One fine morning, while I was looking out over the ocean, I noticed that Captain Ahab stood upon the quarter-deck. His appearance did not show any sign of illness or of having recovered from any illness. His whole high, broad form seemed made of solid bronze.
Coming down from his grey hairs and continuing down one side of his face to his neck until it disappeared in his clothing was a scar. This scar looked like a blast of lightening.
Ahab’s grim aspect made such an impression on me that I barely noticed that much of his grimness was due to the barbaric white leg he stood upon. This artificial leg was made from the bone of the sperm whale’s jaw. I was struck by the firm way he looked out of the ocean. He never said anything, but the crew knew that they were being watched continuously.
Not long after his first visit in the air, he went back down into the cabin. But after that morning he was visible to the crew every day.
