DURING THE NIGHT of December 27-28, the Nautilus left the waterways of Vanikoro behind with extraordinary speed. Its heading was southwesterly, and in three days it had cleared the 750 leagues that separated La Pérouse's islands from the southeastern tip of Papua.
12月27日至28日夜間，諾第留斯號超速度急行，離開了萬尼科羅群島海面。它向西北方開行，在三天之內，它就走過了從拉-白魯斯群島至巴布亞群島東南尖角的七百五十里。
On January 1, 1868, bright and early, Conseil joined me on the platform.
1868年1.1日大清早，康塞爾在平台上向我走來，這個老實人對我說：
"Will master," the gallant lad said to me, "allow me to wish him a happy new year?"
“先生，我給您拜年，祝您一年順利，好嗎？”
"Good heavens, Conseil, it's just like old times in my office at the Botanical Gardens in Paris! I accept your kind wishes and I thank you for them. Only, I'd like to know what you mean by a 'happy year' under the circumstances in which we're placed. Is it a year that will bring our imprisonment to an end, or a year that will see this strange voyage continue?"
“那還用問嗎，康塞爾，就跟我在巴黎，在植物園中我的工作室中那樣。我接受你的祝賀，我感謝你。不過我要問你，在我們目前所處的情況下，你說的一年順利是什麼意思。這是將使我們在船上的囚禁結束的一年呢？還是仍然繼續這奇異的遊歷旅行的一年呢？”
"Ye gods," Conseil replied, "I hardly know what to tell master. We're certainly seeing some unusual things, and for two months we've had no time for boredom. The latest wonder is always the most astonishing, and if this progression keeps up, I can't imagine what its climax will be. In my opinion, we'll never again have such an opportunity."
“我的天，”康塞爾回答，我不知道怎樣對先生說才好。我們的確是看到許多希奇古怪的事物，兩個月來，我們一點沒有感到厭煩。最近一次離奇的事也是最驚人的事，長此以往，我真不知道將來怎樣結局。可是我覺得我們永遠找不到這種機會了。”-
"Never, Conseil."
“永遠找不到了，康塞爾。”
"Besides, Mr. Nemo really lives up to his Latin name, since he couldn't be less in the way if he didn't exist."
“此外尼摩先生，正如他的拉丁語的名字所表示的意義一樣，好像並無其人似的，一點也不礙事。”
"True enough, Conseil."
“康塞爾，你的意思是怎麼說呢？”
"Therefore, with all due respect to master, I think a 'happy year' would be a year that lets us see everything--"
“如果先生讓我說，我想順利的一年，就是可以讓我們看見一切的一年……”
"Everything, Conseil? No year could be that long. But what does Ned Land think about all this?"
，‘康塞爾，你想看見一切嗎？那需要的時間太長久了小尼德-蘭的想法又怎樣呢？”
"Ned Land's thoughts are exactly the opposite of mine," Conseil replied. "He has a practical mind and a demanding stomach. He's tired of staring at fish and eating them day in and day out. This shortage of wine, bread, and meat isn't suitable for an upstanding Anglo-Saxon, a man accustomed to beefsteak and unfazed by regular doses of brandy or gin!"
“尼德。蘭的想法恰好跟我相反，”康塞爾回答，“他是很實際的人，同時食量很大。看魚和吃魚，並不能使他滿意。沒有酒、麵包和肉，對一個真正的薩克遜人來說，是不舒服的，因為牛排是他的家常便飯，喝適量的白蘭地或真尼酒並不使他害怕！”
"For my part, Conseil, that doesn't bother me in the least, and I've adjusted very nicely to the diet on board."
“康塞爾，在我個人，使我苦惱的並不是吃喝問題。我對於船上的飲食條件很能適應，很快就習慣了。”
"So have I," Conseil replied. "Accordingly, I think as much about staying as Mr. Land about making his escape. Thus, if this new year isn't a happy one for me, it will be for him, and vice versa. No matter what happens, one of us will be pleased. So, in conclusion, I wish master to have whatever his heart desires."
