Chapter 4 Chapter Four
Saw merchant ships of the East India Company very early in the morning.At that time Jack was immersed in the green water, except for the coast of Africa hundreds of miles to the left, and the coast of America much further to the right, there was only ocean on both sides, and only sea water within a thousand fathoms of his feet.He swam on the surface and dived.Swimming and diving, the lively water flowing through his long wavy hair and flowing along his naked body, he enjoyed the coolness and surge of the water; he felt extraordinarily relaxed, he felt his own strength, and Be happy because of it.During this short moment of leaving the ship, he had no need to think about the innumerable problems of the ship's men, hull, rigging, progress, and the best course the ship could take.These questions haunted his mind forever while he was on board.He liked the Surprise better than any other warship he knew, but even so, there was a certain charm to a half-hour's vacation. "Come on," he called to Stephen, "this water is like champagne." Stephen stood on the anchor, looking timid and listless.
"You always say that," Stephen muttered.
"Go, Your Excellency," Karami said. "It'll be all right in a minute. You'll love it when you're in the water."
Stephen crossed himself, took a deep breath, grabbed his nose with one hand, blocked one ear with the other, closed his eyes and jumped down, hitting his hips on the water.Because of his strange lack of buoyancy, he sank for a long time in the sea, but he finally emerged, and Jack said to him, "Now there is no one in charge of worldly affairs or body in the "Marvel" Matters of the side or of the soul, ha, ha, ha!" He said it was true, for all the skiffs of the "Marvel" were towed aft, lest the seams of the boats should be cracked by the heat, and In the last boat sat Mr. Martin.They were sailing next to seaweed, and he had collected many specimens of seaweed, plus three seahorses, and seven species of planktonic crabs.
"Ho, sailing ship," called the lookout as the sun rose and the distant mist cleared. "Hello, on deck, a schooner . . . two compass points off bow to starboard . . . two schooners. Three schooners, with topsails drawn."
"Stephen," Jack said, "I've got to get back right away. Can you swim to the boat?" If the completed propulsion may be called swimming), their motion, together with the smooth movement of the ship, brought the captain and the ship under his command to a distance of twenty-five or even thirty yards, which was already beyond Stephen's limit. Not far off.
"Oh," he said, but the spray filled his mouth.He coughed a few times, swallowed more spray, sank, and began to be submerged in the sea.As usual, Jack dived under him, grabbed his thinning hair, and pulled him to the surface; and, as usual, Stephen folded his arms, closed his eyes, and floated on his back, letting Jack drag him.Jack left him in Martin's dinghy and swam quickly to the stern ladder, climbed straight up to the deck, paused to put on his shoes, and climbed to the top of the mast again.A moment later he called for binoculars, and confirmed his first impression that these were returning East India ships; then, hearing the metallic shrill voice of Sergeant James' wife, he ordered his trousers to Come from the main tower.
On deck, he charted a course to intercept them--a course that would only throw the Surprise slightly off course--and hurried down to enjoy coffee, toast, and various fries, of which Includes strips of fried bacon.Stephen was already sitting there, eating the sausage unfairly first.Just as Jack sat down, his other guests appeared, Movitt and the younger Boyle.The cadets were sent down from time to time to report to Jack the appearance and actions of the unfamiliar ship.Before the feast was over, a gloomy Karami came down and said, "They are only East India Company merchant ships, sir; the nearest one, said Captain Prince, is the 'Luxington'."
"I'm glad to hear that," Jack said. "Kirik, please tell my cook to prepare good food today. We have three Indian company captains coming for lunch. You can take out a case of champagne first, so that we will not be caught off guard if we meet early. Take five or six bottles. The wet blanket was wrapped and hung over the yard of the mizzen-sail, just under the windward-side cloth awning."
They came early and left late after lunch, flushed and cheerful.During the dinner they drank a lot of wine.The last course for lunch was Christmas pudding.Jack's new chef lives up to his name.It was a good lunch, for two of the captains, Muffet and Mquad, had been involved in a chase with a French squadron in the Indian Ocean with Jack Obre, Prince, and Movitt. , Jack Aubrey, Prince and Movitt were on the same ship at the time.They chatted endlessly, reminding each other how the wind had turned at critical moments and how the De Renoa had turned to leeward.
He was happy at first, but when the ships slowly separated, Jack walked back and forth on the rear deck with a serious expression on his face.Muffett, a very experienced East India Company sailor, told Jack that he had never seen such a wide band of calm and variable winds between the southeast and southwest trade winds.He and his merchant ships left the southeast trade wind at two degrees north latitude, and dragged and climbed more than 500 miles before entering the real northeast trade wind, and the trade wind was not strong enough.The question in Jack's mind was whether, given the meager progress of the Surprise, he should turn westward, abandoning the Cape Verde Islands and their fresh water, and relying instead on the heavy rain.Between nine and three degrees north of the equator, such heavy rains are common in stormy winds.The rainwater collected by sails and tarpaulins smelled of marijuana and asphalt, and it was completely inedible at first; but the accumulation of drinking water for a few days may be the most important thing, because no one can determine whether the "Norfolk" encountered The gentle wind above will be equally rare.But in the same way, no one can be sure that the "Marvel" will encounter heavy rain.The rain in that ring, though at times almost unbelievably large, is limited in scale.Before that, he had passed through the variable wind belt several times, but he had never been drenched by rain. He had seen black clouds on both sides of the sea level, or isolated small storms in three or four places at the same time. There are miles and miles of calm sea between the little storms; and in the calm zone the fate of a ship without fresh water is inconceivable.But then again, the climate in this region, though scorchingly hot, is always extremely humid; you rarely feel thirsty, and there is much more fresh water to soak your cured meat than you drink.
These things are still in his mind as he plays the piano with Stephen in the evening, they are playing an adagio (perhaps a little dull) movement, which is familiar to both of them.His fingers, which were supposed to provide the soft background of the long phrases of the cello-drip-drip, drifted over the relaxed transition to another slow movement by the same composer, just harshly. Dissonance and Stephen's annoyed shouts pulled him back.Stephen asked Jack where the hell was he pulling?What tune are you playing?
"I beg you to forgive me a thousand times," said Jack. "I'm playing the one in D minor—I've been thinking about it—but I've just made up my mind. Please forgive me, just wait a minute." He went on deck and changed the course of the dear ship to the southwest South, with a contented air, came back to the cabin and said, "That's it. If it doesn't rain, we may die of thirst in a few weeks, but at least we won't miss the 'Norfolk ' No. I mean," he added, putting his hand on the wooden arm of the chair, "we're a little less likely to miss it on the course we're on. But then again, I'm afraid you'll have to Go tell poor Mr. Martin he's never going to see Cape Verde after all."
"The poor fellow will be very disappointed. He knows much more about beetles than I do, and it is said that in Cape Verde there are many varieties of tetratarsus beetles, but to the shallow mind, these beetles are It's incomprehensible. I'll break it to him little by little. But Jack, I'm going to tell you something. Our minds are not on the music tonight. I know I am, and I See I'm going to take a walk in the open air and then go to bed."
"I didn't offend you by being distracted, Stephen?" Jack asked.
