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in more and more contracting orbits the whales in the more central circles began to swim in thickening clusters. Yes, the long calm was departing. A low advancing hum was soon heard; and then like to the tumultuous masses of block-ice when the great river Hudson breaks up in Spring, the entire host of whales came tumbling upon their inner centre, as if to pile themselves up in one common mountain. Instantly Starbuck and Queequeg changed places; Starbuck taking the stern.
這樣越擠越緊，那些在比較中央的鯨也開始密密累累地游了起來。不錯，長時期的安靜已在逐漸消失了。立刻就聽到了一陣幽幽前來的唔唔聲；然后，轟隆隆地象春天的哈得遜大河的大冰塊開始松動了一般，整個鯨群都翻滾到內核里來，仿佛要把它們自己疊成一座大山。斯達巴克和魁魁格立刻對調了位置；斯達巴克站到艇梢去了。
Oars! Oars! he intensely whispered, seizing the helm—"gripe your oars, and clutch your souls, now! My God, men, stand by! Shove him off, you Queequeg—the whale there!—prick him!—hit him! Stand up—stand up, and stay so! Spring men—pull, men; never mind their backs—scrape them!—scrape away!"
劃呀！劃呀！他抓著舵槳，急切而悄莫聲兒地說——"緊抓槳，提起精神來啊！天啊，伙伴們，準備好！魁魁格，你把它推開呀——就是那條鯨！——戳它！——擊它！站起來——站起來——好，就這樣！把船飛跳過去呀，伙伴們——劃呀，伙伴們；不要管它們的脊背嘍——搗它！把它們搗開！"
The boat was now all but jammed between two vast black bulks, leaving a narrow Dardanelles between their long lengths. But by desperate endeavor we at last shot into a temporary opening; then giving way rapidly, and at the same time earnestly watching for another outlet. After many similar hair-breadth escapes, we at last swiftly glided into what had just been one of the outer circles, but now crossed by random whales, all violently making for one centre.
這只小艇現在簡直就被夾在兩只黑大的身軀間，在那兩只長長的身軀間，只有一條狹狹的達達尼爾海峽。我們拼命努力，終于象箭一般射到了一塊暫時算是空著的地方，于是連忙劃了起來，同時又急切地尋找另一個出口。經過了多次類似的九死一生的奔逃，我們終于迅疾地滑進了那剛才還是外圍，現在卻有幾只瞎沖瞎撞的鯨攔著的地方，這些鯨都急于要沖到那核心里去。
