FOR SOME DAYS the Nautilus kept veering away from the American coast. It obviously didn't want to frequent the waves of the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean Sea. Yet there was no shortage of water under its keel, since the average depth of these seas is 1,800 meters; but these waterways, strewn with islands and plowed by steamers, probably didn't agree with Captain Nemo.
在这几天内，诺第留斯号经常躲开美洲iM岸。很显然，它不想到墨西哥湾水中，或安的列斯群岛海中来。那一带海水并不浅，不是不能容受它的船身龙骨，那一带海的平均深度是一万八千米；很可能是由于那一带有许多岛屿，许多汽船往来，对于尼摩船长说来是不适合的。
On April 16 we raised Martinique and Guadalupe from a distance of about thirty miles. For one instant I could see their lofty peaks.
4月16日，在三十海里左右的距离，我们看见了马丁尼克岛和加德路披岛。我有一个时候望见岛上群山的高峰。
The Canadian was quite disheartened, having counted on putting his plans into execution in the gulf, either by reaching shore or by pulling alongside one of the many boats plying a coastal trade from one island to another. An escape attempt would have been quite feasible, assuming Ned Land managed to seize the skiff without the captain's knowledge. But in midocean it was unthinkable.
加拿大人打算在墨西哥湾实行他的计划，或逃到某些陆地上，或靠近往来岛屿间沿岸的一只船，他看见船躲开这海湾，很失望。在湾内，如果尼德-兰能乘尼摩船长不知不党的时候，把小艇夺到手，那逃走很可能成功。但如今是在大西洋上，那就不用想了。
The Canadian, Conseil, and I had a pretty long conversation on this subject. For six months we had been prisoners aboard the Nautilus. We had fared 17,000 leagues, and as Ned Land put it, there was no end in sight. So he made me a proposition I hadn't anticipated. We were to ask Captain Nemo this question straight out: did the captain mean to keep us on board his vessel permanently?
加拿大人、康塞尔和我，我们对于这事谈了相当久。我们落到诺第留斯号船上作俘虏，到现在已经有六个月了。我们走了一万七千里，像尼德-兰说的，那是没有什么理由可以完结的。所以他向我作一个提议，这提议我简直没有预料到．那就是向尼摩船长明白干脆地提出下面的问题来：船长是打算把我们无限期留在他船上吗？
This measure was distasteful to me. To my mind it would lead nowhere. We could hope for nothing from the Nautilus's commander but could depend only on ourselves. Besides, for some time now the man had been gloomier, more withdrawn, less sociable. He seemed to be avoiding me. I encountered him only at rare intervals. He used to take pleasure in explaining the underwater wonders to me; now he left me to my research and no longer entered the lounge.
类似这一种会谈使我十分为难和厌烦。照我来看，这利，会谈不会有结果。在诺第留斯号潜水船方面，我们不能有一点指望，看来一切都要依靠我们自己。并已，最近以来，这个人变得更沉郁，更不露面，更不爱交往了。好像他有意躲开我。我很少有机会碰到他。以前，他很喜欢给我解释海底的神奇，现在他听任我看书做研究，他简直不到客来
What changes had come over him? From what cause? I had no reason to blame myself. Was our presence on board perhaps a burden to him? Even so, I cherished no hopes that the man would set us free.
他心中有过哪一种变化呢？由于哪种原因呢？我并没有-什么对不起他，或是可以责备自己的地方。也许是我们在船上使他为难吗？可是，我不敢希望他有一天会恢复我们的自由。
So I begged Ned to let me think about it before taking action. If this measure proved fruitless, it could arouse the captain's suspicions, make our circumstances even more arduous, and jeopardize the Canadian's plans. I might add that I could hardly use our state of health as an argument. Except for that grueling ordeal under the Ice Bank at the South Pole, we had never felt better, neither Ned, Conseil, nor I. The nutritious food, life-giving air, regular routine, and uniform temperature kept illness at bay; and for a man who didn't miss his past existence on land, for a Captain Nemo who was at home here, who went where he wished, who took paths mysterious to others if not himself in attaining his ends, I could understand such a life. But we ourselves hadn't severed all ties with humanity. For my part, I didn't want my new and unusual research to be buried with my bones. I had now earned the right to pen the definitive book on the sea, and sooner or later I wanted that book to see the light of day.