"Not at all, old man," said Stephen. "Before we sat down to play, I had something on my mind. Just this one time, even playing didn't work."
Stephen was telling the truth.That afternoon, Stephen cleaned up the accumulated documents in the cabin, threw most of them away, and sorted out the rest a little.Among the letters thrown away were the latest in a series of letters from a well-wisher who duly sent him a letter letting him know that his wife was being unfaithful to him.Usually these letters aroused only mild curiosity and a slight desire in Stephen to know who had taken the trouble to write them all the time.But now, partly because of a dream, and partly because he knew appearances were against him—knowing that he certainly looked like he was hooking up with Laura Fielding—the letters heightened his anxiety.The anxiety had been building up since he had received the man's first letter aboard the Surprise in Gibraltar.Although their marriage was hardly successful by most standards, he was deeply attached to her, and the frustration of thinking she was angry at him while he couldn't communicate with her broke his usual The stable state of mind also shakes his belief.He had been sure that the letter Woory had brought would convince her, would show her his unchanging goodwill, even though his account of Mrs. Fielding must have been incomplete and in some respects rather false. .And now, in his present low state, he felt that sometimes lies had as much penetrating power as truths, and both were perceived intuitively, and Diana had always been the darling of intuitions.
He stopped at the side of the boat, the eddies of the strong wind whirling around him, and then he groped his way up the gangway to the quarterdeck.The night was black as hell, a warm velvety black, not a single star in the sky.He could feel the ship's motion in the hasty heaving and heaving of the ship, the lively vibration of the wood beneath his hands, and the creaking of logs, rigging, and sails overhead, but not a single sail, A cable, not even the ladder up to his nose could be seen.He would have been completely deprived of light, and it was only when his nose was above the height of the quarterdeck that he saw the light of a figure and his vision returned.On the quarterdeck a gray-haired helmsman named Richardson and a much younger helmsman, Walsh, directed the steering.Not far from him, he also made out a darker figure looming on the side of the mainmast.He said to the shadow, "Good evening, Mr. Horney. Is the chaplain back on board?"
"It's me, Your Excellency." Movitt said with a smile. "Honey and I have changed shifts. Yes, Mr. Martin's still at sea. He's on the yacht, trailing astern; and it's so dark and inconvenient, I doubt he'll come up until daylight. If you go over the side Look outside, you can see him." Stephen looked over the side of the boat, although the weather is so warm, there is still not much fluorescent light on the sea, but this little fluorescent light is enough for people to see the turbulent rolling around the tugboat clearly There was a wake, and on the farthest tug he could just make out Martin's little net moving up and down. "Maybe you want to go to him?" Movitt suggested. "If you want to, I can give you a hand over the transom."
"I don't want to go," said Stephen, watching the shimmering waves, the increasing jolts of a succession of boats--barge, runabout, scooter, two clippers, all at a distance from each other. Far—to get to the yacht, you have to jump over this chain of dinghies." Bad news keeps coming. But listen, James Movitt, aren't they pitching like hell? Are they in danger of being pulled underwater? Will it be engulfed by the vortex of the wake? Is Mr. Martin in danger of disappearing?"
"Oh, absolutely nothing will happen, Your Excellency," Movitt said. "No danger at all. If there was a gale, a real gale, well, I'd lower a topsail, drag him over the side, and hand him a rope. It's starting to move at last, isn't it?" Are you not happy? This is the first time since we left Gibraltar that we passed five knots: the ship only started to move when the sentry duty began, and if it is not so dark now, you can certainly see the beautiful wave of the bow.' It flies forward like wings, and even the eagle cannot overtake it.'”
"Did you write these, Mr. Mowett?"
"No, no, alas, they were written by Homer. God, this guy is amazing. Since I started reading his poems, I never want to write poems myself, he is so..." Movitt admired The voice slowly died down, and Stephen said, "I had no idea you were an expert in Greek."
"I am not, Your Excellency," Mowett replied. "I read it in translation. A young lady gave me a copy of Homer in Gibraltar as a keepsake. It was translated by a chap named Chapman, a very good chap. I started reading it because I Respect to the man who gave me the book, because I think I can teach Lou Wan some good imagery and rhyme when I talk about poetry, but I keep reading because I can't stop. You know this Chapman Is it?"
"I don't know him," said Stephen, "but once I saw Mr. Pope's translation, and Mrs. Darcyle's. I hope your Chapman is better than theirs."
"Oh, scratch--like a rumble, sometimes, like a sea-wave. The Iliad is translated in fourteen-syllable lines; and I'm sure it bears a close resemblance to the original Greek. I'll have to show you. But presumably you've read him in the original."
"I didn't have a choice back then. When I was a kid, it was Homer and Virgil, the whole of Homer and Virgil, and a lot of other classics. But I fell in love with him because of it, and I'm very happy. Agree with what you say - he is the prince of poets. I think the Odyssey is a fine story, but I have never really liked Ulysses, I think, Ulysses lies too much; and if When a person lies beyond a certain limit, he will become hypocritical and become unapproachable." Stephen said with emotion that his intelligence work required a lot of deception—perhaps too much deception. "...not to be approached again. Maybe I shouldn't argue with people who say that Homer wasn't a great poet. But the Iliad, oh, God bless him, there's nothing like Iliad in the world." De" such a book!"
Movitt yelled that the doctor was right, and began to recite a passage he especially cherished, but he soon couldn't carry on.But Stephen was hardly listening, lost in his own recollections, and said aloud, "And the measure of true heroism in the book, by which we all look so mediocre and pale; An infinite poetic art; and that great ending, when Achilles and Priam talked quietly together in the evening, and both knew they were doomed—a great ending, a glorious ending , because I can only treat funerals as a necessary formality, almost as an appendix. This book is full of death, and yet so alive."
Four times the bell interrupted their conversation, and around the ship came the shouts of watchmen and sentries: "Lifebuoy, all is well." "Starboard gangway, all is well." "Starboard bow, all is well." Then came all the other shouts.The shipwright's mate, carrying a lantern, reported eleven inches of water in the bilge pumps--half an hour to drain at dawn--and the cadet on duty, after fiddling with lantern and hourglass for a while, said, "Seven knots a fathom , Your Excellency, please." Movitt wrote these on the log board.The lantern disappeared under the hatch, and the darkness returned, even thicker than before.Stephen added, "In Lampsax there was a fool named Metrodorus, who explained that the gods and heroes in books were personifications of various things, fire, water, sky, sun, etc. anthropomorphism of Etc. - I remember Agamemnon as upper air - plus a lot of busy guys, found a lot of hidden meanings in Homer. Some people say that the Odyssey in particular is a huge metaphor, as if writing The "Odyssey" people must have seen a super acrostic dealer. But one thing that should be as clear as the noon sun, so far as I know, no pedant can see it-"The Iliad" is not only The great epic of the world, and yet a strong disapproval of adultery. Hundreds, if not thousands, of heroic young men died, Troy fell in blood and fire; Andromache's children were thrown from the battlements Down; she herself was taken away to fetch water for Greek women; great cities were razed and people displaced, all of that, all of it for adultery. And in the end she didn't even like that useless guy. James Movitt, there's really no use in adultery."
