Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

海底二萬里

   CHAPTER 18

   第二部 第十八章

   The Devilfish

   章魚

   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.

   在這幾天內,諾第留斯號經常躲開美洲iM岸。很顯然,它不想到墨西哥灣水中,或安的列斯群島海中來。那一帶海水並不淺,不是不能容受它的船身龍骨,那一帶海的平均深度是一萬八千米;很可能是由於那一帶有許多島嶼,許多汽船往來,對於尼摩船長說來是不適合的。

   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離,我們看見了馬丁尼克島和加德路披島。我有一個時候望見島上群山的高峰。

   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灣實行他的計劃,或逃到某些陸地上,或靠近往來島嶼間沿岸的一隻船,他看見船躲開這海灣,很失望。在灣內,如果尼德-蘭能乘尼摩船長不知不黨的時候,把小艇奪到手,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、康塞爾和我,我們對於這事談了相當久。我們落到諾第留斯號船上作俘虜,到現在已經有六個月了。我們走了一萬七千里,像尼德-蘭說的,那是沒有什麼理由可以完結的。所以他向我作一個提議,這提議我簡直沒有預料到.那就是向尼摩船長明白幹脆地提出下面的問題來:船長是打算把我們無限期留在他船上嗎?

   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 Besides, for some time now the man had been gloomier, more withdrawn, less sociable.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.

   類似這一種會談使我十分為難和厭煩。照我來看,這利,會談不會有結果。在諾第留斯號潛水船方面,我們不能有一點指望,看來一切都要依靠我們自己。並已,最近以來,這個人變得更沉鬱,更不露面,更不愛交往了。好像他有意躲開我。我很少有機會碰到他。以前,他很喜歡給我解釋海底的神奇,現在他聽任我看書做研究,他簡直不到客來

   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.

   他心中有過哪一種變化呢?由於哪種原因呢?我並沒有-什麼對不起他,或是可以責備自己的地方。也許是我們在船上使他為難嗎?可是,我不敢希望他有一天會恢復我們的自由。

   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,我請尼德在行動之前讓我思考一下,如果這次會談得不到什麼結果,可能就增加他的猜疑,使我們的處境更困難,對於加拿大人的計劃有損害。我又補充說,我不可能拿我們的身體健康作理由請求離開諾第留斯號。事實上,除了在南極的冰山下我們受了痛苦之外,尼德-蘭、康塞爾、我,我們的身體一直都很好。那種衛生的飲食,那種健康的空氣,那種規律的生活,那種溫度的穩定,決不至於人生疾病,而在一個對於陸地沒有任何留戀的人來說,在一個足摩船長來說,那他是在他自己家裡,他想到哪裡就到哪裡:他可以朝他的目的地走去,這在別人看來是神秘的道路,但他自己看來就不是神秘的道路了。這樣一種生活,我是可以理解的,但是我們,我們並沒有跟人類斷絶。在我個人,我不想把我的十分奇異和十分新鮮的研究跟我一齊埋葬。我現在有權利來寫這本關於海洋的真正的書,而這本我想,早晚總有一天可以公之於世。

   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.

   就在這裡,在安的列斯群島水域中,海水下面十米,從敞開的嵌板看,又有多少有趣的海洋產物,我應當寫在我的日記本上!在許多植蟲動物中間,有那些名海扁筒的船形腔腸類,那是一種粗大的長方形膀眈,帶螺鈾質的閃光,把它們的膜迎風張開,讓它們的藍觸鬚浮在水中,像絲線一樣,眼看來是美麗迷人的水母,但手觸上是分泌腐蝕性液汁的麻草。在魚類一門中,有那些蛇穌魚,那是長十英呎,重六百磅的巨大軟骨魚,胸鰭是三角形,脊背中間有些突起,眼睛長在頭部最前端,它們像船隻的殘骸,浮來浮去,有時跟不透亮的窗板一樣,遮蓋住我們的玻璃窗。有那些美洲箭魚,大自然對於它們只塗上黑白兩種顏色。有那些匣形蝦虎魚,這魚很長,多肉,帶黃色的鰭和突出的顆骨。有那些長十六分米的婧魚,這魚齒很短很尖,滿是細鱗,它是屬於臼脂結的一種。其次,有雲層一般出現的海誹鯉龜,它們從頭到尾胸腹間有一條一條的金黃色帶,在水中搖動它們的光彩輝煌的鰭。最後,有那些金黃的蘋果鰭魚,它們裝上碧工色的條帶,穿著絲絨的外衣,像維郎尼斯所畫的王公一樣,在我們眼前走過。有那些帶刺綢魚,它們胸鰭撥得很快,一下子就不見了。有那些磷光鯨魚,身長十五英吋,被包圍在閃閃磷光中。 有那些鰍魚,拿它們粗大多肉的尾巴打攪海水。有那些紅色鮑魚,它們好像拿着它們的尖利胸鰭,搖來搖去割海水。有那些銀白的月光魚,它們叫這個名字很恰當,因為它們在水際升起來,就像發出許多淡白光線的月亮。

