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'As yet?' repeated Florence.
'Not a bit,' returned the Captain, kissing his iron hand; 'and afore I begin to be, my Hearts-delight, Wal'r will have wrote home from the island, or from some port or another, and made all taut and shipsahape'And with regard to old Sol Gills, here the Captain became solemn, 'who I'll stand by, and not desert until death do us part, and when the stormy winds do blow, do blow, do blow - overhaul the Catechism,' said the Captain parenthetically, 'and there you'll find them expressions - if it would console Sol Gills to have the opinion of a seafaring man as has got a mind equal to any undertaking that he puts it alongside of, and as was all but smashed in his'prenticeship, and of which the name is Bunsby, that 'ere man shall give him such an opinion in his own parlour as'll stun him. Ah!' said Captain Cuttle, vauntingly, 'as much as if he'd gone and knocked his head again a door!'
'Let us take this ~gentleman to see him, and let us hear what he says,' cried Florence. 'Will you go with us now? We have a coach here.'
Again the Captain clapped his hand to his head, on which the hard glazed hat was not, and looked discomfited. But at this instant a most remarkable phenomenon occurred. The door opening, without any note of preparation, and apparently of itself, the hard glazed hat in question skimmed into the room like a bird, and alighted heavily at the Captain's feet. The door then shut as violently as it had opened, and nothIng ensued in explanation of the prodigy.
Captain Cuttle picked up his hat, and having turned it over with a look of interest and welcome, began to polish it on his sleeve' While doing so, the Captain eyed his visitors intently, and said in a low voice
'You see I should have bore down on Sol Gills yesterday, and this morning, but she - she took it away and kep it. That's the long and short ofthe subject.'
'Who did, for goodness sake?' asked Susan Nipper.
'The lady of the house, my dear,'returned the Captain, in a gruff whisper, and making signals of secrecy.'We had some words about the swabbing of these here planks, and she - In short,' said the Captain, eyeing the door, and relieving himself with a long breath, 'she stopped my liberty.'
'Oh! I wish she had me to deal with!' said Susan, reddening with the energy of the wish. 'I'd stop her!'
'Would you, do you, my dear?' rejoined the Captain, shaking his head doubtfully, but regarding the desperate courage of the fair aspirant with obvious admiration. 'I don't know. It's difficult navigation. She's very hard to carry on with, my dear. You never can tell how she'll head, you see. She's full one minute, and round upon you next. And when she in a tartar,' said the Captain, with the perspiration breaking out upon his forehead. There was nothing but a whistle emphatic enough for the conclusion of the sentence, so the Captain whistled tremulously. After which he again shook his head, and recurring to his admiration of Miss Nipper's devoted bravery, timidly repeated, 'Would you, do you think, my dear?'
Susan only replied with a bridling smile, but that was so very full of defiance, that there is no knowing how long Captain Cuttle might have stood entranced in its contemplation, if Florence in her anxiety had not again proposed their immediately resorting to the oracular Bunsby. Thus reminded of his duty, Captain Cuttle Put on the glazed hat firmly, took up another knobby stick, with which he had supplied the place of that one given to Walter, and offering his arm to Florence, prepared to cut his way through the enemy.
It turned out, however, that Mrs MacStinger had already changed her course, and that she headed, as the Captain had remarked she often did, in quite a new direction. For when they got downstairs, they found that exemplary woman beating the mats on the doorsteps, with Alexander, still upon the paving-stone, dimly looming through a fog of dust; and so absorbed was Mrs MacStinger in her household occupation, that when Captain Cuttle and his visitors passed, she beat the harder, and neither by word nor gesture showed any consciousness of their vicinity. The Captain was so well pleased with this easy escape - although the effect of the door-mats on him was like a copious administration of snuff, and made him sneeze until the tears ran down his face - that he could hardly believe his good fortune; but more than once, between the door and the hackney-coach, looked over his shoulder, with an obvious apprehension of Mrs MacStinger's giving chase yet.
However, they got to the corner of Brig Place without any molestation from that terrible fire-ship; and the Captain mounting the coach-box - for his gallantry would not allow him to ride inside with the ladies, though besought to do so - piloted the driver on his course for Captain Bunsby's vessel, which was called the Cautious Clara, and was lying hard by Ratcliffe.
