評論
打印
The mate looked a moment; but he would let no one be before him in daring.
大副愣怔了好一會兒。不過，他不會讓前面的任何人沖上前的。
He sprang forward, "Hurrah, men! rig out the topmast studding sail boom! Lay aloft, and I'll send the rigging up to you!"
只見他一個箭步，“好哇，隨我來！到中桅這兒扣住帆！固定在帆索高處，我這就支援你們！”
We sprang aloft into the top; lowered a girtline down, by which we hauled up the rigging;
我們一窩蜂地涌到中桅，將桅頂吊索放倒，我們好向上拉帆纜，
rove the tacks and halyards; ran out the boom and lashed it fast, and sent down the lower halyards as a preventer.
這時，船趕緊搶風掉向，放升降索。待伸出帆桁后連忙拉緊，把升降索壓低作為輔助索。
It was a clear starlight night, cold and blowing; but everybody worked with a will.
顯然，這是個驚心動魄的夜晚，冷風陣陣；不過，每個人都憑著一個信念堅持著。
Some, indeed, looked as though they thought the "old man" was mad, but no one said a word.
確實，有些人看上去好像以為這個“老頭兒”簡直瘋了，但沒有人發半句怨言。
We had had a new top mast studding sail made with a reef in it,
我們還備了一個新的中桅副翼帆，里面裝有縮帆部，
a thing hardly ever heard of, and which the sailors had ridiculed a good deal,
這東西以前幾乎沒聽說過，為此船員曾打趣說這可是一樁好買賣，
saying that when it was time to reef a studding sail it was time to take it in.
還說啥時候收縮副翼帆，啥時候裝進去。
But we found a use for it now; for, there being a reef in the topsail, the studding sail could not be set without one in it also.
但是，我們發現正好現在就能派上用場；因為中桅有縮帆部的話，副翼帆就不必加縮帆部了。
To be sure, a studding sail with reefed topsails was rather a novelty; yet there was some reason in it,
可以肯定的是，帶裝有縮帆部中桅的副翼帆是個相當新奇的東西；然而，有理由在里面加縮帆部，
for if we carried that away, we should lose only a sail and a boom; but a whole topsail might have carried away the mast and all.
因為如果我們無法控制的話，我們失去的僅僅是船帆和帆桁而已，但是整個中桅也許會使索具和所有東西都失控。