所以，我请尼德在行动之前让我思考一下，如果这次会谈得不到什么结果，可能就增加他的猜疑，使我们的处境更困难，对于加拿大人的计划有损害。我又补充说，我不可能拿我们的身体健康作理由请求离开诺第留斯号。事实上，除了在南极的冰山下我们受了痛苦之外，尼德-兰、康塞尔、我，我们的身体一直都很好。那种卫生的饮食，那种健康的空气，那种规律的生活，那种温度的稳定，决不至于人生疾病，而在一个对于陆地没有任何留恋的人来说，在一个足摩船长来说，那他是在他自己家里，他想到哪里就到哪里：他可以朝他的目的地走去，这在别人看来是神秘的道路，但他自己看来就不是神秘的道路了。这样一种生活，我是可以理解的，但是我们，我们并没有跟人类断绝。在我个人，我不想把我的十分奇异和十分新鲜的研究跟我一齐埋葬。我现在有权利来写这本关于海洋的真正的书，而这本我想，早晚总有一天可以公之于世。
There once more, through the panels opening into these Caribbean waters ten meters below the surface of the waves, I found so many fascinating exhibits to describe in my daily notes! Among other zoophytes there were Portuguese men-of-war known by the name Physalia pelagica, like big, oblong bladders with a pearly sheen, spreading their membranes to the wind, letting their blue tentacles drift like silken threads; to the eye delightful jellyfish, to the touch actual nettles that ooze a corrosive liquid. Among the articulates there were annelid worms one and a half meters long, furnished with a pink proboscis, equipped with 1,700 organs of locomotion, snaking through the waters, and as they went, throwing off every gleam in the solar spectrum. From the fish branch there were manta rays, enormous cartilaginous fish ten feet long and weighing 600 pounds, their pectoral fin triangular, their midback slightly arched, their eyes attached to the edges of the face at the front of the head; they floated like wreckage from a ship, sometimes fastening onto our windows like opaque shutters. There were American triggerfish for which nature has ground only black and white pigments, feather-shaped gobies that were long and plump with yellow fins and jutting jaws, sixteen-decimeter mackerel with short, sharp teeth, covered with small scales, and related to the albacore species. Next came swarms of red mullet corseted in gold stripes from head to tail, their shining fins all aquiver, genuine masterpieces of jewelry, formerly sacred to the goddess Diana, much in demand by rich Romans, and about which the old saying goes: "He who catches them doesn't eat them!" Finally, adorned with emerald ribbons and dressed in velvet and silk, golden angelfish passed before our eyes like courtiers in the paintings of Veronese; spurred gilthead stole by with their swift thoracic fins; thread herring fifteen inches long were wrapped in their phosphorescent glimmers; gray mullet thrashed the sea with their big fleshy tails; red salmon seemed to mow the waves with their slicing pectorals; and silver moonfish, worthy of their name, rose on the horizon of the waters like the whitish reflections of many moons.
就在这里，在安的列斯群岛水域中，海水下面十米，从敞开的嵌板看，又有多少有趣的海洋产物，我应当写在我的日记本上！在许多植虫动物中间，有那些名海扁筒的船形腔肠类，那是一种粗大的长方形膀眈，带螺铀质的闪光，把它们的膜迎风张开，让它们的蓝触须浮在水中，像丝线一样，眼看来是美丽迷人的水母，但手触上是分泌腐蚀性液汁的麻草。在鱼类一门中，有那些蛇稣鱼，那是长十英尺，重六百磅的巨大软骨鱼，胸鳍是三角形，脊背中间有些突起，眼睛长在头部最前端，它们像船只的残骸，浮来浮去，有时跟不透亮的窗板一样，遮盖住我们的玻璃窗。有那些美洲箭鱼，大自然对于它们只涂上黑白两种颜色。有那些匣形虾虎鱼，这鱼很长，多肉，带黄色的鳍和突出的颗骨。有那些长十六分米的婧鱼，这鱼齿很短很尖，满是细鳞，它是属于臼脂结的一种。其次，有云层一般出现的海诽鲤龟，它们从头到尾胸腹间有一条一条的金黄色带，在水中摇动它们的光彩辉煌的鳍。最后，有那些金黄的苹果鳍鱼，它们装上碧工色的条带，穿着丝绒的外衣，像维郎尼斯所画的王公一样，在我们眼前走过。有那些带刺绸鱼，它们胸鳍拨得很快，一下子就不见了。有那些磷光鲸鱼，身长十五英寸，被包围在闪闪磷光中。 有那些鳅鱼，拿它们粗大多肉的尾巴打搅海水。有那些红色鲍鱼，它们好像拿着它们的尖利胸鳍，摇来摇去割海水。有那些银白的月光鱼，它们叫这个名字很恰当，因为它们在水际升起来，就像发出许多淡白光线的月亮。
How many other marvelous new specimens I still could have observed if, little by little, the Nautilus hadn't settled to the lower strata! Its slanting fins drew it to depths of 2,000 and 3,500 meters. There animal life was represented by nothing more than sea lilies, starfish, delightful crinoids with bell-shaped heads like little chalices on straight stems, top-shell snails, blood-red tooth shells, and fissurella snails, a large species of coastal mollusk.