Arrived at the wharf off which this great commander's ship was jammed in among some five hundred companions, whose tangled rigging looked like monstrous cobwebs half swept down, Captain Cuttle appeared at the coach-window, and invited Florence and Miss Nipper to accompany him on board; observing that Bunsby was to the last degree soft-hearted in respect of ladies, and that nothing would so much tend to bring his expansive intellect into a state of harmony as their presentation to the Cautious Clara.
Florence readily consented; and the Captain, taking her little hand in his prodigious palm, led her, with a mixed expression of patronage, paternity, pride, and ceremony, that was pleasant to see, over several very dirty decks, until, coming to the Clara, they found that cautious craft (which lay outside the tier) with her gangway removed, and half-a-dozen feet of river interposed between herself and her nearest neighbour. It appeared, from Captain Cuttle's explanation, that the great Bunsby, like himself, was cruelly treated by his landlady, and that when her usage of him for the time being was so hard that he could bear it no longer, he set this gulf between them as a last resource.
'Clara a-hoy!' cried the Captain, putting a hand to each side of his mouth.
'A-hoy!' cried a boy, like the Captain's echo, tumbling up from below.
'Bunsby aboard?' cried the Captain, hailing the boy in a stentorian voice, as if he were half-a-mile off instead of two yards.
'Ay, ay!' cried the boy, in the same tone.
The boy then shoved out a plank to Captain Cuttle, who adjusted it carefully, and led Florence across: returning presently for Miss Nipper. So they stood upon the deck of the Cautious Clara, in whose standing rigging, divers fluttering articles of dress were curing, in company with a few tongues and some mackerel.
Immediately there appeared, coming slowly up above the bulk-head of the cabin, another bulk-head 'human, and very large - with one stationary eye in the mahogany face, and one revolving one, on the principle of some lighthouses. This head was decorated with shaggy hair, like oakum,' which had no governing inclination towards the north, east, west, or south, but inclined to all four quarters of the compass, and to every point upon it. The head was followed by a perfect desert of chin, and