"You're right, sir," said Movitt, smiling in the dark, partly because he himself recalled something, and partly because, like everyone on board—that is, with all the old "Wonder" was like a man—he believed in Dr. Maturin's and Mrs. Fielding's criminal intercourse as much as he had seen them kissing naked in bed.
"Nothing at all, sir. Nothing at all. Sometimes I try to give him a hint, but it's such a delicate thing that I doubt it would do anything. Yes, Boyle, what's the matter?"
"Who is he?" thought Maturin.
"I beg your pardon, sir," Boyle said. "I think someone is shouting from the yacht."
"Then run to the stern and see what's going on. Take my mike and yell loud and clear."
Boyle called out loud and clear, then came back and said, "That's all I can hear, sir, and I hear the chaplain asking if we're worried about the wind getting stronger."
"We've been praying for the last time that the wind will get stronger," Movitt said. "Perhaps we'd better pull the yacht aft, though. He may be a little uneasy. You jump down and help him up the aft gangway. There'll be plenty of light from the cabin."
"You're very kind," said Martin, panting as he climbed up and sat on the windlass winch. "The boat pitched up and down so alarmingly that I couldn't observe at all for the last half hour." "What are you observing, sir?" "Luminescent organisms, mostly tiny planktonic crustaceans, copepods; but I need Calmer water, almost calm water all the way we've been there. I've been praying, and I'm very hopeful, that the water will settle down again before we leave the algae."
"I don't know what it's going to be like until we leave the kelp," Movitt said, "but I think it will definitely be calmer before we cross the equator."
In fact, long before they crossed the equator, the trade wind died away in the frigate's wake, leaving its towering sails lifeless, its broad sails hoisted to catch the slightest draft , all hanging there despondently, while the warship rolled horribly in the great smooth swell.
"Then it's malaise," said Martin, dressed in his best attire for having been invited to dine in the cabin.He stepped out onto the deck and looked around at the hot, cloudy sky and glassy sea with great satisfaction. "I've always wanted to see. But I think I'll take off my coat and put it on again at lunchtime." superior."
"It won't make a difference at all," said Stephen, his objections stronger than usual from a night of insomnia.Most of this sleepless night was filled with longing for his own vices.His vice was the alcoholic solution of laudanum—a liquid opium—which for many years had given him much solace in times of anxiety, melancholy, hardship, pain, and insomnia, but since his marriage to Diana, He gave up (except medicinal) this vice. "Your coat protects you from the sun's rays, and your body maintains a constant temperature. Arabs in the desert, you know, are covered from head to toe. The apparent relief is an illusion, a worldly delusion. "
But Martin was not a man to be subdued; he took off his coat, folded it carefully, put it in the hammock, and said, "Anyway, worldly delusion is magically cool."
"As for malaise," Stephen went on, "I think you may be using the word incorrectly. My understanding is that, in nautical language, malaise refers to a situation, a state of affairs, rather than a state of affairs. Areas. They are similar to child tantrums. A child, and sometimes even an adult—thank God, I hope there is no such thing—even an adult can have a child tantrum anywhere. Likewise, a Wherever it is, a ship is sluggish when it stands still for a long time. I may be wrong, but Captain Aubrey certainly knows."
Captain Aubrey knew, of course, but as they were his guests he managed to agree with both sides, though his opinion was slightly more in favor of the chaplain.Malaise, he said, had passed from a sailor's slang or lingo, into a common word on land, and had come to be used by all, in Mr. Martin's sense, for what was formerly called the variable wind belt.He had a lot of respect for Martin, and valued him, but he didn't invite Martin to dinner very often, not as often as he thought he should, and now to make up for it, he not only filled his glass very often, helped him Picking the best part of the leg of lamb, and twisting the truth in his direction.In fact, he felt restrained in Mr. Martin's presence.He didn't know many clergymen, and he had a great respect for the clergy, so he felt that in their presence one should look serious, talk seriously, and, preferably, discuss moral matters.While he didn't particularly enjoy talking about obscene subjects—indeed, he never discussed them unless with obscene companions, unless the opposite would have seemed obnoxiously hypocritical—the obligatory gentility Still oppressing him.Besides, Mr. Martin, though fond of music, was a poor player, and after an evening or two of apology and dissonance he was never invited to the cabin again.So Jack was more attentive than usual to this guest, not only congratulating him (very sincerely) on the success of his sermon this morning, not only persuading him to eat and drink, feeding him to the point where few people survived the heat of 104 degrees and It can withstand the humidity of eighty-five degrees, and told him in detail that this afternoon, the canvas will be put in the water outside the ship's side, so that everyone can swim in it.Everyone here refers to those who dare not swim in the sea because they are afraid of drowning.This remark sparked discussion about the reluctance of sailors, especially fishermen, to learn to swim.Prince, as the titular colonel, was free to raise the subject; across the table he said, "You haven't saved a life in a long time, sir."
"I guess so," Jack said.
"Does the captain save people often?" Martin asked.
"Oh, man, yes. He's going to save one or two people per mission, or more. Probably you can save a whole barge with all the people you save, right, Your Mightiness?"
"Perhaps so," said Jack absently, and then, feeling that he was not doing his duty to the other guests, added, "I hope we'll see you over the gunwale this afternoon, Mr. Hollon. Can you swim?"
"Not at all, sir," said Holon, speaking for the first time; after a brief pause, he added, "But I'm going to be flopping about in the canvas with the others. I can go to cool off." Come on, this is a rare treat."
It is indeed a rare enjoyment.Even at night the heat seemed to emanate from the blood-red moon, and in these oppressive, sweltering days, even when the sun was often hidden behind very low clouds, pitch was bubbling in the cracks of the decks, tar was Melted and dripped from the rigging overhead, while resin seeped from under the paint and trickled down the side of the ship.While the ship was slowly towing towards the southwest, all the small boats were dispatched to the front, and the sailors of the tugboat were replaced every hourglass.Sometimes a hot, fickle wind would wrinkle the oily sea, and all the sailors would rush out to turn the yards with the jibs to take advantage of the wind; became unfavorable, or simply disappeared, leaving the warship rolling lifelessly on the swell.The ship rolled so violently that her masts were in danger of snapping, though the fortified shrouds had only recently been lashed, the backstays were folded, and even the upper masts were let down on deck.Not only Mrs. Lamb, but some of the sailors on the Defender's first voyage were again in bed, sick and utterly exhausted.