“我也一樣，”康塞爾回答，“因此，我想留下，尼德。蘭師傅卻想逃走，所以，新開始的這一年，如果對我是不順利的，那麼對他將是順利的了；反過來也是這樣。那麼我們兩人中總有一個滿意的人。最後我總結我的諾，我敬祝先生隨心順意。”
"Thank you, Conseil. Only I must ask you to postpone the question of new year's gifts, and temporarily accept a hearty handshake in their place. That's all I have on me."
“謝謝，康塞爾，不過我要你把新年送禮的問題擱下來，現在暫且好好握一下手作為新年的賀儀。我目前只有這個在身邊。”
"Master has never been more generous," Conseil replied.
“先生從沒有像現在這樣慷慨。“康塞爾回答。
And with that, the gallant lad went away.
說完這話，這老實人走開了。
By January 2 we had fared 11,340 miles, hence 5,250 leagues, from our starting point in the seas of Japan. Before the Nautilus's spur there stretched the dangerous waterways of the Coral Sea, off the northeast coast of Australia. Our boat cruised along a few miles away from that daunting shoal where Captain Cook's ships wellnigh miscarried on June 10, 1770. The craft that Cook was aboard charged into some coral rock, and if his vessel didn't go down, it was thanks to the circumstance that a piece of coral broke off in the collision and plugged the very hole it had made in the hull.
＝月2日，自我們從日本海出發到現在，我們已經走了一萬一千三百四十海里，即五千二百五十里了。現在諾第留斯號的沖角面前望見的，就是澳大利亞洲東北邊岸珊瑚海的危險海面。我們的船在距離幾海里遠的地方沿暗礁脈駛過去；1770年6月10日，庫克率領的船几乎在這裡失事沉沒，庫克自己乘的船碰在一座岩石上，船所以不沉，那是由於一種特殊的情形，就是有一塊珊瑚石因船撿上去而崩下來，堵在被衝破的船身上，船因此得以保全。
I would have been deeply interested in visiting this long, 360-league reef, against which the ever-surging sea broke with the fearsome intensity of thunderclaps. But just then the Nautilus's slanting fins took us to great depths, and I could see nothing of those high coral walls. I had to rest content with the various specimens of fish brought up by our nets. Among others I noted some long-finned albacore, a species in the genus Scomber, as big as tuna, bluish on the flanks, and streaked with crosswise stripes that disappear when the animal dies. These fish followed us in schools and supplied our table with very dainty flesh. We also caught a large number of yellow-green gilthead, half a decimeter long and tasting like dorado, plus some flying gurnards, authentic underwater swallows that, on dark nights, alternately streak air and water with their phosphorescent glimmers. Among mollusks and zoophytes, I found in our trawl's meshes various species of alcyonarian coral, sea urchins, hammer shells, spurred-star shells, wentletrap snails, horn shells, glass snails. The local flora was represented by fine floating algae: sea tangle, and kelp from the genus Macrocystis, saturated with the mucilage their pores perspire, from which I selected a wonderful Nemastoma geliniaroidea, classifying it with the natural curiosities in the museum.
