英语听书《白鲸记》第883期

to that timid circle the above hinted casualty—remaining, as it did, moodily unaccounted for by Ahab—invested itself with terrors, not entirely underived from the land of spirits and of wails. So that, through their zeal for him, they had all conspired, so far as in them lay, to muffle up the knowledge of this thing from others; and hence it was, that not till a considerable interval had elapsed, did it transpire upon the Pequod's decks.

在那些胆怯的亲友中看来，上述变故——这变故的确依然是亚哈所无法了解的一件心事——本身之所以富有恐怖性，是因为变故完全是来自神号鬼泣之乡。因此，他们出自对他的一片热忱，他们都尽力之所及，同心协力地把这事情的真相给隐瞒了，不让别人知道；于是，得等到好久以后，这事情才会在"裴廓德号"上泄漏出来。

But be all this as it may; let the unseen, ambiguous synod in the air, or the vindictive princes and potentates of fire, have to do or not with earthly Ahab, yet, in this present matter of his leg, he took plain practical procedures;— he called the carpenter.

但是，如果这一切都是如此的话，那么，就随天上那眼不能见的暧昧的密谋者，或者是复仇心切的大小火神，去跟人间的亚哈打交道也好，不打交道也好，在他现在这只脚的问题上，他却已采取明确切实的步骤了；——他把木匠找来了。

And when that functionary appeared before him, he bade him without delay set about making a new leg, and directed the mates to see him supplied with all the studs and joists of jaw-ivory (Sperm Whale) which had thus far been accumulated on the voyage, in order that a careful selection of the stoutest, clearest-grained stuff might be secured. This done, the carpenter received orders to have the leg completed that night; and to provide all the fittings for it, independent of those pertaining to the distrusted one in use. Moreover, the ship's forge was ordered to be hoisted out of its temporary idleness in the hold; and, to accelerate the affair, the blacksmith was commanded to proceed at once to the forging of whatever iron contrivances might be needed.

当那个木匠师傅来到他跟前的时候，他吩咐木匠刻不容缓地动手做出一只新腿来，还指示大二三副照料一下木匠，把航行以来所积集起来的种种大小牙骨（抹香鲸）材料都拿出来，让木匠仔细地挑选最硬牢的、磨得最光堂的材料。材料挑好后，他限令木匠要在当天晚上把腿完工；并且要配好一切附件，不得重用原来那只靠不住的腿的一切配件。他还命令把船上那只暂时空搁在舱里的熔炉给吊出来；同时，为了加速进行，还要铁匠立刻着手打出各种随时需用的小铁器来。

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