Chapter 17 Starbuck.
While Ahab was in his cabin plotting his maps and waiting for his new leg to be completed, the rest of us went about our jobs.
We had to pump the whale oil into barrels.
These barrels were to be stored in the ship's cargo hold.
Starbuck was directing the men in the hold when he was called back up to the deck.
One of the men had noticed that oil was leaking into the waters around the Pequod.
This was not a good thing.
There was a leak in the barrels.
Starbuck went to the captain's office to talk to Ahab about this new problem and I followed in case there were new orders.
Sir, Starbuck said, we're leaking oil out of the hold.
We'll have to stop in Japan for repairs.
Stop, Ahab said.
Are you suggesting we stop when we just discovered the trail?
We've finally heard of a sighting of Moby Dick.
If we don't stop, sir, Starbuck said, we'll lose more oil in a day than we might gather in a year.
I'm not going to waste time with a petty thing like that, Ahab said.
We've sailed 20,000 miles for this, Starbuck tried to explain.
We're not there yet, Ahab scoffed.
I'm talking about the oil, sir, Starbuck said.
And I most certainly am not, Ahab said very sternly.
Please leave me now.
Starbuck said.
His face was getting red.
He was trying not to lose his temper.
I can't agree with your line of thinking.
I am the captain of this ship, Ahab said.
That means I am in charge.
That means I am the lord and master of the ship.
Now get back on deck and leave me to my duties.
Starbuck turned and went back up to the deck.
I followed, but not before I saw Ahab start to pace about his room.
How dare he speak to me like that?
He muttered to himself, I should punish him.
I couldn't make sure that he never gets another first-mate job again.
Ahab made his way back up to the deck.
He watched his crew working away.
Starbuck was directing us men back down into the hold.
We were going to mend the leak ourselves rather than stop for repairs.
Ahab realized that he had won the fight.
I suppose you did listen when I gave my command, he said to himself.
Ha, Starbuck, he said.
Perhaps you are too honest a fellow.
Ahab then called out to his crew.
Pull up the anchor.
Set up the sails high.
We're moving along.
Everyone did just as Ahab commanded.
The Pequod set off again in search of the white whale.
We continued our search through the casks of oil to discover the leak.
The newer ones were fine.
It had to be the older ones tucked in farther.
We dug deep and continued in our hunt.
It was dark and cold and very wet in the hold.
Unfortunately, Queequeg, my dearest friend, took ill as a result.
He got a terrible fever from working down there.
We placed him in his hammock with blankets to protect him from his chill.
He quickly wasted away.
Dark circles formed under his eyes.
He had trouble focusing on us as we tended to him.
We all thought he was reaching his end.
He called me to his side one day and asked a favor.
When he was in Nantucket, he had seen some canoes made of dark wood.
The man selling them said whalers were buried in them.
He would like to be buried in a similar canoe.
I did not want to talk about his death, but Queequeg insisted.
These are things you should know, he said.
So the carpenter set to work building Queequeg a canoe.
When it was done, Queequeg asked to see it.
Then he asked that someone get his harpoon.
He had the spear placed inside his canoe along with the paddle from his boat.
A piece of sailcloth was rolled up for a pillow.
Queequeg asked to be lifted to the canoe.
He wanted to rest inside.
Then everyone waited.
We all thought that Quickweg would die quietly in this pose.
Nothing happened.
Quickweg just lay there with his eyes closed.
So we returned him to his hammock.
And then, after all this work, Quickweg began to improve.
Within a few days he was back to normal.
He suddenly leaped to his feet, threw his arms out, and danced a quick jig.
He did not let his canoe go to waste, though.
He used it as a sea chest and kept all of his belongings inside.
It was only a day or two after Queequeg recovered that we met another ship, the Rachel.
As always, Captain Ahab pulled the Pequod alongside her.
He asked the crew if they had seen the white whale.
Yes, their captain replied.
We saw him just yesterday.
Ahab could barely contain his excitement.
He wanted to race to the deck of his ship and start the search right away.
Where was he?
Ahab stammered.
Not killed, no.
Killed, I hope.
The captain quickly told their story.
The crew of Rachel had been giving chase to a pod of whales when Moby Dick suddenly appeared before them.
The waves surrounded their boats, and Moby Dick's flapping, monstrous tail made it more difficult to stay afloat.
Then one of the boats disappeared in the commotion.
They did not know if it went down or if it was lost at sea.
We need your help, the captain of the Rachel said.
Please help us find our missing boat.
We don't want to lose our men.
Ahab did his best to avoid the topic.
He wanted to look for the white whale, not a lost boat.
He turned the Pequod away from the Rachel without saying goodbye or good luck.
That night, while most of us slept and some of us were left on duty, we heard the cry.
Thar she blows, a voice called from the masthead.
And it's Moby Dick.
Moby Dick is coming up for air.