我很想看一看這條長三百六十里的暗礁脈，暗礁脈上常有波濤洶湧的海水衝擊，奔騰澎湃，十分兇猛，好像隆隆的雷聲。可是，這個時候，諾第留斯號轉動縱斜機板，把我們帶到水底很深的地方，我沒有法子看到這座珊瑚造成的長城。我只能看我們的魚網所打到的各種不同的魚類。我在打到的許多魚類中間，看到了嘉蒙魚，這是跟鯨魚一般大的鰭魚類，兩側淺藍色，身上有橫斜的帶紋，魚逐漸長大，帶紋也就隱役不見了；這類魚成群結隊地陪伴着我們，把特別美味可口的肉供應我們。魚網又打到許多青花綢魚，這魚長半分米，味道像海絆鯉。又打到錐角飛魚，這魚是真正的海底飛燕，在黑夜的時候，放出磷光，輪流在空中和水中照耀。我又在魚網眼上得到了屬於軟體類和植蟲類的各種不同的翡翠蟲、海渭、糙魚、馬刺魚、羅盤魚、櫻子魚、硝子魚。魚網打到的植物花草有飄浮的美麗海藻，刀片藻和大囊藻。這種藻身上有從細孔中分泌出的一種粘液。在這種海藻裡面，我又采得一種十分好看的膠質海藻，這海藻在博物館中歸人天然珍寶的一類。
On January 4, two days after crossing the Coral Sea, we raised the coast of Papua. On this occasion Captain Nemo told me that he intended to reach the Indian Ocean via the Torres Strait. This was the extent of his remarks. Ned saw with pleasure that this course would bring us, once again, closer to European seas.
走過珊瑚海兩天後，1月4日，我們望見了巴布亞島海岸。這時候，尼摩船長告訴我，他打算經托列斯海峽到印度洋去。此外，他什麼也不說。尼德-蘭很高興，覺得這條路是漸漸使他跟歐洲海面相接近了。
The Torres Strait is regarded as no less dangerous for its bristling reefs than for the savage inhabitants of its coasts. It separates Queensland from the huge island of Papua, also called New Guinea.
托列斯海峽之所以被認為是很危險的地帶，不僅由於有刺蝟一般的暗礁，而且由於住在這一帶海岸的土人。托列斯海峽把巴布亞島（又名新幾內亞島），跟新荷蘭島分開了。
Papua is 400 leagues long by 130 leagues wide, with a surface area of 40,000 geographic leagues. It's located between latitude 0 degrees 19' and 10 degrees 2' south, and between longitude 128 degrees 23' and 146 degrees 15'. At noon, while the chief officer was taking the sun's altitude, I spotted the summits of the Arfak Mountains, rising in terraces and ending in sharp peaks.
已布亞島長約四百里，寬約一百三十里，面積約四萬平方裡。它位於南緯0度19分和10度之分，西經128度23分和146度15分之間。正午，船副來測太陽高度的時候，我望見阿化斯群山的高峰，一層一層地高起，絶頂是峻峭的山峰。
Discovered in 1511 by the Portuguese Francisco Serrano, these shores were successively visited by Don Jorge de Meneses in 1526, by Juan de Grijalva in 1527, by the Spanish general Alvaro de Saavedra in 1528, by Inigo Ortiz in 1545, by the Dutchman Schouten in 1616, by Nicolas Sruick in 1753, by Tasman, Dampier, Fumel, Carteret, Edwards, Bougainville, Cook, McClure, and Thomas Forrest, by Rear Admiral d'Entrecasteaux in 1792, by Louis-Isidore Duperrey in 1823, and by Captain Dumont d'Urville in 1827. "It's the heartland of the blacks who occupy all Malaysia," Mr. de Rienzi has said; and I hadn't the foggiest inkling that sailors' luck was about to bring me face to face with these daunting Andaman aborigines.
這島于1511年為葡萄牙人佛朗西斯。薛郎諾所發現，以後接着來的，1526年有唐-約瑟、-德-米納色斯）152寧年有格利那瓦，1528年有西班牙將軍阿爾瓦-德-薩維德拉，1545年有尤哥-奧鐵茲，1616年有荷蘭人舒田，1753．年有尼古拉。蘇留克。塔斯曼。胡每爾。嘉鐵列、愛德華、布幾威爾、庫克、賀列斯特，1792年有當土爾加一斯朵，1823年有鬥比列，1827年有杜蒙-居維爾；雷恩茲說過：“巴布亞是佔據全部馬來亞的黑人的集中地。”我很相信，這次航行的偶然機會，已經把我拉到可怕的安達孟尼人面前來了。
So the Nautilus hove before the entrance to the world's most dangerous strait, a passageway that even the boldest navigators hesitated to clear: the strait that Luis Vaez de Torres faced on returning from the South Seas in Melanesia, the strait in which sloops of war under Captain Dumont d'Urville ran aground in 1840 and nearly miscarried with all hands. And even the Nautilus, rising superior to every danger in the sea, was about to become intimate with its coral reefs.