   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,我們航行在平均一千五百米深的水層。那時跟船最接近的陸地是留力口夷群島,群島散開,像鋪在海面上的一堆石板。在這一帶有高出的海底懸崖,那是像寬大基礎那樣鋪下的平板大石形成的一道一道直立高牆,在牆中間露出許多黑洞,我們船上的電光不可能直照到底。

   These rocks were hung with huge weeds, immense sea tangle, gigantic fucus-- a genuine trellis of water plants fit for a world of giants.

   這些岩石上麵舖着層層的闊大海產草葉,寬大的昆布類,巨大的黑角菜,簡直就是海產植物形成的牆壁,正好與地唐巨人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.

   從我們上面說的巨大植物,康塞爾、尼德-蘭和我,自然而然地就要談到這一帶海中的巨大動物。顯然其中有些是作為其它一些動物的食物的。不過,從几乎不動的諾第留斯號的玻璃窗中看,我在那很長的草葉條上,見到腕足門的主要節肢類動物,長爪的海蜘蛛、紫色海蟹、安的列斯群島海中特有的翼步螺。

   It was about eleven o'clock when Ned Land drew my attention to a fearsome commotion out in this huge seaweed.

   大約是十一點左右,尼德-蘭讓我注意那巨大昆布間發生的厲害怕人的蚤動。

   "Well," I said, "these are real devilfish caverns, and I wouldn't be surprised to see some of those monsters hereabouts."

   “那麼,”我說,“這裡真正是章魚的窟洞,在這兒要看見一些這種怪物毫不為奇。”

   "What!" Conseil put in. "Squid, ordinary squid from the class Cephalopoda?"

   “怎麼!”康塞爾說,“是那頭足綱的槍烏賊,單純的槍烏賊嗎?”

   "No," I said, "devilfish of large dimensions. But friend Land is no doubt mistaken, because I don't see a thing."

   “不,”我說,“是那身軀巨大的章魚。尼德朋友一定搞錯了,因為我並不看見什麼。”

   "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,”康塞爾回答,“我很想同這種大章魚面對面地看一看,這種東西我聽人說過很多,它可以把船隻拖到海底下去呢。這類東西叫做克拉……。”

   "Fake is more like it," the Canadian replied sarcastically.

   “克拉克(吹噓)①一下就夠了。”加拿大人用諷刺的語氣說。

   "Krakens!" Conseil shot back, finishing his word without wincing at his companion's witticism.

   “克拉肯。”康塞爾搶着說,他說完他的話,並沒有理會到他的同伴的嘲笑。

   "Nobody will ever make me believe," Ned Land said, "that such animals exist."

   “誰都不能讓我相信,”尼德-蘭說,“世界上有這麼一種動物存在。”

   "Why not?" Conseil replied. "We sincerely believed in master's narwhale."

   “為什麼不能?”康塞爾回答,“我們相信過先生的海麒麟了。”

   "We were wrong, Conseil."

   “康塞爾,我們錯了。”

   "No doubt, but there are others with no doubts who believe to this day!"

   “當然錯了!不過一定還有別的人相信它。”

   "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,康塞爾,但是我自己,我一定要親自動手宰割過了,才相信有這些怪物存在。”

   "Yet," Conseil asked me, "doesn't master believe in gigantic devilfish?"

   “這樣,”康塞爾問我,“先生也不相信有巨大的章魚

   "Yikes! Who in Hades ever believed in them?" the Canadian exclaimed.

