Moby Dick

"What do you know about him?"

"What did they tell you about him?  Say that!"

"They didn't tell much of anything about him; only I've heard that he's
a good whale-hunter, and a good captain to his crew."

"That's true, that's true--yes, both true enough.
But you must jump when he gives an order.  Step and growl;
growl and go--that's the word with Captain Ahab.  But nothing
about that thing that happened to him off Cape Horn, long ago,
when he lay like dead for three days and nights; nothing about
that deadly skrimmage with the Spaniard afore the altar in Santa?--
heard nothing about that, eh?  Nothing about the silver calabash
he spat into?  And nothing about his losing his leg last voyage,
according to the prophecy.  Didn't ye hear a word about them
matters and something more, eh?  No, I don't think ye did;
how could ye?  Who knows it?  Not all Nantucket, I guess.
But hows'ever, mayhap, ye've heard tell about the leg,
and how he lost it; aye, ye have heard of that, I dare say.
Oh, yes, that every one knows a'most--I mean they know he's
only one leg; and that a parmacetti took the other off."

"My friend," said I, "what all this gibberish of yours
is about, I don't know, and I don't much care; for it seems
to me that you must be a little damaged in the head.
But if you are speaking of Captain Ahab, of that ship there,
the Pequod, then let me tell you, that I know all about the loss
of his leg."

"All about it, eh--sure you do? all?

"Pretty sure."

With finger pointed and eye levelled at the Pequod, the beggar-like
stranger stood a moment, as if in a troubled reverie; then starting
a little, turned and said:--"Ye've shipped, have ye?  Names down on
the papers?  Well, well, what's signed, is signed; and what's to be,
will be; and then again, perhaps it won't be, after all.  Any how,
it's all fixed and arranged a'ready; and some sailors or other must go
with him, I suppose; as well these as any other men, God pity 'em!
Morning to ye, shipmates, morning; the ineffable heavens bless ye;
I'm sorry I stopped ye."

"Look here, friend," said I, "if you have anything important to tell us,
out with it; but if you are only trying to bamboozle us, you are mistaken
in your game; that's all I have to say."

"And it's said very well, and I like to hear a chap talk up
that way; you are just the man for him--the likes of ye.
Morning to ye, shipmates, morning!  Oh! when ye get there,
tell 'em I've concluded not to make one of 'em."

"Ah, my dear fellow, you can't fool us that way--you can't fool us.
It is the easiest thing in the world for a man to look as if he had
a great secret in him."

"Morning to ye, shipmates, morning."

"Morning it is," said I. "Come along, Queequeg, let's leave this
crazy man.  But stop, tell me your name, will you?"

"Elijah."

Elijah! thought I, and we walked away, both commenting,
after each other's fashion, upon this ragged old sailor;
and agreed that he was nothing but a humbug, trying to be a bugbear.
But we had not gone perhaps above a hundred yards, when chancing
to turn a corner, and looking back as I did so, who should be seen
but Elijah following us, though at a distance.  Somehow, the sight
of him struck me so, that I said nothing to Queequeg of his
being behind, but passed on with my comrade, anxious to see
whether the stranger would turn the same corner that we did.
He did; and then it seemed to me that he was dogging us,
but with what intent I could not for the life of me imagine.
This circumstance, coupled with his ambiguous, half-hinting,
half-revealing, shrouded sort of talk, now begat in me all
kinds of vague wonderments and half-apprehensions, and all
connected with the Pequod; and Captain Ahab; and the leg
he had lost; and the Cape Horn fit; and the silver calabash;
and what Captain Peleg had said of him, when I left the ship
the day previous; and the prediction of the squaw Tistig;
and the voyage we had bound ourselves to sail; and a hundred
other shadowy things.

I was resolved to satisfy myself whether this ragged Elijah was
really dogging us or not, and with that intent crossed the way
with Queequeg, and on that side of it retraced our steps.
But Elijah passed on, without seeming to notice us.
This relieved me; and once more, and finally as it seemed to me,
I pronounced him in my heart, a humbug.



CHAPTER 20

All Astir


A day or two passed, and there was great activity aboard