Hacking Moby-Dick, Week 5
Week 5 Discussion
Chapter 54, “The Town-Ho’s Story”
“For a moment the exhausted mutineer made a tremulous motion of his cramped jaws, and then painfully twisting round his head, said in a sort of hiss, ‘What I say is this–and mind it well–if you flog me, I murder you!’
“‘Say ye so? then see how ye frighten me’–and the Captain drew off with the rope to strike.
“‘Best not,’ hissed the Lakeman.
“‘But I must,’–and the rope was once more drawn back for the stroke.
“Steelkilt here hissed out something, inaudible to all but the Captain; who, to the amazement of all hands, started back, paced the deck rapidly two or three times, and then suddenly throwing down his rope, said, ‘I won’t do it–let him go–cut him down: d’ye hear?’…”