Chapter 139 134．fight white devil again

We discovered Moby Dick at dawn yesterday, and now another dawn has arrived. This dawn is the same as yesterday's, except that we're missing Moby Dick now. But everyone knew that we and Moby Dick would definitely meet again. Otherwise this story will not end. And a story, whether it is a comedy or a tragedy, should have its end. Except for Captain Ahab and the watchman, all the people were tired and slept soundly all night. In the twilight of dawn, Captain Ahab poked his head out of his cabin and looked at the vast sea. "Anyone got that coin?" he called to the mast.

In fact, his question was purely superfluous. If they had found that guy, there would have been chaos on the ship, and they would have called him up long ago, so there was no need for him to ask. "Nothing found, sir." "Looks like the ghost swims faster than I thought," murmured Captain Ahab. But then he shouted again: "Wake everyone up. They have had a good night's sleep. They must have recovered enough. Now we should speed up. I think we will catch up with that guy soon." So the whole ship boiled again in a short while. In the whaling business, it is not uncommon for a large whale to be hunted day and night as it is now.

But the prerequisite is that the whale must be very important, and Moby Dick certainly qualifies. Hunting regardless of day and night requires the courage and skill of the whalers the most, and fledgling whalers will never be able to do it.And it was precisely this that gave the Nantucketers an excellent opportunity to display their whaling genius. Speaking of the Nantucketers, it is really admirable. Their minds are simply designed for whaling.On the first day, before night fell, they had only to make a brief observation of the whale they were pursuing, and they could say with certainty:

"Okay, we're going to bed, we'll wait for it somewhere tomorrow, and we'll get on with it then." And the next day, as soon as the sky was light, they could find their target without much effort to the left or right of their own ship. This is simply a miracle, let alone a layman, even an insider except the Nantucketers are often amazed. The Nantucketers are like good pilots, who know all the seas and all the great whales of the world. They only need to take a look at the big whale before dark, and they can know where the guy is swimming, how fast it is swimming, without resting in the middle, and where it will appear tomorrow morning.

After that, they will adjust their boats according to their own speculations, so that their boats will always follow behind it as if being pulled by the whale. Of course, this miraculous skill comes not only from genius, but more importantly, from experience, from the experience gained from risking his life between the sea and giant whales. Now, the "Pequode" that rested overnight is looking for the prey it lost yesterday. The big ship plowed a deep furrow in the sea and rushed forward like crazy, like a child full of energy. After yesterday's first confrontation with Moby Dick, and especially the distress of Captain Ahab and his boat, the vague fears and apprehensions of the omens of fate began to subside visibly.

Captain Ahab inspired and influenced them all by his own living struggle with Moby Dick, imbuing all the timid with awe and pride, and they were deeply infected by Captain Ahab's spirit. So everyone's blood began to boil, as if a jar of old wine had relapsed. This time, Captain Ahab was no longer needed to lead them, almost forcing them to swear. Going forward bravely, selfless and fearless, unswerving, and going through fire and water, this is the common spirit of the "Pequode" now. It was driven by this common spirit that the big ship flew forward as if being carried by a strong tailwind.

"Great, this is great!" Stubb howled loudly. "This feeling rises from the soles of my feet to my heart. It's great. I feel like this big boat and I are two speeding giants. No one can stop us." "Even if someone throws me into the sea, my spine can turn into a keel and drive me towards the evil one." In fact, Stubb was not just talking about his own feelings, but everyone on the Pequod now thought so. In this sense, thirty people have become one person, that is, Captain Ahab whose strength has been increased a hundred times. And this boat, no matter how many kinds of things it is made of, is now solidified into a whole, an unbreakable whole.

Everything became Captain Ahab. Almost all of them climbed on high places, staring at the sea. "There it is! There it is! It spouts! It spouts!" cried Masthead at last. "Where?" "In front of." "Well, you white ghost, you wait, Ahab's going to drink your blood, and you've got a cramp!" said Stubb viciously. A few more minutes passed. "Hey, why doesn't the top bark anymore, can't you just throw it away again?" Captain Ahab asked with his back. "It drilled." "How can it be? It won't disappear after a spray of water. Let me get up there," said Captain Ahab.

When Captain Ahab was at the top of the mast, Moby Dick jumped out of the water again. Thirty people cheered together, and the cheers almost frightened Moby Dick. Because it can be heard so clearly, it is less than one nautical mile directly ahead, much closer than everyone imagined. This time, Moby Dick was no longer leisurely and arrogant. He jumped up and went up from the bottom of the sea with all his strength. Its huge body soared in the air, and when it fell, it was already seven sea miles away. Just when it jumped up, the water mist it sprayed was like a glacier glacier, shining brightly in the sun, making people dare not look directly at it.

"It's jumping, it's jumping!" cried the sailors. "It is challenging us." Captain Ahab said quietly. "Dance, Moby Dick, my enemy, you clever fellow. You must have known that your own death was at hand." "We've got the javelin in our hands, so jump, this is your last freedom, let's vent, this is your last time, you must have understood." "Okay, guys, get ready, we're going to fight." Captain Ahab called. At this time, the sailors were already excited, and no one paid any attention to those troublesome Soti. They slipped down the rigging.

