船尾的船長室里傳來了一片叫嚷和咒罵聲,使斯塔布吃了一驚;他朝那個方向望去,看到門背后探出一張兇巴巴的臉來(門朝外半開半掩)。這就是那個苦惱不堪的船醫(yī),他在對這一天所進行的工作提出抗議而一無效果后,只得自己逃到船長室里去(他管它叫密室),以免染上那種病疫。然而,他還禁不住要時不時地號叫出他的懇求和憤怒。
Marking all this, Stubb argued well for his scheme, and turning to the Guernsey-man had a little chat with him, during which the stranger mate expressed his detestation of his Captain as a conceited ignoramus, who had brought them all into so unsavory and unprofitable a pickle. Sounding him carefully, Stubb further perceived that the Guernsey-man had not the slightest suspicion concerning the ambergris. He therefore held his peace on that head, but otherwise was quite frank and confidential with him, so that the two quickly concocted a little plan for both circumventing and satirizing the Captain, without his at all dreaming of distrusting their sincerity. According to this little plan of theirs, the Guernsey-man, under cover of an interpreter's office, was to tell the Captain what he pleased, but as coming from Stubb; and as for Stubb, he was to utter any nonsense that should come uppermost in him during the interview.
斯塔布看清了這一切情況,想好了他的計策后,就去跟那個革恩齊人閑聊一下,在談話中間,這個陌生大副說他非常痛恨他的船長,說他是個狂妄的不學(xué)無術(shù)之徒,怨他把他們大家都陷進了這樣一個又臭又無利可圖的苦境里。斯塔布仔細(xì)地摸了他的底后,更看出了這個革恩齊人絲毫沒有想到有關(guān)龍涎香的事情。于是他也索性閉口不談這方面的事情,反而對他表示得很坦率誠懇,這樣,這兩個人很快就策劃出一個小小的計謀,來陷害和作弄那個船長,叫他完全連做夢也沒想到他們是在耍弄他。按照他們這個小計謀,那個革恩齊人,以擔(dān)任翻譯為掩飾,表面上象是在傳斯塔布的話,事實上卻是興之所至對船長亂說一通;至于斯塔布,則在整個談話過程中,也是想到什么就說什么,亂扯一氣。