Boats Destroyed
Moby Dick dashes the two boats—Stubb’s and Flask’s—together like rolling husks on a surf-beaten beach, then dives down into the sea in a boiling maelstrom. For a space, the cedar chips from the wrecks dance round and round in the swirling water, like grated nutmeg in a stirred bowl of punch. Meanwhile, the crews of the destroyed boats circle in the waters, reaching for floating line-tubs, oars, and other debris. Little Flask bobs up and down like an empty vial, twitching his legs to escape shark jaws, while Stubb lustily calls for someone to ladle him up. Ahab’s line—now parting—allows him to pull into the creamy pool to rescue survivors.
Ahab’s Boat Sunk
In that wild moment of concentrated peril, Ahab’s still-unstruck boat seems drawn up toward Heaven by invisible wires as the White Whale, shooting perpendicularly from the sea like an arrow, dashes his broad forehead against the boat’s bottom. The boat is sent spinning through the air, turning over and over, before falling gunwale downwards into the sea. Ahab and his men struggle out from beneath it like seals emerging from a seaside cave. The whale’s upward momentum carries him a short distance from the destruction, where he lies momentarily feeling with his flukes, smiting the sea with his tail whenever any stray piece of boat touches his skin. Soon, apparently satisfied with his work, he pushes forward and continues his leeward journey, trailing the entangled lines behind him.
Rescue and Recovery
The attentive Pequod, having descried the entire fight from afar, bears down to rescue the survivors. Dropping a boat, the ship picks up the floating mariners, line-tubs, oars, and whatever else can be caught, landing them safely on deck. The wreckage reveals sprained shoulders, wrists, and ankles, livid contusions, wrenched harpoons and lances, tangled ropes, and shattered oars and planks. However, no fatal or even serious injury has befallen anyone. As with Fedallah the previous day, Ahab is found grimly clinging to his boat’s broken half, which provided a relatively easy float and did not exhaust him as the earlier mishap had.
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