274 
MOBY DICK; OR 
Faintly smacking his withered lips over it for a moment, the old negro 
muttered, “Best cooked ’teak I eber taste; joosy, berry joosy.” 
“Cook,” said Stubb, squaring himself once more; “do you belong 
to the church?” 
“Passed one once in Cape Down,” said the old man sullenly. 
“And you have once in your life passed a holy church in Cape Town, 
where you doubtless overheard a holy parson addressing his hearers 
as his beloved fellow-creatures, have you, cook! And yet you come 
here, and tell me such a dreadful lie as you did just now, eh?” said 
Stubb. “Where do you expect to go to, cook ?” 
“Go to bed berry soon,” he mumbled, half -turning as he spoke. 
“Avast! heave-to! I mean when you die, cook. It’s an awful 
question. Now what’s your answer?” 
“When dis old brack man dies,” said the negro slowly, changing his 
whole air and demeanour, “he hisself won’t go nowhere ; but some hressed 
angel will come and fetch him.” 
“Fetch him — and fetch him where?” 
“Up dere,” said Fleece, holding his tongs straight over his head, 
and keeping it there very solemnly. 
‘“So, then, you expect to go up into our maintop, do you, cook, when 
you are dead?” 
“Didn’t say dat t’all,” said Fleece, again in the sulks. 
“You said up there, didn’t you? and now look yourself, and see 
where your tongs are pointing. Drop your tongs, cook, and heal? 
my orders. Do ye hear ? Hold your hat in one hand, and clap t’other 
a’top of your heart, when I’m giving my orders, cook. What! that 
your heart, there? — that’s your gizzard! Aloft! aloft! — that’s it — 
now you have it. Hold it there now, and pay attention.” 
“All ’dention,” said the old black, with both hands placed as desired, 
vainly wriggling his grizzled head, as if to get both ears in front at 
one and the same time. 
“Well then, cook, you see this whale-steak of yours was so very had, 
that I have put it out of sight as soon as possible ; you see that, don’t 
you? Well, for the future, when you cook another whale-steak for 
my private table here, the capstan, I’ll tell you what to do so as not to 
spoil it by overdoing. Hold the steak in one hand, and show a live 
