A whale wounded (as we afterwards learned) in this part, but not effectually, as it seemed, had broken away from the boat, carrying along with him half of the harpoon line; and in the extraordinary agony of the wound, he was now dashing among the revolving circles like the lone mounted desperado Arnold, at the battle of Saratoga, carrying dismay wherever he went.
在這種部位受了傷的鯨(這我們后來才知道),好象實(shí)際上并沒有跟小艇脫離關(guān)系,它拖著半截標(biāo)槍繩游去;而且由于格外傷痛,這時,它便在那些旋來轉(zhuǎn)去的圈圈里沖來沖去,有如那個在薩拉托加戰(zhàn)役中單槍匹馬、奮不顧身、倉惶狼狽、不知要逃往何方的阿諾德(本尼提克特·阿諾德(1741-1801)——美國獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭中的將軍,參加過薩拉托加之戰(zhàn)(1777年),后來投降了英國。)。
But agonizing as was the wound of this whale, and an appalling spectacle enough, any way; yet the peculiar horror with which he seemed to inspire the rest of the herd, was owing to a cause which at first the intervening distance obscured from us. But at length we perceived that by one of the unimaginable accidents of the fishery, this whale had become entangled in the harpoon-line that he towed; he had also run away with the cutting-spade in him; and while the free end of the rope attached to that weapon, had permanently caught in the coils of the harpoon-line round his tail, the cutting-spade itself had worked loose from his flesh. So that tormented to madness, he was now churning through the water, violently flailing with his flexible tail, and tossing the keen spade about him, wounding and murdering his own comrades.
不過,這條鯨的負(fù)傷雖是這般苦痛,那番情景看來真夠駭人;然而,由于起先我們隔得太遠(yuǎn),看不清楚,所以沒有看到它似乎是要用這種特別恐怖來激動整個鯨群的意圖。最后,我們這才看到了可說是捕魚業(yè)中的一種不可想象的事件,原來這條鯨不只是跟它所拖著標(biāo)槍繩子糾纏在一起,還拖著那只砍鯨鏟一起奔走;而那根縛在砍鯨鏟上的繩尾,也跟那纏在它尾巴上的標(biāo)槍繩攪在一起,因此,那支砍鯨鏟給扯松了,從它身上脫落下來。所以,因?yàn)樗吹冒l(fā)狂,現(xiàn)在就在水里翻騰,猛烈揮舞柔軟的尾巴,把那支銳利的鏟子在它四周亂甩亂滾,殺傷起它自己的同伴來了。
This terrific object seemed to recall the whole herd from their stationary fright. First, the whales forming the margin of our lake began to crowd a little, and tumble against each other, as if lifted by half spent billows from afar; then the lake itself began faintly to heave and swell; the submarine bridal-chambers and nurseries vanished;
這個可怕的家伙,似乎要把整個鯨群從它們那嚇得一動不動的狀態(tài)中給喚醒過來。于是,那些成為我們的湖邊的鯨便開始擠攏了一點(diǎn),彼此碰來撞去,仿佛讓遠(yuǎn)方?jīng)_來的、已近尾聲的波濤撞了一撞;接著這大湖本身也開始有氣無力地晃蕩一陣,水底里的新房和育兒室便消逝了;