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It was a Nantucket ship, the Bachelor, which had just wedged in her last cask of oil, and bolted down her bursting hatches; and now, in glad holiday apparel, was joyously, though somewhat vain-gloriously, sailing round among the widely-separated ships on the ground, previous to pointing her prow for home.
這是一艘叫做"單身漢號(hào)"的南塔開(kāi)特船，它剛裝好最后一桶鯨油，鎖好它那象要脹破的艙口；現(xiàn)在正穿著花哨的節(jié)日盛裝，滿(mǎn)懷愉快，又兼有點(diǎn)擺擺威風(fēng)地，要在打道回家之前，到船只四散的漁場(chǎng)上兜個(gè)圈兒。
The three men at her mast-head wore long streamers of narrow red bunting at their hats; from the stern, a whale-boat was suspended, bottom down; and hanging captive from the bowsprit was seen the long lower jaw of the last whale they had slain. Signals, ensigns, and jacks of all colors were flying from her rigging, on every side. Sideways lashed in each of her three basketed tops were two barrels of sperm; above which, in her top-mast cross-trees, you saw slender breakers of the same precious fluid; and nailed to her main truck was a brazen lamp.
單身漢號(hào)的桅頂上，有三個(gè)水手的帽子上都飄著狹長(zhǎng)的紅垂帶；船梢吊著一艘平擺著的捕鯨小艇；第一斜桅上還緊拴著最后一只殺過(guò)了的大鯨的長(zhǎng)下顎。到處的索具周?chē)硷h拂著五顏六色的首旗和各種信號(hào)旗。那三個(gè)籃狀細(xì)工的桅樓間，斜縛著兩桶抹香鯨油；油桶上面，在中桅的橫桁的地方，可以看到兩只裝著同樣貴重的油料的細(xì)長(zhǎng)的水桶；主桅桅頂?shù)哪竟谏厢斢幸槐K黃銅燈。
As was afterwards learned, the Bachelor had met with the most surprising success; all the more wonderful, for that while cruising in the same seas numerous other vessels had gone entire months without securing a single fish. Not only had barrels of beef and bread been given away to make room for the far more valuable sperm, but additional supplemental casks had been bartered for, from the ships she had met; and these were stowed along the deck, and in the captain's and officers' state-rooms.
到后來(lái)才知道，"單身漢號(hào)"已經(jīng)得到了最意外的收獲；更加希奇的是，其它許多船只在這一帶巡游了經(jīng)年累月，卻連一條鯨都沒(méi)有搞到。可是，"單身漢號(hào)"不但把裝牛肉、面包的木桶都出空，拿來(lái)裝這些遠(yuǎn)更貴重的鯨油，而且還另外向碰到的船只交換來(lái)了許多桶子；這些油桶都堆在甲板上，堆在船長(zhǎng)和頭目們的艙室里。
