Chapter 3 third chapter

For once in her long naval career, the Surprise had time to spare, and Jack was delighted.This time he wouldn't have to steer as he used to, and he wouldn't have to hoist topsails and topsails when the ship could bear it, and furnish them again just when they were about to crack; It would save a lot of roundwood, cables and canvas, which is a relief to any sailor, and now that the warship may have to round Cape Horn and sail westward into the vast South Sea, This is especially reassuring.In the South China Sea, even after sailing thousands of miles, it is difficult to find a spare tomast.

Since the "Norfolk" has been delayed for a whole month, the possibility of the "Surprise" rounding Cape Horn is still very small. Now, the Surprise was in a far better position than the enemy ship it was pursuing.What Jack thought was most likely to happen was that after the Surprise reached Cape St. Roch first, it cruised around so that it could either intercept the Norfolk on its way south, or at least learn about it. some trends.It is from Cape San Roque that the coast of Brazil stretches far to the east.Many times, on the way to the Cape of Good Hope, Jack had seen the head of land jutting out from Cape St. Roch.There were also many times when he saw merchant ships bound for the Platte River and various places south of it, sticking close to land, to take advantage of the favorable wind blowing inland, and cut very close to Cape St. Roch.Sometimes there can be as many as twenty merchant ships seen at one time, and they all take the same familiar route.But Jack had been at sea long enough to know full well that the only thing that could be said with absolute certainty at sea was that there was absolutely no certainty about things at sea.He did not pin his hopes on Cape San Roque, nor on any other cape, and he was quite ready to sail as far as Vendemonium or Borneo if need be.

Still, he was glad to have this respite.Not only did everyone need time to take a breather after the strenuous activities to prepare for going to sea, but he also needed time to train the recruits into the kind of sailors that could meet the needs of the warship in order to fight the "Norfolk".When he was a prisoner of war in Boston, he had seen the "Norfolk" and several other warships. Both the USS President and the frigate USS United States were armed with twenty-four-pound cannons, and their hulls were similar in size to battleships. The Norfolk, though hardly equal to them, was still a hard nut to crack.It must be fully equipped with very capable sailors, and the officers on board have all been honed in the harsh North Atlantic waters.The officers' colleagues had defeated the Royal Navy in three frigate naval battles at the outset. One by one, the "Guriel", "Macedonian" and "Java" conceded defeat to the Americans.

Considering that Captain Aubrey was aboard the last ship mentioned above, it is not surprising that he spoke highly of the US Navy.Of course, the victory of the HMS Shannon over the USS Chesapeake showed that the US warships were not invincible, but nevertheless, Jack's respect for them can be seen from his cannon training for recruits. Measured in enthusiasm for rifle drills.Except for scrubbing the deck and polishing the brass parts, it seems that most of the recruits learned nothing on the "Defender", so as soon as the "Surprise" left the channel, the officers on the warship caught them .At this moment Cape Trafalgar, off starboard, and Cape Spadell, Moorish, off port, loomed in the distance.A pod of lively piebald dolphins frolicked on the water in front of the boat.A soft topmast wind blowing from the north-northwest pushed the ship forward.

Now it is the third day of the voyage, the recruits are so tired that their backs are bent because they have been pushing the cannons out, their hands are blistered, and even the skin on their hands is scratched, and some even have their fingers and toes covered by cannons. The recoil mechanism is crushed.But even so, the acting third lieutenant, Mr. Horney, led a group of them, and just came to a large-caliber cannon on the rear deck.Then the sliding carriage of the cannon, screamed over Captain Aubrey's head, and he had to raise his voice to an unusual height, to call, or rather, to try to call his steward.This was because Killick was chatting with a friend on the other side of the bulkhead, and because Killick was a stubborn, stupid man who was neither willing nor able to do both at the same time - he had begun chatting about the stern The anecdote of an Irishman named Terry Lee, one of the deck watchmen, is about to finish. "He talked in the old-fashioned way they talk in Colker Bay, not at all Christian. The poor chap. 'Well, Kirick,' said he, 'you're a hapless new Christian, so you don't know what I mean, when we get to Grand Canary I'll go find those Franciscan friars and make a good confession." "Why, man?" I said. "Because why ?'He said……"

"Kilik," Jack called again, his voice shaking the bulkhead. Killick waved impatiently at the cabin and continued, "Why? He said, 'Because we have a Jonah on board, which is number one; and a priest, which is number two; It's the sailmaster's wife who keeps a cat in his cabin. That's the most important one.'" Killick finally heeded Jack's third call, and he rushed into the cabin looking as if he had just run back from the forecastle. "How's your luck?" Jack asked. "Well, my lord," said Killick, "Joe Price said he could try the batter chowder, and Jamie Dux said he could handle a goose pie."

"Where's the pudding? Did you ask Mrs. Lamb if she could make a pudding? And her porridge?" "She was hiccupping and vomiting so badly that I could barely hear my own voice when I was talking to her," Killick said, laughing happily. "She's been like this since we left Gibraltar. Should I ask Mrs. Ordnance Officer?" "No, no, no," said Jack.Surely no woman of the size of an armorer's wife could make porridge or raisin pudding or custard, and he wanted nothing to do with her. "No, no. The leftover Gibraltar cake can also be filled, and grilled cheese. Take out the Strasbourg pie, wild boar ham, and other things that can be used as side dishes, and cut them into small pieces. Block. Spanish red wine at the beginning, then yellow seal Porto red wine."

In the haste of getting ready to go to sea, he did not bother till the last minute to change the cook; and at the last minute the poor man got away.Not wanting to miss the favorable wind, Jack ordered anchor to be weighed in the absence of a cook, who he hoped would find another at Tennerife.But this had a serious disadvantage: on the one hand, he was very eager to invite his officers to dinner at the beginning of the voyage, on the one hand, he wanted to tell them the real destination of the trip, and on the other hand, he wanted to hear Mr. Allen talk about it. About whaling, about the experience of going around Cape Horn, about the waters beyond Cape Horn; It had to be unavailable in the junior officers' quarters, so that his treat could become something of a festival, at least as far as the food was concerned.Even during a long voyage, when all the personal storage is exhausted and turned into memories, and everyone is reduced to eating only the warship quota, the captain's chef will try his best to make bacon, bean pudding, and hard bread. Quite different from a junior wardroom cook.Besides, Jack Aubrey was a conservative Tory, a man who liked old ways and old wine, and a man with long hair, a rare thing among officers of his age, who still had long hair and The man with his hair tied up in the back was a man who, like Nelson, wore his hat side to side instead of back and forth, so he was also the last man to go against tradition.So instead of borrowing the culinary skills of Tibbets, the chef of the junior officers, he had to search the entire warship for possible culinary masters.This is because Kirik's talents are only enough to grill cheese, make coffee and prepare breakfast, and Awlaki, the official naval chef of the "Marvel", is a negligible figure in the gourmet business.In fact, in the sense of a landman, he is not a chef at all. He only soaks the cured meat in a basin of clear water, and then cooks it in a large copper pot. A member of the meal team is in charge.After all, he lacked any sense of taste or smell—it was not because he claimed to know how to cook that he was appointed.For he lost an arm at the Battle of Campo Dang—yet the sailors of the ship liked him for his good temper, his countless songs and ditties, and his extraordinary generosity in grease .The grease that rises from the simmering bacon to the surface of the copper pans, besides being used to coat the masts and yards, is an extra income within the chef's prerogative.But Aoraki is very generous. Although almost all the candle merchants in the port will buy oil at the price of two pounds ten shillings a barrel, he still often gives the oil to the shipmates cup by cup so that they can use it. Fry crackers and the occasional fish.

