Ahab's harpoon, the one forged at Perth's fire, remained firmly lashed in its conspicuous crotch, so that it projected beyond his whale-boat's bow; but the sea that had stove its bottom had caused the loose leather sheath to drop off; and from the keen steel barb there now came a levelled flame of pale, forked fire. As the silent harpoon burned there like a serpent's tongue, Starbuck grasped Ahab by the arm — "God, God is against thee, old man; forbear! 't is an ill voyage! ill begun, ill continued; let me square the yards, while we may, old man, and make a fair wind of it homewards, to go on a better voyage than this."
亞哈的標槍,就是那支在柏斯的熔爐里煉出來的標槍,依然緊縛在它那突出的槍架上,所以,它直伸在他那只捕鯨小艇的艇頭外邊;可是那打穿了艇肚的海浪,已使得那松弛了的標槍鞘皮脫落了;那銳利的鋼鉤上,有一股均勻的灰蒙蒙的、叉形的火焰。就在那支悄然的標槍頭燒得象一條蛇舌的時候,斯達巴克抓住亞哈的胳膊——"天啊,上天也在反對你啦,老人家;得當心呀!這是個不吉利的航程呀,不吉利開始啦,不吉利還要繼續(xù)下去;趁我們還來得及,老人家,我們還是調正帆臂,使它順風駛回家去,總比這樣的航程好呀。"
Overhearing Starbuck, the panic-stricken crew instantly ran to the braces — though not a sail was left aloft. For the moment all the aghast mate's thoughts seemed theirs; they raised a half mutinous cry. But dashing the rattling lightning links to the deck, and snatching the burning harpoon, Ahab waved it like a torch among them; swearing to transfix with it the first sailor that but cast loose a rope's end. Petrified by his aspect, and still more shrinking from the fiery dart that he held, the men fell back in dismay, and Ahab again spoke: —
那些嚇慌了的水手一偷聽到斯達巴克這番話,立刻都奔到轉帆索那邊去——雖然那上面連一張帆都沒有了。一時間,那個驚慌的大副的一切想法似乎也就是他們的想法,水手們發(fā)出一陣有點象是嘩變的叫聲??墒?,亞哈把那些閃電似的鏈環(huán)克朗地朝甲板上一擲,抓起那支燃燒著的標槍,象擎著一支火把那般,在他們中間揮來揮去;大聲咒罵說,哪個水手敢先松解一下索頭,就用這標槍把他戳穿。水手們看到他這副神氣,都傻了眼,又更怕他手里拿著的火一般的標槍會猛地戳來,大家都沮喪地退縮了,于是亞哈又開口了:
All your oaths to hunt the White Whale are as binding as mine; and heart, soul, and body, lungs and life, old Ahab is bound.
你們大家那個打白鯨的誓約,都跟我的誓約一樣應該兌現(xiàn);我亞哈老頭已經(jīng)把良心、靈魂、身體、五臟六腑和生命全都交給它了。