諾第留斯號於是駛到地球上最危險的海峽口上來了，這海峽，就是很大膽的航海家也差點兒不敢冒險通過，路易-已茲-德-托列斯從南方海上回到美拉尼西亞群島時，曾經冒險穿過，1840年，杜蒙-居維爾的幾艘船擱淺在那裡，几乎全部都要沉沒了。諾第留斯號雖然可以超越海中所有的危險，現在也要來試試這珊瑚礁石群的厲害了。
The Torres Strait is about thirty-four leagues wide, but it's obstructed by an incalculable number of islands, islets, breakers, and rocks that make it nearly impossible to navigate. Consequently, Captain Nemo took every desired precaution in crossing it. Floating flush with the water, the Nautilus moved ahead at a moderate pace. Like a cetacean's tail, its propeller churned the waves slowly.
托列斯海峽約有三十四里寬，但有無數的小島、島嶼、暗礁和岩石堵在裡面，給航行帶來很多困難，几乎沒法前進。因此，尼摩船長為了安全通過這海峽，採取了必要的措施。諾第留斯號浮在水而上前進，它的推進器像鯨魚類的尾巴一般，慢慢地衝開海浪。
Taking advantage of this situation, my two companions and I found seats on the ever-deserted platform. In front of us stood the pilothouse, and unless I'm extremely mistaken, Captain Nemo must have been inside, steering his Nautilus himself.
乘這個機會，我的兩個伺伴和我都走上總是沒有人的平台上來。在我們面前是領航人的籠間，如果我沒有搞錯，那是尼摩船長本人在裡面，他親自指揮諾第留斯號。
Under my eyes I had the excellent charts of the Torres Strait that had been surveyed and drawn up by the hydrographic engineer Vincendon Dumoulin and Sublieutenant (now Admiral) Coupvent-Desbois, who were part of Dumont d'Urville's general staff during his final voyage to circumnavigate the globe. These, along with the efforts of Captain King, are the best charts for untangling the snarl of this narrow passageway, and I consulted them with scrupulous care.
我面前是很詳盡的托列斯海峽地圖，這圖由水力工程師，從前是古往-德波亞號的海軍少尉，現在是海軍上將的文生唐-杜日蘭所編製，他在杜蒙、-居維爾的最後一次環球航行期間，曾是參謀人員之＝。這地圖跟金船長制的都是最完善的地圖，可以把它當作良好的嚮導來避免危險，通過這狹窄的水道，我很小心地查看這些地圖）
Around the Nautilus the sea was boiling furiously. A stream of waves, bearing from southeast to northwest at a speed of two and a half miles per hour, broke over heads of coral emerging here and there.
在諾第留斯號周圍，海水洶湧湃澎，翻滾沸騰。海浪從東南奔向西北，以兩海里半的速度沖在處處露出尖峰的珊瑚礁上。
"That's one rough sea!" Ned Land told me.
“真是凶惡的海！”尼德-蘭對我說。
"Abominable indeed," I replied, "and hardly suitable for a craft like the Nautilus."
“對，是可憎恨的海，”我回答，“像諾第留斯號這樣的船都不好應付呢。”
"That damned captain," the Canadian went on, "must really be sure of his course, because if these clumps of coral so much as brush us, they'll rip our hull into a thousand pieces!"