By April 20 we had risen to an average level of 1,500 meters. The nearest land was the island group of the Bahamas, scattered like a batch of cobblestones over the surface of the water. There high underwater cliffs reared up, straight walls made of craggy chunks arranged like big stone foundations, among which there gaped black caves so deep our electric rays couldn't light them to the far ends.
4月20日，我们航行在平均一千五百米深的水层。那时跟船最接近的陆地是留力口夷群岛，群岛散开，像铺在海面上的一堆石板。在这一带有高出的海底悬崖，那是像宽大基础那样铺下的平板大石形成的一道一道直立高墙，在墙中间露出许多黑洞，我们船上的电光不可能直照到底。
These rocks were hung with huge weeds, immense sea tangle, gigantic fucus-- a genuine trellis of water plants fit for a world of giants.
这些岩石上面铺着层层的阔大海产草叶，宽大的昆布类，巨大的黑角菜，简直就是海产植物形成的墙壁，正好与地唐巨人①的世界相配。
In discussing these colossal plants, Conseil, Ned, and I were naturally led into mentioning the sea's gigantic animals. The former were obviously meant to feed the latter. However, through the windows of our almost motionless Nautilus, I could see nothing among these long filaments other than the chief articulates of the division Brachyura: long-legged spider crabs, violet crabs, and sponge crabs unique to the waters of the Caribbean.
从我们上面说的巨大植物，康塞尔、尼德-兰和我，自然而然地就要谈到这一带海中的巨大动物。显然其中有些是作为其它一些动物的食物的。不过，从几乎不动的诺第留斯号的玻璃窗中看，我在那很长的草叶条上，见到腕足门的主要节肢类动物，长爪的海蜘蛛、紫色海蟹、安的列斯群岛海中特有的翼步螺。
It was about eleven o'clock when Ned Land drew my attention to a fearsome commotion out in this huge seaweed.
大约是十一点左右，尼德-兰让我注意那巨大昆布间发生的厉害怕人的蚤动。
"Well," I said, "these are real devilfish caverns, and I wouldn't be surprised to see some of those monsters hereabouts."
“那么，”我说，“这里真正是章鱼的窟洞，在这儿要看见一些这种怪物毫不为奇。”
"What!" Conseil put in. "Squid, ordinary squid from the class Cephalopoda?"
“怎么！”康塞尔说，“是那头足纲的枪乌贼，单纯的枪乌贼吗？”
"No," I said, "devilfish of large dimensions. But friend Land is no doubt mistaken, because I don't see a thing."
“不，”我说，“是那身躯巨大的章鱼。尼德朋友一定搞错了，因为我并不看见什么。”
"That's regrettable," Conseil answered. "I'd like to come face to face with one of those devilfish I've heard so much about, which can drag ships down into the depths. Those beasts go by the name of krake--"
“我很惋惜，”康塞尔回答，“我很想同这种大章鱼面对面地看一看，这种东西我听人说过很多，它可以把船只拖到海底下去呢。这类东西叫做克拉……。”
"Fake is more like it," the Canadian replied sarcastically.
“克拉克（吹嘘）①一下就够了。”加拿大人用讽刺的语气说。
"Krakens!" Conseil shot back, finishing his word without wincing at his companion's witticism.
“克拉肯。”康塞尔抢着说，他说完他的话，并没有理会到他的同伴的嘲笑。
"Nobody will ever make me believe," Ned Land said, "that such animals exist."
“谁都不能让我相信，”尼德-兰说，“世界上有这么一种动物存在。”
"Why not?" Conseil replied. "We sincerely believed in master's narwhale."
“为什么不能？”康塞尔回答，“我们相信过先生的海麒麟了。”
"We were wrong, Conseil."
“康塞尔，我们错了。”
"No doubt, but there are others with no doubts who believe to this day!"
“当然错了！不过一定还有别的人相信它。”
"Probably, Conseil. But as for me, I'm bound and determined not to accept the existence of any such monster till I've dissected it with my own two hands."
“那可能，康塞尔，但是我自己，我一定要亲自动手宰割过了，才相信有这些怪物存在。”
"Yet," Conseil asked me, "doesn't master believe in gigantic devilfish?"
“这样，”康塞尔问我，“先生也不相信有巨大的章鱼
"Yikes! Who in Hades ever believed in them?" the Canadian exclaimed.
“暧！有谁相信过呢？”加拿大人喊道。
"Many people, Ned my friend," I said.
“尼德朋友，有许多人相信呢。”
"No fishermen. Scientists maybe!"
“不是打鱼人。恐怕是学者们吧！”
"Pardon me, Ned. Fishermen and scientists!"
“对不起，尼德。打鱼人和学者们都相信！”
"Why, I to whom you speak," Conseil said with the world's straightest face, "I recall perfectly seeing a large boat dragged under the waves by the arms of a cephalopod."