It's a tedious time, and it looks like it's going to last forever.The observations made at noon each day can only be distinguished from those of the preceding day by the highest skill in the operation of the best instruments.The heat penetrated to the deepest part of the ship, and made the bilge so fetid that those who slept in the lowest quarters, Stephen and the chaplain among them, slept only a fraction of the time each day.They prepared sailcloths that could be laid on the deck to prevent the soft asphalt from getting on them, but when they came to the deck while carrying the rolls of canvas during the night watch, they were brutally driven from one place to another by the sailors.These sailors are usually under the direct command of the captain, running to catch up with the last ray of flowing air.This was also the time when theories collapsed, and though Stephen was as impervious to the heat as a chameleon—indeed he reveled in the heat—he took off his jacket, his cloth trousers, his fine wool stockings; He often wears a flannel jacket, and often opens the front to reveal his thin chest; he also puts on breathable Nanjing natural-colored trousers and a wide-brimmed flat hat.The hat had been knitted for him by Bonton, who had taught Bonton how to read many years ago in these same waters.The waters were much milder then, the sailing was much quicker, and in terms of mental expenditure it was incalculably cheaper than this one.Likewise, Jack's perception of humidity didn't stop him from drinking up his personal stockpile of East India Company Pale Ale, nor did he and the navigation officer go over and over their freshwater reserves, counting the hundred and fifty What was left in the nine-gallon rig, plus what was left in the one-hundred-eight-gallon cask, and five bilges, plugged so that the bilge could not seep in, in the wing-holds. The twelve-gallon hog's-head bucket and the remaining water in the twenty-six-gallon half-hog's-head bucket made for an extremely depressing sum.Even with the quartermaster's quota of one quart per man - which is far from the ration of one gallon of beer per man in the garrison waters - the fresh water reserves will still be shrinking at a rate of about half a ton per day , and that's not counting the absolutely necessary large quantities of fresh water for soaking cured meats.
They did come into the verge of a storm at 6° 25' N, but that did nothing more than prepare them to spread out their awnings and sails, clean them up for the next supposed downpour, and No other results were produced.The rainwater they collect in several hundred and eight-gallon casks, slightly salty and tarry, is filled with the slurry that the manufacturer puts on the new canvas, which, in the present state of less urgent need, is Couldn't swallow it.Still, Jack had buckets filled with rainwater.If the situation continues like this, even if it costs ten years' salary for a cup, they will drink much worse soup than this.
