斯塔布殺鯨

If to Starbuck the apparition of the Squid was a thing of portents, to Queequeg it was quite a different object. “When you see him ’quid,” said the savage, honing his harpoon in the bow of his hoisted boat, “then you quick see him ’parm whale.”

若說對斯塔巴克而言烏賊的出現是凶兆，對魁魁格卻是全然不同的東西。「你看見『烏賊』，」這野蠻人一邊在他吊起的艇首磨著（honing）標槍一邊說，「就快看見『抹香鯨』囉。」

The next day was exceedingly still and sultry... For this part of the Indian Ocean through which we then were voyaging is not what whalemen call a lively ground; that is, it affords fewer glimpses of porpoises, dolphins, flying-fish, and other vivacious denizens of more stirring waters...

第二天極其靜悶。我們當時航經的這片印度洋，並非捕鯨人所謂的「活水域」；也就是說，比起拉普拉塔河外海、或秘魯近岸那種水域，它較少見到鼠海豚、海豚、飛魚、以及其他更活躍水域裡那些活潑的居民（denizens）。

It was my turn to stand at the foremast-head; and with my shoulders leaning against the slackened royal shrouds, to and fro I idly swayed in what seemed an enchanted air. ...at last my soul went out of my body; though my body still continued to sway as a pendulum will, long after the power which first moved it is withdrawn.

輪到我站前桅頂；肩膀靠著鬆開的頂帆索（shrouds），我在彷彿被施了魔法的空氣中懶懶地來回搖晃。沒有任何意志能抵擋它；在那夢幻般的心境裡，我失去了一切意識，終於，我的靈魂出了我的軀體——儘管我的身體仍像鐘擺（pendulum）那樣繼續搖晃，正如鐘擺在最初推動它的力量撤去很久之後仍會擺動。

Ere forgetfulness altogether came over me, I had noticed that the seamen at the main and mizzen-mast-heads were already drowsy. ...The waves, too, nodded their indolent crests; and across the wide trance of the sea, east nodded to west, and the sun over all.

在徹底的遺忘完全籠罩我之前，我已注意到主桅與後桅頂的水手也已昏昏欲睡。於是最後，我們三人都有氣無力地從桅桁上晃盪著；我們每晃一下，下面打盹的舵手就點一下頭。波浪也點著它們慵懶的（indolent）浪冠；橫過這片海廣闊的恍惚，東方朝西方點頭，而太陽則在這一切之上點頭。

Suddenly bubbles seemed bursting beneath my closed eyes... a gigantic Sperm Whale lay rolling in the water like the capsized hull of a frigate... the whale looked like a portly burgher smoking his pipe of a warm afternoon. But that pipe, poor whale, was thy last. As if struck by some enchanter’s wand, the sleepy ship and every sleeper in it all at once started into wakefulness...

忽然，我緊閉的眼皮下彷彿有氣泡迸裂；我雙手如老虎鉗般抓住帆索；某種看不見的、仁慈的力量護住了我；我一震，回到了生命裡。瞧！就在我們下風處、不到四十噚，一頭巨大的抹香鯨像一艘翻覆的巡防艦船殼（capsized hull）般在水裡翻滾，牠那寬闊光亮、衣索比亞膚色般黝黑的背脊，在陽光下如鏡閃爍。牠懶懶地在浪谷間起伏，不時平靜地噴出霧狀的水柱，看來像個富態的市民（portly burgher）在溫暖的午後抽著煙斗。可那煙斗，可憐的鯨啊，是你最後的一斗了。彷彿被某個術士的魔杖一點，那沉睡的船與船上每個睡者，全都霎時驚醒過來……

“Clear away the boats! Luff!” cried Ahab. And obeying his own order, he dashed the helm down before the helmsman could handle the spokes.

「清開小艇！搶風（Luff）！」亞哈大喊。而服從著他自己的命令，他搶在舵手能握住舵柄輻條之前，自己一把把舵壓了下去。

The sudden exclamations of the crew must have alarmed the whale... Ahab gave orders that not an oar should be used, and no man must speak but in whispers. So seated like Ontario Indians on the gunwales of the boats, we swiftly but silently paddled along... the monster perpendicularly flitted his tail forty feet into the air, and then sank out of sight like a tower swallowed up.

