ALTHOUGH I WAS startled by this unexpected descent, I at least have a very clear recollection of my sensations during it.
我雖然由於意外落水而嚇得發慌，但我還是很清楚地記得我當時的感覺。
At first I was dragged about twenty feet under. I'm a good swimmer, without claiming to equal such other authors as Byron and Edgar Allan Poe, who were master divers, and I didn't lose my head on the way down. With two vigorous kicks of the heel, I came back to the surface of the sea.
我首先下沉到二＋英呎深的水裡。我是泅水的好手，但不能跟拜輪①；口埃德力口-坡③那兩位游泳大師相比——我雖沉在水中，神志卻一點沒有昏迷。我兩腳使勁一蹬又浮上了水面。
My first concern was to look for the frigate. Had the crew seen me go overboard? Was the Abraham Lincoln tacking about? Would Commander Farragut put a longboat to sea? Could I hope to be rescued?
我浮出水面來最關心的一件事就是看看戰艦在哪裡。船上是不是有人看見我掉下水了？林肯號是不是改變方向了？法拉古艦長是不是放小艇下海了？我能不能得救？
The gloom was profound. I glimpsed a black mass disappearing eastward, where its running lights were fading out in the distance. It was the frigate. I felt I was done for.
夜色沉黑。我彷彿看到一大塊黑東西在東方漸漸消失了，它的標燈遠遠地熄滅了。這一定是我們的戰艦。我覺得自己沒有希望了。
"Help! Help!" I shouted, swimming desperately toward the Abraham Lincoln.
“救命！救命！”我喊着，兩手拚命划著向林肯號泅去。
My clothes were weighing me down. The water glued them to my body, they were paralyzing my movements. I was sinking! I was suffocating . . . !
我身上的衣服非常礙事。衣服濕了貼在我身上，使我的動作不靈。我要沉下去了！我不能透氣了！……
"Help!"
“救命！”
This was the last shout I gave. My mouth was filling with water. I struggled against being dragged into the depths. . . .
這是我發出的最後呼聲。我嘴裡滿是海水。我極力掙扎，我就要被捲人深淵中了……
Suddenly my clothes were seized by energetic hands, I felt myself pulled abruptly back to the surface of the sea, and yes, I heard these words pronounced in my ear:
忽然我的衣服被一隻很有力的手拉住，我感到自己被托出水面上來了，我聽到，我的確聽到在我耳朵邊響着這樣的聲音：
"If master would oblige me by leaning on my shoulder, master will swim with much greater ease."
“如果先生不嫌不方便，願意靠着我的肩膀，先生便能更從容地游泳。”
With one hand I seized the arm of my loyal Conseil.
我一手抓住我忠實的康塞爾的胳膊。
"You!" I said. "You!"
“是你呀！”我說，“是你呀！”
"Myself," Conseil replied, "and at master's command."
“正是我，”康塞爾答，“我來伺候先生。，
"That collision threw you overboard along with me?"
“就是剛纔的一撞把你跟我同時拋人海中來的嗎？”
"Not at all. But being in master's employ, I followed master."
“不是。為了服侍先生，我就跟着先生下來了！
The fine lad thought this only natural!
這個好人覺得這樣做是很自然的！
"What about the frigate?" I asked.
“戰艦呢？”我問。
"The frigate?" Conseil replied, rolling over on his back. "I think master had best not depend on it to any great extent!"
“戰艦哪！”康塞爾轉過身來回答，“我認為先生不要再指望它了。”
"What are you saying?"
“你說的什麼？”
"I'm saying that just as I jumped overboard, I heard the men at the helm shout, 'Our propeller and rudder are smashed!' "
“我說的是，在我跳入海中的時候，我聽見舵旁邊的人喊：‘舵和螺旋槳都壞了”
"Smashed?"
“都壞了？”
"Yes, smashed by the monster's tusk! I believe it's the sole injury the Abraham Lincoln has sustained. But most inconveniently for us, the ship can no longer steer."
“是的！被那怪物的牙齒咬壞了。我想，林肯號受到的損壞雖然只存這麼一點兒，可是，這種情況對於我們是很不利的，因為船無法掌握方向了。”
"Then we're done for!"
“那麼，我們完了！”
"Perhaps," Conseil replied serenely. "However, we still have a few hours before us, and in a few hours one can do a great many things!"
