The Counterpane — Moby-Dick

Ishmael wakes at daylight with Queequeg's arm thrown over him like a husband holding his wife. The patchwork bedspread and Queequeg's tattooed arm look so alike that Ishmael can only tell them apart by feeling the weight on him.

The feeling reminds him of being a child. He was sent to bed at two in the afternoon on the longest day of the year as punishment. He lay awake miserable for hours. Later he fell into a troubled doze, woke in the dark, and felt a ghost hand take his. That old terror is gone now, but waking beside Queequeg felt strangely similar.

Then the night comes back as a joke. Ishmael tries to loosen Queequeg's grip but cannot. He rolls over and finds the tomahawk beside the bed like a sleeping baby. He wakes Queequeg by complaining that men should not hug like married couples. Queequeg sits up stiff, shakes himself, and jumps out of bed. With signs and grunts he offers to dress first and leave Ishmael the room alone. Ishmael thinks that is surprisingly polite, even though he is still staring rudely from the bed.

What Queequeg does next is worth staring at. He puts on his tall hat before his pants. Then he crawls under the bed to pull on his boots. People on the narrow street outside can see into the room, so Ishmael begs him to hurry into his pants. Queequeg washes his chest and arms but skips his face. Then he takes the harpoon from the bed, whets the blade on his boot, and shaves his cheeks with it.

When he is done, Queequeg wraps himself in a heavy jacket, shoulders his harpoon like a soldier's staff, and marches out. Ishmael has moved from fear to curiosity. Queequeg is strange by Yankee standards, but also thoughtful and skilled. The monster from last night has become a real person.