   “曖!有誰相信過呢?”加拿大人喊道。

   "Many people, Ned my friend," I said.

   “尼德朋友,有許多人相信呢。”

   "No fishermen. Scientists maybe!"

   “不是打魚人。恐怕是學者們吧!”

   "Pardon me, Ned. Fishermen and scientists!"

   “對不起,尼德。打魚人和學者們都相信!”

   "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,現在跟您說話的我這個人,”康塞爾神氣十分嚴肅地說,“我記得很清楚,我曾看過一隻大船被一條頭足類動物的胳膊拉到海底下去。”

   "You saw that?" the Canadian asked.

   “你看見過這個嗎?”加拿大人問。

   "Yes, Ned."

   “不錯,尼德。”

   "With your own two eyes?"

   “你親眼看見過嗎?”

   "With my own two eyes."

   “我親眼看見過。”

   "Where, may I ask?"

   “請問在什麼地方。”

   "In Saint-Malo," Conseil returned unflappably.

   “在聖馬羅港。”康塞爾沉着堅定地回答。

   "In the harbor?" Ned Land said sarcastically.

   “在港中嗎?”尼德-蘭用譏笑的語氣說。

   "No, in a church," Conseil replied.

   “不,在一所教堂裡。”康塞爾回答。

   "In a church!" the Canadian exclaimed.

   “在一所教堂裡!”加拿大人喊道。

   "Yes, Ned my friend. It had a picture that portrayed the devilfish in question."

   “對,尼德朋友。那是一幅繪着這條章魚的圖畫!”

   "Oh good!" Ned Land exclaimed with a burst of laughter. "Mr. Conseil put one over on me!"

   “好嘛!”尼德-蘭大笑說,“原來康塞爾先生逗着我玩呢!”

   "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.

   “事實上,他是對的,”我說,“我聽人說過這幅畫。不過畫的主題是根據一個傳說,您知道,談到生物科學,我們要怎樣來看這些傳說!並且,一談到怪物時,人們的想象總是要錯舌、起來的。

   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."

   不僅有人說這些章魚可以拉走船隻,並且有一個人,叫做奧拉又斯-麥紐斯①的,說有一條頭足類動物,長一海里,與其說像一個動物,不如說是像一個島嶼。又有人說,宜都羅斯的主教有一天在一堆岩石上搭起一座神壇,做彌撒。他做完了彌撒,這堆岩石行動起來,回海中人了。這堆岩石原來是一條章魚呢。”

   "And that's everything we know?" the Canadian asked.

   “說完了嗎?”加拿大人問。

   "No," I replied, "another bishop, Pontoppidan of Bergen, also tells of a devilfish so large a whole cavalry regiment could maneuver on it."

   “沒有,”我回答,“另一個主教,彭士皮丹。德。伯爾們也說過一條章魚,在這章魚身上可以躁演一隊騎兵呢!”

   "They sure did go on, those oldtime bishops!" Ned Land said.

   “從前的主教們可真能說!”尼德-蘭說。

   "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."

   “最後,古時代的生物學者引舉過一些怪物,嘴好像一個海灣,身軀十分巨大,連直布羅陀海峽都走不過去。”

   "Good work, men!" the Canadian put in.

   “真妙!”加拿大人說。

   "But in all these stories, is there any truth?" Conseil asked.

   “在這些故事裡面,是有些真的東西嗎?”康塞爾問。

   "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."

   “一點沒有,我的朋友們,至少從超出似真性的界限而走人寓言或傳說的範圍一點上看,一點沒有。不過,講故事人的想象,雖不一定要有一個真實的原因,但至少總要有一個假借的理由。人們不可能否認有巨大類型的章魚和槍鳥賊存在,不過它們趕不上鯨科動物。亞里士多德曾經確實說過有一條長三米十釐米的槍烏賊。現在的打漁人時常看見有槍烏賊,身長超過一米八十釐米。杜利斯提和蒙伯利野①的博物館收藏有一些章魚的骨胳,長達二米。此外,根據生物學家的計算,一條這種動物,長僅僅六英呎,但它的觸鬚長達二十七英呎,這就足夠使它們成為怕人的怪東西。

   "Does anybody fish for 'em nowadays?" the Canadian asked.