“也許完了，”康塞爾安靜地回答，“不過，我們還可以支持幾個鐘頭，在幾個鐘頭內，我們可以做不少的事！”
Conseil's unflappable composure cheered me up. I swam more vigorously, but hampered by clothes that were as restricting as a cloak made of lead, I was managing with only the greatest difficulty. Conseil noticed as much.
康塞爾這樣堅定和冷靜，鼓舞了我的力量。我用力地游着，但我的衣服像鉛皮一樣緊緊裹着我，很妨礙我的動作，我覺得很難支持下去。康塞爾發現了這一點。
"Master will allow me to make an incision," he said.
“我想先生一定會允許我把衣服割掉。”他說。
And he slipped an open clasp knife under my clothes, slitting them from top to bottom with one swift stroke. Then he briskly undressed me while I swam for us both.
他在我的衣服下面放入一把刀子，很快的一下，從上至下把衣服割開。然後，他敏捷地替我脫衣服，我就抓住他泅水。
I then did Conseil the same favor, and we continued to "navigate" side by side.
很快，我也給康塞爾脫掉了衣服，我們彼此輪流在水上“航行”。
But our circumstances were no less dreadful. Perhaps they hadn't seen us go overboard; and even if they had, the frigate-- being undone by its rudder--couldn't return to leeward after us. So we could count only on its longboats.
可是，我們的處境仍然十分危險：可能我們掉下海的時候，人家沒有看見，也可能看見了，但因為戰艦的舵壞了。不能回到這邊來救我們。現在我們只有指靠大船上的小艇
Conseil had coolly reasoned out this hypothesis and laid his plans accordingly. An amazing character, this boy; in midocean, this stoic lad seemed right at home!
康塞爾很冷靜地這樣假設，並計划著隨後應做的事。多奇怪的性格！這個冰一般冷的人在這裡好像在自己家裡那樣！
So, having concluded that our sole chance for salvation lay in being picked up by the Abraham Lincoln's longboats, we had to take steps to wait for them as long as possible. Consequently, I decided to divide our energies so we wouldn't both be worn out at the same time, and this was the arrangement: while one of us lay on his back, staying motionless with arms crossed and legs outstretched, the other would swim and propel his partner forward. This towing role was to last no longer than ten minutes, and by relieving each other in this way, we could stay afloat for hours, perhaps even until daybreak.
現在我們唯一的生路，就是希望林肯號放下小艇來救我們，所以我們應該想辦法，儘力支持，時間愈久愈好，等待小艇到來。我於是決定節約使用我們的力量，使兩人不至同時筋疲力盡，下面是我們的辦法：我們一個人朝天躺着，兩臂交叉，兩腿伸直，浮着不動，另一個人泅水把前一人往前推送。做這種“拖船”的工作，每人不能超過十分鐘，我們這樣替換着做，我們就可以在水面浮好幾個鐘頭，也許可以一直支持到天亮。
Slim chance, but hope springs eternal in the human breast! Besides, there were two of us. Lastly, I can vouch--as improbable as it seems--that even if I had wanted to destroy all my illusions, even if I had been willing to "give in to despair," I could not have done so!
這是碰運氣的事！不過希望在人心中總是根深蒂固的！並且我們又是兩個人。最後，我還要肯定一點——這看來像是不可能的——即使我要打破我心中的一切幻想，即使我要“絶望”，現在也辦不到！
The cetacean had rammed our frigate at about eleven o'clock in the evening. I therefore calculated on eight hours of swimming until sunrise. A strenuous task, but feasible, thanks to our relieving each other. The sea was pretty smooth and barely tired us. Sometimes I tried to peer through the dense gloom, which was broken only by the phosphorescent flickers coming from our movements. I stared at the luminous ripples breaking over my hands, shimmering sheets spattered with blotches of bluish gray. It seemed as if we'd plunged into a pool of quicksilver.