by a shirt-collar and neckerchief, and by a dreadnought pilot-coat, and by a pair of dreadnought pilot-trousers, whereof the waistband was so very broad and high, that it became a succedaneum for a waistcoat: being ornamented near the wearer's breastbone with some massive wooden buttons, like backgammon men. As the lower portions of these pantaloons became revealed, Bunsby stood confessed; his hands in their pockets, which were of vast size; and his gaze directed, not to Captain Cuttle or the ladies, but the mast-head.
The profound appearance of this philosopher, who was bulky and strong, and on whose extremely red face an expression of taciturnity sat enthroned, not inconsistent with his character, in which that quality was proudly conspicuous, almost daunted Captain Cuttle, though on familiar terms with him. Whispering to Florence that Bunsby had never in his life expressed surprise, and was considered not to know what it meant, the Captain watched him as he eyed his mast-head, and afterwards swept the horizon; and when the revolving eye seemed to be coming round in his direction, said:
'Bunsby, my lad, how fares it?'
“现在？”弗洛伦斯重复他的话，问道。
“一点也不，”船长吻了吻他那只铁手，回答道，“我心中的喜悦，在我开始忧虑之前，沃尔就会从那个岛屿或从一个什么港口给家里写信来，这样就会万事大吉，无牵无挂了。至于老所尔·吉尔斯，”这时船长的神色十分严肃，“当暴风吹刮着，吹乱着，吹刮着的时候，我将站在他的身旁，决不会抛弃他，直到死亡把我们分开为止。——请您翻一下《教义问答》，您可以在那里找到这些话。”船长附带地说道，“有一位海员，头脑十分聪明，通晓各种事情，他在当学徒的时候，头险些被扎破；他姓邦斯贝，如果所尔·吉尔斯听一听一位海员的意见对他是一种安慰的话，那么这个人会到他的客厅里谈谈他的看法，所尔·吉尔斯听了准会目瞪口呆，”卡特尔船长夸张地说道，“就像把头撞在门上一样！”
“让我们把这位先生请去看看他吧，让我们听听他说些什么，”弗洛伦斯喊道，“您现在肯和我们一起去吗？外面有一辆马车在等着我们。”
船长又把手拍拍他的没有戴着上了光的帽子的脑袋，露出为难的神色。可是就在这个时刻出现了一个极为惊人的现象。没有任何预先通知，门显然是自动地开了；前面提到的那顶坚硬的上了光的帽子像一只鸟儿一样飞进了屋子，沉重地落在船长的脚边。然后门像开时一样猛烈地关上了，随后没有发生任何事情可以解释这个怪事。
船长捡起帽子，露出兴趣和欢迎的表情把它转了转，然后开始用袖子把它擦亮。船长在这样做的时候，目不转睛地注视着他的客人们，低声说道：
“你们看，我本想在昨天和今天早上戴着它到所尔·吉尔斯那里去的，但是她——她却把它拿走了，藏了起来。就是这么回事。”
“哎呀！是谁这么干的？”苏珊·尼珀问道。
“是房东太太，我亲爱的，”船长作了个留神被人听见的手势，用嘶哑的低声回答道，“在擦洗这些地板的问题上，我向她提了一些意见，她就——简单地说——”船长注视着门，深深地吐了一口气，说道，“她就剥夺了我的自由。”
“啊，我真希望她来跟我打交道！”苏珊说道，她的脸由于兴奋而发红，“我得制止她的横行霸道！”
“您认为您会这么做吗，我亲爱的？”船长回答道，一边怀疑地摇摇头，但显然很钦佩这位抱负不凡的美人的不顾一切的勇气，“我不知道。这是困难的航行。她是很难对付的，我亲爱的。您要知道，您永远也没法猜到，她要朝那个方向开去。这一分钟她一直往前走，下一分钟她又朝着您转过身来了。而当她是个蛮不讲理的泼妇的时候，”船长前额冒出了汗珠，说道。由于只有吹一下口哨才能有力地结束这句句子，所以他用颤抖的声音吹了一下口哨。然后他又摇摇头，对尼珀姑娘无所畏惧的勇敢精神重新感到钦佩，胆怯地重复问道，“您认为您会那么做吗，我亲爱的？”
