He was as black as a bowhead's skin—a lean, scrawny, sinewy7 little man, stooped about the shoulders and walking with a slight limp. His countenance8 was imperious. His lips were thin and cruel. His eyes were sharp and sinister9. His ebony skin was drawn10 so tightly over the frame-work of his face that it almost seemed as if it would crack when he smiled. His nose had a domineering Roman curve. He carried his head high. In profile, this little blackamoor suggested the mummified head of some old Pharaoh.
He was a native of the Cape11 Verde islands. He spoke12 English with the liquid burr of a Latin. His native tongue was Portuguese13. No glimmer15 of education relieved his mental darkness. It was as though his outside color went all the way through. He could neither read nor write, but he was a good sailor and no better whaleman ever handled a harpoon16 or laid a boat on a whale's back. For twenty years he had been sailing as boatsteerer on whale ships, and to give the devil his due, he had earned a name for skill and courage in a thousand adventures among sperm17, bowhead, and right whales in tropical and frozen seas.
My first impression of the Night King stands out in my memory with cameo distinctness. In the bustle18 and confusion of setting sails, just after the tug14 had cut loose from us outside Golden Gate heads, I saw Mendez, like an ebony statue, standing19 in the waist of the ship, an arm resting easily on the bulwarks20, singing out orders in a clear, incisive21 voice that had in it the ring of steel.
When I shipped, it had not entered my mind that any but white men would be of the ship's company. It was with a shock like a blow in the face that I saw this little colored man singing out orders. I wondered in a dazed sort of way if he was to be in authority over me. I was not long in doubt. When calm had succeeded the first confusion and the crew had been divided into watches, Captain Winchester announced from the break of the poop that "Mr." Mendez would head the port watch. That was my watch. While the captain was speaking, "Mr." Mendez stood like a black Napoleon and surveyed us long and silently. Then suddenly he snapped out a decisive order and the white men jumped to obey. The Night King had assumed his throne.
The Night King and I disliked each other from the start. It may seem petty now that it's all past, but I raged impotently in the bitterness of outraged22 pride at being ordered about by this black overlord of the quarter-deck. He was not slow to discover my smoldering23 resentment24 and came to hate me with a cordiality not far from classic. He kept me busy with some silly job when the other men were smoking their pipes and spinning yarns25. If I showed the left-handedness of a landlubber in sailorizing he made me stay on deck my watch below to learn the ropes. If there was dirt or litter to be shoveled26 overboard, he sang out for me.
"Clean up dat muck dere, you," he would say with fine contempt.
The climax27 of his petty tyrannies came one night on the run to Honolulu when he charged me with some trifling28 infraction29 of ship's rules, of which I was not guilty, and ordered me aloft to sit out the watch on the fore2 yard. The yard was broad, the night was warm, the ship was traveling on a steady keel, and physically30 the punishment was no punishment at all. There was no particular ignominy in the thing, either, for it was merely a joke to the sailors. The sting of it was in having to take such treatment from this small colored person without being able to resent it or help myself.
"Blow! Blow! There's his old head. Blo—o—o—w! There he ripples33. There goes flukes." Full-lunged and clear, the musical cry came from aloft like a song with little yodling breaks in the measure. It was the view-halloo of the sea, and it quickened the blood and set the nerves tingling34.
"Where away?" shouted the captain, rushing from the cabin with his binoculars35.
"Two points on the weather bow, sir," returned the lookout.
For a moment nothing was to be seen but an expanse of yeasty sea. Suddenly into the air shot a fountain of white water—slender, graceful36, spreading into a bush of spray at the top. A great sperm was disporting37 among the white caps.
"Call all hands and clear away the boats," yelled the captain.
Larboard and waist boats were lowered from the davits. Their crews scrambled38 over the ship's side, the leg-o'-mutton sails were hoisted39, and the boats, bending over as the wind caught them, sped away on the chase. The Night King went as boatsteerer of the waist boat. I saw him smiling to himself as he shook the kinks out of his tub-line and laid his harpoons40 in position in the bows—harpoons with no bomb-guns attached to the spear-shanks.