“但是，现在跟您说话的我这个人，”康塞尔神气十分严肃地说，“我记得很清楚，我曾看过一只大船被一条头足类动物的胳膊拉到海底下去。”
"You saw that?" the Canadian asked.
“你看见过这个吗？”加拿大人问。
"Yes, Ned."
“不错，尼德。”
"With your own two eyes?"
“你亲眼看见过吗？”
"With my own two eyes."
“我亲眼看见过。”
"Where, may I ask?"
“请问在什么地方。”
"In Saint-Malo," Conseil returned unflappably.
“在圣马罗港。”康塞尔沉着坚定地回答。
"In the harbor?" Ned Land said sarcastically.
“在港中吗？”尼德-兰用讥笑的语气说。
"No, in a church," Conseil replied.
“不，在一所教堂里。”康塞尔回答。
"In a church!" the Canadian exclaimed.
“在一所教堂里！”加拿大人喊道。
"Yes, Ned my friend. It had a picture that portrayed the devilfish in question."
“对，尼德朋友。那是一幅绘着这条章鱼的图画！”
"Oh good!" Ned Land exclaimed with a burst of laughter. "Mr. Conseil put one over on me!"
“好嘛！”尼德-兰大笑说，“原来康塞尔先生逗着我玩呢！”
"Actually he's right," I said. "I've heard about that picture. But the subject it portrays is taken from a legend, and you know how to rate legends in matters of natural history! Besides, when it's an issue of monsters, the human imagination always tends to run wild.
“事实上，他是对的，”我说，“我听人说过这幅画。不过画的主题是根据一个传说，您知道，谈到生物科学，我们要怎样来看这些传说！并且，一谈到怪物时，人们的想象总是要错舌、起来的。
People not only claimed these devilfish could drag ships under, but a certain Olaus Magnus tells of a cephalopod a mile long that looked more like an island than an animal. There's also the story of how the Bishop of Trondheim set up an altar one day on an immense rock. After he finished saying mass, this rock started moving and went back into the sea. The rock was a devilfish."
不仅有人说这些章鱼可以拉走船只，并且有一个人，叫做奥拉又斯-麦纽斯①的，说有一条头足类动物，长一海里，与其说像一个动物，不如说是像一个岛屿。又有人说，宜都罗斯的主教有一天在一堆岩石上搭起一座神坛，做弥撒。他做完了弥撒，这堆岩石行动起来，回海中人了。这堆岩石原来是一条章鱼呢。”
"And that's everything we know?" the Canadian asked.
“说完了吗？”加拿大人问。
"No," I replied, "another bishop, Pontoppidan of Bergen, also tells of a devilfish so large a whole cavalry regiment could maneuver on it."
“没有，”我回答，“另一个主教，彭士皮丹。德。伯尔们也说过一条章鱼，在这章鱼身上可以躁演一队骑兵呢！”
"They sure did go on, those oldtime bishops!" Ned Land said.
“从前的主教们可真能说！”尼德-兰说。
"Finally, the naturalists of antiquity mention some monsters with mouths as big as a gulf, which were too huge to get through the Strait of Gibraltar."
“最后，古时代的生物学者引举过一些怪物，嘴好像一个海湾，身躯十分巨大，连直布罗陀海峡都走不过去。”
"Good work, men!" the Canadian put in.
“真妙！”加拿大人说。
"But in all these stories, is there any truth?" Conseil asked.
“在这些故事里面，是有些真的东西吗？”康塞尔问。
"None at all, my friends, at least in those that go beyond the bounds of credibility and fly off into fable or legend. Yet for the imaginings of these storytellers there had to be, if not a cause, at least an excuse. It can't be denied that some species of squid and other devilfish are quite large, though still smaller than cetaceans. Aristotle put the dimensions of one squid at five cubits, or 3.1 meters. Our fishermen frequently see specimens over 1.8 meters long. The museums in Trieste and Montpellier have preserved some devilfish carcasses measuring two meters. Besides, according to the calculations of naturalists, one of these animals only six feet long would have tentacles as long as twenty-seven. Which is enough to make a fearsome monster."
“一点没有，我的朋友们，至少从超出似真性的界限而走人寓言或传说的范围一点上看，一点没有。不过，讲故事人的想象，虽不一定要有一个真实的原因，但至少总要有一个假借的理由。人们不可能否认有巨大类型的章鱼和枪鸟贼存在，不过它们赶不上鲸科动物。亚里士多德曾经确实说过有一条长三米十厘米的枪乌贼。现在的打渔人时常看见有枪乌贼，身长超过一米八十厘米。杜利斯提和蒙伯利野①的博物馆收藏有一些章鱼的骨胳，长达二米。此外，根据生物学家的计算，一条这种动物，长仅仅六英尺，但它的触须长达二十七英尺，这就足够使它们成为怕人的怪东西。
"Does anybody fish for 'em nowadays?" the Canadian asked.
