Ishmael and Queequeg wake up, cold. They share a smoke and Queequeg begins to tell Ishmael his story.

Ishmael contemplates Queequeg and decides that he is a good fellow. Our narrator and the harpooner launch an epic bromance.

Father Mapple regales the chapel with a sermon on Jonah and the Whale (naturally).

Father Mapple enters and ascends the pulpit, which has borrowed many of its architectural features from ships. Ishmael ruminates on ships and churches.

The Whaleman’s Chapel contains placards memorializing those lost to sea. Ishmael ruminates on life and death…Wait, what’s Queequeg doing in here?

Ishmael strolls around New Bedford, impressed. We learn that the city owes its diverse populace and immense wealth to the value of whale oil.

The breakfast table at the Spouter-Inn is quiet. It is still full of whalers, but they are not as rowdy as they were the night before. Maybe they’re all hungover? Ishmael decides that they are an awkward bunch.

Ishmael wakes up to find Queequeg cuddling him and experiences a feeling of confinement and dread that harkens back to his childhood. He recovers when he realizes where he is and lets himself enjoy observing “the savage's” mourning routine.

At the “Spouter-Inn,” which is owned by the ominously named Peter Coffin, Ishmael studies an old, “thoroughly besmoked” painting, eventually deciding that it depicts a whale attacking a ship. After a hearty dinner surrounded by grizzled whalers, he decides to sleep on a bench in the dining room as the only other option available is to share a bed with a harpooner who is out trying to sell embalmed human heads. But the bench proves too uncomfortable and he decides to try his luck in the shared bed. The harpooner returns and prays to a small wooden idol, while Ishmael watches from under the covers, frozen with fear. Finished with his ritual, the harpooner crawls into bed and freaks out when he finds Ishmael. The two men scream at each other until Peter Coffin comes in and calms the situation. Ishmael decides that the harpooner is a decent sort after all and finally settles into the best sleep of his life.