As the sun climbed over the shimmering light-blue sea, the soft wind that dwindled was deflected to the northeast and blew straight astern.Normally Jack would have hoisted the topsail, and perhaps the third tier; now he was content to lower the mizzen gaff and jib, hoist the mainsail, and adjust the yard of the foretopsail , continue to maintain the slash sail, the lower foremast topsail and the supplementary wing sail at the lower part of the foremast middle section, and continue to maintain the large first receiving sail, large second receiving sail and the auxiliary wing sails on both sides.Against the remnants of the long westward swell, the frigate rose and fell lively again and again. Its captain was very familiar with such ups and downs. Except for the rhythmic creaking of the masts, yards, and innumerable pulleys as it pitched, it was almost completely silent.But it also sailed into the strangest local mini-snowstorm.Although the snowstorm was sparse, it lasted long enough that Maitland, who was on duty, had to ask someone to clean the deck again and again.It turned out that it was Jamie Dax plucking the head of a goose.Since the Surprise was not in fact going faster than the wind (although it certainly gave the impression it was), Plum flew a few yards away from him, caught in the eddy of its slash-sail, upward It spun up and turned again and again in the airflow generated by other sails, and finally fell silently on the deck like snowflakes.Meanwhile, Jamie Dax was muttering to himself, "It won't be done by then. Alas, alas, these damn fine hairs."

In the silence Jack, with his hands behind his back, swayed automatically as the boat rose and fell, watching very closely the whirling patterns of the feathers, for they directly reflected the real thrust of the various sails, which Thrust is a set of variables that is extremely difficult to define mathematically.Meanwhile, he could hear Joe Price chattering fussily in the kitchen.Price, an older forecastleman who had sailed with Jack on countless voyages, offered to make the battered hashtag, but as soon as his suggestion was accepted, he began to regret it.As time passed, he became very anxious, and in his anxiety he began to curse at his nephew and helper, Barrett Bunton.His swearing was surprisingly intense, and his voice was also very loud (for he was starting to go a little deaf).

"Kindly, Joe, softly," said Bunton, touching his ribs, and Bunton pointed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the bow.Mrs. James, wife of the sergeant of the marines, and Mrs. Horner, were coming on deck with the braid. "There are ladies present." "To hell with you and your ladies," Price said, though his voice was no longer so loud. "I hate women the most in the world. Women on warships." Every half hour, the ship's bell would ring to speak.The pre-noon watch is slowly coming to an end, and the time for the noon ceremony is drawing closer.The sun has reached its highest position.Each of the officers and cadets measured the horizon latitude of the sun, or went through the motions to pretend to measure it.The sailors' lunch whistle blew.But amidst the noise of yelling catering numbers and the banging of catering barrels, Price and Jamie Dax were still stubbornly engaged in their respective tasks in the galley. They stood in the crowd, blocking the connection between the bow and the Aft channel.An hour later, when Thibbets had prepared and delivered the junior officer's lunch, they were still busy, irritated by their obstruction.Today's junior officer's room is much less crowded, with only two acting adjutants left, Marine Corps officer Howard and the quartermaster, and the other members of the officer's room are invited to the main cabin for lunch.They were all in their best uniforms, and they were walking about the deck hungry. The two sailors, who were still busy when the fourth clock struck the afternoon watch post, were pale now.As soon as the fourth bell struck, the officers, led by Prince, entered the main cabin, while in the galley, Killick and his black helpers were hastily arranging a large bowl of chowder. plate. Captain Aubrey, who had great respect for the clergy, seated the chaplain at his right hand, ordered Stephen to sit further forward, and placed Prince at the bottom of the table, and Movitt at Prince's. Right hand, and Alan sat between Movitt and the captain. "Mr. Martin," said Jack, after the chaplain had said a prayer of thanksgiving, "it occurred to me that you may not have seen chowder. It's one of the oldest dishes in