He is worried.Of course this is primarily due to lack of water, but also due to slow progress.He knew the Norfolk, and he had seen many of the American officers on the Constitutine, and quite a few as a prisoner of war in Boston.He knew that if the Norfolk had been commanded by one of them, she would sail southward as quickly as possible without undue wear and tear on masts and rigging.It might have even made up for a month's delay, sailing past Cape St. Roch before he did.The people on board also worried him. The "Amazing" people have accepted the lunatics of Gibraltar, treated them kindly, cut their meat for them, and yelled loudly in their ears when the lunatics couldn't understand; Withstanding heavy tug labor together, the Surprise could not accommodate most of the Defenders despite his modifications to the post watch schedule.Almost all punishments are caused by fighting between the two sides.Jack looks forward with anxiety to the day when he will finally cross the equator; in traditional rough romping, malice takes its ugly form.He knew that unwanted people had been crippled before.One man actually drowned during the prank.That's what happened to Jack when he was a navigator's mate on the Fumidapur.Besides, due to the continuous work in the scorching heat, and due to the poor quality of the food, everyone's temper became very bad.This made Jack even more anxious.Of course, as the only sovereign under God, he could forbid the traditional ceremonies of crossing the equator, but he would be ashamed to command a warship governed in this way.
Besides, he sensed something in the atmosphere of the ship, something he could not yet pinpoint.Jack had been fortunate in his employment, having spent the greater part of his life at sea, and therefore had more experience with the crew of ships than most officers of his seniority; And his experience is more comprehensive, because a irascible captain once demoted Mr. Aubrey, a midshipman, at the Cape of Good Hope, and turned him into a common sailor in the fore mast, and let him live and eat with other common sailors, sleep, work.This experience made him familiar with the demeanor and emotions of the sailors, and the meaning of their expressions, gestures, and silence; and now he was sure that something happened on board, something that everyone knew even though it was hidden. matter.It is certain that the incident was neither a conspiracy nor a gamble.He had seen high stakes on a few warships with rich capture bounties, and the "Wonder" hardly had even a goat now; , could also have such properties.
He felt right.Except for the captain, except for the chaplain, and of course the ordnance officer, everyone on the ship knew about this.It was very difficult to do anything privately on a crowded warship, and everyone knew that Mr. Houlong and Mrs. Horner were having an affair.He was in an ideal position for this venture, for his hammock hung with the cadets, and the Gunnery's Kingdom, where Mrs Horner looked after the cadets, was nearby.Few other people on board the warship could go in and out of these places without stirring up some discussion, and now that Hou Long was almost fed, he made the most of his opportunity.
There's a general feeling that he's made too much of his chances; it's also felt that, after a cautious start, he's grown overconfident; that he's about to get a beating, man, a beating .侯隆不会欺负水兵，也不会去惩罚他们，所以大家丝毫也不主动地厌恶他，但因为他又算不上是个水兵，他也不受人尊敬；再说，虽说他暂时运气很好，虽说他的好运气很令人嫉妒，但总有可能他是个约拿。对全船的人来说，他一直是个陌生人。荷纳也差不多一样，他阴沉的脾气和潜在的凶猛，让他在舰上没有朋友，尽管从他自己那方面看，做为一个干练的军需官他是受人尊敬的，做为一个万一被触犯就很难对付的杂种，他又是令人害怕的。
所以，在把军舰拉出变风带的劳作间隙，现在大家可以怀着最强烈的兴趣，观察这两个陌生人了。在着迷的旁观者们看来，随着这对情侣的谨慎变得越来越松懈，爆炸肯定在变得越来越近。但这些猜测，虽然自由地交流着，却从来也没有传到大舱里去；而在下级军官室，在随军教士在场的时候，猜测也会暂时被抑制住。