水手們突然的喊叫想必驚動了鯨；小艇還沒放下，牠便莊嚴地轉身、往下風（leeward）游去，卻游得那樣平穩從容、激起那樣少的漣漪，以致亞哈想牠也許還沒真正受驚，便下令：一支槳也不准用，誰都只准低聲說話。於是我們像安大略的印第安人般坐在艇舷上，飛快卻無聲地以划板（paddle）划行；這風平浪靜的天氣也容不得張起那無聲的帆。不久，正當我們這樣滑行追逐時，那怪物把尾鰭垂直地（perpendicularly）甩入四十呎的高空，然後像一座被吞沒的塔般沉沒、消失了。

“There go flukes!” was the cry... followed by Stubb’s producing his match and igniting his pipe, for now a respite was granted. ...And still puffing at his pipe, Stubb cheered on his crew to the assault.

「尾鰭去了（There go flukes）！」眾人喊道；緊接著斯塔布便掏出火柴、點起他的煙斗，因為此刻獲得了一段喘息。在牠下潛的整段時間過去後，鯨再次浮起，這時恰在這抽煙者的小艇前方、且離它比離其他任何一艇都近得多，斯塔布便指望這捕獲之榮歸他了。如今顯而易見，鯨終於察覺了牠的追兵。於是一切謹慎的沉默都不再有用。划板放下，槳大聲地動了起來。斯塔布仍叼著煙斗噴吐，鼓動他的船員發動猛攻。

Yes, a mighty change had come over the fish. All alive to his jeopardy, he was going “head out”... *It will be seen... of what a very light substance the entire interior of the sperm whale’s enormous head consists... by obliquely elevating his head, he thereby may be said to transform himself from a bluff-bowed sluggish galliot into a sharppointed New York pilot-boat.

是的，這魚身上起了巨大的變化。牠完全意識到了自己的危險（jeopardy），正「頭朝外」地游——那部分斜斜地從牠自己攪起的瘋狂泡沫中突出。（註：別處會講到，抹香鯨那巨大的頭，其整個內部由何等輕的物質構成。它表面看來最厚重，其實遠是牠身上浮力最大的部分。所以牠能輕易地把頭抬到空中、且全速前進時必定這麼做。加上牠頭部上前方那麼寬、下方那麼漸尖如破水材，所以斜抬起頭，便可說是把自己從一艘鈍頭遲鈍的「加里奧特平底船（galliot）」變成了一艘尖頭的紐約引水艇。）

“Start her, start her, my men! Don’t hurry yourselves; take plenty of time—but start her... keep cool, keep cool—cucumbers is the word—easy, easy—only start her like grim death and grinning devils, and raise the buried dead perpendicular out of their graves, boys—that’s all. Start her!”

「動起來，動起來，伙計們！別把自己弄得手忙腳亂；有的是時間——可是動起來；像雷劈一樣動起來，就這麼回事，」斯塔布一邊說一邊噴出煙。「動起來，現在；給牠們又長又強的一槳，塔斯蒂哥。動起來，塔什，我的孩子——大家都動起來；可是保持冷靜，保持冷靜——『黃瓜』才是訣竅（指鎮定如常）——輕鬆點，輕鬆點——只管像猙獰的死神、咧嘴的魔鬼那樣動起來，把埋著的死人豎直地從墳裡掀出來，伙計們——就這樣。動起來！」

“Woo-hoo! Wa-hee!” screamed the Gay-Header in reply, raising some old war-whoop to the skies; as every oarsman in the strained boat involuntarily bounced forward with the one tremendous leading stroke which the eager Indian gave.

「Woo-hoo！Wa-hee！」蓋伊角人（塔斯蒂哥）尖叫著回應，向天空揚起某種古老的戰吼；繃緊的艇上每個槳手，都隨著這急切的印第安人猛力的一記領頭槳，不由自主地向前一彈。

But his wild screams were answered by others quite as wild. “Kee-hee! Kee-hee!” yelled Daggoo, straining forwards and backwards on his seat, like a pacing tiger in his cage.

