"On the second day, a sail drew near, nearer, and picked me up at last. It was the devious-cruising Rachel, that in her retracing search after her missing children, only found another orphan."
Musing: And with these lines, the book is over. The ship, the Rachel, returns. Earlier Ahab refused to help the captain of the Rachel find his two lost sons, but here the Rachel finds Ishmael. In a biblical sense, the names are relevant. Rachel mourned for her lost children and Ishmael represents orphans and exiles. I'm not sure why the Rachel was 'devious' in her cruising? Another question unanswered.