Chapter 14 Gabriel One day we caught sight of a ship.
As we approached it, Captain Ahab signaled to the crew.
It was a common practice among sailors to stop and greet one another.
It was one of the ways that news and mail were passed during long voyages.
This ship, however, did not come any closer to ours.
Ahab demanded that the Pequod move in closer until we were a couple of dozen feet away.
From that distance, Captain Ahab could talk easily with the men on the other ship.
Their captain, called Captain Mayhew, walked to the rails.
We were told that many people on board his ship were very sick.
They did not want to spread any germs.
Therefore, they did not want us to get too close.
I just want to know, Ahab called.
He was shouting across to the other ship.
Have you come across the white whale?
Ah, said Captain Mayhew.
Moby Dick, we know him well.
Captain Mayhew then started telling his long tale.
We had just shipped out of Nantucket when we found the wreck of another ship, he said.
It had been attacked by Moby Dick.
There was very little of it left.
Ahab was excited by this news.
He was not upset to hear that men might have been heard or killed during the attack.
He was just happy to hear a report of the white whale.
One of the men on my crew, Captain Mayhew continued, started to warn us about this great danger.
Gabriel said we should stay away from the white whale.
If we should see him, Gabriel said, we should sail the other way.
And did you listen?
Captain Ahab asked.
Captain Mayhew shook his head.
It was years later when we did find him, he said.
He was spotted from the masthead and we went straight for him.
How could we resist?
Everyone knows about Moby Dick.
Everyone wants to be part of the crew that brings him in.
But the whale won, Captain Ahab said.
Didn't he?
This time Captain Mayhew nodded.
We got into our boats and took chase, but the whale rammed one of our boats.
One of our oarsmen was thrown.
He landed 40 feet away in the deep ocean.
We never saw him again.
And that was the last you saw of the white whale, Ahab said.
Once again, he showed little concern for the man killed.
All my men believed Gabriel.
They think he was right all along, Captain Mayhew added.
We should never have looked for the white whale.
We all wondered what Captain Ahab would do with this news.
This was a frightening story.
We knew it would be dangerous trying to capture Moby Dick.
This story reminded us that one or more of us might face the same end as the man lost to the sea.
Why do you ask these questions?
Captain Mayhew asked.
Are you still seeking the white whale?
Ahab nodded.
Aye, he said.
Just then, a man with red hair and his tattered waistcoat ran toward the rail of Captain Mayhew's ship.
"'No!' he shouted across the water to Ahab.
"'You must stay away from the whale!
He means doom to any man!'
Gabriel, Captain Mayhew said, it is not your place to speak.
You cannot talk to a ship's captain with that tone.
But he needs to know, Gabriel shouted.
Hunting the white whale will mean the end to him and all his crew.
Ahab ignored these shouts.
He would not even look at Gabriel.
He did not have time for a madman. in Mayhew, Ahab said.
I believe we have a letter for one of your crew.
Ahab sent Starbuck down into the hold to check the mail bag.
It was common for whaling ships to carry mail with them in case they ran into other ships.
It was one of the only ways letters arrived over such long distances.
When Starbuck returned with the letter, Ahab read the name to Mayhew.
It's for a hairy Macy.
Oh, Mayhew said with a sigh.
That's our man who was thrown from the boat.
I'm sorry to hear that, Ahab said.
We'll take it anyway, Mayhew said.
It seems like the right thing to do.
No, Gabriel shouted.
You should keep the letter.
If you're seeking the white whale, then you'll soon be with Macy.
You can give it to him yourself when you see him.
Starbuck tried to pass the letter over to Mayhew using a long pole.
Gabriel grabbed the pole and pushed it back.
The letter fell back into the Pequod and landed at Ahab's feet.
Ahab was about to respond when the other ship turned suddenly.
It picked up speed and was well on its way.
Gabriel had ordered the oarsmen to leave right away.
Then, without confirming these orders with their captain, the crew left.
All of us on the Pequod were shocked to see this behavior.
Only a captain could give such orders.
It appeared that Captain Mayhew did not demand the respect he deserved.
Perhaps he, too, believed that Gabriel had special powers.
Perhaps the crew members all believed that following Gabriel and his orders meant they would never have to see the white whale again.
