During cutting-in, the crew runs everywhere at once. Ishmael goes back to explain how the heavy blubber hook gets fixed in the whale. Queequeg, as harpooneer, must climb onto the whale's back and stay there while the work goes on. The whale lies mostly underwater. Queequeg flounders about ten feet below the deck, half on the whale and half in the water, as the huge body spins beneath him like a treadmill.
Ishmael is Queequeg's bowsman. His job is to hold a rope from the ship while Queequeg works below. It is like an Italian organ-grinder holding a dancing monkey on a long cord. This rope is called a monkey-rope.
On the Pequod, Stubb made a special rule. The monkey-rope is tied at both ends. One end is on Queequeg's belt. The other is on Ishmael's belt. They are wedded together. If Queequeg sinks and does not come back up, Ishmael must go down with him. Honor forbids cutting the rope.
Ishmael feels his own self has merged with Queequeg's. Another man's mistake could drag him to his death. He thinks this is how life works for everyone. If your banker fails, you fail. If your druggist sends poison, you die. You are tied to many people whether you see the rope or not.
Sharks swarm around the bloody whale. Queequeg kicks them away with his feet. Ishmael jerks him back from the jaws. From overhead, Tashtego and Daggoo slash at sharks with whaling spades. They mean to help, but in the bloody water they almost cut off Queequeg's leg instead of a shark's tail. Queequeg prays to his god Yojo and keeps working.
At last Queequeg climbs up the chains, dripping and shaking. The steward hands him a cup of warm ginger and water. Stubb smells it and gets angry. He asks what good ginger does for a man fresh off a whale. He blames a temperance society and Aunt Charity, who told the steward never to give harpooneers real spirits.
Stubb sends the steward for something better. Starbuck agrees. Stubb comes back with a flask of strong spirits for Queequeg and throws Aunt Charity's ginger drink into the sea. Captain's orders say harpooneers get grog after whale work. Ginger is not enough for what the monkey-rope just cost.
