They could loosen the backstays, causing the towers to lean inward by 18 inches or half-a-meter.
他们可能会松开后支柱,导致楼向内倾斜 18 英寸或半米。
Unmindful of the tedious rope-ladders of the shrouds, the men, like shooting stars, slid to the deck, by the isolated backstays and halyards; while Ahab, less dartingly, but still rapidly was dropped from his perch.
水手们毫不理睬那些用侧支索做成的冗长的绳梯,而是像流星一般,纷纷从分开的后支索和升降索上滑落到甲板,亚哈没有那样猛冲下来,但也迅速从他的瞭望处降了下来。