Think of Death and the Judgment then? No! No time to think about Death then. Life was what Captain Ahab and I was thinking of; and how to save all hands — how to rig jury-masts — how to get into the nearest port; that was what I was thinking of.”

Bildad said no more, but buttoning up his coat, stalked on deck, where we followed him. There he stood, very quietly overlooking some sailmakers who were mending a top-sail in the waist.

Now and then he stooped to pick up a patch, or save an end of tarred twine, which otherwise might have been wasted.