戰艦跟那鯨魚衝撞的時間是在夜間十一點鐘左右。所以到太陽升起，我們還得游泳八個小時。我們替換着游，游八小時必然可以做到。海面相當平靜，我們還不至于過度疲勞。有時，我的眼光想看透深沉的黑暗，但什麼也看不見，只有那由於我們游泳動作激起的浪花透出一點閃光來。在我手下破碎的明亮的水波，點綴在鏡子般閃閃的水而上，就好像一塊塊青灰色的金屬片。真可以說，我們是在水銀中游泳了。
Near one o'clock in the morning, I was overcome with tremendous exhaustion. My limbs stiffened in the grip of intense cramps. Conseil had to keep me going, and attending to our self-preservation became his sole responsibility. I soon heard the poor lad gasping; his breathing became shallow and quick. I didn't think he could stand such exertions for much longer.
到早晨一點左右，我感到極端疲倦。我的四肢痙攣得很厲害，漸漸發硬，不能靈活運用了。康塞爾不得不來支持我，我們保全生命的擔子於是完全落在他一一人身上。不久我聽到這個可憐人發喘了；他的呼吸漸漸短促了。我明白他也不能支持很久了。
"Go on! Go on!" I told him.
“丟下我吧！丟下我吧！”我對他說。
"Leave master behind?" he replied. "Never! I'll drown before he does!"
“丟下先生！永遠不能！”他答，“我還要死在先生前頭呢！”
Just then, past the fringes of a large cloud that the wind was driving eastward, the moon appeared. The surface of the sea glistened under its rays. That kindly light rekindled our strength. I held up my head again. My eyes darted to every point of the horizon. I spotted the frigate. It was five miles from us and formed no more than a dark, barely perceptible mass. But as for longboats, not a one in sight!
這時候，有一片厚雲被風吹向東邊去，月亮露出來了。海水在月亮下閃閃發光。這仁慈的月亮重新鼓起了我們的氣力。我的頭又抬起來。我的眼光向天邊各處瞭望。我看見了戰艦。它在離我們五海里的海面，只是模糊不清的漆黑一團。但小艇呢，一隻也沒有！
I tried to call out. What was the use at such a distance! My swollen lips wouldn't let a single sound through. Conseil could still articulate a few words, and I heard him repeat at intervals:
我想叫喊。距離這麼遠，叫喊有什麼用！我的嘴唇腫得發不出聲音。康塞爾還可以說話，我聽到他好幾次這樣喊:
"Help! Help!"
”救命呀！救命呀！”
Ceasing all movement for an instant, we listened. And it may have been a ringing in my ear, from this organ filling with impeded blood, but it seemed to me that Conseil's shout had received an answer back.
我們停一下動作，我們用心聽。儘管我的耳朵充血，發出一種嗡嗡的聲音，但我覺得似乎是有人呼喊，在回答康塞爾的叫喚。
"Did you hear that?" I muttered.
“你聽見嗎？“我低聲說。
"Yes, yes!"
“聽見！聽見！”
And Conseil hurled another desperate plea into space.
康塞爾又向空中發出絶望的呼喊。
This time there could be no mistake! A human voice had answered us! Was it the voice of some poor devil left behind in midocean, some other victim of that collision suffered by our ship? Or was it one of the frigate's longboats, hailing us out of the gloom?
這一次，不可能有錯誤了！是有一個人在回答我們的呼喊！是被拋棄在大海中的受難者嗎？是撞船的另一犧牲者嗎？還是戰艦上的一隻小艇在黑暗中呼喚我們呢？
Conseil made one final effort, and bracing his hands on my shoulders, while I offered resistance with one supreme exertion, he raised himself half out of the water, then fell back exhausted.
康塞爾用盡最後的力量，托住我的肩膀，我儘力抗拒我最後的一次痙攣，他半身浮出水面望望，然後又筋疲力盡地躺下
"What did you see?"
“你看見什麼嗎？”
"I saw . . . ," he muttered, "I saw . . . but we mustn't talk . . . save our strength . . . !"
“我看見……”他低聲說，“我看見……我們不要說話……我們保留我們剩下的力量吧！……”
What had he seen? Then, lord knows why, the thought of the monster came into my head for the first time . . . ! But even so, that voice . . . ? Gone are the days when Jonahs took refuge in the bellies of whales!
他看見了什麼呢？當時我也不知道為什麼忽然想起那怪物來了！……可是那人聲究竟……現在並不是約拿③躲在鯨魚肚子裡的時代了！
Nevertheless, Conseil kept towing me. Sometimes he looked up, stared straight ahead, and shouted a request for directions, which was answered by a voice that was getting closer and closer. I could barely hear it. I was at the end of my strength; my fingers gave out; my hands were no help to me; my mouth opened convulsively, filling with brine; its coldness ran through me; I raised my head one last time, then I collapsed. . . .