the forecastle's diet." , and it is delicious when done well. I was very fond of it when I was young. Allow me to fetch some for you." It's a pity that Jack's youth was also when he was poor, often penniless, but it was the rich man's chowder, the mayor's chowder.Aoraki contributed the fat so generously that the thickness of the liquid grease reached half an inch over the entire surface of the chowder, while the usual staples of the dish, potatoes and crumbled biscuits, were now replaced by fatty meat, fried onions and tangy spices Covered, almost invisible. "God help." Jack thought after a few mouthfuls. "It's too oily, too oily. Maybe I'm getting old. If only I had a few waitlists." He looked anxiously at the table The guests around me, however, nearly all of you here, were brought up in the very hard navy; they survived extremes of heat and cold, wet and dry, shipwrecks, injuries, hunger and thirst, the fury of wind and rain , the malice of the King's enemies; they have withstood all that, and certainly this dish--they all know what they are supposed to do as the captain's guests--and Mr. Martin, in his priesthood, has not yet As a beneficiary he had worked in a London bookstore, an apprenticeship which was in many ways more difficult than that experienced by officers.Everyone was eating, and not only were they eating, but they all looked like they liked it. "Maybe they really like it," thought Jack, who didn't want to force food down the throats of his guests, but he didn't want to be mean to them. "Maybe I'm eating too fancy, exercising too little, and becoming finicky." "A very interesting dish, sir," said the heroic Martin. "If it is possible, I think I will trouble you to add a little more." They totally love wine, at least there's no question about that.This is partly because drinking wine serves as a barrier to sticky, greasy food; partly because Price and Bonton salted the dish, causing an unnatural thirst; but also because the wine itself is completely Delicious. "So this is Spanish claret," said Martin, raising his purple glass to the light. "It's kind of like our home communion wine, but fuller and fuller..." It occurred to Jack that he could actually say pretty things about Bacchus, wine, sacrifices, altars, but he'd been trying to find something to talk about, and he couldn't be distracted to think of them (quips were few and far between for him) It was a spontaneous flash, which is a pity, because no one likes more wit than him, even in small doses, whether it's his own or someone else's).He had to find a topic, because according to tradition, in such a formal occasion, there is a relatively unknown person present, and all the sailors sit like a ghost. If you don't talk to him, he won't speak by himself.Fortunately, if he ran out of topics for a while, he could always liven up the scene with a toast. "Mr. Allen, I'll have a glass of wine with you," he said, smiling, thinking, as he bowed to the navigator, "Perhaps goose pie would be better." Yet there are days when hope is born only to be dashed.The towering pie was served, but as soon as Jack began to explain the dish to Martin, his knife felt not the firm resistance of the inner layer of the pastry but the softness of the dough; Where it is opened, what flows out is not gravy, but thin goose blood. "Sea pies," he said, "of course are made on sea ships. They're quite different from land pies. You first put a layer of ghee, then a layer of meat, and then another layer of ghee , and then spread another layer of meat, and continue to spread, the number of layers is determined by the number of decks on the ship. This is a three-deck ship, you see, light deck, main deck, middle deck, and lower deck." "But then there are four decks, my dear sir," said Martin. "Oh, yes," said Jack. "All battleships of the first class, all three-decked ships have four decks. If you count the bottom deck, there are five; and if you count the poop deck, there are even six. We just call them three-decks Well, you know. Then again, now that I think about it, maybe when we talk about decks, we really mean the space between two decks. I'm very concerned that this dish is undercooked." - Jack Hesitation said in Martin's direction. "Where, where," cried Martin. "The geese are much tastier if they are boiled raw. I remember translating a French national book, which authoritatively said that you must eat bloody ducks. Ducks are like this, and geese are even more so." "Spice for duck..." Jack began, but he was too frustrated to go on. Anyway, Strasbourg pie, smoked