“现在有人打到吗？“加拿大人问。
"If they don't fish for them, sailors at least sight them. A friend of mine, Captain Paul Bos of Le Havre, has often sworn to me that he encountered one of these monsters of colossal size in the seas of the East Indies. But the most astonishing event, which proves that these gigantic animals undeniably exist, took place a few years ago in 1861."
“就是没有人打到，但水手们至少是看见过的。我的一个朋友，哈夫尔港的保尔-包斯船长，他时常对我肯定他说，他在印度洋中曾经碰见过一条这种身躯巨大的怪物。但最出奇的，并且不能否认这些巨大动物存在的，就是数年前，1861年发生的那件事实。”
"What event was that?" Ned Land asked.
“那件事实是怎样的？”尼德-兰问。
"Just this. In 1861, to the northeast of Tenerife and fairly near the latitude where we are right now, the crew of the gunboat Alecto spotted a monstrous squid swimming in their waters. Commander Bouguer approached the animal and attacked it with blows from harpoons and blasts from rifles, but without much success because bullets and harpoons crossed its soft flesh as if it were semiliquid jelly. After several fruitless attempts, the crew managed to slip a noose around the mollusk's body. This noose slid as far as the caudal fins and came to a halt. Then they tried to haul the monster on board, but its weight was so considerable that when they tugged on the rope, the animal parted company with its tail; and deprived of this adornment, it disappeared beneath the waters."
“那件事实是这样。1861年，在铁匿利夫岛的东北，差不多跟我们现在相同的纬度上，通讯舰亚列敦号的船员看见一条巨大的枪乌贼在水中浮游。布格船长挨近这东西，他用叉和枪打它，没有什么结呆，因为枪弹和叉刺穿了它的棉花一般的肉，就好像插进完全稀烂的粘液那样。经过几次的失败，打不到它，船上人员最后把绳纽结扣在这条软体动物身上。这绳纽结直滑溜到它的尾鳍边停下；船上人员想把这怪东西拉上船来，但它的身体十分重，弄得它因为受绳索的拖拉，跟尾巴分开，它没有了尾巴，潜入水中不见了。”
"Finally, an actual event," Ned Land said.
“总算有了一件事实。”尼德-兰说。
"An indisputable event, my gallant Ned. Accordingly, people have proposed naming this devilfish Bouguer's Squid."
“是一件确切无疑的事实，老实的尼德。因此有人建议，称这章鱼为‘布格的枪乌贼’。”
"And how long was it?" the Canadian asked.
“它身长多少？”加拿大人问。
"Didn't it measure about six meters?" said Conseil, who was stationed at the window and examining anew the crevices in the cliff.
“它不是长六米左右吗？”康塞尔说，他站在玻璃边，重新看那崎岖不平的悬崖。
"Precisely," I replied.
“正是六米长。”我回答说。
"Wasn't its head," Conseil went on, "crowned by eight tentacles that quivered in the water like a nest of snakes?"
"Precisely."
"Weren't its eyes prominently placed and considerably enlarged?"
“它的眼睛长在额门顶，不是生得很大吗？”
"Yes, Conseil."
“是的，康塞尔。”
"And wasn't its mouth a real parrot's beak but of fearsome size?"
“它的嘴不是跟鹦鹅的一样，大到了不得吗？”
"Correct, Conseil."
“不错，康塞尔。”
"Well, with all due respect to master," Conseil replied serenely, "if this isn't Bouguer's Squid, it's at least one of his close relatives!"
“那么！请先生原谅。”康塞尔安静地回答，“如果这边的不是布格的枪乌贼，至少也是它的兄弟了。”
I stared at Conseil. Ned Land rushed to the window.
我眼看着康塞尔，尼德。兰跑到玻璃窗边去。
"What an awful animal!" he exclaimed.
“真是怕人的东西。”他喊道。
I stared in my turn and couldn't keep back a movement of revulsion. Before my eyes there quivered a horrible monster worthy of a place among the most farfetched teratological legends.
我也跑前去看，我简直吓得倒退，不禁发出厌恶的表情。在我眼前走动的是那使人骇怕的怪物，真可以放在古代悲剧的传说怪物里面呢。
It was a squid of colossal dimensions, fully eight meters long. It was traveling backward with tremendous speed in the same direction as the Nautilus. It gazed with enormous, staring eyes that were tinted sea green. Its eight arms (or more accurately, feet) were rooted in its head, which has earned these animals the name cephalopod; its arms stretched a distance twice the length of its body and were writhing like the serpentine hair of the Furies. You could plainly see its 250 suckers, arranged over the inner sides of its tentacles and shaped like semispheric capsules. Sometimes these suckers fastened onto the lounge window by creating vacuums against it. The monster's mouth--a beak made of horn and shaped like that of a parrot--opened and closed vertically. Its tongue, also of horn substance and armed with several rows of sharp teeth, would flicker out from between these genuine shears. What a freak of nature! A bird's beak on a mollusk! Its body was spindle-shaped and swollen in the middle, a fleshy mass that must have weighed 20,000 to 25,000 kilograms. Its unstable color would change with tremendous speed as the animal grew irritated, passing successively from bluish gray to reddish brown.
