16 The Wine-Dark Sea - Libro della tutto

Patrick O'Brian The Wine-Dark Sea
with the sketch of a bob they flitted away into
the dark orlop, scattering rats and cockroaches
as they ran, invisible but for their
white pinafores. Stephen finished rubbing blue
ointment into Douglas Murd, washed his
hands, tossed Martin the towel, called to
Padeen, 'Let the glasses dry of themselves,'
and ran on deck, joining almost all the ship's
company who were not aloft.
'Ho, Doctor,' called Jack from the starboard
rail, 'here's an elegant spectacle.' He nodded
forward over the short tossing angry sea, and
as he nodded a sperm whale rose not ten
yards out, blew a fine spout, breathed audibly
and dived, a great smooth roll. The spout
swept aft along the deck and beyond it
Stephen saw the whaler clear, directly to
windward: beyond her, two boats close together,
and farther still, a mile and more to
the east, three more. 'They were so busy with