tongue, other side dishes, a fine Minoga cheese, dessert, and excellent port wine, in time to cover the unfortunate, even raptor-like memory.They drank to the king, to wives and sweethearts, to Bonaparte's defeat, and then Jack pushed back his chair, let go of his waistcoat, and said, "Mr. Gentlemen, you will forgive me, I am going to talk about warships. I am happy to tell you that our warship is not going to Java. Our order is to deal with an American sent to harass our South Sea whaling ship. Frigate. It's called 'Norfolk,' Thirty-two guns, except for four twelve-pounders, all short guns. She's been in port for a month, I hope we can be south of Cape St. Roch, Intercept it on its way or else at some other point on the Atlantic coast. But there's always the chance, we'll follow it all the way into the Pacific. For none of us round Cape Horn, and I know Ellen Sir knows those waters very well, he has sailed with Captain Cornell, and I would be very obliged if he could tell us about them. And he will probably tell us a lot about the whaling too, which is very important to us. of which I am ashamed to know nothing. Am I right, Mr. Allen?" "Well, my lord," said Alan, hardly blushing, his timidity subsided after drinking a good deal of port, "my father and two uncles were whalers in Viterby. You may Said, I was raised on whale oil, and I sailed with them a few times before joining the navy. But that's what we call the Greenland fishery, out in the waters off Spitsbergen, Or in the Davis Strait, Greenland right whales, right whales, and sometimes beluga whales are caught, plus some walruses and narwhals. When I went fishing with Captain Kearney in the South China Sea, I learned Much more. I'm sure you know, sir, that the South Sea fishery is mainly for sperm whales. Sperm whales, and all the boats go from London." "That's right," said Jack, noticing that Alan was going off course, and adding, "Perhaps you'd better tell us about your voyage with Captain Kearney, so we can talk about navigation by the way." And whaling, etc. But talking makes one thirsty, so let's have some coffee first." The conversation paused, the aroma of coffee filled the cabin, and Stephen craved tobacco with all his heart; however, smoking could only be done outdoors on the afterdeck—some warships had even stricter regulations, insisting that smoking should only be done in the galley— — but that would mean missing Allen's speech.Stephen was keenly interested in whales, and he was quite eager to hear about the Cape Horn they might round.This horn is reputed to be more dangerous to navigate around Cape Horn than any other, requiring endless voyages against the great west winds, and hopes being delayed longer and failures more likely. blood disease and, more often than not, end in complete failure.He suppressed his craving for tobacco and wished the navigator to start soon. "Well, sir," said Allen, "the Americans of Nantucket have been hunting sperm whales for a long time, both in their own seas and in the southward seas, and before the last war they Just sailed farther south with some British ships, into the gulf of guinea and sea off the coast of brazil and even into the falkland islands. but we were the first to catch sperm whales around cape horn. friends of my father Mr. Shields, who took the 'Ameria' in 1988, brought back 139 tons of spermaceti in 1990. 139 tons of spermaceti, gentlemen! Plus rewards King, nearly seven thousand pounds. So, of course, the other whalers followed him, and went fishing up the Chilean and Peruvian coasts. But you know, the Spaniards have always been very jealous of ships sailing in these waters , and they were worse then than they are now, if they could be worse—you must remember Nukta Sander." "I do remember," Jack said.All his present happiness depended on that remote, damp, uncomfortable little harbor on Vancouver Island, much farther north from the last Spanish settlement on the west coast of America. In 1791, some British ships were trading fur with the Indians there, and they were captured by the Spaniards.It was an extremely peaceful time, but because of this incident, the rearmament of the navy began, known to history as the "Spanish Incident".This in turn brought about a glorious transformation in himself, from a small (though perhaps competent) navigator's assistant to a captain appointed by His Majesty the King, who could wear a gold-rimmed hat on Sundays. "So, sir," said Allen, "the last thing a whaler would want is to anchor in any port on the Pacific side, not only because the