这是一条身躯巨大的章鱼，长八米。它极端快捷地倒退着走，方向跟诺第留斯号走的相同。它那海色的呆呆的K大眼睛盯视着。它的八只胳膊，不如说八只脚，长在它脑袋上，因此这种动物得了头足类的名称，发展得很长，有它身躯的双倍那样长，伸缩摆动，像疯妇人的头发那样乱飘。我们清楚地看见那排列在它触须里面、作半球形圆盖的二百五十个吸盘。这些吸盘有时贴在客厅的玻璃上，中间成真空。这怪东西的嘴——一骨质的嘴，生成像鹦鹉的一样——垂直地或开或合。它的骨质的舌头本身有几排尖利的牙，颤抖着露出那一副真正的大铁钳。大自然是怎样离奇古怪呵！在软体上有一个鸟嘴！它的身躯作纺锤形，中腰膨胀，形成一大肉块，重量不下二万至二万五千公斤，它身上的不定的颜色随着这怪东西的激动，极端迅速地改变着，从灰白色陆续变为红褐色。
What was irritating this mollusk? No doubt the presence of the Nautilus, even more fearsome than itself, and which it couldn't grip with its mandibles or the suckers on its arms. And yet what monsters these devilfish are, what vitality our Creator has given them, what vigor in their movements, thanks to their owning a triple heart!
这个软体动物为什么激动呢？一定是因为诺第留斯号在面前，船比它更巨大可怕，并且它的吸盘脚或它的下颚又没法捉住它。可是，这些章鱼是多么怕人的怪物！造物者分给它们的是多么出奇的活力！它们的运动有多大的劲，因为它们有三个心脏！
Sheer chance had placed us in the presence of this squid, and I didn't want to lose this opportunity to meticulously study such a cephalopod specimen. I overcame the horror that its appearance inspired in me, picked up a pencil, and began to sketch it.
偶然的机会把我摆在这枪乌贼面前，我不愿丢了这个机会，对这头足类的品种，不小心加以研究。我克服自己对它的外形所有的厌恶心情，我拿了一支铅笔，开始给它作写生画。
"Perhaps this is the same as the Alecto's," Conseil said.
“或者这跟亚列敦号看见的是同一条东西吧。”康塞尔说道
"Can't be," the Canadian replied, "because this one's complete while the other one lost its tail!"
“不是，”加拿大人回答，“因为这一条是完整的，而那一条是丢了尾巴的。”
"That doesn't necessarily follow," I said. "The arms and tails of these animals grow back through regeneration, and in seven years the tail on Bouguer's Squid has surely had time to sprout again."
“这不成理由，”我回答，“因为这类动物的胳膊和尾巴是可以由逐渐的累积重新生出来的，七年以来，布格的枪乌贼是可能有时间又长出尾巴来了。”
"Anyhow," Ned shot back, "if it isn't this fellow, maybe it's one of those!"
“此外，”尼德立即回答，“如果这条不是它，那许多条中间或者有一条是它！”
Indeed, other devilfish had appeared at the starboard window. I counted seven of them. They provided the Nautilus with an escort, and I could hear their beaks gnashing on the sheet-iron hull. We couldn't have asked for a more devoted following.
果然，好些其他的章鱼又在船右舷的玻璃边出现了。我算了一下共有七条。‘它门护卫着诺第留斯号前行，我听到它门的嘴在钢板上摩擦的格格声音。我们是它们希望中的食物。
I continued sketching. These monsters kept pace in our waters with such precision, they seemed to be standing still, and I could have traced their outlines in miniature on the window. But we were moving at a moderate speed.
我继续我的工作，这些怪东西在我们两旁海水中十分准确地保持一定的速度。就像它们是站着不动的一样，我简直可以在玻璃上用纸把它们缩小摹下来。这时，诺第留斯号行驶的速度很慢。
All at once the Nautilus stopped. A jolt made it tremble through its entire framework.
忽然诺第留斯号停注了。一次冲击使它全身都发生震
"Did we strike bottom?" I asked.
“我们是捡上什么了吗广我问。
"In any event we're already clear," the Canadian replied, "because we're afloat."