因此，虽然从迎风面船舷转折处的旁边，从他通常的位置上，杰克常常观察到心照不宣的表情，但对这些表情背后的特定理由，他一直毫无所知；不过，即使他知道其中的理由，在狐鲣出现的时候，他还是会命令所有小艇下水的。黎明时分，甲板上发现了几十条飞鱼，而等太阳升起时，可以看见它们的追逐者在水面之下大群大群地掠过。水兵们驾着小艇，以极大的热忱，奋力挥动起渔网和渔绳，拉上来几大堆的鱼，这种鱼不需要在宝贵的淡水中浸泡就可以吃；而且正如斯蒂芬对马丁评论的那样，狐鲣，就像它的近亲大金枪鱼一样，不仅是一种热血鱼类，而且是爱神维纳斯的促进者。
除了兰姆太太，船上所有人都尽可能让自己填饱了狐鲣，在盛宴之后，侯隆可爱的六月玫瑰从下层传来，他现在下班了。军械官走上甲板，去修理船首楼一门大口径短炮。歌声突然中断了。在船首楼上，军械官拍了拍口袋，发现自己没带手帕，于是又开始走回自己的卧舱。
幸亏全体船员集合的哨子声响了起来，这对情侣才得救了。这是因为，在东北方向的远处，出现了一片深紫色的浓云，闪电正在云层下面闪烁着。杰克认定，这片浓云很可能会把一场正在转向的暴风的边缘带给他们，所以还不如把所有的上桅杆降下来，尽管几个小时以前，为了追赶飞鱼柔风最后的喘息，上桅杆才刚刚扯起来。
他这样做其实很有好处，暴风转向的角度，比他和普林斯或者掌帆长所预期的，要更加陡急。在经过各种变化之后，它越过宁静的海面，嘶嘶地呼啸着朝左舷后方飞来，它是一条以每小时三十五英里推进的白线，它的背后是浓密的黑暗，三只灰色的小鸟在它前沿来回穿插。它带着不断增强的吼啸声，猛然砸向军舰，立刻把它遮盖起来。斯蒂芬和马丁两个人，想用望远镜辨认那几只灰色小鸟，于是粗心地松开了扶手，暴风立刻把他们抛射到背风面的排水孔里。还没等好心的水兵们把他们拉起来，整个天空就变成一团咆哮的雨，这团雨温暖、浓厚，夹杂着巨大的雨滴和粉碎的水沫，令他们在爬上倾斜的甲板时，几乎无法呼吸，也令所有的排水孔狂喷大水。“对不起，你在说什么？”马丁在全能的、无所不在的轰鸣中喊道。
“我只是在朝医生喊'屠夫'。”杰克对着他的耳朵吼道。“在海上，有人摔倒的时候，我们都这么说的。来，抓住桅脚栏杆。”
有十分钟时间，“惊奇”号在缩起帆篷的前桅中桅帆下飞速行驶。风势稍微减弱后，他们马上开始铺展各种各样为收集雨水而准备的帆布，并且抬出了很多琵琶桶。可是很不幸，大雨毫无价值地淹没甲板之后，就几乎耗尽了自己。人们把大桅最高第二帆张在船首楼的支柱之间，帆上还用炮弹压着，总算积攒了些雨水，但沉迷于自己才智的侯隆先生解开了错误的索结，又损失了其中的一部分。
尽管如此，在暴雨持续的短暂时间里，他们还是积存了够用八天的水，而且水还非常纯净。舰上的女人们，甚至连几乎瘫痪的兰姆太太，都把所有能找到的小盆小桶全装满了——她们的小件衣物已经浸泡在水里。
更令人宽慰的是，紧跟着暴风，吹来了一股稳定的柔风。或许这就是东南贸易风最初的气息。
不过，这些好处当然是要付出代价的。太阳烤晒的甲板极其可厌地漏起了水，“惊奇”号上上下下（尽管兴高采烈地稳健行驶着）回响起滴水的声音，就连最底层甲板和储舱本身也在漏着水。除了衬铁皮的面包房，漏水把所有储藏室、所有卧舱、这些卧舱里所有吊床都弄得湿淋淋的；而且还没等到傍晚的太阳以突兀的热带方式落下去，囚禁在舱内的热空气就已经充满了霉味。书上、衣服上、鞋子上、海洋标本上、便携肉汤上、当然还有每个人都睡在其下的粗大横梁上，都长出了霉，长出了蓝色、绿色、有时候还是斑驳的灰色的霉。除了舰长，每个人时不时都会在那些横梁上撞头，这倒不是因为杰克·奥布雷比别人都矮小——事实上他身高六英尺还多——而是因为他的卧舱有更大的净空。或者更确切地说，他的那些卧舱，因为他有三个舱：舰长专舱在左舷，其中包括后桅的基座部分和一门三十二磅大口径短炮，除非客人超过四五个，他通常是在那儿吃饭的；他睡觉的舱房在右舷一侧；然后紧靠船尾，是他的豪华大舱，它横跨整艘军舰，被精美的、带弧度的、向内倾斜的七扇船尾窗照亮着，是舰上最通风、光线最好、最令人向往的地方，也是基里克的王国，它被不停地用沙擦着，用水洗着、刮着、磨着，永远散发着蜂蜡、新鲜海水和干净油漆的味道。
“也许我们今晚可以来点音乐？”斯蒂芬从他散发着恶臭的狗洞里上来，建议道。
“噢，上帝，不行。”杰克马上叫道。“只要这迷人的微风持续下去，我就得去驾船，我得呆在甲板上。”
“不管你在不在甲板上，它自己肯定也会航行的。看在老天的分上，你有这么能干的军官，等轮到他们负责值班岗，他们不管怎样都会熬夜的。”
“你显然说得对，”杰克说，“可是在这种前景微妙的情况下，舰长的责任是呆在甲板上，用他意志和腹肌的合力来催促军舰。你可以说，那是买了一只狗，自己又对着马厩的门叫——”
“锁上了马厩的门。”斯蒂芬举起一只手，说道。
“正是这样。锁上了马厩的门，你还自己叫。可你知道，除了天堂、大地，还有别的东西。斯蒂芬，你不想坐在大舱里自己拉琴吗，或者去邀请马丁来，或者把斯卡拉蒂改编成适合提琴演奏的谱子？”
“不了。”斯蒂芬说，他任何时候都不愿意显得像在沾光，于是他消失在弥漫着霉味的下级军官室里，和马丁、亚当斯先生、航行官一起，玩起了半便士输赢的惠斯特扑克游戏。但比起往常来，现在专心玩牌变得相当困难，因为海军陆战队的霍华德正在学吹德国笛子，他所依据的方法，尽管听说特别浅显、无须很高的理解力，可还是让他极端地困惑；而莫维特正对贺尼读着伊利亚德的片段，他虽然声音很低但却极其陶醉。因此，医务兵来叫他和希金斯去做夜班巡视时，他并不感到十分遗憾。
在甲板上，奥布雷舰长一手拿着已经变冷的、或者至少已经半冷不热的豌豆布丁，另一只手抓住主桅杆上桅最靠船尾的直立后支索，确实在用他腹肌的收缩和他意志的持续努力催促他的军舰；不过他还做了很多别的事。确实，他有一批得力的军官，况且普林斯和莫维特两人尤其对护卫舰了解很深；可他认识它的时间却比他们要长得多——他还是个不听管教、被罚站桅顶的男孩子的时候，就把自己姓名的起始字母刻在了它前桅杆中段的桅杆帽上——而且直截了当地说，他比其他人都更善于驾驶这艘军舰。
他几乎就是在骑一匹威风凛凛的马，他熟悉它的情绪和步调，就像他熟悉自己的情绪和步调一样，这是因为，虽然他从没拉过缆绳，或者摸过舵轮（除了因为要不时感觉它舵柄的震动，感觉舵柄啮合的准确程度），他却有一支高度灵敏的船员队伍，他和他们一起驾船，追逐过富有的捕获船，逃脱过强大到毫无希望的敌人，也是通过他们，他和船有了最贴近的接触。在航程的早期，他对风帆的升降是小心谨慎的，中桅帆的帆篷晚上总是收缩着以防大风。现在他放弃了这套做法，每天晚上，“惊奇”号都上上下下扯满了补助帆，只要补助帆能承受得住就行。而对水兵们而言，大多数人都很清楚，这是又一次的场合，船正在逃离强大到毫无希望的敌人。他们观察到，舰长保留了最初几桶散发恶臭的有毒雨水；通过无所不在的仆人们，他们也听到了下级军官室和大舱里关于这个问题的所有议论；而且通过直接的偷听，他们还听到了后甲板上所有相关的对话。而那不多几个想反驳的人，那几个没有被他们船伴的辩才说服的笨屁股蠢蛋，也被连续不断派到舵轮去的不当班的精干舵手们，被一个值班岗接着一个值班岗持续出现在甲板上的舰长，被他坚持叫他们以超自然速度扯起所有船首三角帆和支索帆的命令，给完全说服了。
黎明时分，他仍旧在甲板上，利用海洋的每一次涌起、风的每一次推动，让船驶得更远一些，更快一些。柔风已经偏转到朝南方向，在这个时候，“惊奇”号已经尽可能收缩了帆篷，它那些迎风帆的纵椽都瑟瑟抖动着。随着太阳的升高，风力也增强了很多，现在它显示了抢风扬帆开行的时候，它能够做些什么——它背风面的船首链台浸没在船头波华丽的泡沫中，船头波的白线在它船舷下面深深地弯曲着，船腹的铜板包底都露了出来，而宽阔的尾波以每五分钟一海里的速度，从它背后笔直地逃离。他把手头没有任务的水兵们都叫到甲板上来，他把他们，连同两班岗哨的全体水兵一起，沿着迎风面的栏杆排开，好让军舰更加稳定，接着他又升起了大桅最高第二帆，他站在那儿，双脚牢牢地抵住倾斜的甲板，浑身被飞沫浸透了，他的脸扭歪着，满脸是没有刮过的淡黄色胡楂，他看上去完全兴高采烈。
