Chapter 20 The End On the third day, we finally had another chance to capture the whale.
Ahab insisted he could take charge of a boat.
Despite his missing leg, he would not let anything slow him down.
As the boat was about to be lowered, Ahab called to Starbuck.
Many men don't survive battles like this, he said.
Yes, sir, Starbuck said that is very true.
Starbuck, he said, I, I'm an old man.
Shake hands with me, man.
Starbuck took his captain's hand and gave it a tight squeeze.
Oh, my captain, he said.
Please reconsider this.
Stay here on board the Pequod with us.
Ahab let go of his first mate's hand.
He ordered that the boat be lowered.
Starbuck then noticed another danger.
Sharks, he called.
Come back, sir.
There are sharks approaching.
Ahab heard nothing.
He was already rowing away and calling orders to the men.
He was trying to get his boat close to the white whale.
There was a cry from above.
The man sitting in the masthead was shouting to Ahab.
The whale was rising in the water beneath them.
Ahab moved his boat, hoping that he would place them in the best position to strike with harpoons.
Moby Dick shot out of the water and crashed back into the sea.
His body was covered with lances and harpoons, old and new.
Ropes trailed after him.
The waves from Moby Dick's crashing body rocked all of the boats, but everyone stayed upright.
Starbuck watched all these events unfold.
Oh, Captain, he said to himself.
If only you would get up this terrible mission.
Why can't you realize that the whale does not care about you?
He is not chasing you.
Only you are chasing him.
Ahab continued on.
The three harpooners, including Queequeg, took up positions in the mastheads.
Other men took up posts near the railing.
The captain was at long last able to get close to the whale.
He shot his harpoon and it landed solidly in the great creature's chest.
The whale rolled over several times, trying to remove himself from Ahab's harpoon and rope.
As he rolled over, he almost took Ahab and his boat with him.
Ahab's men used their oars to quickly move the boat to a safer spot.
They had to dark back and forth a few times until they were out of harm's way.
The white whale swam off and waited for them.
He rested only a short distance away.
All of the men on the Pequod could see what was going to happen next.
The men in the mastheads tried to warn Ahab, but he could see or hear nothing except the whale in front of him.
The whale dashed forward again.
He swam at a great speed.
The captain made another great shot and pierced the beast with another harpoon.
Ahab glanced to the Pequod.
Starbuck was leaning over the rail.
The first mate looked very concerned.
Other crew members were preparing to drag the great whale back to their ship.
Everyone looked tired and Drained of energy, their bodies were moving, but their eyes seemed asleep.
Even the great whale seemed to be slowing.
Perhaps the three-day chase was finally wearing him down.
Only the surrounding sharks seemed energized.
I wonder, the captain said to himself, I wonder if the sharks are waiting for the whale or for me.
And then, without another thought, Ahab sank another spear into the whale.
Moby Dick groaned and rolled on his side.
As he turned, he swept against Ahab's boat and almost turned it over.
The captain was able to grab hold of a beam and not fall in the water.
Three of his men were not so lucky.
They were tossed overboard but managed to stay afloat.
Ahab's boat was nearly destroyed.
He had lost some of his men.
Ropes and harpoons were scattered on the boat's floor.
The Pequod was coming closer and closer to help.
The rest of the crew intended to pick up the men who fell overboard and help Ahab back onto the ship.
Moby Dick turned toward the large ship.
He raised his head slightly above the water as though he was noticing the ship for the first time.
Perhaps he decided that the Pequod was the cause of all his troubles.
He paused for a moment, then charged toward her.
Ahab and his men saw the whale take off toward their ship.
They tried to do anything to prevent a disaster.
They rowed as fast as they could.
They shouted to the men on board, but it was useless.
The white whale rammed against the ship with all his might.
The quake knocked everyone on board to the deck.
They picked themselves up right away and tried to make it to the rail.
They needed to be ready to cast a rope or harpoon if necessary.
Moby Dick smashed against the ship again and knocked them all down once more.
They got to the rail and readied their harpoons and lances.
They waited, weapons poised, for the whale to reveal himself.
He was under the ship.
He rammed his head against the bottom of the Pequod.
All the men heard a great crack as the bottom of the ship came apart.
Moby Dick had wrecked the Pequod.
The ship was sinking.
While Moby Dick smashed his body against the ship, Ahab took aim one more time and shot.
The harpoon pierced the whale's flesh, and Moby Dick let out a terrible moan.
The whale rose up from the water, his head rising high above the sinking masthead.
He crashed back into the water and went under.
The rope attached to the last harpoon followed after the whale.
Ahab did not seem to realize that the rope was tangled.
It spun wildly out of the boat after the harpoon and wrapped itself around Ahab's neck.
Even before the captain could call out, he was yanked from the boat and dragged down after the whale.
At first, the crew remaining in his boat stood still.
Everyone was stunned.
When they turned back to look at the Pequod, they faced an even bigger surprise.
Nothing was left of the ship except the top part of her mast.
They watched as she continued to tip, then sink under the waves forever.
Then, in the swirling waters created by the sinking Pequod Ahab's whale boat, the last boat was pulled down too.
It followed the Pequod into the doomed waters.
You might ask where I was during all of this.
I was with Ahab in his boat.
I watched from a distance of a few feet as he was dragged down with the whales.
I was the only survivor of the Pequot.
Everyone else went down with the ship or the last whale boat.
I am the only one left to tell this tale of Captain Ahab and Moby Dick.
As the whale boat was pulled under by the force of the sinking Pequod, several of us tried to swim away.
I was the only one to make it to a safe distance.
There was nothing left, and I had no more chances.
I assumed that I would soon drown too, or that the sharks would soon find me.
Then I saw a wooden box shoot out from the water.
It landed quietly, then floated toward me.
It was Queequeg's coffin.
I climbed inside and floated for three days.
Eventually I was picked up.
It was the crew of the Rachel that found me.
They were still out looking for their lost whale boat and the missing men.
I thought it was peculiar that the Rachel was out looking for her lost children, but all they found was me yet another orphan.
