Crowding all sail the Pequod pressed after them; the harpooneers handling their weapons, and loudly cheering from the heads of their yet suspended boats. If the wind only held, little doubt had they, that chased through these Straits of Sunda, the vast host would only deploy into the Oriental seas to witness the capture of not a few of their number. And who could tell whether, in that congregated caravan, Moby Dick himself might not temporarily be swimming, like the worshipped white-elephant in the coronation procession of the Siamese! So with stun-sail piled on stun-sail, we sailed along, driving these leviathans before us; when, of a sudden, the voice of Tashtego was heard, loudly directing attention to something in our wake.
裴廓德號扯起所有的篷帆,緊追起它們了;標(biāo)槍手們都握著他們的標(biāo)槍,在那幾只還是吊起的小艇頭高聲歡呼。大家都相信,只要風(fēng)力幫一幫忙,那么,象這樣穿過巽他海峽的追擊,這一大群鯨只能四散逃向東方各大海,親眼看到它們數(shù)目浩大的同類被捕了。而且,誰又料得定,莫比-迪克自己不會暫時也游在這個密集的隊伍里,象暹羅人的加冕行列中,那只受人膜拜的白象那般呢!所以,我們把副帆加了又加,徑自往前直沖,追逐這些就在我們前面的大鯨;這時,突然間,又聽到了塔斯蒂哥的聲音,在高聲大叫地要我們注意后邊有些什么東西。
Corresponding to the crescent in our van, we beheld another in our rear. It seemed formed of detached white vapors, rising and falling something like the spouts of the whales; only they did not so completely come and go; for they constantly hovered, without finally disappearing. Levelling his glass at this sight, Ahab quickly revolved in his pivot-hole, crying, "Aloft there, and rig whips and buckets to wet the sails;—Malays, sir, and after us!"
好象跟我們前邊的蛾眉月遙相呼應(yīng)一般,在后邊,我們又看到了另一彎蛾眉月。它象是由許多分散的白汽聚成的東西,又有點象是大鯨的噴水在起起伏伏;所不同的是,它們不完全是在漂來漂去;因為它們老是不住地蕩漾,始終不見消逝。亞哈拿起望遠(yuǎn)鏡一瞧后,連忙在他那只鏇孔里一轉(zhuǎn)身,高聲大叫,"爬上去,裝上小滑車,拿水桶潑濕帆篷;——朋友,馬來人在追我們啦!"
As if too long lurking behind the headlands, till the Pequod should fairly have entered the straits, these rascally Asiatics were now in hot pursuit, to make up for their over-cautious delay.
這些歹徒也似的亞洲人好象是在岬后躲了很久,直等到"裴廓德號"正式進(jìn)峽的時候,這才出來拼命追趕,想彌補(bǔ)他們剛才由于過分謹(jǐn)慎而耽擱了的時間。