Although Captain Ahab did not come down like this, he was at the forefront. "Lay down the boat and set off!" Captain Ahab gave an order, and stepped into the spare boat that he had only equipped yesterday afternoon. "Starbuck, keep an eye on the big ship, stay with us, and don't lose contact." Captain Ahab told his first mate. Moby Dick watched Captain Ahab approaching them, turned around and swam towards them. It's very simple, this time it wants to pre-empt the strike, and give Captain Ahab some fast and hard. "Hit it on the forehead first, that's its vital point, and you can avoid its oblique attack." Captain Ahab taught the strategy. However, before he got close, Moby Dick was already writhing. He opened his mouth wide, flashed his huge tail, and rushed towards him with a murderous look. It looked like he wanted to swallow the three boats together. This time, the sailors were not as nervous as yesterday, and the javeliners threw their javelins one after another. Several javelins hit Moby Dick. However, Moby Dick didn't seem to care about the incoming javelin at this time, and still rushed towards them. Fortunately, the sailors became much calmer, skillfully maneuvered their boats, and deftly avoided the impact of Moby Dick. Captain Ahab kept shouting and directing everyone, and his voice was the only one on the sea. Moby Dick struck again and again, turned, struck, turned again, but the plot never succeeded. Only, he made a mess of the three ropes that made him fast, and drew the boat almost to him. The sea was in disarray, all the ropes were tangled, hooks and points were floating on the surface, and every danger to the whale became a common danger to all. The small boats are constantly in danger, one after another. Captain Ahab had hardly escaped the danger of his own boat when Moby Dick pulled Stubb's and Flask's boat into its tail, and crashed into each other on the sea like two giant corn cobs. bump away. Then Moby Dick dived, leaving the two skiffs spinning on the crest of the waves. For a moment there was confusion in both Stubb's and Flask's boats, each saving another's life, each thinking of his own. Captain Ahab's rope had long been broken, and now he was wandering about on the water, saving whomever he met. Just when only one of Captain Ahab's ships was left intact, Moby Dick emerged from the bottom of the sea.With an upward jerk of its broad forehead, it slammed Captain Ahab's skiff into the air. The boat turned over several times in the air, and finally the side of the boat fell down and was buckled on the sea. Captain Ahab and his sailors came out from under the boat like seals coming out of their holes. Everyone, including Captain Ahab, was still in shock. In this way, their three small boats were completely wiped out. Looking at all this, Moby Dick seemed to be quite satisfied. It stayed for a while leisurely, and did not embarrass the drowning person anymore. Instead, it dragged a long string of ropes and swam leisurely downwind. At this time, as in the previous day, Starbuck's watchmen came again to rescue them. The big ship put down a small boat, picked up the sailors and barrel javelins and other things that fell on the water, and brought the small boat full of people and things back to the big ship. The big ship that had been quiet for a long time became lively. Now the ship's deck was full of wounded sailors here and there, and a great mass of whaling gear. Fortunately, no one has been seriously injured. This is fortunate for them who fought against Moby Dick. Although Captain Ahab was still sad, he was not as exhausted as yesterday.However, his teeth and legs were broken, leaving only a short piece. Starbuck first went to help Captain Ahab, and Captain Ahab leaned on Starbuck. "It's very comfortable, let me lean a little longer, no matter who I lean on," said Captain Ahab. "And what about your leg? You see, sir, the hoop is no longer fit," said the carpenter. "But the bones are all right?" Stubb asked with concern. "Hmph, didn't you see everything? They were all smashed to pieces, but don't worry, I won't take it to heart at all. I will let you know: what kind of a man I am, Ahab!" After that, Captain Ahab raised his head to the mast and asked, "Where has that guy gone now?" "It's stalled downwind, sir." "Well, now put down all the spare boats, Mr. Starbuck, and gather the sailors on board." "Let me help you to the bulwark first." Starbuck wanted to change the subject of Captain Ahab. "Leave me alone, I asked you to greet the sailors, but didn't ask you to serve me, you coward, why would you let me be the first mate." "captain?" "Stop talking, caller." Captain Ahab watched the sailors arrive one by one. Suddenly, Captain Ahab was startled: "What? Fedala is missing?" He looked again, still nothing. "God bless, how did he disappear?" Captain Ahab quickly called everyone together and asked about the whereabouts of Fedala, but no one knew. "Look quickly, search the whole ship, there will be none." Captain Ahab was a little anxious. However, everyone searched all over the ship, and there was really no one. "He got caught on your rope and was dragged down," said Stubb. "nonsense!" "It's true, Captain, I swear to God I saw it with my own eyes," said Stubb earnestly. "How could it be? How could it be my rope that killed him?" "Unfortunate man, you haven't seen us catch and kill the white whale! You're gone, and you'll never see it again." While Captain Ahab mourned Fedala, Starbuck cried out: "Give up, old man, look, think about it, you can't catch that white whale at all." "That's a monster, and we have no magic power. Look, we've already smashed two boats, lost a man, and your leg is gone. If this continues, we will definitely be wiped out, that guy It won't stop until it drags us to hell!" "Shut up! Starbucks, don't distract the army. It's only natural to capture Moby Dick. It was entrusted to us by God long ago. I followed the arrangement of fate to handle this matter." "As my subordinate, you only have to obey orders, there is no need to say anything else." Captain Ahab's purpose was like a sword, and Starbuck was speechless. "Everyone come to me." Captain Ahab greeted everyone. The crowd gathered around Captain Ahab. "The white ghost is not far ahead. It is exhausted like us. It depends on who can hold on to the last breath. Whoever holds on will win." "That guy is panting now, and it will come up again tomorrow, but that is the last breath, the last spray of water, I, Ahab, must watch that guy die, I have the courage, how about you?" "We are like you, like the fearless Vulcan!" Stubb took the lead in shouting, and the crowd echoed. This scene made Captain Ahab really excited. The crowd dispersed, and dusk fell. Moby Dick is still at a disadvantage. Everything is similar to last night. The carpenter was working on the legs of Captain Ahab's teeth. Captain Ahab stood in his little hatch. "It's just that Fedala is gone," he thought. "Is the evil omen really going to be fulfilled?" "If that's the case, I can still see Fedala, before I die, and at that time, any mystery can be solved." Captain Ahab closed his eyes and faced the east, looking forward, looking forward to tomorrow.