{"id":"01KJNXJV7FK01V1T5YERYZQKM3","cid":"bafkreifxpoqdpnavs64gman6amtppubz46qkhieiphrincth3hn7jleh4i","type":"text_chunk","properties":{"char_end":902073,"char_start":894364,"chunk_index":126,"chunk_total":178,"estimated_tokens":1928,"source_file_key":"moby-dick","text":"\r\nThen rapidly pulling back towards the Pequod, and seeing Ahab leaning\r\nover the quarter-deck rail awaiting his report, he moulded his two\r\nhands into a trumpet and shouted—“No, Sir! No!” Upon which Ahab\r\nretired, and Stubb returned to the Frenchman.\r\n\r\nHe now perceived that the Guernsey-man, who had just got into the\r\nchains, and was using a cutting-spade, had slung his nose in a sort of\r\nbag.\r\n\r\n“What’s the matter with your nose, there?” said Stubb. “Broke it?”\r\n\r\n“I wish it was broken, or that I didn’t have any nose at all!” answered\r\nthe Guernsey-man, who did not seem to relish the job he was at very\r\nmuch. “But what are you holding _yours_ for?”\r\n\r\n“Oh, nothing! It’s a wax nose; I have to hold it on. Fine day, ain’t\r\nit? Air rather gardenny, I should say; throw us a bunch of posies, will\r\nye, Bouton-de-Rose?”\r\n\r\n“What in the devil’s name do you want here?” roared the Guernseyman,\r\nflying into a sudden passion.\r\n\r\n“Oh! keep cool—cool? yes, that’s the word! why don’t you pack those\r\nwhales in ice while you’re working at ’em? But joking aside, though; do\r\nyou know, Rose-bud, that it’s all nonsense trying to get any oil out of\r\nsuch whales? As for that dried up one, there, he hasn’t a gill in his\r\nwhole carcase.”\r\n\r\n“I know that well enough; but, d’ye see, the Captain here won’t believe\r\nit; this is his first voyage; he was a Cologne manufacturer before. But\r\ncome aboard, and mayhap he’ll believe you, if he won’t me; and so I’ll\r\nget out of this dirty scrape.”\r\n\r\n“Anything to oblige ye, my sweet and pleasant fellow,” rejoined Stubb,\r\nand with that he soon mounted to the deck. There a queer scene\r\npresented itself. The sailors, in tasselled caps of red worsted, were\r\ngetting the heavy tackles in readiness for the whales. But they worked\r\nrather slow and talked very fast, and seemed in anything but a good\r\nhumor. All their noses upwardly projected from their faces like so many\r\njib-booms. Now and then pairs of them would drop their work, and run up\r\nto the mast-head to get some fresh air. Some thinking they would catch\r\nthe plague, dipped oakum in coal-tar, and at intervals held it to their\r\nnostrils. Others having broken the stems of their pipes almost short\r\noff at the bowl, were vigorously puffing tobacco-smoke, so that it\r\nconstantly filled their olfactories.\r\n\r\nStubb was struck by a shower of outcries and anathemas proceeding from\r\nthe Captain’s round-house abaft; and looking in that direction saw a\r\nfiery face thrust from behind the door, which was held ajar from\r\nwithin. This was the tormented surgeon, who, after in vain\r\nremonstrating against the proceedings of the day, had betaken himself\r\nto the Captain’s round-house (_cabinet_ he called it) to avoid the\r\npest; but still, could not help yelling out his entreaties and\r\nindignations at times.\r\n\r\nMarking all this, Stubb argued well for his scheme, and turning to the\r\nGuernsey-man had a little chat with him, during which the stranger mate\r\nexpressed his detestation of his Captain as a conceited ignoramus, who\r\nhad brought them all into so unsavory and unprofitable a pickle.\r\nSounding him carefully, Stubb further perceived that the Guernsey-man\r\nhad not the slightest suspicion concerning the ambergris. He therefore\r\nheld his peace on that head, but otherwise was quite frank and\r\nconfidential with him, so that the two quickly concocted a little plan\r\nfor both circumventing and satirizing the Captain, without his at all\r\ndreaming of distrusting their sincerity. According to this little plan\r\nof theirs, the Guernsey-man, under cover of an interpreter’s office,\r\nwas to tell the Captain what he pleased, but as coming from Stubb; and\r\nas for Stubb, he was to utter any nonsense that should come uppermost\r\nin him during the interview.\r\n\r\nBy this time their destined victim appeared from his cabin. He was a\r\nsmall and dark, but rather delicate looking man for a sea-captain, with\r\nlarge whiskers and moustache, however; and wore a red cotton velvet\r\nvest with watch-seals at his side. To this gentleman, Stubb was now\r\npolitely introduced by the Guernsey-man, who at once ostentatiously put\r\non the aspect of interpreting between them.\r\n\r\n“What shall I say to him first?” said he.\r\n\r\n“Why,” said Stubb, eyeing the velvet vest and the watch and seals, “you\r\nmay as well begin by telling him that he looks a sort of babyish to me,\r\nthough I don’t pretend to be a judge.”\r\n\r\n“He says, Monsieur,” said the Guernsey-man, in French, turning to his\r\ncaptain, “that only yesterday his ship spoke a vessel, whose captain\r\nand chief-mate, with six sailors, had all died of a fever caught from a\r\nblasted whale they had brought alongside.”\r\n\r\nUpon this the captain started, and eagerly desired to know more.\r\n\r\n“What now?” said the Guernsey-man to Stubb.\r\n\r\n“Why, since he takes it so easy, tell him that now I have eyed him\r\ncarefully, I’m quite certain that he’s no more fit to command a\r\nwhale-ship than a St. Jago monkey. In fact, tell him from me he’s a\r\nbaboon.”\r\n\r\n“He vows and declares, Monsieur, that the other whale, the dried one,\r\nis far more deadly than the blasted one; in fine, Monsieur, he conjures\r\nus, as we value our lives, to cut loose from these fish.”\r\n\r\nInstantly the captain ran forward, and in a loud voice commanded his\r\ncrew to desist from hoisting the cutting-tackles, and at once cast\r\nloose the cables and chains confining the whales to the ship.