“那位怪船長，”加拿大人又說，“一定是十分熟悉他走的航路，因為我看見有一堆對珊瑚礁石，一不小心，觸上了可就幢的粉碎。”
The situation was indeed dangerous, but as if by magic, the Nautilus seemed to glide right down the middle of these rampaging reefs. It didn't follow the exact course of the Zealous and the new Astrolabe, which had proved so ill-fated for Captain Dumont d'Urville. It went more to the north, hugged the Murray Islands, and returned to the southwest near Cumberland Passage. I thought it was about to charge wholeheartedly into this opening, but it went up to the northwest, through a large number of little-known islands and islets, and steered toward Tound Island and the Bad Channel.
對，我們所處的情形十分危險，但諾第留斯號好像有了魔法、在這些凶險的暗礁中間安然滑過去。它並不沿著渾天儀號和熱心女號所走的航線駛去，那是使杜蒙-居維爾受到過厲害打擊的。它從北邊一點走，沿著莫利島，再回到西南方，向甘伯蘭海道駛去。我以為它分明是要走這海道了，但忽然它又回向西北方，穿過許多人不知道的小島和島嶼，駛往通提島和凶險的水道。
I was already wondering if Captain Nemo, rash to the point of sheer insanity, wanted his ship to tackle the narrows where Dumont d'Urville's two sloops of war had gone aground, when he changed direction a second time and cut straight to the west, heading toward Gueboroa Island.
我心中正想，尼摩船長簡直粗心到發瘋了，要把他的船走人杜蒙-居維爾的船几乎要沉沒的險道中去。忽然它又第二次改變方向，正指着西方，向格波羅爾島開行。
By then it was three o'clock in the afternoon. The current was slacking off, it was almost full tide. The Nautilus drew near this island, which I can see to this day with its remarkable fringe of screw pines. We hugged it from less than two miles out.
時間是下午三點。波浪洶誦，大海正在高潮。諾第留斯號走近這個島，就是現在，我眼前還現出這島上很好看的班達樹林的邊緣呢。我們沿島走了兩里左右。
A sudden jolt threw me down. The Nautilus had just struck a reef, and it remained motionless, listing slightly to port.
突然一下的衝擊把我震倒了。諾第留斯號碰上了一座暗礁，它停住不動，靠左舷輕微地擱淺下來。
When I stood up, I saw Captain Nemo and his chief officer on the platform. They were examining the ship's circumstances, exchanging a few words in their incomprehensible dialect.
當我站起來時，我看見平台上來了尼摩船長和他的船副。他們將船的情形檢查一下，彼此用我不懂的語言說了幾句話。
Here is what those circumstances entailed. Two miles to starboard lay Gueboroa Island, its coastline curving north to west like an immense arm. To the south and east, heads of coral were already on display, left uncovered by the ebbing waters. We had run aground at full tide and in one of those seas whose tides are moderate, an inconvenient state of affairs for floating the Nautilus off. However, the ship hadn't suffered in any way, so solidly joined was its hull. But although it could neither sink nor split open, it was in serious danger of being permanently attached to these reefs, and that would have been the finish of Captain Nemo's submersible.
我們目前的情形是這樣：距右舷兩海里遠的地方是格波羅爾島，這島的海岸從北至西作迴環形，好像一隻巨大的胳膊。南邊和東邊，已經看見一些由於退潮露出的珊瑚石尖我們的船是整個地擱淺在海裡面，而這裡的潮水平常不高，這對於諾第留斯號要重回大海是很不利的。不過船、井沒有損壞，因為船身非常堅固。但是，雖然它沒有沉沒，‘沒有損壞，可是它免不了要永遠擱淺在暗礁上，尼摩船長的潛水船不是就完蛋了嗎？
I was mulling this over when the captain approached, cool and calm, forever in control of himself, looking neither alarmed nor annoyed.
我正在這樣想的時候，尼摩船長很冷靜，好像一點也不激動，一點也不失望地走近前來，他總是那樣胸有成竹。
"An accident?" I said to him.
“出了什麼事故嗎？我對他說。
"No, an incident," he answered me.
