先知

“Shipmates, have ye shipped in that ship?”

「水手老兄，你們在那艘船上簽約了嗎？」

Queequeg and I had just left the Pequod, and were sauntering away from the water, for the moment each occupied with his own thoughts, when the above words were put to us by a stranger, who, pausing before us, levelled his massive forefinger at the vessel in question.

魁魁格和我剛離開裴廓德號，正悠悠地往離水的方向晃去，一時間各自想著各自的心事，這時上面那句話便被一個陌生人拋了過來——那人在我們面前停下腳步，把他那根粗壯的食指端平、直指著所說的那艘船。

He was but shabbily apparelled in faded jacket and patched trowsers; a rag of a black handkerchief investing his neck.

他穿得很寒酸：一件褪了色的外套、一條打了補丁的長褲；脖子上圍著一塊破布似的黑手帕。

A confluent small-pox had in all directions flowed over his face, and left it like the complicated ribbed bed of a torrent, when the rushing waters have been dried up.

一場融合型天花曾朝四面八方在他臉上漫流過，留下的痕跡，就像一道急流縱橫交錯、溝壑滿布的河床——在那奔湧的水乾涸之後的模樣。

“Have ye shipped in her?” he repeated.

「你們在她船上簽約了嗎？」他又問了一遍。

“You mean the ship Pequod, I suppose,” said I, trying to gain a little more time for an uninterrupted look at him.

「我想你是指裴廓德號吧，」我說，想多拖一點時間、好不受打擾地把他看個清楚。

“Aye, the Pequod—that ship there,” he said, drawing back his whole arm, and then rapidly shoving it straight out from him, with the fixed bayonet of his pointed finger darted full at the object.

「對，裴廓德號——那邊那艘船，」他說著，把整條手臂縮回，又猛地直直朝前一推，那根尖指頭像上了刺刀似的，筆直地戳向目標。

“Yes,” said I, “we have just signed the articles.”

「是的，」我說，「我們剛簽了契約。」

“Anything down there about your souls?”

「那上頭有沒有寫到你們的靈魂？」

“About what?”

「寫到什麼？」

“Oh, perhaps you hav’n’t got any,” he said quickly. “No matter though, I know many chaps that hav’n’t got any,—good luck to ’em; and they are all the better off for it. A soul’s a sort of a fifth wheel to a wagon.”

「噢，也許你們根本沒有靈魂，」他飛快地說。「不過沒關係，我認得不少傢伙也沒有，——祝他們好運；沒有反倒過得更自在。靈魂這東西，不過是馬車上的第五個輪子（多餘之物）罷了。」

“What are you jabbering about, shipmate?” said I.

「你在嘰里咕嚕些什麼呀，老兄？」我說。

“He’s got enough, though, to make up for all deficiencies of that sort in other chaps,” abruptly said the stranger, placing a nervous emphasis upon the word he.

「不過『他』的靈魂可多著呢，多到足以補上別的傢伙在這方面的一切短缺，」那陌生人突兀地說，在「他」這個字上加了一種神經質的重音。

“Queequeg,” said I, “let’s go; this fellow has broken loose from somewhere; he’s talking about something and somebody we don’t know.”

「魁魁格，」我說，「咱們走吧；這傢伙是從哪兒跑出來的瘋子；他講的是些我們不認得的人和事。」

“Stop!” cried the stranger. “Ye said true—ye hav’n’t seen Old Thunder yet, have ye?”

「站住！」那陌生人喊道。「你說對了——你們還沒見過『老雷公』吧，是不是？」

“Who’s Old Thunder?” said I, again riveted with the insane earnestness of his manner.

「『老雷公』是誰？」我說，再次被他那瘋狂的認真勁兒攫住了。

“Captain Ahab.”

「亞哈船長。」

“What! the captain of our ship, the Pequod?”

「什麼！我們那艘船、裴廓德號的船長？」

“Aye, among some of us old sailor chaps, he goes by that name. Ye hav’n’t seen him yet, have ye?”

「對，在我們這些老水手中間，他就叫這名號。你們還沒見過他吧，是不是？」

“No, we hav’n’t. He’s sick they say, but is getting better, and will be all right again before long.”

「沒有，還沒見過。聽說他病著，不過正在好轉，過不了多久就會完全康復了。」

“All right again before long!” laughed the stranger, with a solemnly derisive sort of laugh. “Look ye; when Captain Ahab is all right, then this left arm of mine will be all right; not before.”