可他狂野的尖叫，得到了同樣狂野的回應。「Kee-hee！Kee-hee！」達戈嘶吼著，在座位上前後使勁，像一隻在籠中來回踱步的老虎。

“Ka-la! Koo-loo!” howled Queequeg, as if smacking his lips over a mouthful of Grenadier’s steak. ...till the welcome cry was heard—“Stand up, Tashtego!—give it to him!” The harpoon was hurled. “Stern all!” ...something went hot and hissing along every one of their wrists. It was the magical line. ...It was like holding an enemy’s sharp two-edged sword by the blade, and that enemy all the time striving to wrest it out of your clutch.

「Ka-la！Koo-loo！」魁魁格狂號，彷彿正咂著嘴品嘗一口擲彈兵牌的鯨排。就這樣，憑著槳與吼叫，那些龍骨劃開了海。斯塔布始終守在前頭、不斷鼓動他的人發動攻擊，一邊從口中噴著煙。他們像亡命之徒（desperadoes）般拚命拉、拚命使勁，直到那令人歡迎的喊聲響起——「站起來，塔斯蒂哥！——給牠來一下！」標槍擲了出去。「全體倒划！」槳手們倒划退水；同一刻，有什麼滾燙、嘶嘶作響地擦過了他們每個人的手腕。那是那條魔法之繩。前一瞬間，斯塔布已迅速在繫纜柱上多繞了兩圈，由於繩越繞越急，一縷大麻的藍煙這時噴起、與他煙斗那穩定的煙混在一起。繩一圈圈繞過繫纜柱；在抵達那點之前，它也燒燙地穿過、再穿過斯塔布的雙手——他這種時候有時戴的護手布（縫綴的帆布方塊）意外掉了。那就像握著敵人鋒利雙刃劍的劍刃，而那敵人始終想把劍從你手裡奪走。

“Wet the line! wet the line!” cried Stubb to the tub oarsman... *in the old Dutch fishery, a mop was used to dash the running line with water; in many other ships, a wooden piggin, or bailer, is set apart for that purpose. Your hat, however, is the most convenient. ...The boat now flew through the boiling water like a shark all fins. Stubb and Tashtego here changed places—stem for stern...

「澆濕繩！澆濕繩！」斯塔布朝桶邊槳手（坐在桶旁那人）喊道；那人一把摘下帽子、舀起海水潑進繩裡。（註：荷蘭老漁業用拖把往奔走的繩上潑水；許多別的船另備一個木舀或戽斗專做此事；不過你的帽子最方便。）又多繞了幾圈，繩這才開始固定住位置。小艇此刻像一條「全是鰭的鯊魚」般飛馳過沸騰的水。斯塔布與塔斯蒂哥在此對換了位置——首尾互調——在那搖晃的騷動中，真是件叫人東倒西歪的差事。

From the vibrating line extending the entire length of the upper part of the boat... you would have thought the craft had two keels—one cleaving the water, the other the air... at the slightest motion from within, even but of a little finger, the vibrating, cracking craft canted over her spasmodic gunwale into the sea. ...till at length the whale somewhat slackened his flight.

那震顫的繩沿著小艇上部的全長延伸、此刻繃得比豎琴弦還緊，你會以為這艇生了兩條龍骨——一條破水、一條破空——因為它同時攪過這兩種對立的元素疾行。船首一道連綿的瀑布飛濺；尾跡裡一個不停的漩渦（eddy）打轉；而只要艇內稍一動彈、哪怕只動一根小指，這震顫爆裂的艇就會從它痙攣的（spasmodic）船舷翻側入海。他們就這麼狂奔；每個人都竭盡全力攀住座位、免得被拋進浪沫；塔斯蒂哥高大的身形在操舵槳處幾乎蹲成兩折，好壓低他的重心。彷彿整個大西洋、太平洋都在他們疾行中被掠過，直到那鯨終於稍稍放緩了牠的逃竄。

“Haul in—haul in!” cried Stubb to the bowsman! and, facing round towards the whale, all hands began pulling the boat up to him... Stubb, firmly planting his knee in the clumsy cleat, darted dart after dart into the flying fish; at the word of command, the boat alternately sterning out of the way of the whale’s horrible wallow, and then ranging up for another fling.

