Hand in hand, ship and breeze blew on; but the breeze came faster than the ship, and soon the Pequod began to rock.
By and by, through the glass the stranger's boats and manned mast-heads proved her a whale-ship. But as she was so far to windward, and shooting by, apparently1 making a passage to some other ground, the Pequod could not hope to reach her. So the signal was set to see what response would be made.
Here be it said, that like the vessels2 of military marines, the ships of the American Whale Fleet have each a private signal; all which signals being collected in a book with the names of the respective vessels attached, every captain is provided with it. Thereby3, the whale commanders are enabled to recognise each other upon the ocean, even at considerable distance, and with no small facility.
The Pequod's signal was at last responded to by the stranger's setting her own; which proved the ship to be the Jeroboam of Nantucket. Squaring her yards, she bore down, ranged abeam4 under the Pequod's lee, and lowered a boat; it soon drew nigh; but, as the side-ladder was being rigged by Starbuck's order to accommodate the visiting captain, the stranger in question waved his hand from his boat's stern in token of that proceeding5 being entirely6 unnecessary. It turned out that the Jeroboam had a malignant7 epidemic8 on board, and that Mayhew, her captain, was fearful of infecting the Pequod's company. For, though himself and the boat's crew remained untainted, and though his ship was half a rifle-shot off, and an incorruptible sea and air rolling and flowing between; yet conscientiously10 adhering to the timid quarantine of the land, he peremptorily11 refused to come into direct contact with the Pequod.
But this did by no means prevent all communications. Preserving an interval12 of some few yards between itself and the ship, the Jeroboam's boat by the occasional use of its oars13 contrived14 to keep parallel to the Pequod, as she heavily forged through the sea (for by this time it blew very fresh), with her main-topsail aback; though, indeed, at times by the sudden onset15 of a large rolling wave, the boat would be pushed some way ahead; but would be soon skilfully16 brought to her proper bearings again. Subject to this, and other the like interruptions now and then, a conversation was sustained between the two parties; but at intervals17 not without still another interruption of a very different sort.
Pulling an oar9 in the Jeroboam's boat, was a man of a singular appearance, even in that wild whaling life where individual notabilities make up all totalities. He was a small, short, youngish man, sprinkled all over his face with freckles18, and wearing redundant19 yellow hair. A long-skirted, cabalistically-cut coat of a faded walnut20 tinge21 enveloped22 him; the overlapping23 sleeves of which were rolled up on his wrists. A deep, settled, fanatic24 delirium25 was in his eyes.
So soon as this figure had been first descried26, Stubb had exclaimed-- "That's he! that's he!--the long-togged scaramouch the Town-Ho's company told us of!" Stubb here alluded27 to a strange story told of the Jeroboam, and a certain man among her crew, some time previous when the Pequod spoke28 the Town-Ho. According to this account and what was subsequently learned, it seemed that the scaramouch in question had gained a wonderful ascendency over almost everybody in the Jeroboam. His story was this:
He had been originally nurtured29 among the crazy society of Neskyeuna Shakers, where he had been a great prophet; in their cracked, secret meetings having several times descended30 from heaven by the way of a trapdoor, announcing the speedy opening of the seventh vial, which he carried in his vest-pocket; but, which, instead of containing gunpowder31, was supposed to be charged with laudanum. A strange, apostolic whim32 having seized him, he had left Neskyeuna for Nantucket, where, with that cunning peculiar33 to craziness, he assumed a steady, common sense exterior34, and offered himself as a green-hand candidate for the Jeroboam's whaling voyage. They engaged him; but straightway upon the ship's getting out of sight of land, his insanity35 broke out in a freshet. He announced himself as the archangel Gabriel, and commanded the captain to jump overboard. He published his manifesto36, whereby he set himself forth37 as the deliverer of the isles38 of the sea and vicar-general of all Oceanica. The unflinching earnestness with which he declared these things;--the dark, daring play of his sleepless39, excited imagination, and all the preternatural terrors of real delirium, united to invest this Gabriel in the minds of the majority of the ignorant crew, with an atmosphere of sacredness. Moreover, they were afraid of him. As such a man, however, was not of much practical use in the ship, especially as he refused to work except when he pleased, the incredulous captain would fain have been rid of him; but apprised41 that that individual's intention was to land him in the first convenient port, the archangel forthwith opened all his seals and vials--devoting the ship and all hands to unconditional42 perdition, in case this intention was carried out. So strongly did he work upon his disciples43 among the crew, that at last in a body they went to the captain and told him if Gabriel was sent from the ship, not a man of them would remain. He was therefore forced to relinquish44 his plan. Nor would they permit Gabriel to be any way maltreated, say or do what he would; so that it came to pass that Gabriel had the complete freedom of the ship. The consequence of all this was, that the archangel cared little or nothing for the captain and mates; and since the epidemic had broken out, he carried a higher hand than ever; declaring that the plague, as he called it, was at his sole command; nor should it be stayed but according to his good pleasure. The sailors, mostly poor devils, cringed, and some of them fawned45 before him; in obedience46 to his instructions, sometimes rendering47 him personal homage48, as to a god. Such things may seem incredible; but, however wondrous49, they are true. Nor is the history of fanatics50 half so striking in respect to the measureless self-deception of the fanatic himself, as his measureless power of deceiving and bedevilling so many others. But it is time to return to the Pequod.
