!”

Again, the boats were lowered and wewere after the whales. As our oars cutthrough the tossing waves, I realized how

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small and helpless we were in this vast,watery world. All around us the monstrousblack backs of the whales broke the surface.Now harpoon after harpoon was hurled atthe huge humps, the sharp points cuttingthrough the whales’ flesh.

Any harpoon is like a giant spear. Butsome have handles made of wood. Others,like Queequeg’s, had ivory handles. At theend of a harpoon is a knifelike metal tip. Itis always kept very sharp so it can pierceboth the whale’s tough skin and the thick


39

layer of valuable blubber right below it.The length of rope that is tied to the

harpoon is also tied to the boat. When aharpoon slices into the whale’s body, thewhale tries to escape. But no matter how farit swims, the whale is bound to the whaleboat by that rope. The real danger to sailorsis if the whale dives deeply enough to carrythe boat with it! Then there is nothing to dobut cut the rope and set the whale free.

The school of whales we were huntingtried to get away, but there were too manyof them. They got in each other’s way.Although their great, strong tails beat thewater into foam, the water gushing fromtheir blowholes blew red with blood. Soonblood stained the green water all around usas thick clots came welling up out of thewhales’ wounds. Then, one by one, the tailsand flukes went l imp and the animalsstopped moving as they died.

We towed the huge carcasses back to thePequod. Once on board, we went to work,cutting blubber from the mammoth bodies.Then the blubber was chopped into chunks

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and thrown into huge pots that hung overbig fires. When the fire melted the fat, westored the whale oil in barrels.

Finally, the rest of the carcass was cutloose for the sharks and other fish to feedon. As I watched the butchered carcassesfloat away, I felt a little sad. It seemed asorry end for such splendid animals!

Searching for Moby Dick • 6

41

Searching forMoby Dick

The Pequod’s voyage continued. Daysturned into weeks, and weeks becamemonths. Now and then we passed otherwhaling ships. Usually, a whaling shipcarries mail for other ships it might meetalong the way. The letters were months old,of course, but the men were lonely and anynews was welcome. Once, however, we triedto deliver a letter to a man who had recentlybeen killed in a whaling accident.

Our meetings with other ships shouldhave been pleasant times for our crew. Mostcaptains were glad for a chance to let theirmen catch up on news. Not Captain Ahab!Each time we came upon a ship, Ahab wouldhail it with the single question, “Have youseen a white whale?”

Most often the answer was no, but once

6

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in a while it was a loud “Aye!”When he heard that word Ahab’s eyes

would take on a gleam. “Where?” he woulddemand. “How long ago? Is the whale stillalive or did you kill it?”

Our Captain could be quite rude if he didnot get the answers he wanted. Once hefound out what he wanted to know, he wouldimmediately order Starbuck to sail off in thedirection of the white whale.

One day Starbuck discovered that a fewof the oil barrels were leaking in the hold.He told Ahab that there was an island somemiles away. We could find wood there tomend the barrels. There was only one smallproblem: Sailing to the island would takeus off course for a few days.

“No!” Ahab snapped. He was on deckwith his chart spread out in front of him.The chart showed where different types ofwhales swam, and the Captain was using itto track Moby Dick.

Starbuck gritted his teeth. “CaptainAhab, that oil is our bread and butter, so tospeak,” Starbuck argued. “The men have


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worked long and hard, and taken great risksto get it. Now you put them at risk of losingthe money they have earned.”

For a moment, Ahab was silent. We couldall see that he was trying to control hisanger. Then he nodded. “We’ll do as you say,Starbuck,” Ahab growled. “Turn the ship.Let us get the wood.”

After we had cut the wood and broughtit on board, we returned to our search forMoby Dick. Meantime, we had to fix thebarrels. That meant that someone had to godown into the hold. No one wanted to gothere. The place was cold and wet and had ahorrible smell. At last Queequeg agreed togo down. My friend found the barrels thatwere leaking and repaired them.

Unfortunately, he also caught a chill.Before long the chi l l turned to fever.Nothing seemed to help Queequeg. He layin his bunk, tossing and turning. He wouldnot eat and could take only a few sips ofwater. I watched helplessly as he grewthinner and thinner. It was as if his life forcewere burning out of him. I feared that my

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friend Queequeg was going to die.“Queequeg, you must eat,” I told him.