   “現在有人打到嗎?“加拿大人問。

   "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."

   “就是沒有人打到,但水手們至少是看見過的。我的一個朋友,哈夫爾港的保爾-包斯船長,他時常對我肯定他說,他在印度洋中曾經碰見過一條這種身軀巨大的怪物。但最出奇的,並且不能否認這些巨大動物存在的,就是數年前,1861年發生的那件事實。”

   "What event was that?" Ned Land asked.

   “那件事實是怎樣的?”尼德-蘭問。

   "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."

   “那件事實是這樣。1861年,在鐵匿利夫島的東北,差不多跟我們現在相同的緯度上,通訊艦亞列敦號的船員看見一條巨大的槍烏賊在水中浮游。布格船長挨近這東西,他用叉和槍打它,沒有什麼結獃,因為槍彈和叉刺穿了它的棉花一般的肉,就好像插進完全稀爛的粘液那樣。經過幾次的失敗,打不到它,船上人員最後把繩紐結扣在這條軟體動物身上。這繩紐結直滑溜到它的尾鰭邊停下;船上人員想把這怪東西拉上船來,但它的身體十分重,弄得它因為受繩索的拖拉,跟尾巴分開,它沒有了尾巴,潛入水中不見了。”

   "Finally, an actual event," Ned Land said.

   “總算有了一件事實。”尼德-蘭說。

   "An indisputable event, my gallant Ned. Accordingly, people have proposed naming this devilfish Bouguer's Squid."

   “是一件確切無疑的事實,老實的尼德。因此有人建議,稱這章魚為‘布格的槍烏賊’。”

   "And how long was it?" the Canadian asked.

   “它身長多少?”加拿大人問。

   "Didn't it measure about six meters?" said Conseil, who was stationed at the window and examining anew the crevices in the cliff.

   “它不是長六米左右嗎?”康塞爾說,他站在玻璃邊,重新看那崎嶇不平的懸崖。

   "Precisely," I replied.

   “正是六米長。”我回答說。

   "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?"

   “它的眼睛長在額門頂,不是生得很大嗎?”

   "Yes, Conseil."

   “是的,康塞爾。”

   "And wasn't its mouth a real parrot's beak but of fearsome size?"

   “它的嘴不是跟鸚鵝的一樣,大到了不得嗎?”

   "Correct, Conseil."

   “不錯,康塞爾。”

   "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!"

   “那麼!請先生原諒。”康塞爾安靜地回答,“如果這邊的不是布格的槍烏賊,至少也是它的兄弟了。”

   I stared at Conseil. Ned Land rushed to the window.

   我眼看著康塞爾,尼德。蘭跑到玻璃窗邊去。

   "What an awful animal!" he exclaimed.

   “真是怕人的東西。”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,我簡直嚇得倒退,不禁發出厭惡的表情。在我眼前走動的是那使人駭怕的怪物,真可以放在古代悲劇的傳說怪物裡面呢。

   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.

   這是一條身軀巨大的章魚,長八米。它極端快捷地倒退着走,方向跟諾第留斯號走的相同。它那海色的獃獃的K大眼睛盯視着。它的八隻胳膊,不如說八隻腳,長在它腦袋上,因此這種動物得了頭足類的名稱,發展得很長,有它身軀的雙倍那樣長,伸縮擺動,像瘋婦人的頭髮那樣亂飄。我們清楚地看見那排列在它觸鬚裡面、作半球形圓蓋的二百五十個吸盤。這些吸盤有時貼在客廳的玻璃上,中間成真空。這怪東西的嘴——一骨質的嘴,生成像鸚鵡的一樣——垂直地或開或合。它的骨質的舌頭本身有幾排尖利的牙,顫抖着露出那一副真正的大鐵鉗。大自然是怎樣離奇古怪呵!在軟體上有一個鳥嘴!它的身軀作紡錘形,中腰膨脹,形成一大肉塊,重量不下二萬至二萬五千公斤,它身上的不定的顏色隨着這怪東西的激動,極端迅速地改變着,從灰白色陸續變為紅褐色。

   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!

