Summary

In Chapter 15, the pack ice finally loosens its grip on the Esther and releases the ship into a maze of dark leads crowded with bowhead whales. The men wake to the sound of ice grinding and feel the ship lurch as the floe they are anchored to splits, and when they rush on deck they see whales spouting in every direction, their backs like low hills in the gray water (284). Thule, pale and shivering with the beginnings of ice sickness, urges Lovejoy to lower all the boats and not waste this “gift,” and Lovejoy gives the order, telling himself that once they have filled the hold they can turn south (285). For days, the crew rows through the leads, fires bomb lances, and tows carcasses to the ship while snow falls in soft curtains, and the boys work beside the cook and smith to cut...