“You must gain back your strength. Pleaseeat something—I beg you.” I held out a bowlof hot broth for him to sip, but he turned hishead aside.

“Get carpenter,” he muttered hoarsely. “Imust talk to carpenter.”

“No,” I said crossly. Why wouldn’t thisstubborn man try to help himself? “First,you must eat.”

“Leave him be,” Starbuck said gently.“I’ve seen cases like this before. Do as hesays—get the carpenter.”

With a sinking heart, I fetched the ship’scarpenter. Queequeg asked the carpenter tobuild him a wooden coffin shaped like acanoe. “Make coffin tight,” he told thecarpenter. “No water get into canoe.”

When the carpenter agreed, Queequeg layback in his bunk and closed his eyes. Idreaded the day the last nail would go intothat coffin. It seemed certain that the lastday of my friend’s life was drawing near.

Then a strange thing happened! The very


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day the coffin was finished, Queequeg’schills and fever suddenly disappeared. Hesat up in his bunk and asked for food. I wasdelighted to see that his eyes were clear andhis voice was strong again.

“Tell me, my friend. What will you dowith your coffin now?” I asked.

Queequeg smiled. “Coffin make fine seachest,” he said. He packed some of his gearinto the coffin and nailed it shut.

Our ship was getting close to the watersnear Japan. That was where Ahab’s enemy

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Moby Dick had last been seen.Then for some strange reason, the rolling

seas became calm! Too calm, in fact. Fordays, no breath of wind moved the sails. Atdawn, the sun would rise in the east andslowly make its way across the sky. Thereit burned overhead like a great white lamp.We had no relief from its hot light. In thesun’s rays, the gold coin that Ahab hadnailed to the mast gleamed like an evil eye.

The crew didn’t like it. We tried to findwhat little shade we could, and we drank oursupply of water sparingly. We all knew whatwould happen if we ran out of fresh water.If a man tried to live on salt water, he wouldgo mad and die.

The terrible heat made it hard to sleep.Our bunks were like steam rooms. Up ondeck, the sun beat down without mercy. Nota one of us was getting much rest.

One morning a tired sailor, climbing tothe lookout post, lost his footing. We heardhis terrified scream as he fell from therigging and the terrible silence after heplunged into the water.


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“Man overboard!” shouted Daggoo, ashe threw a life preserver into the sea.

We lowered a boat while we watched forthe sailor to bob up to the surface. But hedid not. Oddly enough, the life preserverDaggoo had thrown to him sank also.

Everyone was getting more and morenervous. The sailor’s death seemed like abad omen. Had we been cursed with badluck? Even Captain Ahab seemed to feel it.He told Fedallah about a bad dream he’dhad. “I saw a big hearse come to carry meaway,” the Captain said.

Fedallah pulled a small bag from hispocket. He poured out a handful of strangeli t t le stones with odd marks on them.Kneeling down, he shook the little stonesabout, and tossed them onto the deck. Thenhe studied the stones carefully. “No, youwill not have a hearse, Captain—nor even acoffin when you die.”

Ahab’s eyes grew wide. “Does this meanI will die at sea?” he asked.

Fedallah leaned close to Ahab. “Beforeyou die, you will see two hearses. The first

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one will not be made by human hands. Thesecond one will be made of wood that growsin America.” Fedallah paused, eyeing Ahab.“I will die before you, my captain—so thatI may pilot you to the next world.”

“What are you saying, man?” Ahabhissed. “Will I kill Moby Dick or won’t I?Will I live or will I die?”

Fedallah gazed at Ahab. Then he said, “Itwill be a rope that kills you.”

Starbuck Challenges Ahab • 7

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StarbuckChallenges

Ahab

The Captain was quiet for a long whileafter Fedallah told him how he would die.Then Ahab turned to gaze into the distance.“Forty years,” he muttered. “Forty years ofmy life given to the sea.” For a moment,tears of loneliness—or was it regret?—seemed to douse the evil light in his eye.

Seeing Ahab’s face go soft, Starbuckcame forward. “Captain, please! Let’s gohome now! We have enough oil. We all missour families. Give up this mad dream ofkilling the white whale.”

Ahab immediately drew back in fury.“Give up? Never! Not until the black heartof that white whale has stopped beating.”

I sometimes look back on that day evennow. I wonder if things might have been

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different if Ahab had not said what he did. Iremembered that Fedallah hadn’t saidwhether or not Ahab would kill Moby Dick.And he had said nothing about the rest ofour voyage. But I think his remarks to Ahableft us all with a sense of doom.

