CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The First Day's Chase

A few days later, we met another ship named the Delight. Ahab again asked the captain the same question. The captain of the Delight replied by showing us a whaleboat that was hanging. It was almost completely destroyed.

"Did you manage to kill him?" asked Ahab.

"There's nothing and no one yet that can kill him," said the captain of the Delight.

"Look what I have here!" yelled Ahab and he held up his new harpoon.

"God be with you," cried the captain of the Delight. "That cursed White Whale has already killed five of my good men! This ocean is their grave!"

Fearing that only the worst could happen, Starbuck again begged Ahab to turn back. "We have the whale oil we need. Let our men return safely back to their wives and their children."

Starbuck's words seemed to make Ahab soften. He started to speak with feeling about his own wife and son. "My boy is probably waking now, sitting up in bed. And his mother will be telling him about how I am at sea and how I will return again to play with him." Ahab stopped and something changed on his face. He said, "There is a monster inside of me that is making me do this! No, Starbuck, I will never rest until I have killed the evil Moby Dick!"

The next morning, Ahab smelled the sea air and said, "A whale is near."

Soon everyone could smell the strange smell that a sperm whale has, and the old man quickly changed the ship's course to follow it.

"I will make the first sighting myself!" cried Ahab. "And I will have the gold coin for sighting the whale first. Ahab alone!" He pointed to the gold coin he'd nailed to the main mast so long ago.

Ahab raised himself up the main mast for a full look at the sea. He was about two-thirds of the way up when we heard him shout, "There she blows—there she blows! A hump like a snow hill! It is Moby Dick!"

The men on deck were excited to have a quick look at the famous whale they had been chasing for so long. Moby Dick was about a mile or so ahead and we could all see his tall but silent spouts.

"Was I the first to see him?" cried Ahab to all the men standing around on the ropes.

"I did, almost that same moment as you," said Tashtego, "and I cried out."

"Not the same instant, though," cried Ahab. "No, the coin is mine. Heaven has saved it for me—for me alone! Only I could make Moby Dick appear!"

Ahab started to climb down and began shouting orders in excitement. "Stand by, stand by! Get the boats ready! Quicker! Quicker!" And he lowered himself onto the deck.

Soon all the boats but Starbuck's were lowered into the ocean. Ahab was close enough to see the lines on the White Whale's head. The broken pole of a whaler's harpoon was still in Moby Dick's back. From here, the whale seemed so calm and peaceful, but this was only because his terrible jaws were hidden under the water. Suddenly, the whale lifted up his body and made a high white arch. Then he waved his tail like he was warning us. After this he quickly sank below the surface of the ocean.

The three boats waited in the stillness for the return of Moby Dick. Ahab looked hard with concentration over the side of his boat into the deep sea. He saw a white form rising quickly. Soon it turned into two long rows of white teeth. It was the jaws of Moby Dick, opening beneath Ahab's boat!

Ahab, with one huge sweep of his steering oar, moved the boat away from the jaws of the whale. Then Moby Dick came up above the surface of the water again and was facing Ahab's boat. But with evil cleverness, Moby Dick went under again and hit the boat with his head.

His long narrow jaw opened. He bit into the front of the boat with his mouth and one of his teeth became stuck in the lock for an oar. Ahab's head was six inches from Moby Dick's mouth when the whale began to shake the boat gently, like a cat will do with a mouse in its mouth.

Except for Fedallah, the rest of the crew ran and fell over each other to reach the back of the boat. Fedallah just sat there with his arms crossed.

Ahab was crazy with anger. He grabbed at the mouth of the whale with his bare hands and tried to pull it apart. But this had no effect and Moby Dick, as if making fun of Ahab's efforts, bit the boat completely in two!

The men had no choice but to jump into the water. Meanwhile Moby Dick angrily circled the area, mixing and turning up the water. It looked like he was making himself ready for another deadly attack.

The other boats were unharmed. They came nearby the destroyed boat, but they still did not dare to go near Ahab or the other crew members for fear of another attack by the whale.

Luckily, the Pequod came between the whale and the swimming men. As Moby Dick swam away, the other boats flew to rescue Ahab and the men.

Ahab was dragged into Stubb's boat. Even though he was soaking wet, he jumped to his feet and shouted, "Get your hands off me! Set the sail! Put the men behind the oars! We're going after that whale!"

But Stubb's boat could not match the speed of the whale, even with the added men behind the oars. Moby Dick sped away into the ocean.

Finally everyone was back on board the Pequod. Ahab spoke again of the coin. "That gold is mine," he said. "I earned it today. But it's going to stay there until the White Whale is dead. If any of you first sights the whale on the day he is killed, then the coin is yours. And if on that day I should again be the one to sight Moby Dick, then ten times that sum shall be divided among all of you!"

After saying this, Ahab took his position on deck with his leg in the deck's hole. He stood there until dawn, sleeping and awakening himself from the most horrible dreams.

This was the first day of hunting Moby Dick.

(end of section)