"I fear not thy epidemic, man," said Ahab from the bulwarks51, to Captain Mayhew, who stood in the boat's stern; "come on board."
But now Gabriel started to his feet.
"Think, think of the fevers, yellow and bilious52! Beware of the horrible plague!"
"Gabriel! Gabriel!" cried Captain Mayhew; "thou must either-" But that instant a headlong wave shot the boat far ahead, and its seethings drowned all speech.
"Hast thou seen the White Whale?" demanded Ahab, when the boat drifted back.
"Think, think of thy whale-boat, stoven and sunk! Beware of the horrible tail!"
"I tell thee again, Gabriel, that-" But again the boat tore ahead as if dragged by fiends. Nothing was said for some moments, while a succession of riotous53 waves rolled by which by one of those occasional caprices of the seas were tumbling, not heaving it. Meantime, the hoisted54 sperm55 whale's head jogged about very violently, and Gabriel was seen eyeing it with rather more apprehensiveness56 than his archangel nature seemed to warrant.
When this interlude was over, Captain Mayhew began a dark story concerning Moby Dick; not, however, without frequent interruptions from Gabriel, whenever his name was mentioned, and the crazy sea that seemed leagued with him.
It seemed that the Jeroboam had not long left home, when upon speaking a whale-ship, her people were reliably apprised of the existence of Moby Dick, and the havoc57 he had made. Greedily sucking in this intelligence, Gabriel solemnly warned the captain against attacking the White Whale, in case the monster should be seen; in his gibbering insanity, pronouncing the White Whale to be no less a being than the Shaker God incarnated58; the Shakers receiving the Bible. But when, some year or two afterwards, Moby Dick was fairly sighted from the mast-heads, Macey, the chief mate, burned with ardor59 to encounter him; and the captain himself being not unwilling60 to let him have the opportunity, despite all the archangel's denunciations and forewarnings, Macey succeeded in persuading five men to man his boat. With them he pushed off; and, after much weary pulling, and many perilous61, unsuccessful onsets62, he at last succeeded in getting one iron fast. Meantime, Gabriel, ascending63 to the main-royal mast-head, was tossing one arm in frantic64 gestures, and hurling65 forth prophecies of speedy doom66 to the sacrilegious assailants of his divinity. Now, while Macey, the mate, was standing67 up in his boat's bow, and with all the reckless energy of his tribe was venting68 his wild exclamations69 upon the whale, and essaying to get a fair chance for his poised70 lance, lo! a broad white shadow rose from the sea; by its quick, fanning motion, temporarily taking the breath out of the bodies of the oarsmen. Next instant, the luckless mate, so full of furious life, was smitten71 bodily into the air, and making a long arc in his descent, fell into the sea at the distance of about fifty yards. Not a chip of the boat was harmed, nor a hair of any oarsman's head; but the mate for ever sank.
It is well to parenthesize here, that of the fatal accidents in the Sperm-Whale Fishery, this kind is perhaps almost as frequent as any. Sometimes, nothing is injured but the man who is thus annihilated72; oftener the boat's bow is knocked off, or the thigh-board, on which the headsman stands, is torn from its place and accompanies the body. But strangest of all is the circumstance, that in more instances than one, when the body has been recovered, not a single mark of violence is discernible the man being stark73 dead.
The whole calamity74, with the falling form of Macey, was plainly descried from the ship. Raising a piercing shriek--"The vial! the vial!" Gabriel called off the terror-stricken crew from the further hunting of the whale. This terrible event clothed the archangel with added influence; because his credulous40 disciples believed that he had specifically fore-announced it, instead of only making a general prophecy, which any one might have done, and so have chanced to hit one of many marks in the wide margin75 allowed. He became a nameless terror to the ship.
