Stubb Kills a Whale — Moby-Dick

If the squid was a portent to Starbuck, to Queequeg it was a promise. Honing his harpoon in the hoisted boat, he says that when you see squid you will soon see sperm whale. The next day the Indian Ocean offers nothing lively, and the heat pulls the whole ship toward sleep. Ishmael stands watch at the foremast-head and sways in enchanted air until his soul seems to leave his body while the other lookouts and even the helmsman nod with the slow waves.

Bubbles burst under his closed eyes and he wakes gripping the shrouds. Less than forty fathoms off, a gigantic sperm whale rolls in the sun, glossy back shining, spouting with the calm of a portly burgher smoking on a warm afternoon. That pipe will be his last. The ship starts as if struck by a wand. Ahab shouts to clear the boats and seizes the helm himself. The whale swims away in such steady quiet that Ahab orders a silent paddle chase until the fish sounds and Stubb, match lit, waits for the rise that puts his boat in front.

Then the chase turns loud. War cries answer war cries. Tashtego's harpoon flies and the magical line runs hot across every wrist until sea water cools Stubb's blistered hands. Stubb and Tashtego change places in the rocking boat while dart after dart finds the red tide. At last the lance churns for the heart, the whale thrashes in its flurry, and clotted gore shoots into the air when the heart bursts. Daggoo says he is dead, Mr. Stubb. Stubb knocks ashes from his pipe over the water and jokes that both pipes are smoked out. After an empty day, who on your watch is still awake when the money rolls up alongside?