“不，是偶然的事件。”他回答我
"But an incident," I replied, "that may oblige you to become a resident again of these shores you avoid!"
“是偶然的事件，”我又說，“但它或者要使您重新做您不願意做的陸上居民呢！”
Captain Nemo gave me an odd look and gestured no. Which told me pretty clearly that nothing would ever force him to set foot on a land mass again. Then he said:
尼摩船長拿奇異的眼光注視我，做一個否定的手勢。這就足夠清楚地對我說明，沒有什麼東西能夠再強迫他又回到陸地上去。一會兒他又對我說：
"No, Professor Aronnax, the Nautilus isn't consigned to perdition. It will still carry you through the midst of the ocean's wonders. Our voyage is just beginning, and I've no desire to deprive myself so soon of the pleasure of your company."
“阿龍納斯先生，諾第留斯號現在還沒有損壞呢。”它仍然可以送您去看海洋的秘密。我們的海底旅行僅僅是一個開端呢，我很榮幸能夠陪伴您，我不願讓旅行這樣快就結束了。”
"Even so, Captain Nemo," I went on, ignoring his ironic turn of phrase, "the Nautilus has run aground at a moment when the sea is full. Now then, the tides aren't strong in the Pacific, and if you can't unballast the Nautilus, which seems impossible to me, I don't see how it will float off."
“尼摩船長，”我並沒有注意他這一句話的諷刺語氣，我又說，“但諾第留斯號是在高潮來的時候擱淺了。一般說來，太平洋的潮水上漲時是不高的，如果您不能把諾第留斯號浮起來——在我看來這是不可能的——那我就看不到它有什麼法子，能夠離開暗礁，重回大海。”
"You're right, professor, the Pacific tides aren't strong," Captain Nemo replied. "But in the Torres Strait, one still finds a meter-and-a-half difference in level between high and low seas. Today is January 4, and in five days the moon will be full. Now then, I'll be quite astonished if that good-natured satellite doesn't sufficiently raise these masses of water and do me a favor for which I'll be forever grateful."
“太平洋的潮水漲得不高，教授，您說得對，”尼摩船長回答我，“但是托列斯海峽，高潮和低潮之間，仍然有一米半的差別。今天是1月4日，過五天月亮就圓了。如果這個討人喜歡的月球，不掀起足夠的水量，不給我出一把力做我只想由它來做的這件好事，我才十分奇怪呢！”
This said, Captain Nemo went below again to the Nautilus's interior, followed by his chief officer. As for our craft, it no longer stirred, staying as motionless as if these coral polyps had already walled it in with their indestructible cement.
說完了這話，尼摩船長和跟在他後面的船副，又一同回到諾第留斯號船中。至于船，仍然是停着不動，好像那些珊瑚腔腸類動物已經把它們的牢固的洋灰在船身上堆砌起來了：
"Well, sir?" Ned Land said to me, coming up after the captain's departure.
“先生，，怎麼樣呢？”尼德，蘭在船長走開後，到我面俞來對我說……
"Well, Ned my friend, we'll serenely wait for the tide on the 9th, because it seems the moon will have the good nature to float us away!"
“尼德好朋友，是這樣，我們要耐心等待9日潮水到來，因為那一天，好像月球會很慇勤樂意地把我們送回大海上去。”
"As simple as that?"
“是這樣嗎？”
"As simple as that."
“是這樣。”
"So our captain isn't going to drop his anchors, put his engines on the chains, and do anything to haul us off?"
“這位船長不把錨拋到海中去，不把鏈索結住機器，準備把船拉出來嗎？”
"Since the tide will be sufficient," Conseil replied simply.
“既然潮水可以做到，當然用不着了。”康塞爾簡單地回答
The Canadian stared at Conseil, then he shrugged his shoulders. The seaman in him was talking now.
加拿大人看著康塞爾，然後他聳聳兩肩，這是一個水手要表示他是內行的意思。
"Sir," he answered, "you can trust me when I say this hunk of iron will never navigate again, on the seas or under them. It's only fit to be sold for its weight. So I think it's time we gave Captain Nemo the slip."
