THE WHITE WHALE 89 
“Holloa!” cried stationary Elijah, hailing us when we had removed 
a few paces. 
“Never mind him,” said I, “Queequeg, come on.” 
But he stole up to us again, and suddenly clapping his hand on 
my shoulder, said — “Did ye see anything looking like men going 
towards that ship a while ago ?” 
Struck by this plain matter-of-fact question, I answered, saying, 
“Yes, I thought I did see four or five men; but it was too dim to be 
sure.” 
“Very dim, very dim,” said Elijah. “Morning to ye.” 
Once more we quitted him ; but once more he came softly after us ; 
and touching my shoulder again, said, “See if you can find ’em now, 
will ye?” 
“Find who?” 
“Morning to ye! morning to ye!” he rejoined, again moving off. 
“Oh ! I was going to warn ye against — but never mind, never mind — 
it’s all one, all in the family too ; — sharp frost this morning, ain’t it ? 
Good-bye to ye. Shan’t see ye again very soon, I guess ; unless it’s be- 
fore the Grand Jury.” And with these cracked words he finally de- 
parted, leaving me, for the moment, in no small wonderment at his 
frantic impudence. 
At last, stepping on board the Pequod, we found everything in pro- 
found quiet, not a soul moving. The cabin entrance was locked within ; 
the hatches were all on, and lumbered with coils of rigging. Going 
forward to the forecastle, we found the slide of the scuttle open. See- 
ing a light, we went down, and found only an old rigger there, wrapped 
in a tattered pea-jacket. He was thrown at whole length upon two 
chests, his face downwards and enclosed in his folded arms. The pro- 
foundest slumber slept upon him. 
“Those sailors we saw, Queequeg, where can they have gone to?” 
said I, looking dubiously at the sleeper. But it seemed that, when on 
the wharf, Queequeg had not at all noticed what I now alluded to; 
hence I would have thought myself to have been optically deceived in 
that matter, were it not for Elijah’s otherwise inexplicable question. 
But I beat the thing down; and again marking the sleeper, jocularly 
hinted to Queequeg that perhaps we had best sit up with the body; 
