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XIII . The Rachel The next day we saw a big ship coming towards us . She was called the Rachel . Her captain was a man from Nantucket called Gardiner . Ahab knew him well . “ Have you seen the white whale ? ” shouted Ahab . “ Yes , yesterday , ” replied Gardiner . “ Have you seen a whaleboat drifting on the sea ? ” Ahab was very excited by the news , but he answered no . Captain Gardiner came across to the Pequod in a boat . He told us his story . The day before , his boats were chasing Moby Dick . One of the boats followed the whale far away , and then it disappeared from sight . The Rachel searched all night , but the boat was lost . “ My own son is in that boat , ” said Gardiner . His voice was shaking . “ He is only twelve years old . Captain Ahab , I beg you , help me look for him . Let our two ships search together for two days . I will pay you for your time . You have a child too , Captain Ahab . Please do this for me . ” The sailors looked at Ahab . Surely he could not refuse . But Ahab stood as still and as cold as a stone . “ Captain Gardiner , ” he said , “ I will not do it . I am losing time even now . Goodbye . God bless you , and may I forgive myself . But I must go . ” He turned away . Gardiner stood there for a moment without moving . Then he went back to his boat without a word . The Rachel sailed away , still searching the sea for her lost boy . She turned this way and that way , like a mother bird that has lost its young . Our ship sailed on after the white whale . Ahab stayed on deck night and day now , and the men were quiet and afraid . One day the weather was beautiful . The sky was blue and the sea was soft and calm . Ahab stood at the side of the ship and looked down at the water . Then a single tear fell from his eye into the sea . Starbuck saw this , and he went and stood beside him . “ Starbuck , ” said Ahab softly . “ It is forty years since I first went whaling . Forty years of storms and loneliness . I married a young wife when I was already over fifty , and the next day I sailed away again . I have a child at home . I am so tired , Starbuck . Let me look into your eyes . It is better than looking at the sea or the sky . I see home in your eyes . ” “ Oh , my captain ! ” cried Starbuck . “ Let us go home ! Let us leave this terrible hunt . I have a wife and child at home too . Let us turn the ship towards Nantucket this very day . ” For a moment it seemed that Ahab was listening . But then he turned away . “ What is it that drives me on ? ” he said quietly . “ Why can’t I stop ? I don’t know . It is not my own heart that decides . ” Starbuck’s face went white , and he walked away in despair . When Ahab turned back , Starbuck was gone . Fedallah was standing there instead , and he was looking into the water too .
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