大西洋：廣闊的水面，面積共有二千五百萬平方海裡。長九千海里，寬平均二千七百海里，是很重要的大海，在古代除了迎太基人②，可以說几乎沒有人知道這個海。迎大基人是古代的荷蘭人，他們因為貿易的關係，曾沿著歐洲和非洲的西部海岸往來航行！洋洋大觀的水面，有各國的船隻往來其間，船蔭蔽在世界上所有的旗幟下面，西頭終點為兩個尖角，就是航海家所害怕的合恩角和暴風角！
THE ATLANTIC! A vast expanse of water whose surface area is 25,000,000 square miles, with a length of 9,000 miles and an average width of 2,700. A major sea nearly unknown to the ancients, except perhaps the Carthaginians, those Dutchmen of antiquity who went along the west coasts of Europe and Africa on their commercial junkets! An ocean whose parallel winding shores form an immense perimeter fed by the world's greatest rivers: the St. Lawrence, Mississippi, Amazon, Plata, Orinoco, Niger, Senegal, Elbe, Loire, and Rhine, which bring it waters from the most civilized countries as well as the most undeveloped areas! A magnificent plain of waves plowed continuously by ships of every nation, shaded by every flag in the world, and ending in those two dreadful headlands so feared by navigators, Cape Horn and the Cape of Tempests!
諾第留斯號推動它前頭的沖角，衝破大西洋的海浪，向前駛去。在三個半月的期間，它走了近一萬里了，超過繞地球一周的大圈了。現在我們上哪裡去呢？將來有什麼可以給我。們看的呢？
The Nautilus broke these waters with the edge of its spur after doing nearly 10,000 leagues in three and a half months, a track longer than a great circle of the earth. Where were we heading now, and what did the future have in store for us?
諾第留斯號從直布羅陀海峽出來，駛到大西洋面上。它又浮上水面來，我們每天在平台上的散步現在又恢復了。
Emerging from the Strait of Gibraltar, the Nautilus took to the high seas. It returned to the surface of the waves, so our daily strolls on the platform were restored to us.
我立即上平台去，尼德-蘭和康塞爾陪着我。在距離十二海里的地方，隱約現出聖文孫特角，那就是西班牙半島的最西南的尖角。當時起了相當厲害的南風。海面波濤洶桶，海水滾滾打來，使諾第留斯號發生激烈的顛簸。在平台上簡直不可能獃下去，因為時刻都有大浪打來。所以我們呼吸了幾下新鮮空氣後，就回到船中。
I climbed onto it instantly, Ned Land and Conseil along with me. Twelve miles away, Cape St. Vincent was hazily visible, the southwestern tip of the Hispanic peninsula. The wind was blowing a pretty strong gust from the south. The sea was swelling and surging. Its waves made the Nautilus roll and jerk violently. It was nearly impossible to stand up on the platform, which was continuously buffeted by this enormously heavy sea. After inhaling a few breaths of air, we went below once more.
我回到我的房中，康塞爾也回到他的艙房。但是加拿大人像心中有事的樣子，跟着我來。我們過地中海時的飛快速度，不容許他實行他的計劃，他很顯然地表示了他的失望。
I repaired to my stateroom. Conseil returned to his cabin; but the Canadian, looking rather worried, followed me. Our quick trip through the Mediterranean hadn't allowed him to put his plans into execution, and he could barely conceal his disappointment.
當我的房門關上了，他坐下，不作聲，望着我。
After the door to my stateroom was closed, he sat and stared at me silently.
“尼德朋友，”我對他說，“我瞭解您，您沒有什麼可以責備自己的地方。當諾第留斯號行駛時，在那樣的條件下，想要離開它，簡直就是發瘋！”
"Ned my friend," I told him, "I know how you feel, but you mustn't blame yourself. Given the way the Nautilus was navigating, it would have been sheer insanity to think of escaping!"
尼德-蘭不回答。他緊閉的嘴唇，他緊蹙的眉毛，表示他心中有一個堅定的思想死死糾纏着他。
Ned Land didn't reply. His pursed lips and frowning brow indicated that he was in the grip of his monomania.
“瞧著吧，”我又說，“事情並不是完全沒有希望。我們現在沿葡萄牙海岸上溯了。不遠就是法國、英國，我們可以很容易找到一個逃走的地方。啊！如果諾第留斯號從直布羅陀海峽出來，往南方駛去，如果它把我們帶到沒有陸地的那些區域去，那我心中跟您一樣，感到煩惱。但是，我們現在知道尼摩船長並不躲避有文化的海面，我想在幾天內，您可以比較安全地來執行您的計劃。”
"Look here," I went on, "as yet there's no cause for despair. We're going up the coast of Portugal. France and England aren't far off, and there we'll easily find refuge. Oh, I grant you, if the Nautilus had emerged from the Strait of Gibraltar and made for that cape in the south, if it were taking us toward those regions that have no continents, then I'd share your alarm. But we now know that Captain Nemo doesn't avoid the seas of civilization, and in a few days I think we can safely take action."
