Which of the following is the best version of the underlined portion of sentence 5

why does the crew join ahab's quest without hesitation?

i believe it is "“i’ll beat thee, but i would infect my hands.”

explanation:

each morning i wrote my name

on the dusty cabinet, then crossed

the dining table in script, scrawled

in capitals on the backs of chairs,

practicing signatures like scales

while mother followed squirting

linseed from a burping can