Spaniards are arrogant and domineering at the first opportunity, but because, So far from home they could never be sure whether it was war or peace, and they risked not only losing their whaling ships and their catch, but also being taught a lesson, starved to death in interned Spanish prisons, or infected You died of yellow fever. But if you have to stay outside for two or three years in all kinds of weather, it stands to reason that you will definitely need to repair and replenish supplies." All the officers nodded in agreement, and Kirik also agreed. Coughing and commenting, "You're right." "So Mr. Enderby, the man who sent Shields to sail with the Amelia, and the other owners, proposed to the government that an expedition should be organized to find a safe harbor and replenish supplies. so that the South China Sea fishery can continue and flourish. The government was happy to agree, but then some things happened one after another, and the expedition finally became a double-duty voyage, half whaling, half wayfinding, The profit from the first half was used to finance the second half. The Admiralty said at first that they would lend the 'Rattler,' which was a very strong full-rigged sloop, three hundred and seventy-five tons, but then they He changed his mind and sold it to the shipowners, who converted it into a whaling ship, fitted it with a whaling mast, and equipped it with a crew of twenty-five, while its quota for a warship was one hundred and thirty. People. However, the Admiralty did appoint Mr. Cornell as the captain. Cornell and Cook sailed the "Resolution" around the world, and during the intermission between the two wars, because he only received half the salary of the Navy, He also sailed on the Atlantic Merchant--in fact he went to Nucta Sander, the merchant ship that the Spaniards captured! Thus he became the commander of the expedition; and he very kindly put I took it with me." "When did that happen, Mr. Allen?" Jack asked. "That was the beginning of the Spanish military expansion, sir, in the winter of 1992. We had bad luck, because the reward for recruiting navy sailors had been issued, and some of us left, so we could only recruit those who had never been to sea. Novices or children to take their place. We were delayed until January '93, missing the whaling bounty and the good weather. Anyway, we started at last, and if I hadn't If I remember correctly, we saw the island eighteen days later." "Which island?" Martin asked. "Well, Madeira, of course," said all the naval officers. "In the Navy, we always refer to Madeira as simply that island," said Stephen very proudly. "Then, nine days later we saw Ferro Island. And the wind was in our favour. We had just left the Northeast trade when a soft wind pushed us obliquely across the variable winds—very windy winds that year. Narrow—put us all the way to latitude four degrees north, into the southeast trade winds, which pushed us down to latitude nineteen degrees south, and we crossed the equator at longitude twenty-five degrees thirty. .No, I was wrong. It was twenty-four degrees and thirty minutes west longitude. Fourteen days later, we entered the port of Rio, where we anchored for a few days, got the rigging straightened, and the ship was blocked with hemp silk. I still remember Mr. Cornell harpooning a five-stone turtle in the harbour. After that we set off to find an island called Grandes, said to be at forty south latitude. five degrees, but no one knows the exact longitude. We've found plenty of blackfish—that's what we call the young right whale, sir"—Alan's last words to Martin, "but no Any island, Grande or Petit, so we changed course again and headed leeward to the southwest, approaching the sea near the western head of the Falklands until we measured sixty. Fathoms to the depth of the sea. There were many days when the weather was too bad to make observations, so we left the Falklands in the direction of Staten Island with ample leeway." "Are you going to cross the Lemaire Strait?" Jack asked. "No, sir," said Allen. "Mr. Kearney always said that the tides and currents made the waves so high that it wasn't worth it. Then at midnight we got another ninety fathoms—albeit with a small crew, Kearney Mister still kept measuring lead at deep sea—he thought we were too close, so we tackled the boat again, and in the morning, we couldn't get to the bottom with a hundred and fifty fathoms. So we got the wind Going to Cape Horn, round Cape Horn, we were farther from land than Mr. Kearney would have chosen--he liked to stay fairly close to the coast so that he could take advantage of more The changing winds—the next day we sighted the Archipelago of Diage Ramírez three or four leagues to the northeast. You will be interested, sir.”