「過不了多久就完全康復！」那陌生人笑了起來，那是一種莊重而又譏誚的笑。「你聽好；等亞哈船長『完全康復』那天，我這條左臂也就『完全好了』——不會更早。」

“What do you know about him?”

「你對他知道些什麼？」

“What did they tell you about him? Say that!”

「他們跟你們說了他些什麼？說來聽聽！」

“They didn’t tell much of anything about him; only I’ve heard that he’s a good whale-hunter, and a good captain to his crew.”

「他們關於他幾乎什麼也沒說；我只聽說他是個出色的捕鯨人，對船員也是個好船長。」

“That’s true, that’s true—yes, both true enough. But you must jump when he gives an order. Step and growl; growl and go—that’s the word with Captain Ahab. But nothing about that thing that happened to him off Cape Horn, long ago, when he lay like dead for three days and nights; nothing about that deadly skrimmage with the Spaniard afore the altar in Santa?—heard nothing about that, eh? Nothing about the silver calabash he spat into? And nothing about his losing his leg last voyage, according to the prophecy. Didn’t ye hear a word about them matters and something more, eh? No, I don’t think ye did; how could ye? Who knows it? Not all Nantucket, I guess. But hows’ever, mayhap, ye’ve heard tell about the leg, and how he lost it; aye, ye have heard of that, I dare say. Oh yes, that every one knows a’most—I mean they know he’s only one leg; and that a parmacetti took the other off.”

「不錯，不錯——對，兩樣都夠真的。可他一下令你就得跳起來照辦。邁步帶咆哮、咆哮著就上——這就是亞哈船長的規矩。可那件很久以前在合恩角外發生在他身上的事呢？他像死了一樣躺了三天三夜；那件在『聖什麼』教堂祭壇前跟那西班牙人致命的扭打呢？——這些你一個字也沒聽說吧，嗯？他吐進去的那只銀葫蘆瓢呢？還有照那預言、他上一趟航程失去那條腿的事呢？這些事——還有更多的——你連一個字都沒聽過吧，嗯？沒有，我看你們沒聽過；你們又怎麼會知道呢？誰知道這些呢？我猜整個南塔克特都未必知道。不過呢，興許那條腿、他怎麼失去它的，你們倒是聽說過；對，這個我敢說你們聽過。噢對，這個幾乎人人都知道——我是說，他們知道他只剩一條腿；知道是一頭抹香鯨咬掉了另一條。」

“My friend,” said I, “what all this gibberish of yours is about, I don’t know, and I don’t much care; for it seems to me that you must be a little damaged in the head. But if you are speaking of Captain Ahab, of that ship there, the Pequod, then let me tell you, that I know all about the loss of his leg.”

「我的朋友，」我說，「你這一通胡言亂語到底在講什麼，我不知道，也不大在乎；因為在我看來，你這腦子準是有點壞了。不過你要是在說亞哈船長——那邊那艘船、裴廓德號的船長——那我告訴你，他失腿的事我全知道。」

“All about it, eh—sure you do?—all?”

「全知道，嗯——你確定？——全部？」

“Pretty sure.”

「相當確定。」

With finger pointed and eye levelled at the Pequod, the beggar-like stranger stood a moment, as if in a troubled reverie; then starting a little, turned and said:—“Ye’ve shipped, have ye? Names down on the papers? Well, well, what’s signed, is signed; and what’s to be, will be; and then again, perhaps it won’t be, after all. Anyhow, it’s all fixed and arranged a’ready; and some sailors or other must go with him, I suppose; as well these as any other men, God pity ’em! Morning to ye, shipmates, morning; the ineffable heavens bless ye; I’m sorry I stopped ye.”

那乞丐似的陌生人指著、眼睛也平平望著裴廓德號，站了片刻，彷彿陷入某種不安的出神；接著微微一震，轉過身來說：——「你們簽了約了，是吧？名字都落在紙上了？罷了，罷了，簽了的就是簽了；該來的，總會來；可話又說回來，也許終究還是不會來。反正啊，一切早已定了、安排好了；總得有些水手陪他一塊兒去，我想；這些人去也好、換別人去也罷，上帝可憐他們吧！早安啊，水手老兄們，早安；願那無可言喻的上天保佑你們；很抱歉攔住了你們。」

“Look here, friend,” said I, “if you have anything important to tell us, out with it; but if you are only trying to bamboozle us, you are mistaken in your game; that’s all I have to say.”

