第十九章 The Prophet.
Queequeg and the narrator have just signed on to the whaling ship Pequod and are walking away from the vessel when they are stopped by a shabbily dressed, smallpox-scarred stranger who engages them in cryptic, ominous conversation about Captain Ahab and their upcoming voyage.
Initial Encounter with the Ragged Stranger
The stranger, clad in a faded jacket, patched trousers, and a tattered black handkerchief around his neck, with a face heavily pocked and scarred by smallpox, stops Queequeg and the narrator as they walk away from the Pequod. He asks them repeatedly if they have shipped on the vessel, pointing directly at the Pequod with a rigid, extended finger to emphasize his question.
Stranger Probes Knowledge of Captain Ahab
The stranger asks if the pair has met “Old Thunder,” the nickname he says old sailors use for Captain Ahab, and questions whether they have seen Ahab yet. When the narrator notes Ahab is currently ill but expected to recover soon, the stranger scoffs, claiming his own left arm will only heal when Ahab is fully recovered.
Stranger Shares Rumors of Ahab’s Past
The stranger demands to know what the pair have been told about Ahab, then lists obscure, dramatic rumors about the captain: a three-day illness off Cape Horn, a deadly fight with a Spaniard before an altar in Santa, spitting into a silver calabash, and the loss of his leg to a sperm whale on the last voyage per a prophecy. He notes most of these stories are not widely known outside of old sailor circles.
Stranger Reveals His Name Is Elijah
The narrator dismisses the stranger’s rambling as gibberish, claiming he already knows all about Ahab’s lost leg. The stranger hints at predetermined, unspoken fates for sailors joining the Pequod before wishing the pair well, and when asked for his name, reveals it is Elijah. The narrator and Queequeg initially write him off as a harmless humbug.
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