after hold for, so often, as Dough-Boy long suspected. They were hidden down there. The White Whale’s at the bottom of it.

Well, well, so be it! Can’t be helped! All right! Give way, men! It ain’t the White Whale to-day! Give way!”

Now the advent of these outlandish strangers at such a critical instant as the lowering of the boats from the deck, this had not unreasonably awakened a sort of superstitious amazement in some of the ship’s company; but Archy’s fancied discovery having some time previous got abroad among them, though indeed not credited then, this had in some small measure prepared them for the event.

It took off the extreme edge of their wonder; and so what with all this and Stubb’s confident way of