不過康塞爾還拖着我。他有時抬起頭來，直往前看，發出呼喊，回答他的聲音越來越近了。我几乎沒有聽見，我的氣力盡了，我的手指都僵了，我的手再不能支持我了：我的嘴怞搐着，一張開就灌滿海水：冷氣侵襲着我。我最後一次抬起頭來，一會兒又沉下去了……
Just then something hard banged against me. I clung to it. Then I felt myself being pulled upward, back to the surface of the water; my chest caved in, and I fainted. . . .
就在這一瞬間，我碰到一個堅實的物體。我就緊靠着它。隨後，我覺得有人拉我，把我拉到水面上來，我的胸部不脹了，我暈過去了……
For certain, I came to quickly, because someone was massaging me so vigorously it left furrows in my flesh. I half opened my eyes. . . .
一定是由於我身體受到有力的摩擦，我才很快甦醒過來。我迷述糊糊地半睜開我的眼睛……
"Conseil!" I muttered.
“康塞爾！”我低聲說。
"Did master ring for me?" Conseil replied.
“先生叫我嗎？”康塞爾答。
Just then, in the last light of a moon settling on the horizon, I spotted a face that wasn't Conseil's but which I recognized at once.
這個時候，月亮正往西沉，在它的最後光芒下，我看到不是康塞爾的臉孔，但我立即認出是誰了。
"Ned!" I exclaimed.
“尼德-蘭！“我喊。
"In person, sir, and still after his prize!" the Canadian replied.
“正是他哩，先生，他是來追他的獎金的！”加拿大人答。
"You were thrown overboard after the frigate's collision?"
“您也是在戰艦被撞的時候被拋人海中的嗎？”
"Yes, professor, but I was luckier than you, and right away I was able to set foot on this floating islet."
“是的，教授，但情形比您好些，我几乎是立刻就能站立在一個浮動的小島上了。”
"Islet?"
“一個小島嗎？”
"Or in other words, on our gigantic narwhale."
“或者更正確地說，是站在你的那只巨大的獨角鯨上。”
"Explain yourself, Ned."
“尼德-蘭，請你講清楚吧。”
"It's just that I soon realized why my harpoon got blunted and couldn't puncture its hide."
“不過，我很快就瞭解我的魚叉為什麼不能傷害它，為什麼碰在它表皮上就碰彎了。”
"Why, Ned, why?"
“為什麼呢？尼德-蘭，為什麼呢？”
"Because, professor, this beast is made of boilerplate steel!"
“教授，因為那個東西是鋼板做的！”
At this point in my story, I need to get a grip on myself, reconstruct exactly what I experienced, and make doubly sure of everything I write.
到這裡，我不能不振作精神，重新回憶一番，並且檢查一下自己以前的想法。
The Canadian's last words caused a sudden upheaval in my brain. I swiftly hoisted myself to the summit of this half-submerged creature or object that was serving as our refuge. I tested it with my foot. Obviously it was some hard, impenetrable substance, not the soft matter that makes up the bodies of our big marine mammals.
加拿大人的最後幾句話使我心中的想法立即轉變了。我很快爬到這個半浸在水中，已經作了我們的臨時避難所的生物（或物體）上面。我用腳踢它，它分明是堅固結實、鑽不透的硬物體，而不是構成海中哺侞類動物的龐大軀體的柔軟物質。
But this hard substance could have been a bony carapace, like those that covered some prehistoric animals, and I might have left it at that and classified this monster among such amphibious reptiles as turtles or alligators.
不過這個堅硬物體可能是一種骨質的-甲殼，跟太古時代動物的甲殼相似，我很可以把這個怪物歸人兩棲的爬蟲類，如龜鱉、鱷魚、遙龍之類。
Well, no. The blackish back supporting me was smooth and polished with no overlapping scales. On impact, it gave off a metallic sonority, and as incredible as this sounds, it seemed, I swear, to be made of riveted plates.