We saw a change in Starbuck. He hadgrown even angrier with the Captain. Wehad more than enough oil in the barrels. Theowners would be pleased with their profit.

At the same time, we all knew thatAhab’s search for Moby Dick had nothingto do with pleasing the owners. It didn’tmatter how many barrels we had filled norhow much money the oil would bring. Thetrouble was, our lives were in Ahab’s hands.

Late one night, I found myself unable tosleep. Hoping to find a breath of cool air, Idecided to go on deck. Beneath the fullmoon, I moved to the prow of the ship togaze out on the glistening water.

Then suddenly, on the other side of theCaptain’s cabin, I heard Ahab arguing withthe first mate. They must have thoughtthemselves alone, because both of their


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voices were raised in anger.I heard Starbuck beg the Captain to give

up his foolish search for the white whale,and then I heard the Capta in mockStarbuck’s courage. Starbuck replied, quitepat ient ly I thought , but there was adangerous edge to his voice. I wonderedhow much longer he could remain calm.

Worried now, I moved forward quietly,hugging the shadows. As I edged towardthem, I saw the Captain turn his back on thefirst mate. “You may think whatever youlike about me, Starbuck. But I am still theCaptain. And as long as I am, I will givethe orders and you will obey. Do youunderstand?”

Starbuck’s lips drew back over his teethin fury. Then I saw the first mate reach intohis coat and pul l out a smal l p is to l .Moonlight glinted off the barrel.

I held my breath and my heart pounded.Surely Starbuck would not go so far as tomurder the Captain! Such madness couldonly bring about more madness. To kill theCaptain would be as mad an act as Ahab’s

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crazed search for the white whale.Starbuck seemed to pull himself together.

He stared at the gun for a moment, and thenhis shoulders seemed to droop. Just as Ahabturned to face him, he tucked the gun backinto his coat pocket.

To this day I do not know if Ahab guessedwhat Starbuck had nearly done. If so, heshowed nothing of his feelings. All theCaptain said was, “Well, Starbuck, do youunderstand? I am the Captain and I will beobeyed. Is that clear?”


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“Aye, Captain,” Starbuck said bitterly.He was about to go below decks, when

Ahab put his hand on his arm. “I’m notafraid of you, Starbuck,” he said sharply.

A sour smile twisted Starbuck’s mouth.“You have nothing to fear from me, old man.Ahab should fear Ahab,” he said, before hestrode away into the dark.

In silence, Ahab watched him go. I sawthat the Captain had a thoughtful look onhis face as he entered his cabin. As for me,I decided to return to my bunk. I hoped thatI could now find sleep and that my dreamswould not be nightmares.

The next day our calm weather turnedbad. At first there was just a band of cloudson the horizon, but the storm blew in fast.It was the worst kind of storm—a typhoon!

As the rain poured down, our ship pitchedback and for th in the rough waves .Lightning flashed overhead and thunderrolled. All hands were on deck, shifting thesails and desperately trying to keep thePequod from capsizing.

We fought the storm for hours. I don’t

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think there was a sailor among us who wasnot worn out. But finally the storm seemedto weaken. The winds and waves becameless angry.

All at once one of the sailors cried out.“Look! Look there—the masts!”

We looked toward where he was pointing.An eerie light flickered in the rigging andover the sails. It was as if the masts were onfire—but what strange flames they were!This fire burned with a cold glow thatflashed both green and white. I had neverseen anything like it before, but some of theother sailors had.

“Saint Elmo’s Fire!” Stubb cried out.“Have mercy on us. It must be a sign.”

“Who is Saint Elmo?” I exclaimed to thethird mate.

Flask seemed surprised at the question.“Why, he’s the patron saint of sailors, lad. Aye,this be a sign—but good or bad I cannot say.”

Ahab was delighted with the eerie blaze.Dancing in the sky, it lit up the whole ship.His eyes mirrored the strange green andwhite flames. “Aye, men, look upon the


55

fire!” he bellowed into the wind. “It lightsthe way to the white whale, Moby Dick.”

“Or to our death,” Tashtego muttered.Those who heard him nodded, and quicklystepped away from Ahab. It was as if theythought his madness for the whale were asickness they might catch.