苏珊只是昂着头，轻蔑地微笑了一下，作为回答，但这里面充满了挑战的意味；如果弗洛伦斯不是焦急地再次建议立即到那仿佛能传告神谕似的邦斯贝那里去的话，那么卡特尔船长就不知会多久地站在那里，出神地注视着她的那副神态。被弗洛伦斯提醒了他的责任之后，卡特尔船长坚决地戴上了上了光的帽子，拿上另一根多节的手杖（这一根已经代替了那根给了沃尔特的），把胳膊伸给弗洛伦斯，准备冲过敌人的阵线，打开一条道路出去。
可是事实上，麦克斯廷杰太太正如船长说她经常做的那样，早已改变了她的航线，朝着一个完全新的方向开去。因为当他们下楼的时候，他们发现这位堪称楷模的女人正在敲打门口擦鞋的棕垫；这时亚历山大仍旧坐在人行道的石板上，在弥漫的灰尘中隐隐约约地现出身形。麦克斯廷杰太太专心致志地埋头干她的家务，当卡特尔船长和他的客人们从旁走过的时候，她敲打得更加用力，不论从话语或姿态上都丝毫表示不出她已知道他们走近。船长这样轻易地就逃之夭夭，心中感到十分高兴——虽然门口擦鞋的棕垫对他产生的作用，就像他闻到大量烟叶一样，使他连打喷嚏，直到眼泪都流下了脸颊——，他简直都不敢相信他的好运气，因此从门口到马车的路途中他不止一次地回过头去望望，显然害怕麦克斯廷杰太太还会追赶上来。
可是他们顺利地到达了布里格广场的拐角，没有受到那艘可怕的火攻船的任何骚扰。船长在马车夫的座位上坐下——虽然她们请他一起坐到马车里去，但他很客气，不同意那么做——，充当向导，向车夫指点前往邦斯贝的船的道路；那艘船的名字叫做“谨慎的克拉拉”，停泊在拉特克利夫附近。
到达了码头，这位伟大的指挥者的船停泊在码头外面，挤在大约五百多个同伴中间；它们那纷乱的索具看上去像是被扫下一半的怪异的蜘蛛网一般。卡特尔船长出现在马车窗口，请弗洛伦斯与尼珀姑娘跟他一道上船去，这是考虑到邦斯贝对待妇女心肠最为慈善的缘故；她们出现在“谨慎的克拉拉”上将比什么都更能使他宽广的智慧处于和谐良好的状态。
弗洛伦斯欣然同意；船长把她的小手握在他巨大的手掌中，领她走过好几个很肮脏的甲板；这时他脸上流露出保护人般的、慈父般的、自豪的和合乎礼仪的混杂的表情，看起来十分有趣。最后，他们走近“克拉拉”，发现这艘谨慎的船停泊在最外面，跳板已经撤掉，六英尺宽的河水把它和近邻隔开。从卡特尔船长的解释中知道，原来这位伟大的邦斯贝像他本人一样，也受到房东太太的虐待；她目前待他实在太凶狠，他无法再忍受下去，所以就采取了这最后的手段，用这条鸿沟把他们两人分隔开来。
“喂，克拉拉！”船长用两只手围着嘴巴两旁，喊道。
“喂！”一位见习船员跌跌撞撞地从下面跑到甲板上面来，像是船长的回声一般地喊道。
“邦斯贝在船上吗？”船长用极为洪亮的声音向这位见习船员高呼道，仿佛他是在半英里之外，而不是只隔着两码距离似的。
“在，在！”见习船员用同样洪亮的声音向他喊道。
接着，见习船员向卡特尔船长投去一块厚板，卡特尔船长仔细地把它搭好，领着弗洛伦斯走过去，然后又立即回来领尼珀姑娘；这样，他们就都站在“谨慎的克拉拉”的甲板上了。船上的桅缆上晾晒着各种衣服，还有几条舌头和一些鲐鱼。
从船舱的舱壁上面，立刻慢慢地露出一个很大的人头，桃花心木的脸庞上有一只眼睛固定不动，另一只眼睛在转动着，就像有些灯塔的情况一样。这颗头上装饰着像麻絮一般蓬松的头发，它对东、南、西、北中的任何一方都没有固定的倾向，而是朝向罗盘上所有四个方位和它上面的每一度。接着出现的是光秃秃的下巴，衬衫领子和围巾，领航员厚呢上衣和领航员厚呢裤子；裤子的腰带又宽又高，成了背心的代替品，在挨近胸骨的地方装饰着几个很大的像十五子棋一般的木纽扣。当裤子最底下的部分显露出来时，邦斯贝明白无误地站在那里，手插在很大的衣袋里，眼光不是朝向卡特尔船长或两位妇女，而是朝向桅顶。
这位智慧超群的人身材魁伟、体格健壮，非常红润的脸上压倒一切的表情是沉默寡言；这与他的性格并不矛盾，在他的性格中，这个特点也是十分显著的；虽然卡特尔船长跟他关系很熟，可是他的这种深奥莫测的出现几乎使卡特尔船长也畏缩不前了。船长低声地对弗洛伦斯说，邦斯贝平生从没有表示过惊奇，人们认为他连惊奇的意义是什么也不知道；当他凝视着桅顶，以后又向地平线扫视了一下的时候，船长注视着他；当那只转动着的眼睛似乎已转向他那一边的时候，船长说道：
“邦斯贝，老朋友，情况怎么样？”
背景阅读

本书简介：
《董贝父子》是狄更斯最重要的作品之一，发表于1848年。小说描写了董贝父子公司的盛衰史。董贝是个贪得无厌的大资本家，妻子儿女都成了他追逐利润的工具和摆设。公司经理卡克尔是个奸诈小人，骗取了董贝的信任后又一手造成了他的破产。在现实的教训中，董贝的思想发生了转变。最后，虽然他已无法重整家业，却成全了真正的家庭幸福。

作者简介：

英国小说家查尔斯·约翰·赫芬姆·狄更斯（Charles John Huffam Dickens，1812年2月7日~1870年6月9日） 英国维多利亚时期的著名小说家，他的作品至今依然盛行，并对英国文学发展起到重要影响。 狄更斯1812年出生于英国朴次茅斯（Portsmouth），是海军职员约翰·狄更斯和伊丽莎白·巴洛所生的第二个孩子。狄更斯5岁时全家就迁居占松（Chatham），10岁时又搬到康登镇（Camden Town）。 小时候狄更斯曾经在一所私立学校接受过一段时间的教育，但是12岁时，狄更斯的父亲就因债务问题而入狱，狄更斯也因此被送到伦敦一家鞋油场当学徒，每天工作10个小时。或许是由于这段经历，使得狄更斯的作品更关注底层社会劳动人民的生活状态。 不过后来由于父亲继承了一笔遗产而令家庭经济状况有所好转，狄更斯也才有机会重新回到学校。15岁时他从威灵顿学院毕业，随后进入一家律师行工作，后来又转入报馆，成为一名报导国会辩论的记者。狄更斯并没有接受很多的正规教育，基本上是靠自学成才。