“先生，”他又說，“您一定可以相信我，我告訴您，這堆鐵塊再也不能在海面上或海底下航行了。現在除了把它論斤賣掉外，沒有別的用處了。所以，我認為跟尼摩船長不辭而別的時候到了。”
"Ned my friend," I replied, "unlike you, I haven't given up on our valiant Nautilus, and in four days we'll know where we stand on these Pacific tides. Besides, an escape attempt might be timely if we were in sight of the coasts of England or Provence, but in the waterways of Papua it's another story. And we'll always have that as a last resort if the Nautilus doesn't right itself, which I'd regard as a real calamity."
“尼德老朋友，”我回答，“我不跟您一樣想，對於這只勇敢的諾第留斯號我並不完全絶望，在四天內，我們可能有我們所指望的太平洋潮水到來。此外，如果我們是靠近英國 或法國南部海岸。逃走計劃可能是很及時的，但目前是在巴布亞海面，那就不同了；並且，如果諾第留斯號真沒有法子脫身，然後再採取這個最後辦法，也並不算遲，我總覺得逃走是很嚴重的事。”
"But couldn't we at least get the lay of the land?" Ned went on. "Here's an island. On this island there are trees. Under those trees land animals loaded with cutlets and roast beef, which I'd be happy to sink my teeth into."
“難道我們不可以探一探這地方的情形嗎？”尼德-蘭又說，“這是一個島，在這島上有樹。樹下有地上的動物，動物身上有大塊大片的肉，我真想咬它們幾口呢。”
"In this instance our friend Ned is right," Conseil said, "and I side with his views. Couldn't master persuade his friend Captain Nemo to send the three of us ashore, if only so our feet don't lose the knack of treading on the solid parts of our planet?"
“這點，尼德-蘭老朋友說得對，”康塞爾說，“我贊同他的意見。先生難道不能問一問閣下的朋友尼摩船長，把我們送到島上去，就是單單讓我們的腳再踩踏一下我們地球上的陸地，讓我們不要忘記了在陸地上行走的習慣也好啊？”
"I can ask him," I replied, "but he'll refuse."
“我可以去問問他，”我回答，“恐怕他不會答應。”
"Let master take the risk," Conseil said, "and we'll know where we stand on the captain's affability."
“請先生試一試好了，”康塞爾說，“我們對於船長的好意非常感謝，決不至有什麼意外行動。”
Much to my surprise, Captain Nemo gave me the permission I asked for, and he did so with grace and alacrity, not even exacting my promise to return on board. But fleeing across the New Guinea territories would be extremely dangerous, and I wouldn't have advised Ned Land to try it. Better to be prisoners aboard the Nautilus than to fall into the hands of Papuan natives.
完全出我意料之外，尼摩船長居然答應了我的請求。他並且很慇勤、很禮貌地答應了我，不要我保證一定回到船上來。本來在新幾內亞島上逃亡是很危險的，我決然不讓尼德-蘭去嘗試。落在巴布亞土人手裡，還不如在諾第留斯號船上作俘虜好些。
The skiff was put at our disposal for the next morning. I hardly needed to ask whether Captain Nemo would be coming along. I likewise assumed that no crewmen would be assigned to us, that Ned Land would be in sole charge of piloting the longboat. Besides, the shore lay no more than two miles off, and it would be child's play for the Canadian to guide that nimble skiff through those rows of reefs so ill-fated for big ships.
那只小艇可以供我們明天早晨使用。我不問尼摩船長是不是跟我們一同去。我並且想，船上可能沒有人來給我們划艇，駕駛小艇的事要尼德-蘭一人單獨來擔任了。此外，我們離岸至多只有兩海里遠，在暗礁之間的水路中，大船行駛是十分凶險的，但劃一隻輕快的小艇，對加拿大人來說，算不得一回事，這和玩耍一樣。
The next day, January 5, after its deck paneling was opened, the skiff was wrenched from its socket and launched to sea from the top of the platform. Two men were sufficient for this operation. The oars were inside the longboat and we had only to take our seats.