\r\n\r\n“What now?” said the Guernsey-man, when the Captain had returned to\r\nthem.\r\n\r\n“Why, let me see; yes, you may as well tell him now that—that—in fact,\r\ntell him I’ve diddled him, and (aside to himself) perhaps somebody\r\nelse.”\r\n\r\n“He says, Monsieur, that he’s very happy to have been of any service to\r\nus.”\r\n\r\nHearing this, the captain vowed that they were the grateful parties\r\n(meaning himself and mate) and concluded by inviting Stubb down into\r\nhis cabin to drink a bottle of Bordeaux.\r\n\r\n“He wants you to take a glass of wine with him,” said the interpreter.\r\n\r\n“Thank him heartily; but tell him it’s against my principles to drink\r\nwith the man I’ve diddled. In fact, tell him I must go.”\r\n\r\n“He says, Monsieur, that his principles won’t admit of his drinking;\r\nbut that if Monsieur wants to live another day to drink, then Monsieur\r\nhad best drop all four boats, and pull the ship away from these whales,\r\nfor it’s so calm they won’t drift.”\r\n\r\nBy this time Stubb was over the side, and getting into his boat, hailed\r\nthe Guernsey-man to this effect,—that having a long tow-line in his\r\nboat, he would do what he could to help them, by pulling out the\r\nlighter whale of the two from the ship’s side. While the Frenchman’s\r\nboats, then, were engaged in towing the ship one way, Stubb\r\nbenevolently towed away at his whale the other way, ostentatiously\r\nslacking out a most unusually long tow-line.\r\n\r\nPresently a breeze sprang up; Stubb feigned to cast off from the whale;\r\nhoisting his boats, the Frenchman soon increased his distance, while\r\nthe Pequod slid in between him and Stubb’s whale. Whereupon Stubb\r\nquickly pulled to the floating body, and hailing the Pequod to give\r\nnotice of his intentions, at once proceeded to reap the fruit of his\r\nunrighteous cunning. Seizing his sharp boat-spade, he commenced an\r\nexcavation in the body, a little behind the side fin. You would almost\r\nhave thought he was digging a cellar there in the sea; and when at\r\nlength his spade struck against the gaunt ribs, it was like turning up\r\nold Roman tiles and pottery buried in fat English loam. His boat’s crew\r\nwere all in high excitement, eagerly helping their chief, and looking\r\nas anxious as gold-hunters.\r\n\r\nAnd all the time numberless fowls were diving, and ducking, and\r\nscreaming, and yelling, and fighting around them."},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KJNXEDHZCC8DR4EPSQD0QP4P","peer_label":"moby-dick","peer_type":"text","predicate":"derived_from"},{"peer":"01KJNXECF9R1EZKS5Z7J8A8ZSB","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KJNXKV7VCG1M1V2KKXZJD4A9","peer_label":"stubb","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXMD0TMJT33JNZV1NR80PZ","peer_label":"ambergris","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"substance","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXP8TEV6EQB7ZD7D25D97Y","peer_label":"french captain","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXP6WG5VKHYFV69CV7YREA","peer_label":"guernsey-man","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXQ262S5KS4QZY1JWKPFB4","peer_label":"surgeon french ship","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"person","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXQ355JTEXMW64A3YSW2C2","peer_label":"cutting-spade","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"tool","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXQ3TM6VAGSGFJNC04M8AK","peer_label":"stubb and guernsey-mans deception plan","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"strategy","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXQ629S3S7FG4FKEYDV21M","peer_label":"blasted whale","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"whale","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXQC4GQR2J86RTM7ZR469E","peer_label":"dried whale","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"whale","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXQEDPCVEVMHBSBDFE2X9Q","peer_label":"fever","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"illness","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXNFSAT2NR8TSRVFQQV6AA","peer_label":"french whaling ship","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"whaling_ship","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXNPE3GHT89HA7EFXSYTAH","peer_label":"captains round-house french ship","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"ship_structure","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXR9S902083HWSPH334WZP","peer_label":"cutting-tackles","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"equipment","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXRF7WM1NKN5KEFH17ZD74","peer_label":"boat-spade stubbs","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"tool","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXQ2EGX1B209EE61H7NYCA","peer_label":"pest foul odor","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"phenomenon","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXTD3C5TM30N3XN0HSNA6D","peer_label":"tow-line","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"equipment","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXQ4ZQW7P4W9AXMN5ZN2S0","peer_label":"red cotton velvet vest","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"clothing_item","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}},{"peer":"01KJNXY7AZETPHN8ZM4EKGQG61","peer_label":"stubbs lighter whale","predicate":"extracted_entity","properties":{"entity_type":"whale","extracted_at":"2026-03-02T00:08:17.886Z"}}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-03-02T00:01:19.087Z","ts":"2026-03-02T00:08:19.263Z","edited_by":{"method":"system","user_id":"01KJ60XQBHJ0GBGTP9X8HXAPPM"}}