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Lower away, he cried, so soon as he had reached his boat — a spare one, rigged the afternoon previous. "Mr. Starbuck, the ship is thine — keep away from the boats, but keep near them. Lower, all!"
放下去，他一走到他的小艇——是一只昨天午后才裝配起來的備用小艇——旁邊，就叫道。“斯達巴克先生，大船歸你啦——跟小艇隔得開些，可是，也要在小艇附近。下去呀！大伙兒！”
As if to strike a quick terror into them, by this time being the first assailant himself, Moby Dick had turned, and was now coming for the three crews. Ahab's boat was central; and cheering his men, he told them he would take the whale head-and-head, that is, pull straight up to his forehead, — a not uncommon thing; for when within a certain limit, such a course excludes the coming onset from the whale's sidelong vision. But ere that close limit was gained, and while yet all three boats were plain as the ship's three masts to his eye; the White Whale churning himself into furious speed, almost in an instant as it were, rushing among the boats with open jaws, and a lashing tail, offered appalling battle on every side; and heedless of the irons darted at him from every boat, seemed only intent on annihilating each separate plank of which those boats were made. But skilfully manoeuvred, incessantly wheeling like trained chargers in the field; the boats for a while eluded him; though, at times, but by a plank's breadth; while all the time, Ahab's unearthly slogan tore every other cry but his to shreds.
莫比－迪克這回象是要給他們來個迅雷不及掩耳的恐怖似的，它先下手了，它身子一轉，就朝著這三只小艇游了過來。亞哈的小艇居中；他給他那些人打氣后，就對他們說，他要先打大鯨的要害，就是說，要直沖擊它的額頭，——這是一件并非不平凡的事情。因為在一定的距離內，這樣一種動作，就可以在一開始不讓大鯨那斜視的眼睛看到。可是，在短兵相接開始之前，在它對三只小艇還是象對大船三支桅桿一樣看得清清楚楚時，那條白鯨一陣翻騰，狂奔疾馳起來了，可說是一下子就張起大嘴，在幾只小艇間橫沖直撞了，那根皮鞭似的尾巴，甩來甩去要進行鏖戰了。它不顧每只小艇向它投來的槍矛，似乎只是專心一意地要把做成小艇的每塊船板都給摧毀。可是，那些小艇使用巧妙的策略，不停地旋來轉去，象是戰場上的訓練有素的戰馬。三只小艇暫時總算使它窮于應付；然而，跟它始終只有一塊船板的距離；亞哈那怕人的叫喊聲，沖散了別人的叫喊聲，聽來聽去始終只有他的嚷叫聲。