   這個軟體動物為什麼激動呢?一定是因為諾第留斯號在面前,船比它更巨大可怕,並且它的吸盤腳或它的下顎又沒法捉住它。可是,這些章魚是多麼怕人的怪物!造物者分給它們的是多麼出奇的活力!它們的運動有多大的勁,因為它們有三個心臟!

   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.

   偶然的機會把我擺在這槍烏賊面前,我不願丟了這個機會,對這頭足類的品種,不小心加以研究。我克服自己對它的外形所有的厭噁心情,我拿了一支鉛筆,開始給它作寫生畫。

   "Perhaps this is the same as the Alecto's," Conseil said.

   “或者這跟亞列敦號看見的是同一條東西吧。”康塞爾說道

   "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,“因為這一條是完整的,而那一條是丟了尾巴的。”

   "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."

   “這不成理由,”我回答,“因為這類動物的胳膊和尾巴是可以由逐漸的累積重新生出來的,七年以來,布格的槍烏賊是可能有時間又長出尾巴來了。”

   "Anyhow," Ned shot back, "if it isn't this fellow, maybe it's one of those!"

   “此外,”尼德立即回答,“如果這條不是它,那許多條中間或者有一條是它!”

   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,好些其他的章魚又在船右舷的玻璃邊出現了。我算了一下共有七條。‘它門護衛着諾第留斯號前行,我聽到它門的嘴在鋼板上摩擦的格格聲音。我們是它們希望中的食物。

   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.

   我繼續我的工作,這些怪東西在我們兩旁海水中十分準確地保持一定的速度。就像它們是站着不動的一樣,我簡直可以在玻璃上用紙把它們縮小摹下來。這時,諾第留斯號行駛的速度很慢。

   All at once the Nautilus stopped. A jolt made it tremble through its entire framework.

   忽然諾第留斯號停注了。一次衝擊使它全身都發生震

   "Did we strike bottom?" I asked.

   “我們是撿上什麼了嗎廣我問。

   "In any event we're already clear," the Canadian replied, "because we're afloat."

   “總之,”加拿大人回答,“我們已經擺脫開了,因為我們浮起來了。”

   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.

   諾第留斯號浮起來了,但它停着不走。它的推進器的輪葉沒有攪動海水。一分鐘過了。尼摩船長走進客廳來,後面跟着他的副手。

   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.

   我好些時候沒有看見他了。看來他的神色憂鬱。沒有跟我們說話,或著沒有看見我們,他走到嵌板邊,看一下那些章魚,對他的副手說了幾句話。

   The latter went out. Soon the panels closed. The ceiling lit up.

   他的副手出去。不久嵌板閉起來;天花板明亮了。

   I went over to the captain.

   我走到船長面前,我對他說:

   "An unusual assortment of devilfish," I told him, as carefree as a collector in front of an aquarium.

   “真是新奇的章魚品種。”我說話時語氣很從容,像一個喜愛魚類的人在養魚缸面前說話一樣。

   "Correct, Mr. Naturalist," he answered me, "and we're going to fight them at close quarters."

   “是的,生物學家,”他回答我,“我們現在要跟它們肉搏

   I gaped at the captain. I thought my hearing had gone bad.

   我眼盯着船長。我想我並沒有聽明白他的話。

   "At close quarters?" I repeated.

   “肉搏嗎?“我重複一下說。

   "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."

   “對,先生。推進器停住了。我想有一條槍烏賊的下顎骨撞進輪葉中去了。因此就阻礙了船,不能行動。”

   "And what are you going to do?"

   “您將要怎麼辦?”

   "Rise to the surface and slaughter the vermin."

   “浮上水面,把這條害蟲宰了。”

   "A difficult undertaking."

   “是件困難的事呀。”

   "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。電氣彈對於這團軟肉沒有辦法,軟內沒有足夠的抵抗力,不能讓彈爆發。我們還是用斧子來砍。”

   "And harpoons, sir," the Canadian said, "if you don't turn down my help."

   “也可以用又來叉,先生,”加拿大人說,“如果您不拒絶我加入,我一定來幫忙。”

   "I accept it, Mr. Land."

   “我接受您的幫助,蘭師傅。”

   "We'll go with you," I said. And we followed Captain Nemo, heading to the central companionway.

