Chapter 128 123．miscarriage conspiracy

Now is the time when the typhoon is at its worst. Looking out from the cab, the sky and the sea are vast and inextricably boundless. The "Pequode" was like a shuttlecock, tossing and turning in the strong typhoon. The compass needle in the cab was bumping back and forth like crazy, and every hit made people feel terrified. However, you can't help but watch it. Several times the tiller shook violently as the hawser came loose. The helmsman who was holding the bone rudder was staggered by the tiller and fell heavily on the deck of the pilothouse. Except for Captain Ahab who was in the captain's cabin on the after deck, all the people on the ship were fighting with their lives against the typhoon.

It was the worst night since departure. Starbuck was in charge of the bow, Stubb was in charge of the stern, and the two manned the Pequod as if they were trying to tame a frightened horse. The drifting jibs from the foremast and topmast were blown off. They flew out to sea like the blown feathers of an albatross in a gale. After the typhoon raged to its heart's content, it finally lost its strength. Around midnight, the wind visibly weakened, and everyone got a temporary respite. The three new sails were furled, and aft of the stern a storm gaff-sail was hoisted. As a result, the ship can move forward more accurately in the established direction.

People were slightly relieved. Captain Ahab's order was passed on, direction: southeast east. The reason why it is such a direction is because although the wind is weak, it is still affecting us, so the helmsman can only follow the wind and grasp the course according to the situation. Suddenly the helmsman felt that the wind seemed to be coming from the stern of the boat, a good sign, the tailwind turned into a headwind. So, in an instant, the whole ship was happy, and the haze that shrouded the ship was swept away, and everyone shouted: "Smooth wind, work harder!" In just this moment, all the terror and danger brought by the storm disappeared without a trace.

Everyone was happily busy, as if they had escaped a catastrophe. The original worries about the future had been completely forgotten, and some people even felt a sense of celebration. Starbucks was still listless. Because he himself was very aware of the inevitable end of himself and the "Pequode", but even so, he still had to fulfill his duties. He was the first mate of the ship, and he was responsible to Captain Ahab. Now Starbuck was going mechanically down to report to Captain Ahab about the fair wind. This is the rule on the ship. When the situation on the deck changes, the captain must be reported at any time.

Starbuck now stood before Captain Ahab's closed door. He couldn't help hesitating for a moment before knocking on the door. The lamp in the cabin flickered violently, and cast a shadow on Captain Ahab's door. The shadow swayed back and forth, flickering on and off. There are no panels on Captain Ahab's door, but a curtain, and through the curtain, the voice of Captain Ahab who is sleeping soundly can be heard inside. Starbuck looked around and saw several muskets on the rack, shining coldly. Starbuck shuddered. Although he was an honest and upright person, at this moment, a trace of evil thoughts burst out in his mind.

For a moment, Starbuck was firmly grasped by this evil thought. "The last time I came to persuade him to clear the cabin, he pointed this gun at me, told me to get out, and almost killed me." Starbuck murmured. "Let me touch it too and see what it tastes like." Starbuck picked up a musket. "Strange, why are my hands shaking so much?" he said to himself. "What? The gunpowder has been put in the gun? What's the matter? No, Captain Ahab must have put it in. Let me pour it out for him." "Why throw it away, I can use it to save myself."

Starbuck grabbed the gun bravely. "I have come to him with news of the fair wind, which will give Captain Ahab a thrill, because then he will find his enemy more quickly." "But what does that get us?" "Death and destruction, only death and destruction." "Instead of telling him that we're closer to Moby Dick and death, it's better to kill this maniac with the gun in his hand, because even if the maniac doesn't kill me and all the sailors on the ship with a gun, He'll soon lead us to another maniac too, Moby Dick." "For us, either to die by his gun, or to die by the magic of Moby Dick, the two results are undoubtedly the same."

"The madman has dropped his quadrant and is groping forward with his error-ridden logbook." "This madman has abandoned the lightning rod on his ship, allowing himself and the entire ship to experience the danger of lightning." "His will has reached the point where he can't maintain it without a decisive battle with the white ghost. If this continues, anyone with a brain will see clearly that there is only one dead end." "If that's the case, this maniac is simply an intentional murderer, because he used his arbitrariness and rudeness to threaten more than 30 innocent people in the whole ship, and he wanted these 30 people to join him perish together."

"For this madman, there is no reason to speak of now. Whether it is reasoning, persuasion, or pleading, it will not help. Your only choice is to obediently accompany him to die." "Rather than that, it's better to take this opportunity to clean him up now, so as to save him from committing that crime." "So, now is a good time. He is fast asleep. Just put the gun up, point it at his head, and pull the trigger lightly, and the matter will be over." "Nothing else can be done, lock him up, and take him back to Nantucket as a prisoner?" "Impossible, for only a fool would try and dream of depriving him of his freedom and power."

"Or tie him up and throw him on the floor of his room?" "No, because his growls and shouts remind people of a tiger in a cage. The whole voyage will not be peaceful and quiet, and no one will be able to sleep." "I think that's the only way to go, but the law, what is the law?" "All I know now is that there are two oceans and one continent between me and the law." "If it was Lei Dian who killed the madman on his bed, is Lei Dian also a murderer?" Thinking of this, Starbuck raised the gun quietly and slowly, and put it on the door.

The gun was pointed at Captain Ahab's head. "He's got his head on my way, and I just have to touch the trigger, and all the trouble is over, and all the danger is gone, and I can go back to Nantucket and hug my wife and kids, oh, My Mary, oh my child." "Quick, backstroke, push hard, Moby Dick, I've finally hit your heart." Just when Starbuck aimed the gun at Captain Ahab's head, Ahab's madman cried out in his dream, and the voice was very loud and resonant, which shocked Starbuck. Starbuck jerked. After that, he put the gun away from the window of the door, put it on the original rack, and left. Flask walked back to the deck. His heart "pounded" straight. As if he really did that just now. On deck, Starbuck called to Stubb: "The captain is sleeping, go wake him up and tell him the situation here, I have something to do here."