Surmises — Moby-Dick

Ahab still bends every thought toward Moby Dick, yet he does not drop the ordinary whale hunt. Long habit keeps him at it, and other motives weigh more than the guess that killing more sperm whales might raise the odds of meeting the hated one.

Men are the tools, and they get out of order. His magnet holds Starbuck's body and coerced will, not the whole soul. The mate abhors the quest and would leave it or block it if he could. A long wait before the White Whale is seen will give him room to rebel unless ordinary pressures stay on him. The crew hailed the oath, then went back to living in the weather. Few men's courage lasts through night watches filled with nothing nearer than Moby Dick, so the hunt has to be given daily work that keeps its terror in the background.

Feeling fades. Ahab calls sordidness the permanent state of manufactured man. The men may chase like crusaders and still want cash, just as those older crusaders picked pockets on the road to the sepulchre. Take the hope of money away and the same money will mutiny and cashier him. He has a sharper worry of his own. By blurting the voyage's private purpose he opened himself to a charge of usurpation. The crew could refuse obedience and take the ship. He means to cover that by keeping the Pequod's nominal business, the customary usages, and his old show of passion for the general hunt. He hails the mast-heads to report even a porpoise. The vigilance is not long without a reward.