Besides, it was the stronger men in the Town-Ho that had been divided into gangs, taking turns at the pumps; and being the most athletic seaman of them all, Steelkilt had been regularly assigned captain of one of the gangs; consequently he should have been freed from any trivial business not connected with truly nautical duties,such being the case with his comrades. I mention all these particulars so that you may understand exactly how this affair stood between the two men.
再說,這時‘大鯨出來了號’上那些身體比較強壯的水手都被分成幾班,輪流抽水;斯蒂爾基爾特因為是大伙里力氣最大的,向來總被指派為其中一班的班長;因此,他本來就可以免掉任何的確與抽水任務無關的瑣事,他的伙伴也是如此。我所以要把這些細節(jié)都說出來,是好叫你們正確地了解他們兩人之間的事件的真相。
"But there was more than this: the order about the shovel was almost as plainly meant to sting and insult Steelkilt, as though Radney had spat in his face. Any man who has gone sailor in a whale-ship will understand this; and all this and doubtless much more, the Lakeman fully comprehended when the mate uttered his command. But as he sat still for a moment, and as he steadfastly looked into the mate's malignant eye and perceived the stacks of powder-casks heaped up in him and the slow-match silently burning along towards them; as he instinctively saw all this, that strange forbearance and unwillingness to stir up the deeper passionateness in any already ireful being--a repugnance most felt, when felt at all, by really valiant men even when aggrieved-- this nameless phantom feeling, gentlemen, stole over Steelkilt.
“不過,事情還不止如此。要他去鏟那些東西的這個命令,簡直就是明白地意味著刺激和侮辱斯蒂爾基爾特,一如拉德尼在他臉上吐了唾沫。任何一個做過捕鯨水手的人都會明白這一點;所以當這個大副發(fā)出他這個命令的時候,湖上人完全心里有數(shù),而且無疑地比別人更其有數(shù)。不過,他不聲不響地坐了一會兒,眼睛緊盯著那個大副的滿含惡意的眼睛,覺得他心里已經(jīng)堆起了許多火藥桶,火苗已經(jīng)悄悄地快要燃著那些桶子了;總之,在他本能地看到這一切的時候,諸位先生,斯蒂爾基爾特就不知不覺地產(chǎn)生了這種難以名狀的虛幻的感情——那種奇特的忍耐工夫,和不愿意對任何一個本來就已叫人生厭的人激起更進一步的怒火——這是真正驍勇的人哪怕在受迫害的時候也最最感到厭惡的事。