—Alan to Stephen—“ We saw some white jays. They were the same size and shape as the northern country people call gray jays, except they were white. Then we had very bad weather, the wind was west-southwest, and the waves were very rough. Great; but we rounded Tiera del Fuego fairly well anyway, and then off the coast of Chile the weather improved again, with a soft southerly wind. At forty degrees south we began to see sperm whales, and we killed eight of them off the coast of Mercha Island." "How do you do it, sir?" Stephen asked. "Well, it's not much different from killing a right whale," Allen said. "It's like when you ask me how to amputate a leg, and I say it's like amputating an arm. At least personally, I'd like to hear you explain it more carefully," Stephen said, and everyone grumbled in agreement.Allen quickly glanced around.It was hard for him to believe that so many adults—all sailors and sane—had never seen how a whale was killed, or at least heard how it was done, but their eagerly focused faces told him that was the case. , so he began: "Well, sir, we always have men at the top watch, and as soon as they see the whale start to spout, they sing loudly, 'It's spouting'. Go up the mast--for whalers, you know, don't get paid, but share the profits--if the next spout is in the right direction, I mean if the sperm whale's thick, low jet of water is toward the bow Yes, then we'll lower the boat, of course a whaler, the pointed ones--launch the boat quickly, and the men jump in, and hand them the gear at the same time, two hundred miles Long whaling lines in barrels, and harpoons, and javelins, and buoys, and off they went, as fast as they could at first, and then approaching slowly and stealthily as they approached, for If it’s not a passing whale, it usually resurfaces within a hundred yards of where it dived and you can’t scare it.” "How long does it usually stay underwater?" Stephen asked. "About an hourglass and a half—about three quarters of an hour, some longer, some shorter. Then it'll come up, take about ten minutes to breathe, and if you're careful, while it's spraying, you can Quietly paddling close to it. The coxswain of the skiff has been sitting in the bow, and at this time he will throw the harpoon - the whale will immediately dive into the water, and sometimes lift the tail, or as we say Yes, put up the yatud and ram the boat, and it dives, dives, and pulls out the whaling line so fast that it smokes the bitt, and you have to keep splashing water on it—the helmsman and the boat The boatmasters exchanged places, and when the whale came up again, the boatmaster javelined him—with a six-foot blade, if he could, behind his broad fin. I knew an experienced the old commander, killed the whale with a javelin, and it began to struggle and jump wildly, and at that time it could have easily pierced the boat. But generally, it takes a long time to kill a whale: stab it Just dive down, stab it and dive again, and finally kill it. The forty-pipe-barrel male calf is the hardest to kill because it moves quickly. I don't think I can kill one out of three, and sometimes,它们会迎风拖你十英里，就算那样，有时候它们还会带伤逃掉。八十琵琶桶重的大鲸鱼就好办得多了，我见过的那头一刺毙命的，就是那一种鲸鱼。不过，一头鲸鱼只有剖开了才见分晓。要不要我说说我们是怎么剖开鲸鱼的，阁下？”他看着杰克问道。 “请吧，艾伦先生。” “是这样的，我们把鲸鱼拖在船侧，开始割肉。我们先把它绑紧，然后要是小鲸鱼的话，我们就砍下鲸鱼头顶的部分，也就是头的上部，我们称为壳子的那部分，因为鲸蜡就在那儿，我们再把它拉到甲板上来，可要是大鲸鱼的话，就把它掉转头，让它头朝船尾方向，等我们剥完皮，或者说割完油脂再说。是这么干的，我们在它的鳍前面割开一个口子，拉出鲸油，把挂索桩穿过去，系在大桅楼的绞辘上。然后水手们爬上鲸鱼的尸体，用锋利的长刀在鲸油上割下三英尺宽螺旋形的一条。在一头大鱼的身上，鲸油大约有一英尺厚，很容易分离开来；然后绞辘把它提起来，同时倾斜、翻转鲸鱼的身子，你知道么，我们把这叫做翻绞辘。在甲板上，他们把鲸油砍碎扔进熬油锅——那是船中间的一个大锅，下面生了火——把油熬出来。剩下的鲸油渣还可以再做燃料。然后等到所有的鲸油都上了甲板，我们再处理鲸鱼的头，打开壳子，把鲸鱼头里的东西，鲸脑油，用勺子舀出来。鲸脑油开始是液体，等到了桶里就凝固起来了。” “那是真正的蜡，对吗？”马丁问。 “是的，阁下，一种真正纯粹的白蜡，它从油里分离开来的时候，你想它有多漂亮，就有多漂亮。” “它的功用是什么呢？” 因为没人可以向艾伦先生提供任何建议，艾伦先生又继续说，“可就像我说的那样，要是你还没剖开鲸鱼，还没装了桶安稳地放进储藏舱里，你没法知道你的鲸鱼有多少价值。在默恰岛附近的海面上，我们杀的八头鲸鱼，只有三头我们是有收益的，外加一个头，因为天气变坏，其他的都逃掉了，有的是在拖的时候，有的是从船边逃走的。在默恰岛之后，我们沿着智利海岸一直驶到南纬二十六度，然后我们顺风朝圣菲力克斯和圣安伯罗斯群岛行驶，它们都在向西一百五十里格的地方。这都是些糟糕的地方，方圆不到五英里，没有淡水，没有柴火，地上草木不生，而且几乎无法靠岸。我们在碎浪中失去了一个好水手。然后又转到大陆的方向，沿着秘鲁海岸，在好天气里航行，晚上顶风停船，白天寻找英国船，可我们一艘也没看见。在南纬二度我们到了圣海伦地角，因为风向朝西，所以我们离开那儿去了加拉帕戈斯群岛……” 艾伦先生驾着“拉特勒”号到了加拉帕戈斯群岛，看了其中的两个岛，查特汉岛和胡德岛，但没有多少兴趣，又乘着西向柔风，在持续的小雨中回到了大陆，又到了赤道的北面，离开了跟随他们很久的海狮和企鹅，悲惨地忍受了酷热。他们又到了淡水充足、绿阴覆盖的可可斯岛，这儿有鲣鸟和军舰鸟，尽管雨大得让人辨不清方向，甚至还有大雾，他们还是心旷神怡地欢迎这样的休整——后来又到了危地马拉，到了不好客的索科洛岛，又到了洛卡·帕替达，那儿的鲨鱼非常凶猛、大胆、贪婪多食，在那儿捕鱼几乎是不可能的——它们会吃掉鱼钩上任何的东西，连同渔具也一起下肚，有一头鲨鱼甚至越过船舷上缘把一个人的手咬掉了。