可是！不然！在我腳下的灰黑色的背脊是有光澤的。滑溜溜的，而不是粗糙有鱗的。它被撞時發出金屬的響亮聲，這是那麼不可思議，看來，我只好說它是由螺絲釘鉚成的鐵板製造的了。
No doubts were possible! This animal, this monster, this natural phenomenon that had puzzled the whole scientific world, that had muddled and misled the minds of seamen in both hemispheres, was, there could be no escaping it, an even more astonishing phenomenon-- a phenomenon made by the hand of man.
再不可能懷疑了！這動物，這怪東西，這天然的怪物，它使整個學術界費盡了心血，它使東西兩半球的航海家糊里糊塗，現在應當承認，它是一種更驚人的怪東西，它是人工製造的怪東西。
Even if I had discovered that some fabulous, mythological creature really existed, it wouldn't have given me such a terrific mental jolt. It's easy enough to accept that prodigious things can come from our Creator. But to find, all at once, right before your eyes, that the impossible had been mysteriously achieved by man himself: this staggers the mind!
看到最怪誕、最荒唐、甚至神話式的生物，也不會使我驚駭到這種程度。造物者手中造出來的東西怎麼出奇，也容易瞭解。現在一下子看到那種不可能的事竟是奧妙地由人的雙手實現的，那就不能不使人感到十分驚訝了！
But there was no question now. We were stretched out on the back of some kind of underwater boat that, as far as I could judge, boasted the shape of an immense steel fish. Ned Land had clear views on the issue. Conseil and I could only line up behind him.
現在不容猶豫了。我們現在是躺在一隻潛水船的脊背上，按照我可能的判斷，這船似乎有點像一條巨大的鋼魚。對這，尼德-蘭也早有他的看法：我們——康塞爾和我——只能同意他。
"But then," I said, "does this contraption contain some sort of locomotive mechanism, and a crew to run it?"
“那麼，這只船裡面是不是有一套駕駛機器和一批駕駛人員？”我說。
"Apparently," the harpooner replied. "And yet for the three hours I've lived on this floating island, it hasn't shown a sign of life."
“當然有，”魚叉手答，“不過，我上這浮動小島已三小時了，它還沒有一點動靜。”
"This boat hasn't moved at all?"
“這船一直沒有走動嗎？”
"No, Professor Aronnax. It just rides with the waves, but otherwise it hasn't stirred."
“沒有走動，阿龍納斯先生。它只是隨波飄蕩，而不是“它自己動。”
"But we know that it's certainly gifted with great speed. Now then, since an engine is needed to generate that speed, and a mechanic to run that engine, I conclude: we're saved."
“可是，我們都知道，它移動的速度很大。正因為它有這樣的速度，所以就必然有一套機器，和一批躁縱機器的人，所以，我的結論是……我們是得救了。”
"Humph!" Ned Land put in, his tone denoting reservations.
“晤！”尼德-蘭帶著保留的語氣說。
Just then, as if to take my side in the argument, a bubbling began astern of this strange submersible--whose drive mechanism was obviously a propeller--and the boat started to move. We barely had time to hang on to its topside, which emerged about eighty centimeters above water. Fortunately its speed was not excessive.
這時候，好像是為了要證明我的論據是對的，這個奇異東西的後面沸騰起來，它現在開行了，推動它的分明是那推進器。我們趕快緊緊把住它那浮出水面約八十釐米的上層。還算運氣，它的速度並不十分快。
"So long as it navigates horizontally," Ned Land muttered, "I've no complaints. But if it gets the urge to dive, I wouldn't give $2.00 for my hide!"
它如果就這樣在水平面上行駛，我倒一點不在乎，”尼德-蘭低聲說，“但是，如果它忽然異想天開沉到水底下去，那我的性命就靠不住了！”
The Canadian might have quoted a much lower price. So it was imperative to make contact with whatever beings were confined inside the plating of this machine. I searched its surface for an opening or a hatch, a "manhole," to use the official term; but the lines of rivets had been firmly driven into the sheet-iron joins and were straight and uniform.
加拿大人說得一點不錯。所以，最要緊的是趕快想辦法跟裡面的人取得聯繫。我想在它上層找到一個開口，一塊蓋板，用專門術語來說，找到一個“人孔”；但一行行的螺絲釘很清楚、很均勻，把鋼板銜接得十分結實，無縫可尋。
Moreover, the moon then disappeared and left us in profound darkness. We had to wait for daylight to find some way of getting inside this underwater boat.
