The Log and Line — Moby-Dick

The Pequod rarely heaves the log. The wooden reel hangs rotted under the after bulwarks while slate courses are logged mostly for form. Rain, spray, sun, and wind have warped the idle gear. After the magnet scene Ahab glances at the neglected reel and remembers his quadrant oath. He orders, "Forward, there! Heave the log!" The golden Tahitian and grizzly Manxman come to the dipping lee stern where cream seas wash the deck.

The Manxman mistrusts the spoiled line and says long heat and wet have ruined it. Ahab jokes that life holds the old man and presses on. The line snaps in one long festoon. The log is gone. Ahab lists every broken tool and says he can mend all. He orders new gear, then imagines Pip caught in the drag, cries for a hatchet, and finds Pip astern trying to board.

Pip speaks as bell-boy without soul reflection in his eyes. Ahab asks who he is and vows his cabin shall be Pip's home while he lives. He leads the boy below by the black hand, prouder than grasping an emperor's. The Manxman mutters two daft ones, strength and weakness, still holding dripping rotten line he thinks should be replaced entirely.