“总之，”加拿大人回答，“我们已经摆脱开了，因为我们浮起来了。”
The Nautilus was certainly afloat, but it was no longer in motion. The blades of its propeller weren't churning the waves. A minute passed. Followed by his chief officer, Captain Nemo entered the lounge.
诺第留斯号浮起来了，但它停着不走。它的推进器的轮叶没有搅动海水。一分钟过了。尼摩船长走进客厅来，后面跟着他的副手。
I hadn't seen him for a good while. He looked gloomy to me. Without speaking to us, without even seeing us perhaps, he went to the panel, stared at the devilfish, and said a few words to his chief officer.
我好些时候没有看见他了。看来他的神色忧郁。没有跟我们说话，或著没有看见我们，他走到嵌板边，看一下那些章鱼，对他的副手说了几句话。
The latter went out. Soon the panels closed. The ceiling lit up.
他的副手出去。不久嵌板闭起来；天花板明亮了。
I went over to the captain.
我走到船长面前，我对他说：
"An unusual assortment of devilfish," I told him, as carefree as a collector in front of an aquarium.
“真是新奇的章鱼品种。”我说话时语气很从容，像一个喜爱鱼类的人在养鱼缸面前说话一样。
"Correct, Mr. Naturalist," he answered me, "and we're going to fight them at close quarters."
“是的，生物学家，”他回答我，“我们现在要跟它们肉搏
I gaped at the captain. I thought my hearing had gone bad.
我眼盯着船长。我想我并没有听明白他的话。
"At close quarters?" I repeated.
“肉搏吗？“我重复一下说。
"Yes, sir. Our propeller is jammed. I think the horn-covered mandibles of one of these squid are entangled in the blades. That's why we aren't moving."
“对，先生。推进器停住了。我想有一条枪乌贼的下颚骨撞进轮叶中去了。因此就阻碍了船，不能行动。”
"And what are you going to do?"
“您将要怎么办？”
"Rise to the surface and slaughter the vermin."
“浮上水面，把这条害虫宰了。”
"A difficult undertaking."
“是件困难的事呀。”
"Correct. Our electric bullets are ineffective against such soft flesh, where they don't meet enough resistance to go off. But we'll attack the beasts with axes."
“是的。电气弹对于这团软肉没有办法，软内没有足够的抵抗力，不能让弹爆发。我们还是用斧子来砍。”
"And harpoons, sir," the Canadian said, "if you don't turn down my help."
“也可以用又来叉，先生，”加拿大人说，“如果您不拒绝我加入，我一定来帮忙。”
"I accept it, Mr. Land."
“我接受您的帮助，兰师傅。”
"We'll go with you," I said. And we followed Captain Nemo, heading to the central companionway.
“我们陪您一同去。”我说。我们跟着尼摩船长，向中央楼梯走去。
There some ten men were standing by for the assault, armed with boarding axes. Conseil and I picked up two more axes. Ned Land seized a harpoon.
楼梯边有十来个人，拿着冲锋用的斧子，准备出击。康塞尔和我，我们拿了两把斧子。尼德-兰手执一杆鱼叉。
By then the Nautilus had returned to the surface of the waves. Stationed on the top steps, one of the seamen undid the bolts of the hatch. But he had scarcely unscrewed the nuts when the hatch flew up with tremendous violence, obviously pulled open by the suckers on a devilfish's arm.
那时诺第留斯号已经浮上水面来了。一个水手站在楼涕的最高的一级上，把嵌板上的螺钉松下来。可是母螺旋刚放开，嵌板就十分猛烈地掀起，显然是被章鱼一只胳膊的吸盘所拉了。
Instantly one of those long arms glided like a snake into the opening, and twenty others were quivering above. With a sweep of the ax, Captain Nemo chopped off this fearsome tentacle, which slid writhing down the steps.
立即有一只长胳膊，像一条蛇，从开口溜进来，其它二十只在上面摇来摇去。只一斧子，尼摩船长就把这根巨大的触须截断，它绞卷着从楼梯上溜下去。
Just as we were crowding each other to reach the platform, two more arms lashed the air, swooped on the seaman stationed in front of Captain Nemo, and carried the fellow away with irresistible violence.
在我们彼此拥挤着走到平台上时，另外两只胳膊，像双鞭一样在空中挥动，落在尼摩船长面前站着的那个水手身上，以不可抗拒的力量把他卷走了。
Captain Nemo gave a shout and leaped outside. We rushed after him.
尼摩船长大喊一声，跳刽外面去。我们也跟着一齐跳出来。
What a scene! Seized by the tentacle and glued to its suckers, the unfortunate man was swinging in the air at the mercy of this enormous appendage. He gasped, he choked, he yelled: "Help! Help!" These words, pronounced in French, left me deeply stunned! So I had a fellow countryman on board, perhaps several! I'll hear his harrowing plea the rest of my life!