他中午仍旧在甲板上，现在柔风稍微减弱了一些，但依然恒稳得令人高兴。
它从东南偏东方向吹来，已经宣布自己是真正的贸易风了。而且在太阳越过子午线的时候，他和航行官以及其他在场的军官们，无限满足地发现，在这次观测和上次观测之间，“惊奇”号航行了一百九十二英里，已经彻底逃离了无风变风带。
早早地吃过午饭，他在小床上睡了整整一下午，他仰面躺着，打着鼾，他的鼾声如此之大，如此持续，连船头钟阁里的水兵们都互相挤眉弄眼，露齿而笑了，而兰姆太太摇着头，对海军陆战队中士的妻子低声说，她从心底里可怜奥布雷太太。可在全体集合的时候，他睡醒了过来。因为夜里的两班岗哨都已经在白天值过班，他早早地结束了全体集合，只安排了大家非常喜欢的、轻松的轻武器演习。所有的水兵，连同海军陆战队员们，都朝挂在船首桁端上的一个瓶子开了枪。而最后，在解散的鼓声敲响时，他的话让普林斯和莫维特吃了一惊。他说也许明天他们该开始油漆军舰了，因为沥青还这么软，所以还没必要刮擦甲板，但让任何商船或者葡萄牙军舰看见“惊奇”号目前极其肮脏的状态，他们都会感到非常遗憾的。
他说得完全对。尽管每天早上，只要天气允许，一条小艇总要绕它一圈，清扫队队长和他的助手们会擦洗所有能擦洗的地方，但树脂、沥青、柏油、油腻的海生污垢，还是让护卫舰鲜艳的耐尔逊方格图案变得暗淡无光了，而它华而不实的装饰则完全不是个喜爱这艘军舰的第一副官本来愿意看到的。不过，这些事情一般都留到航行的最后阶段来处理，这样的话还会有几分可能，有机会让崭新的效果，使所有看见它的人都惊叹不已，但而现在“惊奇”号离最近的巴西海岸还远超过五百英里。再说，油漆军舰几乎总是意味着更慢的进程，尽管油漆工作当然必须在到达浅海之前完成，普林斯本来却指望，杰克不会为了任何事情在赤道这边耽搁，除非是为了暴雨，为了装满他们一排排的空琵琶桶。然而，他和莫维特从少年时代起就在海军里长大，而海军并不鼓励对命令的疑问，他们说出的“是，阁下”时，只带上了几乎无法察觉的迟疑。
马图林大夫却没有这样的禁忌。他晚上来到了大舱，等杰克结束了一首迷人的短小回旋曲，他说：“这么说，我们明天不赶忙穿过赤道了？”
“不了。”杰克朝他微笑着说。“要是这阵柔风能持续的话，而且我肯定它会像真正的贸易风那样照看好自己职责的。我希望在西经二十九度稍后的地方，在星期天穿过赤道。所以明天你会离你的老朋友圣保罗石岛很近。”
“是吗？我多么高兴啊。我得去告诉可怜的马丁。告诉我，你拉的回旋曲是什么曲子？”
“莫尔特。”
“莫尔特？”
“是啊。你知道的，莫尔特·维伐斯。你肯定听说过莫尔特·维伐斯，，哈，哈，哈！”他终于笑完了，抹着眼睛，喘着气说，“我的脑子里一闪，就想出来了，像一阵灵光，上帝啊，我真是妙语连珠啊。我该去专门说双关语，赚上一大笔钱。莫尔特·维伐斯……我得告诉索菲。我正给她写信呢，准备找艘回家的商船带回去。下星期到巴西附近的海面上，我们还是有可能碰见那么一艘的。莫尔特·维伐斯，噢，我的乖乖。”
“愿意说双关话的人，也会愿意做小偷。”斯蒂芬说，“而且那句可悲的模棱两可的话，甚至连双关语都称不上，非常别扭、拙劣。这个莫尔特是谁啊？”他拿起了抄写整齐的乐谱。
“约翰·梅奇欧·莫尔特，以前的一个德国人，”杰克说。“我们家乡的牧师对他很推崇。我抄了这首曲子，放丢了，十分钟以前才发现，原来是夹在我们的科莱里C 大调后面。今天是这么成功的一天，我们来试试科莱里吧？”
没人会说第二天是成功的。“惊奇”号把脚手架搭建在船舷外面，所有人都开始忙着刮擦它的木质部分，忙着敲掉铁部件上的锈蚀，然后刷漆、刷各种各样的黑色涂料。斯蒂芬一大早就告诉了马丁，他们快接近圣保罗石岛了。在合适的季节，岛上不仅有大量不同种类的燕鸥，而且还有两种巨足鸥，棕色的和珍稀得多的蓝脸鲣鸟。现在不是合适的季节，但还有希望看见一些失群的鸟。于是等他们从各自的职责中解脱出来，就马上带着椅子到各个有利地点，以便能架起望远镜寻找鲣鸟，甚至或许看看孤独地从海中伸出的石岛本身。
但他们还没坐稳十分钟，就有人请他们挪动了——留心油漆；阁下——看在上帝的分上，请留心油漆；而他们到船尾栏杆和漂亮的涂金雕刻附近徘徊时，别人又说，他们可以逗留一会儿，只要他们不碰任何东西就行了；不过蛋清没干，千万不要在金叶子上呼气，而且当然他们随便什么时候也决不可以把望远镜架在栏杆上。就连小艇也比这要好得多，只是在海平面上，海平线拉近到了只有三英里远。可现在就连那些小艇，也都被拉上军舰来刮擦、刷漆了。他们刚表现得稍有些不听劝告，别人就说，他们“不愿意军舰被一群葡萄牙人错当成纽卡舍尔的煤船，也不愿意小艇被当成运泥的方头驳船”。
是卡拉米建议他们到前桅楼里去的（因为前桅中桅帆已经被扯上了帆桁），从那儿他们几乎可以完整地看见四周，而且还可以看得非常远。他帮助他们爬上去，把他们舒服地安顿到存放在那儿的补助帆上，又给他们带上来望远镜、每人一顶宽边大草帽，还有一口袋俗称候补生核桃的碎饼干，这样既可以遮挡烈日这个垂直的火炉，防止他们的脑子受损，又可以充饥，因为午餐很可能会晚。
正是从这高高的平台上，他们第一次确凿无疑地看见了军舰海燕，然后，随着主桅杆上桁嘹望兵的叫喊，他们看见了圣保罗石岛的白色痕迹从西南方向升起。“噢，噢，”马丁说，一边把望远镜放到他的独眼前面，仔细地调整焦距，“可能是……”一队笨重的、目标明确的鸟，朝军舰飞了过来，它们飞得相当快，可飞得不很高，在右舷侧以外一百码的地方，它们停止了飞翔，停在空中，然后像塘鹅一样一个接一个地倒栽葱扎到水里，溅起一片水花。它们又飞起来盘旋，接着又跳入水中，如此几分钟之后，它们同样目标明确地朝东北方向飞去。
马丁松了一口气，放下望远镜，把容光焕发的脸转向斯蒂芬：“我看见了蓝脸鲣鸟。”他用手推着斯蒂芬说。
在此之前很久，七点钟时吃饭的水兵们已经去吃了有松节油味道的午饭。一个沙漏之后，在熟悉的吼叫声中，其他的水兵们也吃完了。现在橡树之心敲响了，宣布下级军官室午餐开始，马上有传令兵走上来告诉他们，军官们在等着呢。
“转达我对普林斯上校最良好的问候，”斯蒂芬说，“恳求他准许我们缺席。”
马丁也说了类似的话，他们又重新凝视起现在已经离得很近的荒芜群岛，“没有植物，连一根草都没有，”斯蒂芬说，“除了天上掉下来的水，连一滴水都没有。恐十白右边那些鸟只是些黑燕鸥。可飞在最顶上的那些里面，有一只鲣鸟，我亲爱的阁下，是一只棕色鲣鸟。它正在脱毛呢，可怜的家伙，可它还是只真正的棕色鲣鸟。当然，那些白的东西都是鸟粪，在某些地方有几英尺厚，而且它们有种强烈的氨气恶臭，简直呛喉咙。有次我在孵蛋的季节上去过，几乎没有一英尺的地方你找不到鸟蛋，那些鸟都很温顺，你都可以把它们抓在手里。”
“你觉得舰长会停船吗？哪怕就停半个小时？”马丁问。“上面不知道会有什么甲虫呢。是不是有办法向他说明……”
“我可怜的朋友，”斯蒂芬说，“要是有什么可以超过海军军官对鸟类的粗暴漠视，那就要算他对甲虫的粗暴漠视了。你只要再看看新近漆好的那些小艇。我那次能去，只是因为我们无风停船了，可现在我们的速度是五节；我那次去是因为那是个星期天，还因为有个好心的军官划桨用小艇把我送到了那边。他的名字叫詹姆斯·尼科尔斯。”他的思绪回到了那个极其闷闷不乐的人身上，他几乎肯定是故意让自己淹死在了这个石岛附近的海里。现在这个石岛正在一英里以外慢慢地移向船尾方向。他和妻子不和，他想重新和好，却没有成功。斯蒂芬的思绪又从詹姆斯·尼科尔斯转向了一般的婚姻，转向了那种困难的境况。他听说过高加索有一种蜥蜴，可以孤雌地繁殖自己，不需要任何性交，没有任何性的麻烦。它们的学名叫岩栖蜥蜴。婚姻，它的悲哀和苦恼，它脆弱的欢乐，充斥着斯蒂芬的头脑，因此等他听到马丁说的事情，他并不真的吃惊。马丁压低声音，用信任的口吻告诉他，他很久以来一直爱慕一个牧师的女儿。她的哥哥和他在大学同学期间，还一起调查采集过植物。用世俗的标准来衡量，她的地位比他要高出很多，而且她的朋友们对他也不赞成。尽管如此，鉴于他目前已经高得多的富裕程度，鉴于他一年二百一十一镑八先令的收入，他还是在考虑求她做他的妻子。不过有很多事情让他烦恼：首先是她的朋友们可能会觉得，就算二百一十一镑八先令也称不上富裕；其次是他的相貌——马图林无疑已经留意到他只有一只眼睛——这必定是他的不利条件；另外还有一件难事，就是要写封信，把话说清楚。马丁并不是不惯于写作，可是他没法写得比这更好了。他希望马图林能看一眼，给他提些坦率的意见。
