326 
MOBY DICK; OR 
“What a hump — oh, do pile on the beef — lays like a log! Oh! my 
lads, do spring — slap-jacks and quohogs for supper, you know, my 
lads — baked clams and muffins — oh, do, do, spring — he’s a hundred 
barreller — don’t lose him now — don’t, oh, don't! — see that Yarman — 
oh! won’t ye pull for your duff, my lads — such a sog! such a sogger! 
Don’t ye love sperm? There goes three thousand dollars, men! — 
a bank ! — a whole bank ! The Bank of England ! — Oh, do, do, do ! — 
What’s that Yarman about now?” 
At this moment Derick was in the act of pitching his lamp-feeder 
at the advancing boats, and also his oilcan; perhaps with the double 
view of retarding his rival’s way, and at the same time economically 
accelerating his own by the momentary impetus of the backward 
toss. 
“The unmannerly Dutch dogger!” cried Stubb. “Pull now, men, 
like fifty thousand line-of-battleship loads of red-haired devils. What 
d’ye say, Tashtego; are you the man to snap your spine in two-and- 
twenty pieces for the honour of old Gay-Head ? What d’ye say ?” 
“I say, pull like god-dam,” — cried the Indian. 
Eiercely, but evenly incited by the taunts of the German, the 
Pequod's three boats now began ranging almost abreast ; and, so 
disposed, momentarily neared him. In that fine, loose, chivalrous 
attitude of the headsman when drawing near to his prey, the three 
mates stood up proudly, occasionally backing the after oarsman with 
an exhilarating cry of, “There she slides, now ! Hurrah for the white- 
ash breeze! Down with the Yarman ! Sail over him !” 
But so decided an original start had Derick had, that spite of all 
their gallantry, he would have proved the victor in this race, had 
not a righteous judgment descended upon him in a crab which caught 
the blade of his midship oarsman. While this clumsy lubber was 
striving to free his white-ash, and while, in consequence, Derick’s 
boat was nigh to capsizing, and he thundering away at his men in a 
mighty rage; — that was a good time for Starbuck, Stubb, and Flask. 
With a shout, they took a mortal start forwards, and slantingly 
ranged up on the German’s quarter. An instant more, and all four 
boats were diagonally in the whale’s immediate wake, while stretch- 
ing from them, on both sides, was the foaming swell that he made. 