In the distance, a slow succession of fountains gleamed in the brilliant tropical sunshine like crystal lamps held aloft on fairy pillars. Suddenly the tell-tale beacons41 of spray went out. The whale had sounded. Over the sea, the boats quartered like baffled foxhounds to pick up the lost trail.
Between the ship and the boats, the whale came quietly to the surface at last and lay perfectly42 still, taking its ease, sunning itself and spouting43 lazily. The captain, perched in the ship's cross-trees, signalled its position with flags, using a code familiar to whalemen. The Night King caught the message first. He turned quickly to the boatheader at the tiller and pointed44. Instantly the boat came about, the sailors shifted from one gunwale to the other, the big sail swung squarely out and filled. All hands settled themselves for the run to close quarters.
With thrilling interest, I watched the hunt from the ship's forward bulwarks, where I stood grasping a shroud45 to prevent pitching overboard. Down a long slant46 of wind, the boat ran free with the speed of a greyhound, a white plume47 of spray standing high on either bow. The Night King stood alert and cool, one foot on the bow seat, balancing a harpoon in his hands. The white background of the bellying48 sail threw his tense figure into relief. Swiftly, silently, the boat stole upon its quarry49 until but one long sea lay between. It rose upon the crest50 of the wave and poised51 there for an instant like some great white-winged bird of prey52. Then sweeping53 down the green slope, it struck the whale bows-on and beached its keel out of the water on its glistening54 back. As it struck, the Night King let fly one harpoon and another, driving them home up to the wooden hafts with all the strength of his lithe55 arms.
The sharp bite of the iron in its vitals stirred the titanic56 mass of flesh and blood from perfect stillness into a frenzy57 of sudden movement that churned the water of the sea into white froth. The great head went under, the giant back curved down like the whirling surface of some mighty58 fly-wheel, the vast flukes, like some black demon's arm, shot into the air. Left and right and left again, the great tail thrashed, smiting59 the sea with thwacks which could have been heard for miles. It struck the boat glancingly with its bare tip, yet the blow stove a great hole in the bottom timbers, lifted the wreck60 high in air, and sent the sailors sprawling61 into the sea. Then the whale sped away with the speed of a limited express. It had not been vitally wounded. Over the distant horizon, it passed out of sight, blowing up against the sky fountains of clear water unmixed with blood.
The other boat hurried to the rescue and the crew gathered up the half-drowned sailors perched on the bottom of the upturned boat or clinging to floating sweeps. Fouled62 in the rigging of the sail, held suspended beneath the wreck in the green crystal of the sea water, they found the Night King, dead.
When the whale crushed the boat—at the very moment, it must have been—the Night King had snatched the knife kept fastened in a sheath on the bow thwart63 and with one stroke of the razor blade, severed64 the harpoon lines. He thus released the whale and prevented it from dragging the boat away in its mad race. The Night King's last act had saved the lives of his companions.
I helped lift the body over the rail. We laid it on the quarter deck near the skylight. It lurched and shifted in a ghastly sort of way as the ship rolled, the glazed65 eyes open to the blue sky. The captain's Newfoundland dog came and sniffed66 at the corpse67. Sheltered from the captain's eye behind the galley68, the Kanaka cabin boy shook a furtive69 fist at the dead man and ground out between clenched70 teeth, "You black devil, you'll never kick me again." Standing not ten feet away, the mate cracked a joke to the second mate and the two laughed uproariously. The work of the ship went on all around.
Looking upon the dead thing lying there, I thought of the pride with which the living man had borne himself in the days of his power. I beheld71 in fancy the silent, lonely, imperious little figure, pacing to and fro on the weather side of the quarter-deck—to and fro under the stars. I saw him stop in the darkness by the wheel, as his custom was, to peer down into the lighted binnacle and say in vibrant72 tones, "Keep her steady," or "Let her luff." I saw him buttoned up in his overcoat to keep the dew of the tropical night from his rheumatic joints73, slip down the poop ladder and stump74 forward past the try-works to see how things fared in the bow. Again I heard his nightly cry to the lookout on the forecastle-head, "Keep a bright lookout dere, you," and saw him limp back to continue his vigil, pacing up and down. The qualities that had made him hated when he was indeed the Night King flooded back upon me, but I did not forget the courage of my enemy that had redeemed75 them all and made him a hero in the hour of death.