而且這時，月亮又消逝了，我們是在一片深沉的黑暗中。只好等到天亮，才能想法進入這只潛水船的內部。
So our salvation lay totally in the hands of the mysterious helmsmen steering this submersible, and if it made a dive, we were done for! But aside from this occurring, I didn't doubt the possibility of our making contact with them. In fact, if they didn't produce their own air, they inevitably had to make periodic visits to the surface of the ocean to replenish their oxygen supply. Hence the need for some opening that put the boat's interior in contact with the atmosphere.
所以，我們的命運是完全由指揮這機器的神秘的領航人的意思來決定了。如果他們潛入水中，我們便完了！除了這種情形，那我並不懷疑跟他們取得聯繫的可能性。正是，如果他們不能造空氣，他們一定要常常到洋面上來，更換他們呼吸的空氣。所以，船上層必然有一個孔，使船內部可以跟外間的大氣互相交流。
As for any hope of being rescued by Commander Farragut, that had to be renounced completely. We were being swept westward, and I estimate that our comparatively moderate speed reached twelve miles per hour. The propeller churned the waves with mathematical regularity, sometimes emerging above the surface and throwing phosphorescent spray to great heights.
至于希望得到法拉古艦長來救的想法，現在要完全放棄了。我們被拖到西方去，我估計船的速度相當緩慢，每小時約十二海里。船的推進器攪動海水，十分規律，有時船浮出一些，向高空噴出磷光的水柱。
Near four o'clock in the morning, the submersible picked up speed. We could barely cope with this dizzying rush, and the waves battered us at close range. Fortunately Ned's hands came across a big mooring ring fastened to the topside of this sheet-iron back, and we all held on for dear life.
到早晨四點左右，這船的速度增加了。我們被拖得頭暈眼花，有點吃不消了，同時海浪又直接向我們打來。很幸運，尼德-蘭一下子摸到了一個釘在鋼背上的大環，我們就牢牢地輓住它，才不至滑倒。
Finally this long night was over. My imperfect memories won't let me recall my every impression of it. A single detail comes back to me. Several times, during various lulls of wind and sea, I thought I heard indistinct sounds, a sort of elusive harmony produced by distant musical chords. What was the secret behind this underwater navigating, whose explanation the whole world had sought in vain? What beings lived inside this strange boat? What mechanical force allowed it to move about with such prodigious speed?
最後，長夜過去了。我的不完全的回憶不容我將當時的印象完全寫出來。單有一件小事現在還可以記起來。就是當風浪比較平靜的時候，我似乎幾次都聽到有模糊不清的聲音，好像是從遠方傳來的不可捉摸的樂曲的和聲。全世界的人都無法解釋的那水底航行的秘密是怎麼一回事呢？生活在這只-怪船裡的是怎樣的人呢？怎樣的機械使它行動有這樣驚人的速度呢？
Daylight appeared. The morning mists surrounded us, but they soon broke up. I was about to proceed with a careful examination of the hull, whose topside formed a sort of horizontal platform, when I felt it sinking little by little.
天亮了。朝霧籠罩着我們，但不久就消散了。我正要仔細觀察一下上層形成平台的船殻的時候，我覺得船漸漸下沉了。
"Oh, damnation!" Ned Land shouted, stamping his foot on the resonant sheet iron. "Open up there, you antisocial navigators!"
“喂！鬼東西！”尼德-蘭喊着，用腳狠踢鋼板，“開門吧，不好客的航海人！”
But it was difficult to make yourself heard above the deafening beats of the propeller. Fortunately this submerging movement stopped.
但在推進器撥水的隆隆聲響中間，想叫人聽到他的活是不容易的。很幸運，船一會兒又不往下沉了。
From inside the boat, there suddenly came noises of iron fastenings pushed roughly aside. One of the steel plates flew up, a man appeared, gave a bizarre yell, and instantly disappeared.
突然，一片猛然推動鐵板的聲音從船裡面發出來。一塊鐵板掀起了，出來一個人，這人怪叫了一聲，立即又進去不見了。
A few moments later, eight strapping fellows appeared silently, their faces like masks, and dragged us down into their fearsome machine.
不久，八個又高又大的壯漢，蒙着臉，一聲不響地走出來，把我們拉進了他們的可怕機器中。