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XIV . The Chase That night Ahab smelled the air , as a dog smells it . “ A whale is near , ” he said . The next morning he went up the mast himself . Suddenly his voice came down from the sky . “ There she blows ! A hump like a hill of snow ! It is Moby Dick ! ” The gold coin was his . Nobody else had seen the whale first . There he was , not far away : a huge white shape moving slowly through the blue water . Around him the sea was white with foam . Birds flew above him . The boats were lowered , and we rowed towards him . Moby Dick went down deep . Then , suddenly , he came up right under Ahab’s boat with his mouth wide open . He took the boat in his jaws and bit it in two . Ahab and his men fell into the sea . The Pequod sailed towards the whale and drove him away , and we picked up Ahab and his men . Ahab lay exhausted in Stubb’s boat for a while . Then he got up again . “ Is my harpoon safe ? ” was his first question . Then he stood up and looked for the whale . The second day was worse . The boats attacked Moby Dick again , and the harpooneers struck him . But the ropes became tangled , and the whale pulled the boats together . Then his great tail came down and smashed Stubb’s and Flask’s boats . He turned over Ahab’s boat too . We pulled all the men out of the water . But Ahab’s ivory leg was broken , and Fedallah was missing . Nobody could find him anywhere . “ Captain , ” said Starbuck , “ in God’s name , stop now . Two days now we have chased this whale , and twice he has broken our boats . Your leg is broken . Fedallah is gone . What more do you want ? ” “ Ahab is Ahab for ever , man , ” said Ahab . “ This is my fate . Tomorrow I will fight him again . ” The carpenter worked all night and made him a new leg . On the third day we found the whale again . Before Ahab went down to his boat , he turned to Starbuck and held out his hand . “ Some ships leave the harbour and never come home , Starbuck , ” he said . “ Oh , my captain ! ” said Starbuck . “ Do not go ! ” But Ahab was already in his boat . By now there were not enough men for it . One of his rowers took Fedallah’s place , and I took that man’s place at the oars . When Moby Dick rose out of the sea , we saw a terrible sight . There was Fedallah . He was caught in the tangled ropes against the whale’s white side . He was dead , and his open eyes seemed to look straight at Ahab . The rowers were frightened , but Ahab ordered them to row on . When we came close , he threw his first harpoon deep into the whale . Moby Dick rolled against our boat , and three of us fell out . The other two climbed back in , but I was left behind , swimming in the water . From there I watched the end . Moby Dick swam away from our boat . Then he turned , and his wide white forehead crashed into the side of the Pequod . The old ship shook , and the sea began to pour in through a huge hole . Starbuck and the others on board saw the whale coming , but they could not stop him . The Pequod began to sink .
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