Seeing their retreat, Ahab lunged for thechest that held the harpoons and flung openthe lid. Seizing a harpoon, he lifted it overhis head so that it touched the mast.

The weird fire raced down the mast andjumped onto the metal tip of the harpoon. Ihad never before seen fire burn metal! NowI shuddered at the sight, wondering whatstrange power had created it.

The sailors drew back in horror. “Evil!”cried one. “The Captain is in league with—”

Starbuck grasped Ahab’s shoulder.“Captain, we must go back. This ship isdoomed. The voyage is doomed! For thesake of God, let us turn back for home.”

Ahab pushed Starbuck away. Then heturned to the crew and lifted the glowingharpoon over his head. “Remember, men!

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All of you promised to hunt the white whale.But for those of you who are afraid—” Heran his fingers down the metal, then blewon the harpoon and put out the flames. “—Iblow out the last of our fears!”

The men were quite shocked by whatAhab had done. As the crew talked later, Icould tell that we were divided in ourthoughts. Some believed that Ahab hadcontrol of the evil force that pushed himafter Moby Dick. But others believed thatthe evil power was in control of the Captain.

I myself did not know what to think, butI was very uneasy.

The Rachel Seeks Help • 8

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The RachelSeeks Help

By the next afternoon the storm hadpassed. The black clouds had shredded intoragged pieces that were now floating in anorange sky. The sea mirrored the warm glowof the sun as it sank toward the horizon. Itseemed that the whole world was bathed ina warm light. If this were a sign, perhaps itwas a good one! I began to think that wemight be all right after all.

A few days later, we came upon anotherwhaling ship, the Rachel. As our ships drewalongside each other, Ahab hailed theRachel’s captain. “Ahoy, Captain Gardiner!Have you seen a white whale?”

“Aye, we saw the whale yesterday,”called Captain Gardiner. “We lowered ourboats and went after the beast—but it turnedand attacked us. Has your crew seen one of

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our whale boats drifting about?”Ahab waved the captain’s question aside.

“Where was the white whale?” he cried out.“Did you kill him?”

Captain Gardiner looked angry. “Youdon’t seem to understand, Ahab. The whitewhale was too much for us. Now one of myboats is lost and my own son is on it. Theboy is still a child, only 12 years old. CaptainAhab, please—I beg you—for the love of God,help me find my son!”

We were all touched by the pain andsorrow in Captain Gardiner’s voice. ButAhab only ground his teeth with impatience.“No, we haven’t the time. I must go afterthe whale,” Ahab cried out.

We were all stunned at how coldheartedAhab was in the face of the man’s grief.

“You cannot mean it, Captain Ahab,” Mr.Stubb said. “Why, it’s Captain Gardiner’sson—his boy! We must try to save him. TellCaptain Gardiner we’ll be glad to help.”

“I will not!” Ahab roared. “Forgive me,Captain Gardiner, but I cannot do it. I mustgo after Moby Dick. He’s close by now—I


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can feel it in my bones. And I’m losing timeby talking to you.”

Captain Gardiner and his crew were assurprised as we were by Ahab’s lack ofsympathy. It wasn’t natural. But what couldany of us do? Ahab was the captain. Whenhe told us to sail on, we had to obey.

From that moment on, Ahab stayed ondeck. He ate on deck and he slept standingup. He had himself lifted into the riggingso he could keep a constant lookout for thewhite whale. And all the while, Ahab’s

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harpooner Fedallah stood by, patiently andsilently waiting.

Days went by. We saw nothing. Then oneday Ahab called out to us from the lookout’spost. “There she blows off the lee side! Lookat that white hump, like an island of snowin the middle of the ocean. It is Moby Dick!”

We all rushed to gaze at the whale we’dbeen chasing around the world! Sureenough, I could clearly see the whale’s whitehump. A fountain of si lver water wasspouting from its blow hole. Ahab had beenright about one thing: Moby Dick was amonster of a whale. The creature had to betwice the size of any of the whales we’d seenso far.

“Ha!” yelled Ahab. He lowered himselfout of the rigging and limped to the mastwhere the gold coin was nailed. “I saw thewhale first, lads. The gold is mine!”

He yanked the coin from the mast andstuffed it into his pocket. I think we all felta bit disappointed. Each of us had secretlyhoped to be the first one to spot the whale.

