Books: In Search of Moby Dick

In Search of Moby Dick

(Extract)

'Behind the harpooner his assistant stood up, gesturing with hand signals to the steersman to keep him on course. The paddlers were howling and roaring and chanting the stroke. For a long moment the scene held. Then the harpooner judged his distance and struck. He leaped from the boat. He burst upward from the half-crouch and flung himself forward, still holding the lance. Harpoon head, shaft, and human were all one single projectile, hurtling through the air. The harpoon travelled forward and down, and for one moment the man looked like a flag attached to the long pole and trailing behind it. The harpoon head struck the black target of the whale's back, the forward motion stopped, and the harpooner tumbled into the water right beside the thirty-ton animal. It appeared to be a leap of utter madness.'

« Back to Expeditions