Nimble as a cat, Tashtego mounts aloft; and without altering his erect1 posture2, runs straight out upon the overhanging mainyard-arm, to the part where it exactly projects over the hoisted3 Tun. He has carried with him a light tackle called a whip, consisting of only two parts, travelling through a single-sheaved block. Securing this block, so that it hangs down from the yard-arm, he swings one end of the rope, till it is caught and firmly held by a hand on the deck. Then, hand-over-hand, down the other part, the Indian drops through the air, till dexterously5 he lands on the summit of the head. There--still high elevated above the rest of the company, to whom he vivaciously7 cries-- he seems some Turkish Muezzin calling the good people to prayers from the top of a tower. A short-handled sharp spade being sent up to him, he diligently8 searches for the proper place to begin breaking into the Tun. In this business he proceeds very heedfully, like a treasure-hunter in some old house, sounding the walls to find where the gold is masoned in. By the time this cautious search is over, a stout9 ironbound bucket, precisely10 like a well-bucket, has been attached to one end of the whip; while the other end, being stretched across the deck, is there held by two or three alert hands. These last now hoist4 the bucket within grasp of the Indian, to whom another person has reached up a very long pole. Inserting this pole into the bucket, Tashtego downward guides the bucket into the Tun, till it entirely11 disappears; then giving the word to the seamen12 at the whip, up comes the bucket again, all bubbling like a dairy-maid's pail of new milk. Carefully lowered from its height, the full-freighted vessel13 is caught by an appointed hand, and quickly emptied into a large tub. Then remounting aloft, it again goes through the same round until the deep cistern14 will yield no more. Towards the end, Tashtego has to ram15 his long pole harder and harder, and deeper and deeper into the Tun, until some twenty feet of the pole have gone down.
Now, the people of the Pequod had been baling some time in this way; several tubs had been filled with the fragrant16 sperm17; when all at once a queer accident happened. Whether it was that Tashtego, that wild Indian, was so heedless and reckless as to let go for a moment his one-handed hold on the great cabled tackles suspending the head; or whether the place where he stood was so treacherous18 and oozy19; or whether the Evil One himself would have it to fall out so, without stating his particular reasons; how it was exactly, there is no telling now; but, on a sudden, as the eightieth or ninetieth bucket came suckingly up--my God! poor Tashtego-- like the twin reciprocating20 bucket in a veritable well, dropped head-foremost down into this great Tun of Heidelburgh, and with a horrible oily gurgling, went clean out of sight!
"Man overboard!" cried Daggoo, who amid the general consternation21 first came to his senses. "Swing the bucket this way!" and putting one foot into it, so as the better to secure his slippery hand-hold on the whip itself the hoisters ran him high up to the top of the head, almost before Tashtego could have reached its interior bottom. Meantime, there was a terrible tumult22. Looking over the side, they saw the before lifeless head throbbing23 and heaving just below the surface of the sea, as if that moment seized with some momentous24 idea; whereas it was only the poor Indian unconsciously revealing by those struggles the perilous25 depth to which he had sunk.
At this instant, while Daggoo, on the summit of the head, was clearing the whip--which had somehow got foul26 of the great cutting tackles-- a sharp cracking noise was heard; and to the unspeakable horror of all, one of the two enormous hooks suspending the head tore out, and with a vast vibration27 the enormous mass sideways swung, till the drunk ship reeled and shook as if smitten28 by an iceberg29. The one remaining hook, upon which the entire strain now depended, seemed every instant to be on the point of giving way; an event still more likely from the violent motions of the head.
"Come down, come down!" yelled the seamen to Daggoo, but with one hand holding on to the heavy tackles, so that if the head should drop, he would still remain suspended; the negro having cleared the foul line, rammed30 down the bucket into the now collapsed31 well, meaning that the buried harpooneer should grasp it, and so be hoisted out.
"In heaven's name, man," cried Stubb, "are you ramming32 home a cartridge33 there?--Avast! How will that help him; jamming that iron-bound bucket on top of his head? Avast, will ye!"
"Stand clear of the tackle!" cried a voice like the bursting of a rocket.
Almost in the same instant, with a thunder-boom, the enormous mass dropped into the sea, like Niagara's Table-Rock into the whirlpool; the suddenly relieved hull34 rolled away from it, to far down her glittering copper35; and all caught their breath, as half swinging--now over the sailors' heads, and now over the water--Daggoo, through a thick mist of spray, was dimly beheld36 clinging to the pendulous37 tackles, while poor, buried-alive Tashtego was sinking utterly38 down to the bottom of the sea! But hardly had the blinding vapor39 cleared away, when a naked figure with a boardingsword in his hand, was for one swift moment seen hovering40 over the bulwarks41. The next, a loud splash announced that my brave Queequeg had dived to the rescue. One packed rush was made to the side, and every eye counted every ripple42, as moment followed moment, and no sign of either the sinker or the diver could be seen. Some hands now jumped into a boat alongside, and pushed a little off from the ship.