「我說，朋友，」我道，「你要是有什麼要緊的話要告訴我們，就直說；可你要只是想唬弄我們，那你這把戲可打錯算盤了；我要說的就這些。」

“And it’s said very well, and I like to hear a chap talk up that way; you are just the man for him—the likes of ye. Morning to ye, shipmates, morning! Oh! when ye get there, tell ’em I’ve concluded not to make one of ’em.”

「這話說得真好，我就愛聽人這麼直來直去；你正是配他的人——就你這號的。早安啊，水手老兄們，早安！噢！你們到了那邊，跟他們說，我已決定不去湊他們那一夥了。」

“Ah, my dear fellow, you can’t fool us that way—you can’t fool us. It is the easiest thing in the world for a man to look as if he had a great secret in him.”

「哎，我的好兄弟，你這套可騙不了我們——騙不了我們。一個人要裝出一副滿肚子大祕密的樣子，是天底下最容易的事。」

“Morning to ye, shipmates, morning.”

「早安啊，水手老兄們，早安。」

“Morning it is,” said I. “Come along, Queequeg, let’s leave this crazy man. But stop, tell me your name, will you?”

「早安就早安吧，」我說。「走吧，魁魁格，咱們別理這瘋子了。等等，告訴我你叫什麼名字，行嗎？」

“Elijah.”

「以利亞。」

Elijah! thought I, and we walked away, both commenting, after each other’s fashion, upon this ragged old sailor; and agreed that he was nothing but a humbug, trying to be a bugbear.

以利亞！我心想，我們便走開了，兩人各按各的方式議論起這個衣衫襤褸的老水手；都認定他不過是個裝神弄鬼的騙子，硬要扮成個嚇人的妖怪。

But we had not gone perhaps above a hundred yards, when chancing to turn a corner, and looking back as I did so, who should be seen but Elijah following us, though at a distance.

可我們大概還沒走過一百碼，恰巧轉過一個街角，我回頭一望——跟在我們後頭的不是別人，正是以利亞，雖說隔著一段距離。

Somehow, the sight of him struck me so, that I said nothing to Queequeg of his being behind, but passed on with my comrade, anxious to see whether the stranger would turn the same corner that we did.

不知怎地，看見他那一眼把我觸動得厲害，我便沒對魁魁格提他跟在後頭的事，只和夥伴繼續往前走，急著想看看那陌生人會不會也轉進我們轉的那個彎。

He did; and then it seemed to me that he was dogging us, but with what intent I could not for the life of me imagine.

他果然轉了；這下我覺得他是在尾隨我們，可究竟存著什麼心思，我怎麼也想不出來。

This circumstance, coupled with his ambiguous, half-hinting, half-revealing, shrouded sort of talk, now begat in me all kinds of vague wonderments and half-apprehensions, and all connected with the Pequod; and Captain Ahab; and the leg he had lost; and the Cape Horn fit; and the silver calabash; and what Captain Peleg had said of him, when I left the ship the day previous; and the prediction of the squaw Tistig; and the voyage we had bound ourselves to sail; and a hundred other shadowy things.

這情形，加上他那些含糊其辭、半藏半露、罩著一層陰影的話，此刻在我心裡生出了種種模糊的疑惑與隱隱的不安——全都牽連著裴廓德號、亞哈船長、他失去的那條腿、合恩角那場昏厥、那只銀葫蘆瓢、前一天我離船時法勒船長說過的那些話、印第安女人提絲蒂格的預言、我們已立約要去航行的這趟旅程，以及上百件影影綽綽、說不分明的事。

I was resolved to satisfy myself whether this ragged Elijah was really dogging us or not, and with that intent crossed the way with Queequeg, and on that side of it retraced our steps. But Elijah passed on, without seeming to notice us. This relieved me; and once more, and finally as it seemed to me, I pronounced him in my heart, a humbug.

我決意要弄個明白，這衣衫襤褸的以利亞到底是不是真在尾隨我們，便為此和魁魁格橫過馬路，從那一側折回原路。可以利亞卻逕自走過，彷彿沒注意到我們。這讓我鬆了口氣；於是我在心裡又一次——而且，在我看來是最終地——判定他：一個騙子。