   “我們陪您一同去。”我說。我們跟着尼摩船長,向中央樓梯走去。

   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.

   樓梯邊有十來個人,拿着衝鋒用的斧子,準備出擊。康塞爾和我,我們拿了兩把斧子。尼德-蘭手執一桿魚叉。

   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.

   那時諾第留斯號已經浮上水面來了。一個水手站在樓涕的最高的一級上,把嵌板上的螺釘鬆下來。可是母螺旋剛放開,嵌板就十分猛烈地掀起,顯然是被章魚一隻胳膊的吸盤所拉了。

   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.

   立即有一隻長胳膊,像一條蛇,從開口溜進來,其它二十隻在上面搖來搖去。只一斧子,尼摩船長就把這根巨大的觸鬚截斷,它絞卷着從樓梯上溜下去。

   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.

   在我們彼此擁擠着走到平台上時,另外兩隻胳膊,像雙鞭一樣在空中揮動,落在尼摩船長面前站着的那個水手身上,以不可抗拒的力量把他捲走了。

   Captain Nemo gave a shout and leaped outside. We rushed after him.

   尼摩船長大喊一聲,跳劊外面去。我們也跟着一齊跳出來。

   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!

   多麼驚心動魄的場面!這個不幸的人,被觸鬚纏住,粘在吸盤上,讓這條龐大捲筒隨意在空中搖來擺去。他氣喘,他窒息,他叫喊:“來,救我!來,救我!”他這話是用法話說的,引起我的十分深刻的驚怪!那麼我是有一個同胞在船上!或者有好幾個!這個使人心碎的呼救聲,我一生都聽到。

   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.

   這個不幸的人眼看是完了。誰能從這強大的卷抱中把他奪過來呢?可是尼摩船長跳在章魚身上,又一斧子,他把另一隻胳膊又砍下來了。他的副手奮勇狂怒地跟那些爬在諾第留斯號兩邊的其他章魚戰鬥。船員們各人揮動斧頭,亂砍亂殺。加拿大人、康塞爾和我,我們也把我們的武器穿進這大團肉塊中去。一種強烈的康香昧敵人空中。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!

   在一瞬間,我以為那個不幸被章魚纏住的人可能從它那強大的吸盤上救下來。八隻胳膊有七隻都被砍下了。剩下的一只把那個人像一支筆般揮動,在空中轉來轉去。但當尼摩船長和他的副手撲到它身上去的時候,這個東西噴出一道黑色的液體,這是從它肚子中的一個口袋分泌出來的黑水。我們的眼睛都被弄得昏花看不見了。當這團濃黑霧氣消散的時候,槍烏賊不見了,跟它一起,我的不幸的同胞也不見了!

   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.

   那時我們是何等憤怒地來跟這些章魚拚命呀!我們一點不能自主了。有十條或十二條章魚侵到平台上和諾第留斯號兩邊來。我們在平台上,在血泊和墨水中跳動者的一條一條的肉段中間滾來滾去,這些粘性的觸鬚就像多頭蛇的頭一樣,一會又生出來了。尼德-蘭的叉每一下都刺人槍鳥賊的海色眼睛中,把眼珠挖出來。可是,我的勇敢同伴不可能躲開,突然被一條怪物的觸鬚捲住掀倒在地。

   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.

   槍烏賊的厲害可怕的嘴對著尼德-蘭張開來。這個不幸的人要被咬為兩段了。我急急跑去救他,但尼摩船長走在我的前面,先我動了手。他的斧子砍人兩排巨大齒牙裡面了,加拿大人出人意料地得救了,站起來,把整條叉刺人章魚的三個心臟中。

   "Tit for tat," Captain Nemo told the Canadian. "I owed it to myself!"

   “我應該有這次機會報答您啊!”尼摩船長對加拿大人說。

   Ned bowed without answering him.

   尼德點點頭,沒有回答他的話。

   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.

   這次戰鬥延長至一刻鐘之久。怪物打敗了,受傷了,死了,最後給我們讓出地方來,溜人水中不見了。

   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.

   尼摩船長全身血紅,站在探照燈附近,一動也不動,眼盯着吞噬了他的一個同伴的大海,大滴的淚珠從他的眼裡淌了出來