Stubb Kills a Whale — Moby-Dick

Queequeg sharpens his harpoon and says that when you see squid, you will soon see sperm whale. The next day the sea is hot, still, and empty. The crew grows sleepy. This part of the Indian Ocean is not lively whale ground.

Ishmael stands watch at the foremast-head. He sways in the heat until he almost falls into a dream. The other lookouts nod off too. Even the helmsman below seems half asleep.

Suddenly Ishmael wakes. A huge sperm whale rolls in the water less than forty fathoms away. Its dark back shines in the sun. It spouts calmly, like a fat town man smoking a pipe on a warm afternoon. That pipe will be its last.

The whole ship wakes at once. Ahab shouts to clear the boats and grabs the helm himself. The whale swims away slowly. Ahab orders a silent paddle chase. No one may speak above a whisper.

The whale sounds. Stubb lights his pipe while they wait. When it rises again, Stubb's boat is closest. The chase turns loud. Tashtego, Daggoo, and Queequeg yell war cries. Stubb cheers them on while still smoking.

Tashtego throws the harpoon. The whale-line runs hot and fast. It burns Stubb's bare hands until someone wets the line. The boat flies through the foam. Stubb and Tashtego swap places in the rocking boat.

Stubb drives lance after lance into the whale. Blood pours out like red brooks. The sun turns every face red. At last Stubb churns the lance deep, hunting the heart. The whale thrashes in a wild death frenzy called the flurry. Spray nearly swamps the boat.

Then the fight ends. The whale's heart bursts. Clotted blood shoots into the air. Daggoo says, "He's dead, Mr. Stubb." Stubb knocks ashes from his pipe over the water and jokes that both pipes are smoked out. He stands looking at the huge body he has killed.