THE WHITE WHALE 235 
tain ; who, to the amazement of all hands, started hack, paced the deck 
rapidly two or three times, and then suddenly throwing down his 
rope, said, ‘I won’t do it — let him go — cut him down: d’ye hear?’ 
But as the junior mates were hurrying to execute the order, a pale 
man, with a bandaged head, arrested them — Radney the chief mate. 
Ever since the blow, he had lain in his berth ; hut that morning, hear- 
ing the tumult on the deck, he had crept out, and thus far had 
watched the whole scene. Such was the state of his mouth, that he 
could hardly speak, but mumbling something about his being willing 
and able to do what the Captain dared not attempt, he snatched the 
rope and advanced to his pinioned foe. 
“ ‘You are a coward!’ hissed the Lakeman. 
“ ‘So I am, hut take that.’ The mate was in the very act of strik- 
ing, when another hiss stayed his uplifted arm. He paused: and 
then pausing no more, made good his word, spite of Steelkilt’s threat, 
whatever that might have been. The three men were then cut down, 
all hands were turned to, and, sullenly worked by the moody seamen, 
the iron pumps clanged as before. 
“Just after dark that day, when one watch had retired below, a 
clamour was heard in the forecastle; and the two trembling traitors 
running up, besieged the cabin door, saying they durst not consort 
with the crew. Entreaties, cuffs, and kicks could not drive them back, 
so at their own instance they were put down in the ship’s run for 
security. Still, no sign of mutiny reappeared among the rest. On 
the contrary, it seemed, that mainly at Steelkilt’s instigation they had 
resolved to maintain the strictest peacefulness, obey all orders to the 
last, and, when the ship reached port, desert her in a body. But in 
order to insure the speediest end to the voyage, they all agreed to 
another thing — namely, not to sing out for whales, in case any should 
be discovered. For, spite of her leak, and spite of all her other perils, 
the Town-IIo still maintained her mastheads, and her Captain* was 
just as willing to lower for a fish that moment, as on the day his craft 
first struck the cruising-ground ; and Radney the mate was quite as 
ready to change his berth for a boat, and with his bandaged mouth 
seek to gag in death the vital jaw of the whale. 
“But though the Lakeman had induced the seamen to adopt this 
