CHAPTER NINE The Candles
CHAPTER NINE
The Candles
Our long voyage continued and we were able to hunt many whales and fill more barrels with precious whale oil. But there still was no sign of Moby Dick.
Whenever the Pequod met another whaling ship, Ahab's question was always the same, "Have you seen the white whale?" But none of the whaling ships had seen Moby Dick.
"East!" shouted Ahab.
"We must sail East - he's there, in the Japanese sea. " We sailed East to the middle of the Japanese sea and the wind started blowing hard and the sea became rough. Black clouds appeared on the eastern horizon, and that night there was the worst storm I had ever seen. The thunder and lightning never seemed to stop. The Pequod was in the middle of a terrible typhoon and I didn't think we could survive. It rained violently and the ship was thrown in every direction.
The crew was on deck trying to hold down the whaling boats. Then it was night and the worst part of the typhoon hit us. The violent wind and rain tore the sails and broke the masts and the towering waves flooded the deck.
Suddenly I looked up at the masts and saw lights at the tips of the sails - they looked like candles.
The sailors stood close together and stared in amazement at the fire that danced in the sky.
"This is a bad omen - a very bad omen!" said Starbuck nervously. "Tell the captain to turn the ship around. " The crew agreed with him and believed that Ahab's obsession with the white whale was the cause of this. "Turn the ship around! " cried the crew angrily. "Turn it around! " Ahab finally came on deck. The violent typhoon and the fire meant something completely different to him. He was more determined than ever.
"Look at that fire in the sky!" he cried, pointing to the sky in the middle of the wild storm. "That white fire leads us to the white whale! " "No, Ahab," cried Starbuck, the rain pouring on his face, "turn the ship around or we will sail to our death!" He grabbed Ahab's arm desperately and cried, "God is against you, Ahab! This voyage is doomed. It was doomed from the start. Let's get out of here while there's still hope! " Ahab was not listening and he moved away from Starbuck. He shook his fist at the fire.
"Oh, great fire," shouted Ahab, "I burn with you! You light the way to the white whale! I am not afraid. " "Look at your boat, Ahab!" cried Starbuck, as the frightened crew stared at their captain. "The storm has almost destroyed it and your harpoon is burning! " Ahab went to get the burning harpoon and waved it among the crew like a torch.
"If any man turns this ship around I'll put this harpoon through his heart!" shouted Ahab fiercely, "Remember, you all swore to hunt the white whale with me, and we will hunt it! We are in this together and we will not turn back. No storm can stop me! No one can stop me! " "He's... mad," said Starbuck to his crew, "he's afraid of nothing and no one - not even God! " The typhoon continued most of the night, but the next morning the sea was calm again and the sky was clear. Starbuck went down to Ahab's cabin. Before entering he stood near the door and looked at the guns on the wall. He remembered when Ahab had threatened him before.
"If I take a gun and kill this madman," he thought" I could take the Pequod home and save the lives of all the men on this ship - I'll see my wife Mary and my little boy. How can I stop this madman? I know it's wrong to kill - isn't there another Way? I could make him a prisoner until the ship reaches a port. But he would be worse than a tiger in a cage. No! Only a fool would make Ahab a prisoner. Oh, God, help me! If I let him live we will all die, thousands of miles from our home. What shall I do? Great God, help me! " Starbuck stood in front of Ahab's cabin trembling and then returned to the deck. The violent typhoon had almost destroyed our ship and we were lucky that we did not lose any men. We slowly cleaned the deck, and repaired the masts and the sails. However, the Pequod was not the same ship: the typhoon had taken the life out of it.
At times like these I asked myself if old Elijah was right. Were we really doomed?
"Alright, men," said Starbuck, "let's start sailing again!" He was tired but not discouraged. He knew we had a job to do and he worked as hard as any member of the crew.
One day Starbuck called the crew, "All hands on deck! " "What's the problem?" asked Stubb.
"There's a ship approaching!" replied Starbuck.
"Hurrah!" cheered the crew happily. We had not seen another ship in a long time and we hoped to receive some news from home. We all ran to the deck.
Ahab did not like these gams because they took time away from his hunt for Moby Dick.
When the two ships were almost side by side I could see the name of the visiting ship - she was the Rachel.
Ahab asked the same thing every time there was a gam. "Have you seen the white whale?" he shouted.
The captain of the Rachel shouted back, "Yes, yesterday. " Ahab was overjoyed. Then the captain asked, "Have you seen a whale boat? " "No, I haven't," shouted Ahab. In a minute the captain of the Rachel came aboard the Pequod, and Ahab recognized him because both captains were from Nantucket.
"Where was he?" asked Ahab excitedly. "You didn't kill him, did you? Tell me! " "No," replied Gardiner, the captain of the Rachel. Ahab was relieved because he wanted the white whale all for himself.
The captain of the Rachel then looked at Ahab with a strange expression.
"Three of our fastest whaling boats went out to hunt him but he escaped and we lost some of our men. One of those men is my son - I must find him. You'll help me, won't you, Ahab? I'll pay for your time, anything you ask. But, please, Ahab, join in the search - help me find my son. Together we can find him!" Gardiner's mouth trembled and there were tears in his eyes. "My son is lost with the other men on the boat. I know he's somewhere in these seas and he's alone. I can almost hear him cry for help! Please, Ahab, help me find my lost son! " Ahab stood as cold as stone.
"I would do the same for you if your son were lost. I won't go until you say yes!" Gardiner cried.
So Ahab has a son and a wife, I thought. I could hardly believe that such a man had a family at home waiting for his return.
"Captain Gardiner, I won't do it. I have no time for such matters. The white whale is near and I must hunt him. I'm sorry about your... problem, but I can't help you. " Gardiner was very disappointed and returned to his ship.
We could not believe what we had just heard. Ahab had lost all humanity. What had he become? But none of us could say a word. The two ships went their separate ways - the Pequod to hunt the white whale and the Rachel to find Gardiner's lost son. After a few days Ahab was on deck staring at the blue, cloudless horizon while Starbuck stood next to him.
"Oh, Starbuck!" said Ahab. "It's such a beautiful day - my first day at sea forty years ago was like this. Forty years have passed, forty years of whaling! When I think of the life I've led - the hard work, the loneliness, the hunger and thirst, the hot and cold. I married my wife between voyages and have been away from my family most of the time. Starbuck, look at me. Do I look as old as I feel? " Starbuck was amazed by Ahab's words and so was I. "Oh, my Captain!" cried Starbuck, hopefully. "You have a heart, after all! I have a wife and child too. Oh, Ahab! Let's go home to our families. Let's go back to Nantucket! Turn the ship around!" Ahab looked at the sea and asked, "What is it that drives me on? Is it me? Or is it God? Is this my fate? Must I hunt the white whale?" He paused for a moment and then cried, "No, Ahab must go on! The white whale is my fate! " Starbuck had lost all hope - Ahab was a victim of his madness.