Ahab grinned at our unhappy faces. “Did


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you not smell the whale?” he called out tous. “Did you not smell that odor of seaweedand barnacles and fish? That’s the wayMoby Dick smells—like an island. Andlook, do you see the birds?”

Sure enough, a flock of sea birds circledover that white hump. “The birds follow thebeast,” Ahab said. “Just watch for the birds,lads—they’ll show you where the whitewhale is.”

He signaled for the whale boats to belowered. Before climbing into one of them,Ahab saw Starbuck standing near the wheel.The first mate’s arms were crossed over hischest and his chin was stubbornly thrust out.

“Avast, Starbuck,” Ahab growled. “Willyou not come with us to hunt the whale? Ithought you wanted the men to have moremoney. Well, do as you wish. This monsterwhale alone will bring enough oil to makeus all rich.”

“We have enough oil now, Captain,”Starbuck snarled. “I will not hunt down thiswhale with you. The white whale is not themonster. The monster is inside you! You

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hunt it only for the sake of revenge.”Ahab’s lips curled in anger. “Then stay

here on the Pequod,” he snapped, as heeased himself into the small boat. Not oncedid he look back at Starbuck. In a momentall the boats had shoved off, leaving onlyStarbuck and a handful of sailors to man thebig ship.

As we rowed toward the whale, MobyDick suddenly dove beneath the waves. Aheavy silence then surrounded us. At theCaptain’s order, we shipped oars—waiting,watching, straining to hear. Overhead thebirds circled. Their cries sounded oddly likethe mewing of a cat.

For a few moments I closed my eyes andlistened. I heard the birds cry, the soft slapof water against the boat, and the creak ofour wooden craft rocking in the waves. Theair felt cool and moist against my cheek.

Suddenly my nostrils were filled with thestrong odor of fish and seaweed. Overheadthe birds’ cr ies grew louder. My eyessnapped open just as the whale brokethrough the surface of the water!


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The giant animal was so close to us, Icould see into its open mouth. Its huge lowerjaw was lined with sharp, white teeth. Itlooked to me as if each tooth were as longas a man’s forearm—but perhaps that wasonly my fear.

Up until now, all the whales we huntedhad tried to escape from us. But this whalewas coming at us as if he were the hunterand we were the victims!

“Jump, lads—save yourselves!” Stubbshouted from the next boat. As we dove overthe sides, Moby Dick’s enormous jawsbegan to close around us!

Ahab alone remained in the boat. Hestood in the prow, his harpoon raised as ifhe meant to ram it down the whale’s throat.But as the mammoth jaws came closertogether, one great white tooth caught in themetal ring of an oarlock.

Cursing, Ahab grabbed the tooth andtried to work it free. But suddenly MobyDick’s tooth slipped out of Ahab’s hands.The Captain was thrown into the water justas the powerful jaws crushed the small boat.

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The rest of us had already been pulledinto other boats. Now we watched helplesslyas Moby Dick beat at the water with hisgreat tail, churning it into foam. There wasno way we could get to the Captain. It wasalmost as if the crafty whale knew that Ahabwas fight ing for his l i f e . I saw Ahabstruggling to keep his head out of the water,but I feared he would not last much longer.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I sawthe Pequod sailing toward us. Threading itsway like a needle, the big ship carefullyedged between the whale and Captain Ahab,driving the big whale away.

Several of the small whale boats gavechase to the white whale, but the great beasthad escaped. I sensed, however, that this wasnot the last we would see of Moby Dick. AndI knew what would happen when the whalereturned: The final battle between theCaptain and the whale would take place.

Remembering Fedallah’s Prophecy • 9

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RememberingFedallah’sProphecy

The next day the great white whale wassighted again. Again, the three whale boatswere quickly lowered. But as we rowedtoward the whale, the beast suddenly turnedand rushed toward us!

Captain Ahab cheered wildly. “I willmeet you head on, murderous creature!” hecried out in a mad voice. Then, rising up inthe bow of his boat, he steadied himself andraised his harpoon.

Almost at once, the whale swerved,rushing at the other two boats. His mouthgaped open, and his mighty tail beat thewater. The harpooners hurled their weapons.But they might as well have tossed pins atthe creature. Because of the whale’s greatspeed, the weapons did little harm—theyonly made him angrier.