「拉近——拉近！」斯塔布朝船首手喊；眾人轉身朝向鯨，一齊動手把艇往牠拉近，而此時艇仍被牠拖著走。很快貼上牠的脅側，斯塔布把膝牢牢抵進那笨拙的卡槽（cleat），一支接一支地把短矛擲入這「飛魚」；隨著號令，小艇一會兒倒退、避開鯨那可怕的翻滾（wallow），一會兒又貼上去再擲一回。

The red tide now poured from all sides of the monster like brooks down a hill. His tormented body rolled not in brine but in blood, which bubbled and seethed for furlongs behind in their wake. The slanting sun playing upon this crimson pond in the sea, sent back its reflection into every face, so that they all glowed to each other like red men. And all the while, jet after jet of white smoke was agonizingly shot from the spiracle of the whale...

紅色的潮水此刻從這怪物的四面八方湧出，像山上奔流的溪。牠飽受折磨的身體，翻滾的不是海水而是血——血在牠們尾跡身後沸騰、翻騰達數弗隆之遠。斜陽照在海中這片猩紅的池上，把反光送回每一張臉，於是他們彼此望去都像紅人般發著光。而始終，一道又一道的白煙從鯨的噴孔（spiracle）痛苦地噴出，一口又一口猛烈的煙從這興奮的領頭手（斯塔布）口中噴出；他每擲一矛，便藉著繫在矛上的繩把彎曲的長矛拉回，在艇舷上快速敲幾下把它敲直，然後一次又一次把它擲入鯨體。

“Pull up—pull up!” he now cried to the bowsman... Stubb slowly churned his long sharp lance into the fish, and kept it there, carefully churning and churning, as if cautiously seeking to feel after some gold watch that the whale might have swallowed... But that gold watch he sought was the innermost life of the fish. And now it is struck; for, starting from his trance into that unspeakable thing called his “flurry,” the monster horribly wallowed in his blood, overwrapped himself in impenetrable, mad, boiling spray...

「拉近——貼上去！」這時他朝船首手喊，因那衰竭的鯨在牠的暴怒中鬆懈了下來。「拉近！——靠攏！」小艇貼著魚側排開。斯塔布遠遠俯身越過船首，把他又長又利的長矛緩緩攪入魚體、留在裡頭，小心地攪呀攪——彷彿謹慎地想去摸索鯨可能吞下的某只金錶、生怕在能把它鉤出來之前弄壞了它。可他要找的那只金錶，是這魚最深處的生命。如今它被擊中了；因為，那怪物從牠的昏沉驚入那無可名狀、叫做「迴光返照（flurry）」的東西，在牠的血中可怖地翻滾，把自己裹進密不可透的、瘋狂沸騰的浪沫，以致那遇險的艇霎時退向船尾，費了好大的勁才盲目地從那狂亂的幽暗掙扎回到白晝清明的空氣中。

And now abating in his flurry, the whale once more rolled out into view... spasmodically dilating and contracting his spout-hole, with sharp, cracking, agonized respirations. At last, gush after gush of clotted red gore, as if it had been the purple lees of red wine, shot into the frighted air; and falling back again, ran dripping down his motionless flanks into the sea. His heart had burst!

這時迴光返照漸歇，鯨再一次翻出水面映入眼簾；左右湧動著；痙攣地脹大又收縮牠的噴孔，發出尖銳、爆裂、痛苦的呼吸。終於，一股接一股凝結的紅色血漿（gore），彷彿是紅酒的紫色渣滓（lees），噴入了受驚的空中；又落回來，沿著牠不動的脅腹滴淌入海。牠的心臟爆裂了！

“He’s dead, Mr. Stubb,” said Daggoo. “Yes; both pipes smoked out!” and withdrawing his own from his mouth, Stubb scattered the dead ashes over the water; and, for a moment, stood thoughtfully eyeing the vast corpse he had made.

「牠死了，斯塔布先生。」達戈說。「是啊；兩根煙斗都抽完了！」斯塔布從口中抽出他自己那根煙斗，把死灰撒在水面上；然後，他若有所思地站了片刻，凝望著他親手造出的這具龐大的屍體。