評論
打印
But I may as well say—en passant, as the French remark—that I myself—that is to say, Jack Bunger, late of the reverend clergy—am a strict total abstinence man; I never drink-"
不過，我還得說——象法國話所說的en passant（法文：順便一提的意思。）——我本人——就是說，我杰克·彭格，從前的牧師——可是個絕對滴酒不沾的人；我從來不喝——"
Water! cried the captain; "he never drinks it; it's a sort of fits to him; fresh water throws him into the hydrophobia; but go on—go on with the arm story."
水！那船長叫道；"他從來不喝水；水會叫他發老毛病的；淡水會叫他得恐水病；不過，說下去吧——把手臂的故事說下去吧。"
Yes, I may as well, said the surgeon, coolly. "I was about observing, sir, before Captain Boomer's facetious interruption, that spite of my best and severest endeavors, the wound kept getting worse and worse; the truth was, sir, it was as ugly gaping wound as surgeon ever saw; more than two feet and several inches long. I measured it with the lead line. In short, it grew black; I knew what was threatened, and off it came. But I had no hand in shipping that ivory arm there; that thing is against all rule"— pointing at it with the marlingspike—"that is the captain's work, not mine; he ordered the carpenter to make it; he had that club-hammer there put to the end, to knock some one's brains out with, I suppose, as he tried mine once. He flies into diabolical passions sometimes. Do ye see this dent, sir"—removing his hat, and brushing aside his hair, and exposing a bowl-like cavity in his skull, but which bore not the slightest scarry trace, or any token of ever having been a wound— "Well, the captain there will tell you how that came there; he knows."
好的，我還是，那船醫沉著地說。"回到剛才布默船長那引人發笑的插話之前的說話，先生，我當時差不多看出了，盡管我非常精心致意，嚴加努力，可是那傷口卻越來越糟；事實上，先生，那個難看的裂口確是一般外科醫生從來未曾見到的，大約有兩英尺幾英寸長。這是我用測深索量出來的。總之，傷口發黑了；我知道它會有什么危險，必須把它鋸掉才行。可是，我又沒有辦法去弄那只骨手，這事情是違反一切規章的。"——他用解索針指著那只骨手——"那是船長的工作，不是我的工作；他命令木匠給他做；他要給裝上一把木榔頭，我想，那是要用來敲爛人家的腦袋的，他就曾經要敲我的腦袋。他有時候會勃然大怒。你可看到這個凹痕，先生——"他摘下帽子，把頭發掠在一邊，腦殼上露出個碗口大的洞洞，可是一點也看不出疤痕，或者任何足以表示受過傷的痕記——"唔，事情的經過，船長會說給你聽；他心里有數。"