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Then Moby Dick lowered his head againand turned toward Ahab’s boat. With apowerful thrust, the beast cut through thewater, ramming the small craft. Fedallahthrust his harpoon deep into Moby Dick’shump. But the whale boat splintered—andagain the Captain and his men were throwninto the ocean. And once again the faithfulPequod came to the rescue.

When the Captain was pulled on boardthe ship, we saw that his ivory leg wasbroken. “Give me a hand, Starbuck,” theCaptain growled. “I will kill that beast yet—no matter what it takes. Even if I have tochase him around the world ten times!”

But just as Starbuck reached out to takethe Capta in’s arm, Tashtego shouted,“Where’s Fedallah?”

We looked around the deck, but Fedallahwas not on board. No one had to say anotherword; we all knew what Fedallah’s sad fatehad been.

“For the love of God, give up the chase,Captain,” Starbuck begged. “Your friendFedallah has been pulled to the bottom of the


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sea. Must we all die? Give up this madness!”Suddenly I remembered Fedal lah’s

warning. He had told Ahab that he woulddie first so that he could pilot Captain Ahabto the next world. How had Fedallah known?Or was i t jus t by chance that Ahab’sharpooner had died today? I felt sick.

Ahab pushed aside Starbuck’s arm,almost falling overboard as he did so. TheCaptain glared at his first mate. “I must goon, Starbuck,” Ahab said. “I vow thattomorrow will be Moby Dick’s last day oflife!” Then he called for the ship’s carpenterto make him a new leg.

Three days went by. On the third morningwe saw that it was to be a fair weather day.The sea was calm, the sky clear. But Ahabwas in an impatient mood. For a while hestumped back and forth across the deck. Weknew he was waiting for the lookout to callout that the whale had been spotted.

When no such signal was heard, Ahabordered the sailors to raise him up to the topof the main mast. Before long he bellowedout the signal. “There she blows! It is the

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white whale! Lower the boats.”As the whale boats were lowered into the

water, we saw dark fins circling the Pequod.Sharks! As any sailor knows, they are thevultures of the sea. Surely they were waitingfor the hunt to begin and for blood to stainthe waves.

The whale boats moved swiftly towardthe white hump, their oars cutting cleanlythrough the water. Ahab’s boat led the chase.Now that his harpooner was gone, Ahabcarried his own harpoon.

As we neared the white monster, I sawthat the whale seemed to be swimming moreslowly. He had lost a lot of blood. Perhapshe was tiring of the hunt. I prayed that todaywould see an end to the madness. LikeStarbuck, I wanted to go home.

Now Ahab rose in the prow of his boat,balancing the long harpoon. The boat floatedso close to the whale that Ahab might havebeen able to reach out and touch it. Insteadhe plunged his weapon into the whale’s side.Blood spurted from the new wound. Ithought of all the harpoons that were already


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in the whale. I thought of all the blood thepoor, dumb animal had shed and all the painit had suffered. How cruel and senseless itall seemed!

Ahab dropped back, crouching low in theboat. He watched the whale with a greedylook in his eyes. The wounded creature,crazed with pain and rage, then dove belowthe waves. As the waters closed over him,there was a horrible silence, like the calmbefore a storm.

Then suddenly the beast reappeared,erupting out of the water in full fury. Forthe first time we could see the entire lengthof the magnificent creature, from his blowhole to his tail. And we could clearly seethe tangle of ropes and twisted harpoonscaught in his thick hide.

We all drew back in horror when we sawone of the burdens the great whale carried.Fedallah was caught in the tangled line ofhis harpoon! His dead eyes gazed blindlyat us. We saw that the little fish of the seahad been nibbling at his dead white flesh.One side of his skull was exposed. One arm,

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fallen loose from the rope, swung back andforth as if he were calling us to follow himto his watery grave.

“The prophecy!” Tashtego cried out.“Fedallah said the Captain would see ahearse not made of human hands.”

“Fool! What nonsense are you spoutingnow?” Stubb shouted. He sounded angry,but frightened, too, as were we all.

“Don’t you see? A hearse carries a bodyto its grave,” Flask moaned. “Fedallah isbeing carried to his grave by a whale. And awhale is not made by human hands.”

I shuddered. So far, all that Fedallah hadforetold was coming true.

Ahab was now so close that when thewhale spouted, the water sprayed over hisface. “Aha! Moby Dick, we meet face toface this time,” Ahab shouted.

