Ahab commands two sailors to assist him in heaving the log [a
small wooden triangle] and line. But the apparatus has hung
unused in the sun and rain for so long that the line is rotten.
One of the sailors, the Old Manxman [native of the Isle of Man
off the coast of England] has the nerve to warn Ahab that the
line will probably break. He gets some condescending, sneering
palaver from Ahab and -- sure enough! the line breaks on the
first heave. Ahab walks off, leaving the two to repair the
damage. As they are reeling in the long line, as though they were
fishing, along comes poor little Pip.
"Come to help, eh, Pip?
"Pip? whom call ye Pip?
"'Peace, thou crazy loon,' cried the Manxman, seizing him by the
arm. 'Away from the quarter-deck!'
"'The greater idiot ever scolds the lesser,' muttered Ahab,
advancing. 'Hands off from that holiness! Where sayest thou Pip
was, boy?'
"'Astern there, sir, astern! Lo! lo!'
"'And who art thou, boy? I see not my reflection in the pupils
of thy eyes.'
"'Bell-boy, sir; ships crier; ding, dong, ding! Who's seen Pip
the coward?'
"Oh, ye frozen heavens! look down here. Ye did beget this
luckless child, and have abandoned him. Here, boy; Ahab's cabin
shall be Pip's home henceforth, while Ahab lives. Thou touchest
my inmost centre, boy; thou art tied to me by cords woven of my
heartstrings. Come, let's down. Come! I feel prouder leading
thee by thy black hand, than though I grasped an Emperor's!'"
Well, well! Ahab can be tender hearted! Perhaps he misses his own young son, and therefore shows compassion to the severely disturbed little lad. But the Manxman says --
"There go two daft ones now. One daft with strength, the other daft with weakness."