After dismissing the landlady, Ishmael tries to coax Queequeg into a chair or bed, but the savage remains fixed in his uncomfortable posture. Ishmael finally retires, throwing a bearskin over his friend, but spends a sleepless night filled with anxiety at the sight of the silent, wide-awake pagan holding his strange vigil. At dawn, Queequeg’s stiffness breaks, and he cheerfully announces that his Ramadan is concluded.
Relieved but annoyed by the ordeal, Ishmael decides to lecture Queequeg on the foolishness of such religious self-torture. He argues that fasting is physically unhealthy, leads to morbid spirituality, and that hell is merely an idea born of indigestion. Queequeg listens with condescending pity and counters that his only experience with dyspepsia came after a cannibalistic feast celebrating a great military victory, where fifty enemies were consumed. Finding his lecture ineffective, Ishmael abandons the argument. Queequeg proceeds to consume a prodigious breakfast of various chowders to compensate for his fast, and the two friends sally out to board the Pequod.
As they approach the Pequod, Captain Peleg blocks Queequeg, refusing to allow a supposed “cannibal” aboard without papers. Captain Bildad emerges to demand if Queequeg belongs to a Christian church. Pressed for an answer, Ishmael claims Queequeg is a member of the “First Congregational Church,” explaining that this refers to the ancient, universal congregation to which all humanity belongs. Impressed by this “sermon,” Peleg agrees to take Queequeg but asks for a demonstration of his skill. Queequeg silently leaps into the hanging whale-boat and hurls his harpoon across the deck, obliterating a tiny speck of tar. Peleg, startled by the accuracy, immediately offers him the generous ninetieth lay.
In the cabin, Queequeg signs the ship’s articles not with a name, but by copying the peculiar round figure tattooed on his arm. Bildad solemnly presses a religious tract upon him, urging him to save his soul, while Peleg argues that excessive piety ruins a harpooneer by making him too fearful of death. Bildad cites a past typhoon as proof that men think of judgment, but Peleg retorts that in true danger, one thinks only of survival and practical action. The theological debate ends as Bildad stalks off to deck, where he obsessively gathers scraps of rope and tar to prevent waste.
After signing the ship’s articles, Ishmael and Queequeg are intercepted by a ragged, pockmarked stranger demanding to know if they have shipped on the Pequod. He inquires about their souls and speaks in riddles about Captain Ahab, whom he calls “Old Thunder.” The stranger hints that Ahab is not merely sick but permanently altered by a past death-like trance, a violent skirmish, and the loss of his leg according to a prophecy. Ishmael attempts to dismiss the man as a lunatic, but the stranger insists that what is signed is sealed and their fate is decided. Before departing, he identifies himself as Elijah.
Though Ishmael initially laughs him off as a humbug, he soon notices Elijah following a short distance behind them. This physical pursuit, combined with the stranger’s cryptic warnings about Ahab and the voyage, plants a seed of dread in a mind already crowded with Peleg’s comments and the squaw Tistig’s predictions. To test his suspicion, Ishmael doubles back and crosses the street, but Elijah passes them without looking. Relieved by this, Ishmael convinces himself the man is not dogging them and dismisses the creeping fear.
As the sailing date approaches, the Pequod becomes a hive of feverish activity. New sails and rigging arrive, and the crew works late into the night loading provisions. Bildad’s sister, Aunt Charity, bustles about with relentless energy, ensuring the ship is stocked with every necessity from pickles and quills to flannel for rheumatic backs. In a striking blend of domesticity and warfare, she eventually comes aboard carrying an oil-ladle and a whaling lance. While Captain Peleg roars orders from his wigwam, Bildad meticulously checks off items from his long list to ensure no spare spar or line is forgotten.
Despite the imminent departure, Captain Ahab remains unseen. Ishmael inquires about him daily but receives only vague assurances that he is recovering and will appear shortly. Privately, Ishmael admits to feeling uneasy about committing to a long voyage under a dictator he has never met, yet he suppresses these suspicions to avoid backing out. Finally, the order is given that the ship will sail the next day, prompting Ishmael and Queequeg to make an early start for the docks.
Approaching the wharf in the grey dawn, Ishmael and Queequeg are intercepted by the mysterious prophet Elijah. He blocks their path with unsettling intensity, demanding to know if they saw men heading toward the ship. Ishmael admits to noticing vague figures in the mist, which Elijah confirms with ominous significance. Before departing, Elijah hints at legal trouble with the Grand Jury and mentions a warning he decided not to give, leaving Ishmael in a state of wonder.
Boarding the quiet Pequod, they find the forecastle occupied by a deeply sleeping rigger. Queequeg, treating the man as a piece of furniture, sits on him and explains his custom of using people as ottomans. The rigger is eventually roused by the tobacco smoke. He confirms the ship sails today and reveals that Captain Ahab came aboard the previous night. As the crew bestirs itself for the morning departure, Ishmael realizes the Captain is already on board, though he remains hidden in his cabin.
After Aunt Charity arrives with her final gifts—a night-cap for Stubb and a spare Bible for the steward—the part-owners Peleg and Bildad take command on deck. They order the crew to strike the tent and man the capstan, while Captain Ahab remains hidden in his cabin, his presence deemed unnecessary for getting the ship under weigh. Bildad positions himself forward as pilot, singing psalms to encourage the hands at the windlass, though the crew responds with a bawdy chorus about girls in Booble Alley. The dissonance deepens as Peleg rages astern, swearing with such fury that Ishmael wonders if the old man has been drinking.
Ishmael hesitates at his handspike, unnerved by the thought of starting a voyage with such a devil for a pilot. A sharp pain in his rear interrupts his reverie—Peleg has driven his leg into him. Spring, you sheep-head, the captain roars, and Ishmael springs. The anchor rises, sails fill, and the Pequod glides into the freezing Atlantic on a short, cold Christmas. Spray coats the vessel in ice, the bulwarks gleaming like teeth in moonlight, great icicles hanging from the bows. Yet as Bildad sings of sweet fields beyond the swelling flood, Ishmael feels a sudden hope—visions of pleasant havens and eternal spring amid the frigid spray.
When the pilot boat draws alongside to retrieve the owners, Bildad cannot bring himself to leave. He paces the deck with anxious strides, runs below for another farewell word, gazes toward land and sea and sky as though memorizing the world he is leaving. Thousands of dollars are invested in this ship; an old shipmate sails into danger. At last he grasps Peleg’s hand, trying to look heroic. Peleg, for all his philosophy, betrays a glistening eye.
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