One morning Captain Ahab could be seen pacing the deck more nervously than usual. He would pace and then he would go down to his cabin. At around sunset he ordered the first mate, whose name was Starbuck, to call together all the men.
“Sir!” said Starbuck greatly surprised at an order rarely or never given on a ship except in some extraordinary case.
When the entire ship’s company were assembled, they looked at him with great curiosity as if he were a storm on the horizon. After looking at the crew for a moment, Captain Ahab continued his pacing. But this did not last long.
“What do you do when you see a whale, men?” asked Ahab.
“We shout out for him!” was the answer from the men.
“Good,” cried Ahab with great happiness.
“And what you do next, men?” continued the Captain.
“We lower the boats and go after him,” shouted the men, getting more and more excited.
