Meantime, Ahab holding the letter, muttered, "Mr. Har— yes, Mr. Harry—(a woman's pinny hand,—the man's wife, I'll wager)—Aye—Mr. Harry Macey, Ship Jeroboam; why it's Macey, and he's dead!"
這時,亞哈捏著那封信,嘴里喃喃道,"哈——不錯,哈利先生——(是女人的纖細(xì)的筆跡——是收信人的老婆,我打賭)——喲——哈利。梅賽先生,'耶羅波安號';——怎么,就是梅賽先生,他已經(jīng)死啦!"
Poor fellow! poor fellow! and from his wife, sighed Mayhew; "but let me have it."
可憐的家伙!可憐的家伙!是他老婆寫來的,梅休嘆道;"把信交給我吧。"
Nay, keep it thyself, CRIed Gabriel to Ahab; "thou art soon going that way."
不,還是你自己藏著吧,迦百列對亞哈嚷道;"你就快上那邊去啦。"
Curses throttle thee! yelled Ahab. "Captain Mayhew, stand by now to receive it"; and taking the fatal missive from Starbuck's hands, he caught it in the slit of the pole, and reached it over towards the boat. But as he did so, the oarsmen expectantly desisted from rowing; the boat drifted a little towards the ship's stern; so that, as if by magic, the letter suddenly ranged along with Gabriel's eager hand. He clutched it in an instant, seized the boat-knife, and impaling the letter on it, sent it thus loaded back into the ship. It fell at Ahab's feet. Then Gabriel shrieked out to his comrades to give way with their oars, and in that manner the mutinous boat rapidly shot away from the Pequod.
鬼卡住你的喉嚨!亞哈高聲叫喊。"梅休船長,現(xiàn)在請接吧;"他從斯達(dá)巴克手里拿過那封不祥的信,把它夾在柄端的縫里,向小艇那邊伸過去??墒牵谶@樣做的時候,槳手們都觀望地停止扳槳;小艇稍微蕩向船梢;所以,仿佛有一股魔力似的,那封信突然跟迦百列那只急切伸著的手并攏了。他立刻把信攫住,抓起小刀,把信嵌在刀里,連刀帶信擲進船里,恰好落在亞哈腳邊。然后,迦百列對他的伙伴們尖聲大叫,要他們趕緊扳槳。于是,那只抗命的小艇就快得象箭一般跟"裴廓德號"分開了。
As, after this interlude, the seamen resumed their work upon the jacket of the whale, many strange things were hinted in reference to this wild affair.
這段插曲過后,水手們又重新忙著處理大鯨那件外套(大鯨那件外套——指鯨皮。)了,可是,就這一荒唐的事件而論;它已經(jīng)暗示出許多怪事來了。