阳光打在前桅楼上，信纸卷在斯蒂芬的手里，他的心在不断地下沉着。马丁是个完全和蔼可亲的人，是个读书很多的人，不过一旦他开始动起笔来，就好像踩上了一对高跷一对非常高的高跷——而且他以最不优雅的步伐趔趄而行，其间还不时笨拙地跌撞到俗语当中去，给别人展示一个明显的虚假印象。斯蒂芬把信交还给马丁说：“这封信确实写得非常优美，有那样多不寻常的漂亮句子；而且我肯定随便哪个女士的心都会被这样的信打动的；可是我亲爱的马丁，你必须允许我说，我看你整个的处理方式是错的。你从头到尾都在道歉，从开始到结束你都极端谦卑。有一句名言徘徊在我记忆所能够到的范围之外，我连它的作者也记不起来了，它大致的意思是说，就连最有德性的女人，也会蔑视一个无能的男人；而且所有的自我贬抑结果都同样不幸！我确信最好的求婚方式也是最短的方式：一封普通的、完全可以读懂的信，上面写上我亲爱的女士，我会，怀着最大的尊敬，恳求你会给我荣幸，答应嫁给我。亲爱的女士，我永远是你谦卑的、忠顺的仆人。这就直接触及了问题的中心。为女士的朋友们着想，在另一张半开纸上，你可以附上对自己收人的陈述，并且表示，自己愿意做出任何他们认为必要的安排。”
“或许如此，”马丁把信折好放了起来，说道，“或许如此。我非常感谢你的建议。”但不需要很大的洞察力，就能看得出，他并不服气，他仍旧紧抱住自己仔细分配的句号，紧抱住他的明喻、他的隐喻、他的长篇大论。他把信给马图林看，部分的原因是，他把这看成信任和尊敬的标志，因为他真诚地喜欢斯蒂芬；部分的原因是，斯蒂芬也许会赞扬它，也许还会加上一些转折有致的好句子；这是因为，像大部分心志正常的写作者一样，马丁根本不需要任何直率的意见，除非那是完全的好评。“侯隆先生的声音多么神奇地合调啊。”在一阵沉默的停顿之后，他竖起耳朵侧向甲板，说道。“对随便哪个唱诗班都是不可多得的福气。”从这儿开始，他们又谈论起海上随军教士的生活、海军军医的生活、“惊奇”号上的生活。马丁说：“它和我待过的其他军舰都很不相像。这儿没有那种拿着藤条和打结的绳索追着人打的事情，也没有踢人的事，真正严厉的话也很少听见；要不是因为这些不幸的'保卫者'人，要不是他们和'惊奇'人争斗，'惊奇'号几乎会没有惩罚的日子，或者至少没有那种屈辱的、而且我认为是不人道的鞭刑。和上次借我去的那艘军舰大为不同，那儿每天都搭起格子板。”
马图林说：“确实如此。可是你得考虑到，'惊奇'人在一起服役了多年。他们全都是军舰水兵，他们当中没有刚从陆地征来的旱鸭子，没有市长大人的人；全都是基本熟练的水兵，配合得很好，也不需要催促，更不需要像不太快乐的军舰上常有的那种驱使、咒骂和威胁。可惜，'惊奇'号一点也不能算海军中的典型。”
马丁说：“它确实不是典型。可就算在这儿，有时候指责的话也很强烈，要是那些指责是冲我来的，我也会觉得难以忍受。”
马图林说：“你是在想'噢，你们这群卑鄙的谋反的狗，你们这群婊子养的。'”在一个特别忙碌的当口，“尴尬”戴维斯和他的同伴，躲过了候补生，想不听从命令的安排，而是根据自己的想法，把一根大索传到船尾，传给正在油漆的水兵。低处辅助翼帆一根被缠住的下桁断裂了，于是从后甲板上传来这暴怒的叫喊。“这是严厉的话，确实严厉。可是，上帝保佑你，他们会忍受来自奥布雷更加严厉得多的话，他们会滑稽地摇摇头，报以宽容的微笑。他是舰长中最坚定果敢的一个，而这才是他们最看重的品质。就算他严厉、不公、霸道、阴沉、记仇、恶毒，他们仍旧会极端地珍视他；而这些缺点他却一个都没有。”
“当然没有。他是最有绅士风度的人，是个值得称道的人。”马丁说，一边靠在桅楼栏杆上，最后看着石岛。现在石岛离船尾很远，已经几乎消失在闪烁的热气中了。“不过，他这么不灵活机动……五千英里的海域，连五分钟的停留都不加考虑。但是不要以为我在抱怨——见过蓝脸鲣鸟，见过六只蓝脸鲣鸟之后，要是还抱怨，那就是卑鄙的忘恩负义了。我完全记得你警告过我的话：对自然学家来说，海军生涯是九百九十九个失去的机遇，外加一个也许能抓住的机遇。可撒旦还是会提醒我，明天为了举行穿越赤道的仪式，我们会顶风停船，一动不动地，天知道要停多久。”
不过，仪式至少是无声无息的，因为穿越赤道的那天碰巧是个星期天，碰巧临时搭建了教堂。这种巧合本来已经极其少见了，而尤其少见的，是军舰碰巧刚刚油刷过，于是所有人一方面强烈地注意到自己穿着最好的衣服，另一方面也强烈地注意到未干的油漆、新近铺好的沥青柏油、船腰外板上仍旧潮湿的黑色箍条。再加上，马丁先生读了一段多恩主教写的、庄严的布道词，合唱队唱了一些特别感人的赞歌、圣歌。在“惊奇”号的名册上，有非洲人、波兰人、荷兰人（一个很宽泛的范畴）、列特人、马莱人，甚至还有个不说话的孤独的芬兰人，不过大部分是英国人，并且这些英国人都信国教，而礼拜又让大家都非常想念起家乡来。在星期天的葡萄干布丁和掺水淡酒之后，普遍的气氛还是严肃的，不多几个轻浮活泼、想干傻事的人物，一直在被人提醒着：“注意油漆，伙计；留心你的脚下。”因为一旦油漆被抹脏，有人就得重新再刷一边。
“惊奇”号确实降下了前桅中桅帆，它几乎精确地在赤道线上顶风停了船。徽章袋确实带着随从们到了舰上，按惯例和舰长互相道了祝贺，说了俏皮话，还叫那些第一次越过赤道的人，要么赎回自己，要么甘愿罚剃光头。马丁和候补生们都交了赎金，而其他人都是前“保卫者”号上的，他们都被带到了木盆跟前；可是剃光头的时候并没有多少热忱，徽章袋的风采也屡次三番地被“注意油漆，乔”的喊叫声妨碍了，再加上又是星期天，还当着牧师的面，他通常淫秽的逗乐也并不能自由流畅地发挥——而且仪式马上就过去了，没有造成什么伤害，只留下某种平淡的感觉。而即便是这种平淡的感觉，也被晚上的一场音乐会医治好了。这是他们在南半球举行的第一场音乐会，所有人都唱了歌，厨师奥拉基唱的英国柏油非常出色： 你们这些轻率的年轻人，我的忠告都要来听听，不要离开你快乐的家乡，去咆哮的海洋里航行。
马丁先生从来没去过卡纳里群岛，也没去过佛德角，更不用说圣保罗石岛了，现在看来他连新世界也去不成了。五天之后，“惊奇”号在黎明时分远远看见了圣罗克角——一片暗淡、遥远的海岬——然后它又背离海岸，在航船最常出没的航线上游弋起来。在那儿，洋流和局部柔风把大部分来自北美和西印度群岛的航船带到累西腓以南非常靠近海岸的水域里，带到圣佛朗西斯科大河宽阔的三角洲附近的海面上。所谓很近，是从水兵的观点来说的，因为只有爬上桅杆顶，才可以真正看见陆地，看见一条模糊的线条，这线条比云层的线条更加硬、更加不规则一些。杰克想在这儿来回行驶，让驳船在恰好可以看见的位置，在河口的附近行驶，再安排游艇到它的前面，等待“诺尔福克”号。军舰还没在这选定的位置上停留几个小时，早晨的太阳就向它展示了伦敦的友善“凯瑟琳”号，这艘船正从普莱特河回家。“凯瑟琳”号丝毫没有想跟“惊奇”号用旗语交谈的愿望，它非常清楚护卫舰有可能强迫征用它最好的几个水手，可它没有选择的余地：杰克有上风的有利位置、有一艘快得多的船，而且有十倍于对方的水兵来升帆。它的船长带着“凯瑟琳”号的文件愁容满面地上了船。他离开时，看上去却很满意，甚至还有些醉意，因为杰克无论是出于自愿的选择还是根据规定，总是礼貌地对待商船船长们。“凯瑟琳”号没有见过也没听说过“诺尔福克”号，更没有在南部水域见过其他美国战舰。在蒙特维迪奥、圣凯瑟琳、里约、巴希亚也没听人说起过这些军舰。它会非常小心地保管“惊奇”号的信件，会马上把它们投寄出去。它预先祝愿它返航快乐。
另外四艘海船或者驳船也在一天内给他们带来了同样的消息。一艘领航船从河上驶来，问他们是否需要沿着河到佩奈多去。这艘领航船也带来一样的消息。上了船的领航员发出高兴的尖叫，又亲吻起艾伦先生两边的脸颊，让后甲板上的人们大为震惊——原来航行官患干性肠绞痛之后，在佩奈多这个领航员父亲