第二天，1月5日，小艇解開，從它的窩中出來，由平台上放人海中。兩個人就可以做這些動作。槳原來就是在艇中的，我們只須上去坐好就八點，我們帶了電氣槍和刀斧，從諾第留斯號下來，上了小艇。
At eight o'clock, armed with rifles and axes, we pulled clear of the Nautilus. The sea was fairly calm. A mild breeze blew from shore. In place by the oars, Conseil and I rowed vigorously, and Ned steered us into the narrow lanes between the breakers. The skiff handled easily and sped swiftly.
海面相當平靜，有微風從地上吹來。康塞爾和我坐在槳邊，我們使勁劃，尼德-蘭在暗礁間的狹小水路中間指揮着舵。小艇很順利地走去，並且走得很快。
Ned Land couldn't conceal his glee. He was a prisoner escaping from prison and never dreaming he would need to reenter it.
尼德-蘭簡直不能抑制他的快樂心情。他是從監牢中逃出來的囚人，他全沒想到他還要回到監牢裡面去。
"Meat!" he kept repeating. "Now we'll eat red meat! Actual game! A real mess call, by thunder! I'm not saying fish aren't good for you, but we mustn't overdo 'em, and a slice of fresh venison grilled over live coals will be a nice change from our standard fare."
“吃大肉！”他一再說，“我們要去吃大肉了，吃好吃的大鈎了！吃真正的野味了！沒有麵包，也成！我不說魚是不好吃的東西，但也不能整天吃，一塊新鮮的野味，紅火上烤起來，是可以好好地換換我們的口味呢。”
"You glutton," Conseil replied, "you're making my mouth water!"
“真饞嘴：”康塞爾回答，“他說得我嘴裡不停地流口水呢！”
"It remains to be seen," I said, "whether these forests do contain game, and if the types of game aren't of such size that they can hunt the hunter."
“我們必須知道，”我說，“島上林中是不是有很多野味，這些野味是不是身材高大，勇猛得可以獵取打獵人的呀。”
"Fine, Professor Aronnax!" replied the Canadian, whose teeth seemed to be as honed as the edge of an ax. "But if there's no other quadruped on this island, I'll eat tiger--tiger sirloin."
“對！阿龍納斯先生，”加拿大人回答，他的牙齒磨得像刀一般尖利了，“如果這島上除了老虎外沒有別的四足獸，那我要吃老虎，吃老虎的腰窩肉。”
"Our friend Ned grows disturbing," Conseil replied.
“尼德-蘭好朋友，真是有點令人害怕呢。”康塞爾回答。
"Whatever it is," Ned Land went on, "any animal having four feet without feathers, or two feet with feathers, will be greeted by my very own one-gun salute."
“不管怎樣，”尼德-蘭又說，“所有沒有羽毛的四足獸，或所有有羽毛的兩腳鳥，一出來就將受到我第一聲槍響的敬禮。”
"Oh good!" I replied. "The reckless Mr. Land is at it again!"
“好嘛！“我回答，“尼德-蘭師傅又粗心大意起來了！”
"Don't worry, Professor Aronnax, just keep rowing!" the Canadian replied. "I only need twenty-five minutes to serve you one of my own special creations."
“阿龍納斯先生，不用害怕，”加拿大人回答，“請好好地劃，不要二十五分鐘的時間我就可以照我的烹調法給您弄盤肉來。”
By 8:30 the Nautilus's skiff had just run gently aground on a sandy strand, after successfully clearing the ring of coral that surrounds Gueboroa Island.
八點半，諾第留斯號的小艇穿過了圍繞格波羅爾島得珊瑚石帶，在沙灘上慢慢停下來了。