英語聽書《白鯨記》第794期

While the Frenchman's boats, then, were engaged in towing the ship one way, Stubb benevolently towed away at his whale the other way, ostentatiously slacking out a most unusually long tow-line.

于是，在那法國船的幾只小艇把船往旁邊拉時，斯塔布便慈善為懷地把他的鯨朝另一邊拉過去，賣弄地撒出一根異常的拖索。

Presently a breeze sprang up; Stubb feigned to cast off from the whale; hoisting his boats, the Frenchman soon increased his distance, while the Pequod slid in between him and Stubb's whale. Whereupon Stubb quickly pulled to the floating body, and hailing the Pequod to give notice of his intentions, at once proceeded to reap the fruit of his unrighteous cunning. Seizing his sharp boat-spade, he commenced an excavation in the body, a little behind the side fin. You would almost have thought he was digging a cellar there in the sea; and when at length his spade struck against the gaunt ribs, it was like turning up old Roman tiles and pottery buried in fat English loam. His boat's crew were all in high excitement, eagerly helping their chief, and looking as anxious as gold-hunters.

不一會，一陣和風(fēng)吹來，斯塔布假裝著拋棄那條鯨，那艘法國船把幾只小艇吊上去后，立刻急駛開去，"裴廓德號"則打那艘法國船和斯塔布的鯨中間慢慢插進(jìn)來。于是，斯塔布一面趕緊向那條漂浮的鯨尸劃去，一面招呼"裴廓德號"，把他的意圖通知他們，當(dāng)即著手收獲他那不義的陰謀的果實。斯塔布抓起他那把銳利的小鏟子，開始在鯨鰭稍后的地方，對尸身鏟挖起來。他那動作簡直教人以為他在海底挖地窖，等到最后他那鏟子在砍那些瘦削的肋骨的時候，真象是在英國的肥土里掏挖古羅馬的磚瓦和陶器那樣。他小艇上的水手全都精神抖擻，熱切地幫著他們的艇長，神情象淘金人一樣焦急。

And all the time numberless fowls were ping, and ducking, and screaming, and yelling, and fighting around them. Stubb was beginning to look disappointed, especially as the horrible nosegay increased, when suddenly from out the very heart of this plague, there stole a faint stream of perfume, which flowed through the tide of bad smells without being absorbed by it, as one river will flow into and then along with another, without at all blending with it for a time.

無數(shù)的兀鷹一直繞著他們尖聲狂叫，啄來斗去，猛潛猛鉆。斯塔布臉上開始顯出失望的神情，尤其是因為那股奇臭無比的味道越來越厲害，可是，突然間，就在這個瘟疫的中心里，微微地散發(fā)出一股香味來，這股香味從那陣臭氣中飄散開來，卻一點也沒有夾雜著臭氣，猶如一條要流進(jìn)大河的水流，接著又跟另一條河流一起流去，卻暫時一點也沒有跟大河堤在一起那樣。

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