Chapter 34 29．noise on deck

A few days later, the bright spring light shone on the deck, and the ice floes on the sea disappeared. The "Pequode" braved the wind and waves, and went straight forward. The sky is bright and clear, and the air is intoxicating. Even in the starry night, there is a honey-like atmosphere unique to spring, like a gorgeously dressed lady guarding an empty room alone. The brilliant day and the sweet night are as tempting as falling asleep. People seem to be in a particularly good mood after sleeping soundly, and their long-closed hearts seem to be opened all of a sudden. These subtle changes also worked on Captain Ahab.He spent more and more time on deck rather than in the cabin.

"For a person like me, lying in that narrow cabin always feels like entering the grave." He occasionally said so to himself. Yes, the older people are, the farther away they are from sleep, a state that seems to be close to death.On ships, old men with gray beards always like to walk on deck in the dark, and Captain Ahab seems to be one of them. The sailors on the night shift operate lightly so as not to wake their sleeping companions.They also habitually glanced at Captain Ahab's authoritative hatch. In a moment Captain Ahab would emerge from the hatch, limping up onto the deck, holding on to the railing.Normally, he would not walk on the deck at this time, because his sharp artificial feet would knock the deck and disturb the dreams of the people in the cabin.

But once, he really wanted to take a walk, so he started to walk, just like in the daytime. At this moment, the eccentric Second Officer Stubb climbed from the cabin onto the deck.He said in a tone of restraint as much as possible: "If you, Captain Ahab, want to walk up and down the deck, there will be no one to stop you, of course, but you'd better keep quiet!" "It's best, find something like a ball of rope and put it under your feet..." "So I'm a cannon ball, Stubb," replied Captain Ahab. "Will you put the plug on me? Well, I've forgotten all about it, so go away !"

"Do you hear me? Go down there, into your grave!" "Dog thing, go back to the kennel!" Stubb shuddered at this last hoarse growl, for he had not expected Captain Ahab to speak to him in this way. "Perhaps, sir, I can accept your politeness, but I'm not used to being spoken to like that." "Shut up!" Ahab shook his head and walked to the other side. "No, sir, I don't want to be called a dog!" "Okay, call you a donkey. Mule, will you? Go away! Or I'll kill you!" Ahab rushed to Stubb in a rage. "Being insulted like this and not fighting back, it has never happened to me, never!"

Stubb retreated into the cabin as he spoke, and when he realized what he was doing, he murmured to himself in amazement: "Ah, it's so strange, how come I backed away, do you want to rush up and beat him up, stop backing up, Stubb! Stubb!" "Forget it, forget it, let's kneel down and pray for him! This is the first time I pray in my life!" "Oh, it's so strange, so strange, he lost his temper so much, he is really crazy, I look at his eyes, they seem to explode!" "He only slept for three hours a day and night, and his eyes were open when he was lying on the bed. He must have something big on his mind. Maybe it's a kind of disease. God bless, I don't get this kind of disease."

"He's really a bit unpredictable. I shouldn't think about it anymore. He called me a dog, a donkey, and a mule, really? It's not a dream!" "It's time to sleep, it's time to sleep, he really scared me just now, did he kick me? Why don't you feel it? It seems it's still a dream..."