At any time it is a strange sight to the tyro to see with whatwondrous habitude of unconscious skill the whaleman will maintain anerect posture in his boat, even when pitched about by the mostriotously perverse and cross-running seas. Still more strange to seehim giddily perched upon the logger head itself, under suchcircumstances. But the sight of little Flask mounted upon giganticDaggoo was yet more curious; for sustaining himself with a cool,indifferent, easy, unthought of, barbaric majesty, the noble negroto every roll of the sea harmoniously rolled his fine form. On hisbroad back, flaxen-haired Flask seemed a snow-flake. The bearer lookednobler than the rider. Though truly vivacious, tumultuous,ostentatious little Flask would now and then stamp with impatience;but not one added heave did he thereby give to the negro's lordlychest. So have I seen Passion and Vanity stamping the livingmagnanimous earth, but the earth did not alter her tides and herseasons for that.
Meanwhile Stubb, the third mate, betrayed no such far-gazingsolicitudes. The whales might have made one of their regularsoundings, not a temporary dive from mere fright; and if that were thecase, Stubb, as his wont in such cases, it seems, was resolved tosolace the languishing interval with his pipe. He withdrew it from hishatband, where he always wore it aslant like a feather. He loadedit, and rammed home the loading with his thumb-end; but hardly hadhe ignited his match across the rough sandpaper of his hand, whenTashtego, his harpooneer, whose eyes had been setting to windward liketwo fixed stars, suddenly dropped like light from his erect attitudeto his seat, crying out in a quick phrensy of hurry, "Down, downall, and give way!- there they are!"
To a landsman, no whale, nor any sign of a herring, would havebeen visible at that moment; nothing but a troubled bit of greenishwhite water, and thin scattered puffs of vapor hovering over it, andsuffusingly blowing off to leeward, like the confused scud fromwhite rolling billows. The air around suddenly vibrated and tingled,as it were, like the air over intensely heated plates of iron. Beneaththis atmospheric waving and curling, and partially beneath a thinlayer of water, also, the whales were swimming. Seen in advance of allthe other indications, the puffs of vapor they spouted, seemed theirforerunning couriers and detached flying outriders.
All four boats were now in keen pursuit of that one spot of troubledwater and air. But it bade far outstrip them; it flew on and on, amass of interblending bubbles borne down a rapid stream from thehills.
"Pull, pull, my good boys," said Starbuck, in the lowest possiblebut intensest concentrated whisper to his men; while the sharp fixedglance from his eyes darted straight ahead of the bow, almost seemedas two visible needles in two unerring binnacle compasses. He didnot say much to his crew, though, nor did his crew say anything tohim. Only the silence of the boat was at intervals startlingly piercedby one of his peculiar whispers, now harsh with command, now soft withentreaty.
How different the loud little King-Post. "Sing out and saysomething, my hearties. Roar and pull, my thunderbolts! Beach me,beach me on their black backs, boys; only do that for me, and I'llsign over to you my Martha's Vineyard plantation, boys; including wifeand children, boys. Lay me on- lay me on! O Lord, Lord! but I shall gostark, staring mad! See! see that white water!" And so shouting, hepulled his hat from his head, and stamped up and down on it; thenpicking it up, flirted it far off upon the sea; and finally fell torearing and plunging in the boat's stern like a crazed colt from theprairie.
"Look at that chap now," philosophically drawled Stubb, who, withhis unlighted short pipe, mechanically retained between his teeth,at a short distance, followed after- "He's got fits, that Flask has.
Fits? yes, give him fits- that's the very word- pitch fits into 'em.
Merrily, merrily, hearts-alive. Pudding for supper, you know;- merry'sthe word. Pull, babes- pull, sucklings- pull, all. But what thedevil are you hurrying about? Softly, softly, and steadily, my men.
Only pull, and keep pulling; nothing more. Crack all your backbones,and bite your knives in two- that's all. Take it easy- why don't yetake it easy, I say, and burst all your livers and lungs!"But what it was that inscrutable Ahab said to that tiger-yellow crewof his- these were words best omitted here; for you live under theblessed light of the evangelical land. Only the infidel sharks inthe audacious seas may give ear to such words, when, with tornadobrow, and eyes of red murder, and foam-glued lips, Ahab leaped afterhis prey.
Meanwhile, all the boats tore on. The repeated specific allusions ofFlask to "that whale," as he called the fictitious monster which hedeclared to be incessantly tantalizing his boat's bow with its tail-these allusions of his were at times so vivid and life-like, that theywould cause some one or two of his men to snatch a fearful look overhis shoulder. But this was against all rule; for the oarsmen mustput out their eyes, and ram a skewer through their necks; usagesannouncing that they must have no organs but ears; and no limbs butarms, in these critical moments.
