“I trust not,” said Starbuck, “it is poor stuff enough.”

“Aye, aye, steward,” cried Stubb, “we’ll teach you to drug it harpooneer; none of your apothecary’s medicine here; you want to poison us, do ye?  You have got out insurances on our lives and want to give way with their oars, and pocket the proceeds, do ye?”

“It was not me,” cried Dough-Boy, “it was Aunt Charity that brought the ginger on board; and bade me never give the harpooneers any spirits, but only this ginger-jub—­so she called it.”

“Ginger-jub! you gingerly rascal! take that! and run along with ye to the lockers, and get something better.  I hope I do no wrong, Mr. Starbuck.  It is the captain’s orders—­ grog for the harpooneer on a whale.”

“Enough,” replied Starbuck, “only don’t hit him again, but-”

“Oh, I never hurt when I hit, except when I hit a whale or something of that sort; and this fellow’s a weazel.  What were you about saying, sir?”

“Only this:  go down with him, and get what thou wantest thyself.”

When Stubb reappeared, he came with a dark flask in one hand, and a sort of tea-caddy in the other.  The first contained strong spirits, and was handed to Queequeg; the second was Aunt Charity’s gift, and that was freely given to the waves.

CHAPTER 73

Stubb and Flask Kill a Right Whale; and Then Have a Talk Over Him

It must be borne in mind that all this time we have a Sperm Whale’s prodigious head hanging to the Pequod’s side.  But we must let it continue hanging there a while till we can get a chance to attend to it.  For the present other matters press, and the best we can do now for the head, is to pray heaven the tackles may hold.

Now, during the past night and forenoon, the Pequod had gradually drifted into a sea, which, by its occasional patches of yellow brit, gave unusual tokens of the vicinity of Right Whales, a species of the Leviathan that but few supposed to be at this particular time lurking anywhere near.  And though all hands commonly disdained the capture of those inferior creatures; and though the Pequod was not commissioned to cruise for them at all, and though she had passed numbers of them near the Crozetts without lowering a boat; yet now that a Sperm Whale had been brought alongside and beheaded, to the surprise of all, the announcement was made that a Right Whale should be captured that day, if opportunity offered.

Nor was this long wanting.  Tall spouts were seen to leeward; and two boats, Stubb’s and Flask’s, were detached in pursuit.  Pulling further and further away, they at last became almost invisible to the men at the masthead.  But suddenly in the distance, they saw a great heap of tumultuous white water, and soon after news came from aloft that one or both the boats must be fast.  An interval passed and the boats were in plain sight, in the act of being dragged right towards the ship by the towing