后来又到了加利福尼亚湾，那儿到处都是海龟；那儿的圣路加角是他们所到最北的地方。他们在特雷斯·玛丽亚斯附近海面游弋了几个星期，虽然看见了很多鲸鱼，却只杀了两头；后来船上的人生病了，他们就掉转船头向南，大致沿着原路返回了，不过这次他们在加拉帕戈斯群岛呆得更长。他们遇见了一条英国船，船上只剩下了七桶水，因为缺水船员们快要渴死了。 艾伦带着近乎狂热的表情，谈到了圣詹姆斯岛的大海龟——世界上没什么肉比它的肉更好吃了——他精确、详细又在行地描述了奇特的强大洋流，各种海潮的趋向，很少几个差强人意的停泊地的特点，少有的几个补充淡水的地方以及煮鬣蜥的最佳办法。然后又谈了他们再次回到圣菲力克斯和圣安伯罗斯群岛不远的地方，在南纬二十四度，在狂风把与船柱嵌合的舱板吹断的时候，他们不得不采取的措施。他谈了他们看见过的、追逐过的更多鲸鱼——他们通常没有什么成功，有一次还失去了两条小艇——然后，他们驾驶着“拉特勒”号再次绕过了荷恩角。这次的天气要好得多，然后他们向北驶到了圣海伦娜。他这样突兀地结束了他的故事：“我们到了艾迪斯通，当天晚上到了波特兰，在海岸边停留到早上，驶进去泊在怀特岛，考厄斯锚地。” “谢谢你，艾伦先生。”杰克说，“现在我对前面有什么在等着我们，知道得清楚多了。我猜想，科尔耐船长的报告也向捕鲸人公布了？” “噢，是的，阁下，而且他们也都遵照他的建议，到他推荐的大部分岛屿上去，特别是加拉帕戈斯群岛的圣詹姆斯岛、索科洛岛、还有可可斯岛。不过这些年只要等太阳一越过赤道，墨西哥沿海一出现坏天气，他们都更倾向于顺风向西航行，到瑟塞提群岛，或者甚至到更远的新西兰去。” 大家还提了很多其他问题，特别是有关嵌入船柱的舱板、船头和挡水板两侧的问题，都是让水兵们着迷的，然后斯蒂芬问道：“你的船员在长途航行中，健康状况怎么样呢？” “噢，阁下，我们舰上有个最出色的医生，我们所有人的欢乐，里德贝特先生。我们在捕鲸方面碰到那么多不如意的事，有时候大家会情绪低落，消瘦憔悴，可除了詹姆斯·鲍登因为小艇翻船在碎浪里淹死之外，他还是把大家全都健康强壮地带回了家。从荷恩角到圣海伦娜的路上，心情最恶劣的那些人还得了败血病，但里德贝特先生用詹姆斯药粉把他们治好了。” 大家谈论了情绪低落和败血病，谈论了身体和心态，谈论了普通舰队作战对便秘、感冒，甚至天花的影响，然后斯蒂芬又说：“阁下，你是不是可以说说抹香鲸的生理构造。” “唔，可以的，阁下。”艾伦说，“碰巧我还能说一些。里德贝特先生是个非常渴求知识的人，而且因为我们一直在鲸鱼的肚肠里寻找龙涎香——” “龙涎香？”普林斯叫道。“我一直以为它们是浮在海面上的。” “或者是落在海滩上的。”莫维特说。“还有谁会不知道，长满巨大柠檬的欢乐岛，海滩上珍珠和珊瑚闪着光，还有很多磅的龙涎香？” “我们的第一副官是个诗人。”看见艾伦吃惊的样子，杰克说。“要是娄万来得及在马耳他加入我们的话，我们本来是有两个诗人的。娄万用现代风格写诗。” 艾伦说要是那样的话就是很可喜的事了。他又接着说，“要是运气好的话，当然你可以在岸上找到——有个叫约翰·罗伯茨的人，本来在东印度公司的'瑟娄'号上做水手。有一次，他在圣亚苟的海边走过——当时他的船正在那儿加水。发现了两百七十磅重的一块，他直接就回家去了，在鸣欣路卖了钱，就在七橡树的另一边置了产业，马上就备了自己的马车——不过，龙涎香首先会经过鲸鱼。” “要是那样的话，”普林斯说，“为什么在高纬度从来就没有发现过龙涎香，可鲸鱼却多得像面糊一样呢。” “因为只有抹香鲸才和龙涎香有关系，”艾伦说，“而它们并不到北面的水域去。在北面你看见的鲸鱼，有一些是脊美鲸，其他的那些都是恶劣的长须鲸。” “也许是抹香鲸在海底看见龙涎香，把它吃了下去。”杰克说。“脊美鲸和长须鲸却没法做到，因为有鲸须挡着呢。” “也许真是这样，阁下。”艾伦说，“我们的医生却幻想它是从鲸鱼自身长出来的，可是他并不能真正想通这一点。这东西像蜡一样，是非动物性的，这一直让他困惑。” “那你们在检查鲸鱼肚肠的时候，有没有找到一些呢？”斯蒂芬问。 “遗憾的是，只找到过一丁点，”艾伦说，“而且只在一头鲸鱼身上找到过。我们很少能彻底搜查，因为我们全部都是、或者几乎全部都是在海上把它们剥皮的。” “我还从来没见过龙涎香呢。”莫维特说。 "What does it look like?" “光滑的圆圆的一团，没有特定的形状。”艾伦说。“你刚把它拿出来的时候，它是斑驳的或者带云纹的，深灰色，很像蜡，气味也很浓，可是分量不重，过了一会儿，就变成了浅颜色，要硬得多，而且开始变得很香。” “龙涎香炒鸡蛋是查理二世最喜欢的一道菜。”马丁评论道，而普林斯说，“我看它和等重的金子一样贵。” 他们一边想着这件事，一边慢慢地传递着白兰地酒瓶，过了一会儿艾伦继续说，“因为只要天气允许的话，我们总是要剖开鲸鱼的，所以里德贝特先生乘机了解了它们的生理构造。” “棒极了。很好。”斯蒂芬说。 “他和我是特别要好的朋友，我常会去帮他。我希望我还能记得他解释给我听的十分之一，可这些事情都已经过去很久了。我记得只有下腭上有牙齿；两个鼻孔是连通在一起的，组成单通道带阀的喷气孔，因此有不对称的脑颅；差不多看不见骨盆的痕迹，也没有锁骨，没有胆囊，没有盲肠——” “没有盲肠？”斯蒂芬叫道。 “没有，阁下，一点也没有！我记得有一天，天气很平静，鲸鱼在船边平稳地浮着，我们用手检查了整个大小肠，一共是一百零六英寻——” “噢，天啊。”杰克低声嘟囔着，推开了自己的酒杯。 “——连盲肠的影子也没有发现。没有盲肠；可是话说回来，它有巨大的心脏，足足有一码长。我记得我们把一个心放在网里，拉到了舰上来；他测量计算之后，发现一次心跳输出十到十一加仑的血——主动脉有一英尺宽。而且我还记得我们很快习惯了站在巨大温暖的肚肠里，记得有一天我们开了一头鲸鱼的膛，里面还有一头小鲸鱼，他还指给我看脐带、胎盘，还有……” 杰克把思绪从艾伦的讲述中转移到了别处。比起大多数人来，他见过更多因为愤怒而流的血，他并不是过于神经脆弱的人，但他不能忍受心平气和的屠宰。普林斯和莫维特也差不多是同样的心态。艾伦马上意识到，大舱作为一个整体，并不喜欢他说的事情，于是他转移了话题。 杰克从沉思冥想中回过神来，听到了约拿这个词；在恍惚的一刻，他还以为他们在说侯隆呢。但随后他意识到，艾伦是在说，从它们的生理构造来看，毫无疑问，是一头抹香鲸吞下了那个预言家——有时候抹香鲸在地中海也能见得到。 水手们很高兴能从有关输卵管和胆结石的话题中解脱出来，他们谈论起在直布罗陀海峡以内看见过的鲸鱼，谈论起他们认识的其他约拿们，谈论起载有约拿们的航船可怕的命运，而且杰克的晚会结束得更加文明，话题又从海上转移到了陆地一他们看过的戏，参加过的舞会，还有个关于猎狐的一弗隆一弗隆地详尽讲述的故事：要不是因为天色变暗，莫维特又跌进了田里的排水沟，他和费尔尼先生的一群猎狗肯定是会抓到猎物的。 而尽管大舱躲过了更加令人毛骨悚然的细节，下级军官室却没能逃得过去，因为没有舰长在场，航行官变得更加无畏了，在医生和随军教士的支持下——或者确实可以说怂恿下——不顾他同餐室军官们的非难，他可以把自己强健的记忆力所能保留下的所有生理解剖知识和盘托出了；而且话说回来，有疑病症倾向的军需官亚当斯先生就很喜欢听；而所有和性稍有关联的事情，海军陆战队的霍华德听得都很着迷。 然而并非所有的细节都是令人毛骨悚然的，甚至并非都和解剖学有关。“我读过有关北海航行的书，还有关于捕鲸的书，”马丁说，“可对捕鲸业的经济学，我从来也没形成过清楚的看法。从经济的角度，你会怎样比较南海和北海捕鱼业。” “在我年轻的时候，”艾伦说，“在格陵兰水域还兴旺的时候，我们曾经估计过，五头好鱼就可以支付航行了。每次航程，平均一条船我们可以得到十三吨油，还有接近一吨的鲸鱼骨头；在那些日子，一吨鲸鱼骨头可以卖到五百镑。而油是二十镑一吨，或者稍微好一些，而且还有渔船的赏金两镑一吨，所以你也许可以得到四千五百镑。这些钱要在五十个人之间均分，当然捕鲸船本身也要分红；可就算这样，航行还是有利可图的。但是现在，虽然油已经涨到三十二镑，骨头却跌到了不足九十镑，而且鲸鱼也变小了，变少了，也更远了，所以你得捕二十头才不会亏本。” “我没想到鲸鱼骨头这么值钱。”军需官说，“它可以用来做什么？” “装饰品。”艾伦说。“女帽头饰商和裁缝们用的装饰品；还有雨伞。” “那么和南海渔业相比怎么样呢？”马丁问。“因为要是只抓抹香鲸，那在南海就没有骨头可言。航行仅仅是为了鲸油。” “确实如此。”航行官说。“而且要是你把两者对比起来考虑的话，抹香鲸只出两吨油，而一条好的格陵兰鲸鱼要多出十倍，另外还有上好的骨头，你会觉得南海渔业是件愚蠢的事；因为，就算抹香鲸的油，价钱比一般的高出一倍，就算鲸蜡也可以卖到五十镑一吨，可还是不够补偿骨头的损失。噢，天杀我的——我是说，噢我的天哪，还是不够。” “请你解释这明显的矛盾。”斯蒂芬说。 “是这样的，大夫。”艾伦说，他微笑着，面带着知识优越者的——甚至是智慧优越者的——全部的善意，“你有没有看出来，关键在于可用的时间？在北冰洋——在格陵兰渔业——我们是四月初出发，一个月之后到达冰的边缘。在五月中旬鲸鱼来了，到六月中旬它们就离开了，剩下的是那些恶劣的长须鲸，还有一些无关紧要的酒糟鼻。要是你还没装满一半的琵琶桶，你可以不妨向西到格陵兰海岸，沿着浮冰试试运气，一直干到八月；可到那个时候，天就开始变暗、变冷了，就是回家的时候了。在戴维斯海峡也是同样，不过要是你不在乎冒险让冻住，冻到第二年，不在乎你的船给冰挤碎，不在乎你给冰熊吃掉，你还可以在那些海湾里呆得久一些。而抹香鲸生活在温和的热带水域，你尽管呆多长时间捕猎它都可以。现在大多数南海捕鲸人都指望在外面停留三年，也许杀两百头鲸鱼，然后满载而归。” “当然，当然。”斯蒂芬叫道，一边用手拍了拍脑门。“我真是蠢。”他转过脸，对站在椅子背后的仆人说，“你能把我的雪茄盒子拿来吗，帕丁？”又对航行官说，“艾伦先生，你愿意到甲板上走一走吗？你两次提到长须鲸的时候，都抱着强烈的非难，要是你能进一步阐述你的观点，马丁先生和我都会非常感激的。” “我五分钟之后来见你。”航行官说，“等我先誊清我中午的观测，在海图上测量好距离就来。” 他们在右舷的转折处等着他，过了一会儿斯蒂芬说，“要是能看见一片草叶，或者一只羊，这种景色就可以称得上田园诗般的了。”他吐出的一口烟，紧密地聚成一团向前漂去，越过了船腰，因为柔风仍旧从船尾方向气息平稳地吹拂着，从船头到船尾拉起的繁复绳索上，挂满的无数衬衫、裤子、外套、手绢，全都秩序井然地倚向南方，就像仪仗队里游行的士兵——既没有变化无常的飘动，也没有参差不齐的抖晃。这些衣物的主人们，也同样清醒地坐在船首楼上，或者坐在主甲板的大炮之间。这是个缝纫修补的下午，对新兵来说，这意味着要把今天早上发给他们的一码码的帆布衣料，变成热天穿的衣服。不仅普通水兵在忙于针线，就连一个新来的少年候补生，噶隆勋爵的儿子威廉·布莱克尼，也坐在左舷跳板上，正在下级军官室女佣的指导下，学习缝补长袜。