CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Returned to Life

Our many barrels of whale oil were by now quite a treasure. They were stored below deck in the hold. Our men had to water them down twice a week with sea water in order to protect them. This was done for two reasons. First, the water made the wooden barrels seal become tight so no oil would leak out. Second, it was possible to see from the water that was running off if there was any oil mixed with it. They were able to know if there were any holes in the barrels.

The next morning after meeting the Enderby, our sailors were pumping the water off the barrels. They discovered a lot of oil rising and mixing with the water. Starbuck rushed down to Ahab's cabin to tell him about it.

"One of the barrels in the hold is leaking, sir. We've got to take out the barrels and see where the leak is."

Ahab was studying his charts and turned around angrily at starbuck "We're too close to Japan," he yelled. "There's no time to waste trying to fix a lot of old barrels."

"But, sir," argued Starbuck, "if we don't fix that leak we'll lose more oil than we can replace in one year. We have to save it otherwise we'll lose everything we came for."

"That's true," said Ahab, "if we get what we've come for."

"I mean the oil in the hold, sir," said Starbuck calmly.

"And I don't mean that!" shouted Ahab. "Let that oil leak. Leave me alone now, Starbuck!

"But, sir, what are the owners going to say?"

"I don't care what the owners say! They can stand on Nantucket beach and scream at the storms. The only real owner of anything is its commander. And I'm the commander of the Pequod. Now go up on deck!"

"But, Captain ... " said Starbuck. He was hoping that Ahab would change his mind.

But Ahab didn't. He grabbed a loaded gun that was next to him and pointed it at Starbuck. "There is one God that is lord over this earth, and one Captain that is lord over the Pequod. Now go!"

Starbuck's eyes were flashing fire, but he managed to calm himself. He said, "You have angered me, not insulted me, so there's no need for me to warn you to beware of Starbuck. You would only laugh at that. But, sir, let Ahab beware of Ahab—you are your own worst enemy!"

After Starbuck had left, Ahab thought about what Starbuck had said. "Let Ahab beware of Ahab," he repeated to himself thoughtfully.

Finally, Ahab decided to listen to Starbuck. But it's unclear why he changed his mind. Maybe he realized the truth behind Starbuck's words or he thought it was safer to keep good feeling between himself and his chief officer. Anyway, in the end he ordered the barrels of whale oil to be raised and looked at.

This was when poor Queequeg got sick. Working in the cold and wet hold made him catch a chill and a terribly high fever. He had to stay in bed and everyday he looked like he was wasting away into nothing but his bones and his tattoos. He was on death's door.

One day, Queequeg asked a strange favor of me. He said he had seen in Nantucket dark wood canoes with lids, like those on his native islands. He knew that all whale men who died in Nantucket were placed in these dark canoes, or coffins. He liked this idea and said it was like his homeland custom of laying a dead soldier in his canoe and letting him float out into sea, away into the starry island of the sky.

Upon hearing this wish, the ship's carpenter went to Queequeg and measured his width and height very carefully. He used dark wood cut from some island trees stored on a previous trip and set to work on Queequeg's coffin-canoe.

Queequeg asked for his harpoon and had it placed in the coffin once it was finished. Then he asked for one of his boat paddles to be put in. He also asked for a flask of fresh water, a bag of earth, and a piece of sailcloth that was rolled up for a pillow. When everything was in place, he asked to be lifted from his bed into his final bed for a tryout. Just as if he was dead, he lay there with his arms crossed and with the little god Yojo on his breast. Then he sat up and told us to return him to his bed.

But Queequeg suddenly got better, even though he had made all these preparations for his death. It was as if he'd changed his mind about dying.

He started to use his coffin for a sea chest now. He emptied his bag of clothes into it. During rest time, he spent many hours carving all kinds of strange figures and drawings on the lid. Most of these were copied from the twisted tattoos on his body. One day I asked him about the tattoos. He said they had been drawn by a holy man who had figured out the mystery behind heaven and earth. Queequeg was a kind of living and walking puzzle—a mystery story.

(end of section)