"Ha! ha!" cried Daggoo, all at once, from his now quiet, swinging perch43 overhead; and looking further off from the side, we saw an arm thrust upright from the blue waves; a sight strange to see, as an arm thrust forth44 from the grass over a grave.
"Both! both!--it is both!"-cried Daggoo again with a joyful45 shout; and soon after, Queequeg was seen boldly striking out with one hand, and with the other clutching the long hair of the Indian. Drawn46 into the waiting boat, they were quickly brought to the deck; but Tashtego was long in coming to, and Queequeg did not look very brisk.
Now, how had this noble rescue been accomplished47? Why, diving after the slowly descending48 head, Queequeg with his keen sword had made side lunges near its bottom, so as to scuttle49 a large hole there; then dropping his sword, had thrust his long arm far inwards and upwards50, and so hauled out our poor Tash by the head. He averred51, that upon first thrusting in for him, a leg was presented; but well knowing that that was not as it ought to be, and might occasion great trouble;--he had thrust back the leg, and by a dexterous6 heave and toss, had wrought52 a somerset upon the Indian; so that with the next trial, he came forth in the good old way-- head foremost. As for the great head itself, that was doing as well as could be expected.
And thus, through the courage and great skill in obstetrics of Queequeg, the deliverance, or rather, delivery of Tashtego, was successfully accomplished, in the teeth, too, of the most untoward53 and apparently54 hopeless impediments; which is a lesson by no means to be forgotten. Midwifery should be taught in the same course with fencing and boxing, riding and rowing.
I know that this queer adventure of the Gay-Header's will be sure to seem incredible to some landsmen, though they themselves may have either seen or heard of some one's falling into a cistern ashore55; an accident which not seldom happens, and with much less reason too than the Indian's, considering the exceeding slipperiness of the curb56 of the Sperm Whale's well.
But, peradventure, it may be sagaciously urged, how is this? We thought the tissued, infiltrated57 head of the Sperm Whale, was the lightest and most corky part about him; and yet thou makest it sink in an element of a far greater specific gravity than itself. We have thee there. Not at all, but I have ye; for at the time poor Tash fell in, the case had been nearly emptied of its lighter58 contents, leaving little but the dense59 tendinous wall of the well--a double welded, hammered substance, as I have before said, much heavier than the sea water, and a lump of which sinks in it like lead almost. But the tendency to rapid sinking in this substance was in the present instance materially counteracted60 by the other parts of the head remaining undetached from it, so that it sank very slowly and deliberately61 indeed, affording Queequeg a fair chance for performing his agile62 obstetrics on the run, as you may say. Yes, it was a running delivery, so it was.
Now, had Tashtego perished in that head, it had been a very precious perishing; smothered63 in the very whitest and daintiest of fragrant spermaceti; coffined64, hearsed, and tombed in the secret inner chamber65 and sanctum sanctorum of the whale. Only one sweeter end can readily be recalled--the delicious death of an Ohio honey-hunter, who seeking honey in the crotch of a hollow tree, found such exceeding store of it, that leaning too far over, it sucked him in, so that he died embalmed66. How many, think ye, have likewise fallen into Plato's honey head, and sweetly perished there?
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1
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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dexterously
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| adv.巧妙地，敏捷地 | |
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dexterous
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| adj.灵敏的；灵巧的 | |
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vivaciously
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| adv.快活地；活泼地；愉快地 | |
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diligently
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| ad.industriously;carefully | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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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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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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cistern
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| n.贮水池 | |
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ram
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| (random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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sperm
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| n.精子，精液 | |
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treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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oozy
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| adj.软泥的 | |
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reciprocating
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| adj.往复的；来回的；交替的；摆动的v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的现在分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动 | |
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consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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vibration
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| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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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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iceberg
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| n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人 | |
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rammed
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| v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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ramming
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| n.打结炉底v.夯实（土等）( ram的现在分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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cartridge
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| n.弹壳，弹药筒；(装磁带等的)盒子 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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pendulous
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| adj.下垂的；摆动的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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joyful
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| adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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49
scuttle
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| v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗 | |
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50
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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51
averred
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| v.断言( aver的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；证明…属实；作为事实提出 | |
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52
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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untoward
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| adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的 | |
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54
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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56
curb
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| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
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infiltrated
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| adj.[医]浸润的v.（使）渗透，（指思想）渗入人的心中( infiltrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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59
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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60
counteracted
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| 对抗，抵消( counteract的过去式 ) | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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coffined
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| vt.收殓（coffin的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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embalmed
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| adj.用防腐药物保存（尸体）的v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的过去式和过去分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气 | |
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