Chapter 133 128．The Miserable Raj and the Hard-hearted Ahab

While the Pequod was moving forward in solitude, they encountered a ship called the Raj. This happened the day after the carpenter had to use Queequeg's coffin as a buoy for the ship. While the Pequod was charging forward at Captain Ahab's orders, the Raj was coming straight for them. The Raj was then to windward, and all her sails were billowing like wings. When the "Raj" approached quickly, its sails all shrank, and it huddled together listlessly, like a balloon that was originally full and deflated. However, the sailors of the "Pequode" immediately discovered a strange phenomenon from them:

The sailors of the "Raj" are all climbing on all the high places that can be climbed like monkeys. The whole "Raj" is like a big cherry tree full of monkeys, which is amazing. Taking a closer look, all the people on the "Raj" have a gray mist on their faces, and their spirits are the same as their deflated sails. "My God, I'm sure something happened to them," murmured the old Long Island sailor. The speedboat was quickly lowered from the "Raj". The speedboat carried their captain and drove over at the fastest speed. The captain of the Raj put his horn to his ear, rose from his boat, and prepared to speak to Captain Ahab.

Before he could speak, Captain Ahab’s voice came over: "Hey, friend, have you ever seen a white whale?" "I saw it, just yesterday." The captain of the Raj replied. Then he asked back: "But, did you see a lost boat? You know, we've lost hands." "No, why? Did you beat that white ghost to death?" Captain Ahab was still concerned about the white whale. "Hey, don't mention it, let's go up and talk about it." The captain was very depressed. "Did you kill him?" Captain Ahab insisted on finding out. "We didn't kill him, but he lost us in the skiff."

The captain obviously felt that he had made a bad deal. Hearing the captain say that they didn't kill Moby Dick, Captain Ahab was very happy. He didn't feel uneasy about the other party's disaster at all, because his heart now has nothing else to do. If the captain had told Captain Ahab that they had killed the white whale, then Captain Ahab would have yelled at them and even punched them. In his opinion, the white whale was already his private property, and no one could possess it. Besides, he felt that he was the only one who had the right to take on Moby Dick. The captain of the Raj boarded Captain Ahab's ship.

Ahab recognized at once that it was a friend of his acquaintance, also from Nantucket. Since we are friends, there are no pleasantries. Soon, Captain Ahab knew what had happened to the Raj. On the evening of the previous day, the "Raj" had pursued a pod of whales, launching three skiffs at the same time. While they were chasing desperately, Moby Dick's head and back suddenly emerged from the sea, not far downwind. The famous Moby Dick is attractive to many people. So the fourth boat, the spare one, was let down in pursuit of Moby Dick. This is the best and fastest boat in the whole ship. After being ordered, it rushed out after a burst of rowing.

Not long after, word came from the masthead that they seemed to have Moby Dick on a leash. The whole ship was excited, you know, the sacking of Moby Dick is the highest honor in the whaling industry. The fourth skiff was dragged by Moby Dick, farther and farther away, gradually shrinking to a small point. Later, I saw white waves flashing on the sea, and there was nothing. Although they were a little uneasy, they didn't worry too much at first, because this kind of thing happened often, not to mention that it was Moby Dick who was chained now, so of course it would take more effort.

But things are getting worse. The fourth boat did not show up until dark. When the "Raj" put away the three boats and went to leeward to find the fourth boat, there was no shadow of it. They lit a great fire in the cauldron, and sent all the sailors up on high to look out. But the night passed without the slightest gain. Immediately after his story had been told, the captain of the "Raj" asked Captain Ahab to help him find his fourth boat. His proposition was that the two ships were in a row, separated by four or five nautical miles, and sailed side by side, and he himself stayed on the "Pequode".

"But, old friend, do you need to be in such a hurry? Isn't it just a small boat?" Captain Ahab was very surprised. This is the most common thing in the whaling industry. compared to whales. "But there is my son in that boat!" The captain of the Raj yelled at Captain Ahab. "I beg you, Captain Ahab, for God's sake and for the sake of your countrymen, save my son. You know, you are old too, and you know how important a son is to people like us." But Captain Ahab showed no enthusiasm for his request. Captain Ahab's attitude took the captain by surprise.

"Then, please rent the boat to me. I only need forty-eight hours. I will rent the boat for any price. Please promise me that this is what you should do, Captain Ahab." "My God, there is his son on it, otherwise he would be in such a hurry, I think we should help him." cried Stubb. "But it's useless. He sank last night. The cries we heard were from their souls. There must be nothing wrong with that." said the old sailor from Long Island. However, no matter how the captain begged Captain Ahab, Captain Ahab remained unmoved. His face was cold, which made people a little scared.

Life is at stake, but the behavior of Captain Ahab is really puzzling, not to mention that the other party is his acquainted friend and fellow countryman. "Unless you promise me, I won't leave. Please put yourself in my shoes and think about it." The captain had nothing to do with Captain Ahab's ruthlessness, so he had no choice but to show that he would not give up until he achieved his goal. Captain Ahab just wouldn't give orders. "Quick, boys, please get started, your captain has no objection." The captain felt that Captain Ahab would not refuse no matter what, so he said to the left and right crew members.

But everyone really didn't know Captain Ahab's true thoughts. All looked at Captain Ahab. In their eyes, they were clearly pleading for the old captain, full of sympathy. But Captain Ahab's answer surprised them all. "No one is allowed to move, we won't do this!" "We have more important things to do. Everyone knows that he has cost us a lot of time. It is not worth it for us. Now, we must go." Captain Ahab said firmly. The captain was shocked by Captain Ahab's words, and stayed there, bewildered. He felt Captain Ahab's strangeness and his heart of stone. "Starbuck, we set sail in three minutes, please persuade the guests to leave." After Captain Ahab finished speaking, he went straight to his cabin and left the stupid captain on the deck. The captain came to himself with a jerk, almost on the verge of tears. He turned around hastily, took a few steps to the bulwark, and rolled back to his boat. His skiff turned quickly. The Pequod set sail again. Except for Captain Ahab, everyone felt that what they did was very dishonest. Maybe Captain Ahab himself thought the same way, but, for the sake of the highest purpose, he couldn't care less. The "Raj" was getting farther and farther away in the vast sea. It seemed that if his son could not be found, the captain would not give up. It was later learned that another son of the captain of the "Raj" had also been lost with the ship, and that son was only twelve years old. Poor "Raj!"