多么惊心动魄的场面！这个不幸的人，被触须缠住，粘在吸盘上，让这条庞大卷筒随意在空中摇来摆去。他气喘，他窒息，他叫喊：“来，救我！来，救我！”他这话是用法话说的，引起我的十分深刻的惊怪！那么我是有一个同胞在船上！或者有好几个！这个使人心碎的呼救声，我一生都听到。
The poor fellow was done for. Who could tear him from such a powerful grip? Even so, Captain Nemo rushed at the devilfish and with a sweep of the ax hewed one more of its arms. His chief officer struggled furiously with other monsters crawling up the Nautilus's sides. The crew battled with flailing axes. The Canadian, Conseil, and I sank our weapons into these fleshy masses. An intense, musky odor filled the air. It was horrible.
这个不幸的人眼看是完了。谁能从这强大的卷抱中把他夺过来呢？可是尼摩船长跳在章鱼身上，又一斧子，他把另一只胳膊又砍下来了。他的副手奋勇狂怒地跟那些爬在诺第留斯号两边的其他章鱼战斗。船员们各人挥动斧头，乱砍乱杀。加拿大人、康塞尔和我，我们也把我们的武器穿进这大团肉块中去。一种强烈的康香昧敌人空中。真正是怕人。
For an instant I thought the poor man entwined by the devilfish might be torn loose from its powerful suction. Seven arms out of eight had been chopped off. Brandishing its victim like a feather, one lone tentacle was writhing in the air. But just as Captain Nemo and his chief officer rushed at it, the animal shot off a spout of blackish liquid, secreted by a pouch located in its abdomen. It blinded us. When this cloud had dispersed, the squid was gone, and so was my poor fellow countryman!
在一瞬间，我以为那个不幸被章鱼缠住的人可能从它那强大的吸盘上救下来。八只胳膊有七只都被砍下了。剩下的一只把那个人像一支笔般挥动，在空中转来转去。但当尼摩船长和他的副手扑到它身上去的时候，这个东西喷出一道黑色的液体，这是从它肚子中的一个口袋分泌出来的黑水。我们的眼睛都被弄得昏花看不见了。当这团浓黑雾气消散的时候，枪乌贼不见了，跟它一起，我的不幸的同胞也不见了！
What rage then drove us against these monsters! We lost all self-control. Ten or twelve devilfish had overrun the Nautilus's platform and sides. We piled helter-skelter into the thick of these sawed-off snakes, which darted over the platform amid waves of blood and sepia ink. It seemed as if these viscous tentacles grew back like the many heads of Hydra. At every thrust Ned Land's harpoon would plunge into a squid's sea-green eye and burst it. But my daring companion was suddenly toppled by the tentacles of a monster he could not avoid.
那时我们是何等愤怒地来跟这些章鱼拼命呀！我们一点不能自主了。有十条或十二条章鱼侵到平台上和诺第留斯号两边来。我们在平台上，在血泊和墨水中跳动者的一条一条的肉段中间滚来滚去，这些粘性的触须就像多头蛇的头一样，一会又生出来了。尼德-兰的叉每一下都刺人枪鸟贼的海色眼睛中，把眼珠挖出来。可是，我的勇敢同伴不可能躲开，突然被一条怪物的触须卷住掀倒在地。
Oh, my heart nearly exploded with excitement and horror! The squid's fearsome beak was wide open over Ned Land. The poor man was about to be cut in half. I ran to his rescue. But Captain Nemo got there first. His ax disappeared between the two enormous mandibles, and the Canadian, miraculously saved, stood and plunged his harpoon all the way into the devilfish's triple heart.
枪乌贼的厉害可怕的嘴对着尼德-兰张开来。这个不幸的人要被咬为两段了。我急急跑去救他，但尼摩船长走在我的前面，先我动了手。他的斧子砍人两排巨大齿牙里面了，加拿大人出人意料地得救了，站起来，把整条叉刺人章鱼的三个心脏中。
"Tit for tat," Captain Nemo told the Canadian. "I owed it to myself!"
“我应该有这次机会报答您啊！”尼摩船长对加拿大人说。
Ned bowed without answering him.
尼德点点头，没有回答他的话。
This struggle had lasted a quarter of an hour. Defeated, mutilated, battered to death, the monsters finally yielded to us and disappeared beneath the waves.
这次战斗延长至一刻钟之久。怪物打败了，受伤了，死了，最后给我们让出地方来，溜人水中不见了。
Red with blood, motionless by the beacon, Captain Nemo stared at the sea that had swallowed one of his companions, and large tears streamed from his eyes.
尼摩船长全身血红，站在探照灯附近，一动也不动，眼盯着吞噬了他的一个同伴的大海，大滴的泪珠从他的眼里淌了出来