The whale turned, as if he’d heard andunderstood Ahab’s words. In that moment Isaw, in that whale’s eye, the same light Ihad seen in Captain Ahab’s eyes when hetalked about revenge.

Again the whale charged at Ahab’s boat.


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And again the Captain rose with a harpoonclutched in his fist. As the whale rammedthe boat, Ahab threw the harpoon.

Then, in a strange twist of fate, the ropefrom his harpoon caught Ahab around theneck. As the boat splintered and the menwent overboard, the Captain was pulledthrough the water behind the whale. ThenMoby Dick dove straight down, towingCaptain Ahab behind him into the depths ofthe cold green sea. I remembered Fedallah’sprophecy—that Ahab’s hearse would be arope. And so it was.

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Moby Dick’sRevenge

Fortunately, I had been thrown clear ofthe whale boat before i t sank. Now Ifollowed my shipmates as they swam towardthe ship.

Then all of a sudden Moby Dick appearedout of nowhere. He began to swim towardthe Pequod, too! His great body cut throughthe water like a white knife, his massive tailchurning. Our ship was his target!

I stopped swimming and treaded water,waiting. As I watched, the whale loweredhis great head and rammed the Pequod atfull tilt. I heard the groan and crackle ofwood splintering. Again and again the whalehit the ship, until the masts and spars brokeand fell down onto the deck. I heard thescreams of men caught under the fallingt imbers . I watched as wooden planks

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buckled and tore apart, as nails poppedloose, and the glass panes in the cabinwindows exploded.

Moby Dick seemed to be crazed. Hedidn’t stop ramming the Pequod until a greatgash opened up in the side of the ship. Waterflooded into the hold. As she took on moreand more water, the big ship began to sink.Finally, all that was left was a tangle of sparsand sails, oil barrels and wooden chests,canvas and rope, floating on the water.

Now Moby Dick began to swim aroundand around the wreckage l ike a greatcat playing with a mouse. Suddenly Iunderstood why. As he swam faster andfaster, he was summoning up every ounceof strength to create a great whirlpool.

The remains of the ship began to swirlaround and around, slowly at first, thenfaster and faster. I saw what was left of theship slide toward the center of that whirlpooland then disappear—as if down a huge drainhole. I thought of Fedallah’s prophecy abouta second hearse made of wood f romAmerica. That hearse must be the Pequod!

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Then the ship was gone. Gone, too, wereall who had been aboard her—Starbuck,Flask, Stubb, Tashtego, and Daggoo—andall the other men I’d lived and worked withfor so long. Saddest of all, I had in thatinstant lost my dear friend, Queequeg.

The great white whale floated quietly fora moment, as if examining his work. Iwondered if he was pleased with what he’ddone. But then I saw the pools of his bloodthat were staining the water. I knew thatneither Captain Ahab nor the whale had beenthe winner in this battle.

I watched as if in a trance. I saw Moby Dickdive one last time, the water closing over hisgreat white body like a green shroud.

Still treading water, I looked around tosee if at least one other crewman might stillbe alive. But the sea was silent and empty.After a few minutes I was certain that noone else had survived. Now I realized that Iwas horribly alone in the middle of the vastocean—with no boat, no food, and no water!I wondered how long I could last.

Then suddenly, I felt something bump

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against my shoulder. I gasped in fear, surethat I’d been found by the sharks. To mysurprise, it was Queequeg’s coffin! Theship’s carpenter had done a good job. It wasindeed watertight and it made a perfect lifepreserver.

I managed to pull myself onto the coffinand floated there, too weak to worry aboutwhat fate awaited me. The sun sank, thenrose again. By late afternoon of the secondday, I knew I could not last much longer.

Then, on the horizon, I saw a ship sailing

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toward me. At first I thought I must beimagining it. But as the ship came nearerI saw that it was the Rachel! Once again,they had been out searching for CaptainGardiner’s lost boy. Instead, they had foundanother orphan of the sea.

MOBYDICK

HERMAN MELVILLE

MOBYDICK

HERMAN MELVILLE

Melville’s classic tale of madness and revenge on the high seas

“So what say you, mates? Will you helpme give chase to the cursed white whalethat took my leg?”

A bored school teacher seeks adventureas a whale hunter. He has no idea that themad captain of the Pequod is interested inpursuing only one whale—the enormouswhite beast that bit off his leg! Now it’s toolate to turn back. Will Ahab’s insane questfor revenge cost the entire crew their lives?

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