In the afternoon, old Nelson sat on the deck beside the corpse and with palm and needle fashioned a long canvas bag. Into this the dead man was sewed with a weight of brick and sand at his feet.
At sunset, when all hands were on deck for the dog watch, they carried the body down on the main deck and with feet to the sea, laid it on the gang-plank which had been removed from the rail. There in the waist the ship's company gathered with uncovered heads. Over all was the light of the sunset, flushing the solemn, rough faces and reddening the running white-caps of the sea. The captain called me to him and placed a Bible in my hands.
"Read a passage of scripture," he said.
Dumbfounded that I should be called upon to officiate at the burial service over the man I had hated, I took my stand on the main hatch at the head of the body and prepared to obey orders. No passage to fit my singular situation occurred to me and I opened the book at random76. The leaves fell apart at the seventh chapter of Matthew and I read aloud the section beginning:
"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment77 ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete78, it shall be measured to you again."
At the close of the reading the captain called for "The Sweet Bye and Bye" and the crew sang the verses of the old hymn79 solemnly. When the full-toned music ceased, two sailors tilted80 the gang-plank upwards81 and the remains82 of the Night King slid off and plunged83 into the ocean.
As the body slipped toward the water, a Kanaka sailor caught up a bucket of slop which he had set aside for the purpose, and dashed its filth84 over the corpse from head to foot. Wide-eyed with astonishment85, I looked to see instant punishment visited upon this South Sea heathen who so flagrantly violated the sanctities of the dead. But not a hand was raised, not a word of disapproval86 was uttered. The Kanaka had but followed a whaler's ancient custom. The parting insult to the dead was meant to discourage the ghost from ever coming back to haunt the brig.
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1
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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rheumatism
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| n.风湿病 | |
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5
bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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autocrat
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| n.独裁者；专横的人 | |
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sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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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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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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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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Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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14
tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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15
glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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harpoon
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| n.鱼叉；vt.用鱼叉叉，用鱼叉捕获 | |
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sperm
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| n.精子，精液 | |
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18
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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19
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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20
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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21
incisive
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| adj.敏锐的，机敏的，锋利的，切入的 | |
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outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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23
smoldering
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| v.用文火焖烧，熏烧，慢燃( smolder的现在分词 ) | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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yarns
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| n.纱( yarn的名词复数 )；纱线；奇闻漫谈；旅行轶事 | |
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26
shoveled
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| vt.铲，铲出（shovel的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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27
climax
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| n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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infraction
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| n.违反；违法 | |
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physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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31
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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32
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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33
ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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34
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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35
binoculars
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| n.双筒望远镜 | |
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36
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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disporting
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| v.嬉戏，玩乐，自娱( disport的现在分词 ) | |
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38
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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39
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
harpoons
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| n.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的名词复数 )v.鱼镖，鱼叉( harpoon的第三人称单数 ) | |
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41
beacons
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| 灯塔( beacon的名词复数 )； 烽火； 指路明灯； 无线电台或发射台 | |
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42
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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43
spouting
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| n.水落管系统v.（指液体）喷出( spout的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地讲；喋喋不休地说；喷水 | |
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44
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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45
shroud
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| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
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46
slant
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| v.倾斜，倾向性地编写或报道；n.斜面，倾向 | |
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47
plume
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| n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰 | |
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48
bellying
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| 鼓出部；鼓鼓囊囊 | |
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49
quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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50
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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51
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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52
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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53
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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54
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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55
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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56
titanic
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| adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的 | |
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57
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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59
smiting
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的现在分词 ) | |
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60
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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61
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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62
fouled
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| v.使污秽( foul的过去式和过去分词 )；弄脏；击球出界；（通常用废物）弄脏 | |
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63
thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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64
severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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65
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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66
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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67
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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68
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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69
furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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70
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71
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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72
vibrant
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| adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的 | |
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73
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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74
stump
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| n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走 | |
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75
redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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76
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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77
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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78
mete
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| v.分配；给予 | |
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79
hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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80
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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81
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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82
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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83
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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84
filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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85
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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86
disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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