Mayhew having concluded his narration76, Ahab put such questions to him, that the stranger captain could not forbear inquiring whether he intended to hunt the White Whale, if opportunity should offer. To which Ahab answered--"Aye." Straightway, then, Gabriel once more started to his feet, glaring upon the old man, and vehemently77 exclaimed, with downward pointed78 finger--"Think, think of the blasphemer-- dead, and down there!--beware of the blasphemer's end!"
Ahab stolidly79 turned aside; then said to Mayhew, "Captain, I have just bethought me of my letter-bag; there is a letter for one of thy officers, if I mistake not. Starbuck, look over the bag."
Every whale-ship takes out a goodly number of letters for various ships, whose delivery to the persons to whom they may be addressed, depends upon the mere80 chance of encountering them in the four oceans. Thus, most letters never reach their mark; and many are only received after attaining81 an age of two or three years or more.
Soon Starbuck returned with a letter in his hand. It was sorely tumbled, damp, and covered with a dull, spotted82, green mould, in consequence of being kept in a dark locker83 of the cabin. Of such a letter, Death himself might well have been the post-boy.
"Can'st not read it?" cried Ahab. "Give it me, man. Aye, aye, aye it's but a dim scrawl;--what's this?" As he was studying it out, Starbuck took a long cutting-spade pole, and with his knife slightly split the end, to insert the letter there, and in that way, hand it to the boat, without its coming any closer to the ship.
Meantime, Ahab holding the letter, muttered, "Mr. Har-- yes, Mr. Harry84--(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!"
"Poor fellow! poor fellow! and from his wife," sighed Mayhew; "but let me have it."
"Nay85, keep it thyself," cried Gabriel to Ahab; "thou art soon going that way."
"Curses throttle86 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 slit87 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 impaling88 the letter on it, sent it thus loaded back into the ship. It fell at Ahab's feet. Then Gabriel shrieked89 out to his comrades to give way with their oars, and in that manner the mutinous90 boat rapidly shot away from the Pequod.
As, after this interlude, the seamen91 resumed their work upon the jacket of the whale, many strange things were hinted in reference to this wild affair.
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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abeam
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| adj.正横着(的) | |
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proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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oar
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| n.桨，橹，划手；v.划行 | |
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conscientiously
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| adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实 | |
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peremptorily
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| adv.紧急地，不容分说地，专横地 | |
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12
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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onset
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| n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始 | |
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skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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freckles
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| n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 ) | |
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redundant
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| adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的 | |
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walnut
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| n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色 | |
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tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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overlapping
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| adj./n.交迭（的） | |
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fanatic
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| n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的 | |
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delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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descried
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| adj.被注意到的，被发现的，被看到的 | |
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alluded
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| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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29
nurtured
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| 养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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gunpowder
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| n.火药 | |
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whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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manifesto
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| n.宣言，声明 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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isles
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| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
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sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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credulous
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| adj.轻信的，易信的 | |
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41
apprised
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| v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价 | |
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unconditional
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| adj.无条件的，无限制的，绝对的 | |
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disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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44
relinquish
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| v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手 | |
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45
fawned
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| v.（尤指狗等）跳过来往人身上蹭以示亲热( fawn的过去式和过去分词 )；巴结；讨好 | |
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46
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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49
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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fanatics
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| 狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 ) | |
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51
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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52
bilious
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| adj.胆汁过多的；易怒的 | |
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53
riotous
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| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
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54
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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55
sperm
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| n.精子，精液 | |
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56
apprehensiveness
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| 忧虑感，领悟力 | |
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57
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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58
incarnated
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| v.赋予（思想、精神等）以人的形体( incarnate的过去式和过去分词 )；使人格化；体现；使具体化 | |
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59
ardor
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| n.热情，狂热 | |
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60
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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61
perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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62
onsets
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| 攻击，袭击（onset的复数形式） | |
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ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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65
hurling
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| n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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66
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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venting
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| 消除； 泄去； 排去； 通风 | |
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exclamations
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| n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词 | |
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poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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72
annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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74
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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76
narration
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| n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体 | |
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77
vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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stolidly
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| adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地 | |
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80
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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81
attaining
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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82
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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83
locker
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| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
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84
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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85
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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86
throttle
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| n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压 | |
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87
slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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88
impaling
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| 钉在尖桩上( impale的现在分词 ) | |
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89
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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90
mutinous
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| adj.叛变的，反抗的；adv.反抗地，叛变地；n.反抗，叛变 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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