and when the deck-ends of these ropes are being every few minutes cast down from the fastenings, it would be but a natural fatality, if, unprovided with a constant watchman, the hoisted sailor should by some carelessness of the crew be cast adrift and fall all swooping to the sea. So Ahab's proceedings in this matter were not unusual; the only strange thing about them seemed to be, that Starbuck, almost the one only man who had ever ventured to oppose him with anything in the slightest degree approaching to decision — one of those too, whose faithfulness on the look-out he had seemed to doubt somewhat; it was strange, that this was the very man he should select for his watchman; freely giving his whole life into such an otherwise distrusted person's hands.
而且那頭縛在甲板上的繩子，隨時都在松動，如果不配備一個固定的看守人，那個高高掛起的水手，可能會讓甲板上哪個粗心大意的水手一撞而撞松繩結，撲咚跌進海里，那自然是件性命交關的事情。因此，亞哈在這方面的一切部署并不是平白無故的。只是有一件事大家都覺得奇怪，這就是那個至少有點兒決心，可說是敢于反對亞哈的唯一人物——斯達巴克（在瞭望方面是否忠誠，亞哈對之有所懷疑的，斯達巴克也算得上一個），大家都覺得奇怪，亞哈竟會挑上斯達巴克這樣一個人來做他的看守人，隨便把他自己的生命全都交在這樣一個不可靠的人的手里。
Now, the first time Ahab was perched aloft; ere he had been there ten minutes; one of those red-billed savage sea-hawks which so often fly incommodiously close round the manned mast-heads of whalemen in these latitudes; one of these birds came wheeling and screaming round his head in a maze of untrackably swift circlings. Then it darted a thousand feet straight up into the air; then spiralized downwards, and went eddying again round his head.
且說亞哈初次讓人家吊到那個高高的崗位上后，在那里還待不上十分鐘，就有一只紅喙的兇殘的海鷹出現了，這種鳥老愛在這一帶的捕鯨船的桅頂看守人四周、令人不快地飛來飛去；有一只海鷹迅疾地亂旋亂轉，在他頭頂兜來兜去，尖聲狂叫。它一會兒直沖向天際有一千英尺高，一會兒又旋了下來，在他頭頂旋來旋去。
But with his gaze fixed upon the dim and distant horizon, Ahab seemed not to mark this wild bird; nor, indeed, would any one else have marked it much, it being no uncommon circumstance; only now almost the least heedful eye seemed to see some sort of cunning meaning in almost every sight.
可是，亞哈因為全神貫注地瞪著那迷蒙的遠方，似乎沒有注意到這只野鳥；而且，老實說，因為這并不是什么希罕的情況，誰也不會很注意它；不過，現在差不多最粗心的人也好象幾乎一張開眼來，就會看到一種奸詐的用意了。
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