英语听书《白鲸记》 第13期

six feet in height, with noble shoulders, and a chestlike a coffer-dam. I have seldom seen such brawn ina man. His face was deeply brown and burnt, makinghis white teeth dazzling by the contrast; while inthe deep shadows of his eyes floated somereminiscences that did not seem to give him muchjoy. His voice at once announced that he was aSoutherner, and from his fine stature, I thought hemust be one of those tall mountaineers from theAlleghanian Ridge in Virginia. When the revelry of hiscompanions had mounted to its height, this manslipped away unobserved, and I saw no more of him till he became my comrade on the sea. Ina few minutes, however, he was missed by his shipmates, and being, it seems, for some reasona huge favourite with them, they raised a cry of "Bulkington! Bulkington! where's Bulkington?"and darted out of the house in pursuit of him.

It was now about nine o'clock, and the room seeming almost supernaturally quiet after theseorgies, I began to congratulate myself upon a little plan that had occurred to me justprevious to the entrance of the seamen.

No man prefers to sleep two in a bed. In fact, you would a good deal rather not sleep with yourown brother. I don't know how it is, but people like to be private when they are sleeping. Andwhen it comes to sleeping with an unknown stranger, in a strange inn, in a strange town, andthat stranger a harpooneer, then your objections indefinitely multiply. Nor was there anyearthly reason why I as a sailor should sleep two in a bed, more than anybody else; for sailorsno more sleep two in a bed at sea, than bachelor Kings do ashore. To be sure they all sleeptogether in one apartment, but you have your own hammock, and cover yourself with your ownblanket, and sleep in your own skin.

The more I pondered over this harpooneer, the more I abominated the thought of sleeping withhim. It was fair to presume that being a harpooneer, his linen or woollen, as the case mightbe, would not be of the tidiest, certainly none of the finest. I began to twitch all over. Besides,it was getting late, and my decent harpooneer ought to be home and going bedwards. Supposenow, he should tumble in upon me at midnight—how could I tell from what vile hole he hadbeen coming?

"Landlord! I've changed my mind about that harpooneer.—I shan't sleep with him. I'll try thebench here."

"Just as you please; I'm sorry I cant spare ye a tablecloth for a mattress, and it's a plaguyrough board here"—feeling of the knots and notches. "But wait a bit, Skrimshander; I've got acarpenter's plane there in the bar—wait, I say, and I'll make ye snug enough." So saying heprocured the plane; and with his old silk handkerchief first dusting the bench, vigorously setto planing away at my bed, the while grinning like an ape. The shavings flew right and left; tillat last the plane-iron came bump against an indestructible knot. The landlord was nearspraining his wrist, and I told him for heaven's sake to quit—the bed was soft enough to suitme, and I did not know how all the planing in the world could make eider down of a pine plank.So gathering up the shavings with another grin, and throwing them into the great stove in themiddle of the room, he went about his business, and left me in a brown study.