这个下级军官室女佣，其实是个长胡子的水兵，他曾经在布莱克尼父亲手下服役过，在事件的自然运转中，现在他成了布莱克尼的海上爹爹，他是个出色的缝补匠，以前曾经照料过上将的桌布。另外，侯隆也坐在左舷扶梯上，教另一个侥幸人选的候补生如何在口袋旁边穿针引线，一边还低声对自己唱着歌。 “那个年轻人的嗓音多美啊。”马丁说。 “一点也不假。”斯蒂芬说，一边更加留意地听着。那嗓音确实神奇般地悦耳、音调准确，还把一首老歌谣唱得新鲜动人。斯蒂芬探出身子看清了歌手。“要是他这样继续进步下去，”他想道，“大家艮快就不会再叫他约拿了。”在开始的几天，侯隆狼吞虎咽，以显著的速度长胖了，现在他不再骨瘦如柴，作为航行官助手，他也不再荒谬地显老——事实上，在那些对雄性的果敢和力量要求不高的人们看来，他甚至可以称得上英俊——贫穷和厄运也不再从衣服里瞪出眼睛。他拿到了一笔预付的薪水，不仅赎回了当铺里的六分仪，还买了一件相当好的外套，而且因为这儿是帆布长裤和短外套的纬度——除了去大舱，还有主持值班岗哨的时候，军官们都不穿制服了——还因为他干针线活特别心灵手巧，所以他的穿着比别的军官一点也不差。他和沃德，还有希金斯三人一起搭伙吃饭。希金斯是斯蒂芬的新助手，而沃德是杰克的书记员，他尽职，安静，有点平庸。沃德平生最大的野心就是当个军需官，他存钱多年，就是为了缴纳成为军需官所必需的保证金。侯隆在准备出航的紧急日子里，并没有以超常的技术、有效的努力让自己脱颖而出，可是话说回来，他也没做错什么事情让杰克后悔收留了他。“都在低地的海上。”他唱着，一边把针脚和歌词同时引向结尾。“你看，”他对那个候补生说，“最后你来回缝上五六遍，打上一个结，就缝好了。”他剪断了线，把线团和剪刀递给候补生，说，“跑到军械官的卧舱里，把这些还给荷纳太太，转达我最好的问候和感谢。” 斯蒂芬感到有什么东西在轻轻挨擦他的手，他低头一看，原来是下级军官室的山羊阿斯帕西亚，来提醒他履行自己的职责了。“好了，好了。”他气恼地说，一边最后抽了一口雪茄烟。他把通红的雪茄烟头摁在一个缠索栓里，又在船舷上擦了擦缠索栓，把烟头塞给了阿斯帕西亚。它这才安静地慢慢回到舵轮旁边鸡笼的阴影底下，眼睛半闭着咀嚼起来。在它往回走的时候，它还和匆忙赶到船头的航行官碰了个照面。“我抱歉让你们久等了。”他说，“我不得已要修理鹅毛笔。”“没关系。”他们说。然后他继续说，“嗯，先生们，至于说到那些长须鲸么，我们一共有四种，可每一种都乏善可陈。” “为什么呢，艾伦先生？”马丁用不赞同的语气问道。他不喜欢这么一大批上帝的造物全盘遭到谴责。 “因为，要是你用鱼叉去扎长须鲸的话，它极可能会把你的小艇撞成柴火木料，或者下潜得非常深、非常快，不是把你拉下海底，就是用光你的绳子。从来没有造物有这么大，还这么快——我见过的一头游到三十五节，先生们！它有一百英尺长，上帝才知道它有多少吨重，却游到三十五节的速度，比奔马还要快一倍！要不是亲眼所见，简直无法相信。而且要是万一你杀了一头长须鲸，或者更有可能得多，你碰巧遇上一头长须鲸搁浅了，因为它的鲸鱼骨头又短又粗糙，大部分骨头还是黑的，商家也不经常要收购；再说它的油质量很差，分量也不会超过五十桶。” “你几乎完全不能怪它怨恨鱼叉。”马丁说。 “我记得我第三次航行的时候，”艾伦没有理会马丁，又继续说，“时节已经比较晚了，因为储备舱还没装满一半，我们还留在格陵兰海岸。天气很糟糕，北面的海涌把冰挤压得咯吱直响，天色在变晚，天气变得很冷，我们的一条小艇缠住了一头长须鲸。我想象不出他们是怎么搞的。鱼叉手爱德华·诺里斯，是个有经验的捕鲸人，照理说，就连第一次出海的人，都可以根据喷水判别出长须鲸——它和脊美鲸相当不同。再说，它翻身下潜的时候，你可以看见它的背鳍。不管怎么说，你近到可以投鱼叉的地步，总可以把它看得清清楚楚。可是，不管是什么原因，是大雾还是海浪，或者是鱼叉手眼睛顶风，他们缠住了一头长须鲸。他们举起旗子，要了更多的捕鲸绳，又一条一条地装上去。这活计很有窍门，绳子走得飞快，快得系缆柱冒烟，嘶嘶作响，你得在上面不断浇水。它带走了四整桶的绳子，外加第五桶的一半，将近一英里长，而且在水下呆了很长时间，也许有半个小时。它浮出水面的时候，捕鲸艇指挥老丙汉马上用标枪刺它，这下可全完了。它喷出红水，摔起尾鳍，像赛马一样朝西南方向游去。他们全都大喊救命——我们看见小艇飞快地驶远，两边远远地溅起白沫，迅速地消失在黑暗中——我们不知道他们做了什么——或许绞缠在一起的绳子绕在了一个人腿上，他半个身子悬在船外，他们又不敢割断绳子，或者绳子缠住了一块松动的船板——可不管什么原因，过了一会儿他们就被拖了下去，拖到冰层下面，一共六个人，我们再也没找到过他们任何的踪迹，连一顶浮起来的皮帽子也没有。” “我猜，抹香鲸没有这么快，也没有这么难对付？”一阵停顿之后，斯蒂芬问道。 “不是这样的。因为它有可怕的大颚，它也可以是很难对付的。它可以把你的捕鲸艇一咬两段，自己还没觉得有什么。不过它几乎从来不这么做。它垂死挣扎的时候，有时会潜水，跳荡，用尾鳍把你砸成碎片，可它不会有意这么做。它没有恶意。说起来，早先，在南海几乎还没有捕鲸船的时候，它会停在水里用它的小眼睛温和好奇地看着你。我以前还摸过它，亲手摸过它呢。” “不去触怒它的话，鲸鱼会袭击人吗？”马丁问道。 “不会。它们可能会撞上你，弄松你的后支索，但那是因为它在睡觉。” “你杀鲸鱼的时候感觉怎样，你杀死了这么大的造物——你剥夺了这么大的一条生命？” “嗯，我感觉到自己变得更有钱了。”艾伦大笑说。过了一会儿，他又说，“不，我知道你的意思。有时候我想——” “陆地啊。”嘹望员在高处叫道。“甲板上的。高地，右舷船头偏一个罗经点。” “那肯定就是顶峰。”航行官评论道。 “哪儿，噢，哪儿？”马丁叫道。他跳上桅脚栅栏，但没有站稳，于是又跳了下来，脚跟和大部分体重都落在了斯蒂芬左脚的大脚趾和二脚趾上。 “沿着牙樯的缆绳看，”航行官指点着说，“朝右一点，在两层云的中间，你可以看见顶峰的中段在闪着白光。” “我看见大卡纳里岛了！”马丁说，他的独眼里闪耀的光芒抵得上两只眼。“我亲爱的马图林，”他带着最关切的表情说，“我多么希望我没有伤到你啊。” “没有关系，没有关系。这是我毕生的荣幸。可我告诉你，这不是大卡纳里岛，而是腾纳里夫，而且你再怎么跳也无济于事。要是我对海军还算稍有了解，你是不会被准许上岸的。你是不会在金丝雀的出生地见到金丝雀的，不管是大的也好，小的也罢。” 关于厄运的预言几乎都是准确的，除了“惊奇”号在海面游弋时，从大桅楼所能看见的那部分岛屿，马丁再也没有见到更多。游艇驶到了岛上，又穿过拥挤的船只重新返回，艇上载了一个活泼、肥胖、棕色的男人，他随身带着自己的黄铜小平底锅。奥布雷舰长的老相识，镇上的现任总督亲自担保，此人会做圣诞节布丁和百果馅饼。 “别担心，”斯蒂芬说，“很有可能，我们会在佛德角的某个岛上补充淡水。我多么希望那个岛会是圣尼克斯岛，或者是圣露西岛啊。这两个岛之间有个无人居住的岛，名叫布朗科岛，上面有一种特有的海鹦，和其他所有海鹦都不同，而且我从来没见过活的。” 马丁高兴了起来。“你估计我们到那儿还需要多长时间？”他问。 “噢，只要我们进入贸易风，就不会超过一个星期左右。我知道有时候贸易风在卡纳里群岛以北就开始吹了，送我们向南穿过回归线，几乎达到赤道，一路上帆脚索飘扬。也就是说，差不多两千英里的路程，一路上帆脚索飘扬！” “什么是飘扬的帆脚索？” “对啊，什么是飘扬的帆脚索？我好像记得，根据约翰逊的定义，帆脚索是舰上最大的缆索，或者这种缆索会飘动是件好事情。或者这只是水兵们惯用的诗意表达，不管怎样说，他们总是用它来表达舒服自在、毫不费力的航行。他们的语言常常是非常形象化的。你知道，东北和东南贸易风之间的无风乱风带，那片赤道以北宽阔的水域，法国水兵就把它强调地称为，也就是说，沥青罐。水兵们到达无风乱风带的时候，他们会说船在萎靡不振，就好像船情绪低沉，深深地忧郁。在潮湿和酷热中，在乌云密布的天空下，风帆懒散地抖动着，船停滞不前。” 在说话的当口，天空却完全晴朗，而且虽然“惊奇”号还没恢复到它原本快乐的状态，还要和太多极难对付的杂种们打交道，但它与愁闷却还离得很远。在北纬二十八度十五分它进入了贸易风带，而尽管贸易风绝对称不上全心全意，所有的水兵还是开始盼望起佛德角群岛，开始盼望起这些全都被太阳烤焦发黑，热不可耐，草木不生的岛屿所能带来的微小快乐。军舰已经进入了深海航行的稳定常规。太阳每天比前一天更热一些，每天也比前一天更偏向左舷横梁的后面。太阳马上晒干了新近清洗的、刚刚露面的甲板，随后就开始观看安排好了的一系列事件：哨声唤起吊床上的水兵，哨声叫水兵吃早饭，住舱甲板被清洗干净又被风吹干，哨声叫新兵去进行大炮演习或者去收缩中桅帆，哨声叫其他人美化军舰，地平纬度被观测了，军舰的纬度和进程也被确定了，中午宣布了，哨声叫水兵吃午饭，航行官的助手调制掺水淡酒的仪式（三份水、一份朗姆酒，外加适当比例的柠檬汁和糖），一小时后，敲鼓，下级军官室午饭，然后是安静的下午，六遍钟的时候是晚饭和再次的掺水淡酒，稍晚些是全体集合，军舰的甲板被收拾干净，所有水兵进入各自的战斗岗位。每次全体集合，难得有不开几炮就结束的，这是因为，虽然通常把大炮推进推出的训练有很大价值，但是杰克相信，为了让水兵们做好作战准备，没有什么可以比得上真的炮弹轰然射出，更不要说教会他们把炮口对准正确的方向了。他非常相信炮术。为了让他的炮队有充分的训练，他自己设立了私人弹药库（对实弹训练来说，官方正式的配给太少了）。因为前“保卫者”号的水兵们当中，很少有懂得大炮的，他的私人储藏大都用在了他们身上。于是，经常在第一班折半轮值快到结束时，夜晚就会被猛烈喷射的火焰所点燃，而军舰也会被一场私人的小型风暴所照亮。风暴射出云雾、雷鸣、橙色的闪电，消失在光滑、平静、可爱的海洋广阔的水面上。 对奥布雷舰长来说，海洋光滑得过分了。他宁愿在航行开始的时候，有两三次强劲的北风——当然，狂风的猛烈程度要离吹走任何重要的圆材刚好差那么一点——他这么想，是有很多理由的：首先是因为，尽管他手头有一个多月，甚至也许有六星期的时间，他还是想要更多的时间，他相信一个人在海上的时候，手头的时间永远不会嫌太多；其次是因为，他一心一意地喜欢恶劣天气，喜欢咆哮的大风、滔天的海浪，喜欢驾船驶过大风大浪，船上只扯起一片收紧帆篷的风暴小帆；另外还因为，一场持续两三天的狂风，要是大到必须把中桅降到甲板上，大到必须把救生缆临时从船头拉到船尾，那么，对于把一支成分复杂的水兵队伍团结起来，它的作用几乎就可以和一场战斗相比。 而且他们需要团结，他想，这是后一班折半轮值的时候，而由于大炮演习特别顺利，水兵们都出来跳舞嬉戏了。他们现在正在船首楼玩亚瑟王的游戏，一个人戴上伙食桶圈代替王冠，其他人用木桶往他身上浇水，戴王冠的人必须想尽办法做滑稽的手势，扮鬼脸或者说俏皮话，把他们当中的一个人逗笑，然后发笑的人就必须取代他的位置。这是个非常古老的、在炎热天气非常受欢迎的游戏，而且它也给那些不会因大笑而