"Bad news; she brings bad news," muttered the old Manxman. But ere
her commander, who, with trumpet to mouth, stood up in his boat;
ere he could hopefully hail, Ahab's voice was heard.
"Hast seen the White Whale?"
"Aye, yesterday. Have ye seen a whale-boat adrift?"
Throttling his joy, Ahab negatively answered this unexpected question;
and would then have fain boarded the stranger, when the stranger
captain himself, having stopped his vessel's way, was seen
descending her side. A few keen pulls, and his boat-hook soon
clinched the Pequod's main-chains, and he sprang to the deck.
Immediately he was recognized by Ahab for a Nantucketer he knew.
But no formal salutation was exchanged.
"Where was he?--not killed!--not killed!" cried Ahab, closely advancing.
"How was it?"
It seemed that somewhat late on the afternoon of the day previous,
while three of the stranger's boats were engaged with a shoal
of whales, which had led them some four or five miles from the ship;
and while they were yet in swift chase to windward, the white hump
and head of Moby Dick had suddenly loomed up out of the blue water,
not very far to leeward; whereupon, the fourth rigged boat--
a reserved one--had been instantly lowered in chase.
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