尼德-蘭的眼睛更盯得我厲害，最後，張開嘴巴，他說：
Ned Land stared at me still more intently and finally unpursed his lips:
“實行我的計劃就在今夜。”
"We'll do it this evening," he said.
我突然站起來。我但白地承認，我一點也沒有料到他會告訴我這個消息。我要回答加拿大人，但又找不出什麼話來說。
I straightened suddenly. I admit that I was less than ready for this announcement. I wanted to reply to the Canadian, but words failed me.
“我們曾經約定等待一個好機會，”尼德-蘭接著說，這個好機會現在在我手中了。今天夜間，我們距離西班牙海岸只有幾海里，夜間很陰暗，海面上吹着風。您既有言在先，阿龍納斯先生，我完全相信您。
"We agreed to wait for the right circumstances," Ned Land went on. "Now we've got those circumstances. This evening we'll be just a few miles off the coast of Spain. It'll be cloudy tonight. The wind's blowing toward shore. You gave me your promise, Professor Aronnax, and I'm counting on you."
因為我老不作聲，加拿大人就站起，走近前來，對我說：
Since I didn't say anything, the Canadian stood up and approached me:
“今晚九點。我通知了康塞爾。那時候，尼摩船長關在他房中了，可能睡下來了。機械師、船上人員都不可能看見我們。康塞爾和我，我們走到中央樓梯去。阿龍納斯先生，您就留在離我們兩步遠的圖書室中，等待我的信號。槳、桅和帆都在小艇中。並且我還弄到了一些食物。我又得了一把英國螺絲搬頭，可以把小艇釘在諾第留斯號船身上的螺絲釘取下來。所以一切都準備好了。今天夜裡見。”
"We'll do it this evening at nine o'clock," he said. "I've alerted Conseil. By that time Captain Nemo will be locked in his room and probably in bed. Neither the mechanics or the crewmen will be able to see us. Conseil and I will go to the central companionway. As for you, Professor Aronnax, you'll stay in the library two steps away and wait for my signal. The oars, mast, and sail are in the skiff. I've even managed to stow some provisions inside. I've gotten hold of a monkey wrench to unscrew the nuts bolting the skiff to the Nautilus's hull. So everything's ready. I'll see you this evening."
“海上風浪很大呢。”我說。
"The sea is rough," I said.
“我知道風浪大，”加拿大人回答，“但必須冒險了。自由是值得付出代價的。而且，小艇很結實，有些風浪，走幾海里：算不了什麼。推知道明天我們也許就跑到百里外的海面上了呢？願我們一切順利，十點至十一點間我們可能在陸地的某處登陸了，或者是送了性命，所以，只有依靠上帝的恩典，今天夜裡見！”
"Admitted," the Canadian replied, "but we've got to risk it. Freedom is worth paying for. Besides, the longboat's solidly built, and a few miles with the wind behind us is no big deal. By tomorrow, who knows if this ship won't be 100 leagues out to sea? If circumstances are in our favor, between ten and eleven this evening we'll be landing on some piece of solid ground, or we'll be dead. So we're in God's hands, and I'll see you this evening!"
說完這話，加拿大人就退出去，讓我～人不知所措地獃在房中；我也想過，機會來了，我可以有時間來考慮，來討論。但我那性情固執的同伴不讓我這樣做。到底，我還能對他說什麼話呢？尼德-蘭十分對。他現在要利用的，的確是一個好機會。我可以食言反悔嗎？我能為了完全個人的利益，損害我的同伴們的將來嗎？我負得了這種責任嗎？明天，尼摩船長不是很可以把我們帶到離開所有陸地的大海中去嗎？
This said, the Canadian withdrew, leaving me close to dumbfounded. I had imagined that if it came to this, I would have time to think about it, to talk it over. My stubborn companion hadn't granted me this courtesy. But after all, what would I have said to him? Ned Land was right a hundred times over. These were near-ideal circumstances, and he was taking full advantage of them. In my selfish personal interests, could I go back on my word and be responsible for ruining the future lives of my companions? Tomorrow, might not Captain Nemo take us far away from any shore?
這時候，發出相當響的嘯聲，我曉得船上儲水池盛滿水了，諾第留斯號潛入大茵洋水底下去了。
Just then a fairly loud hissing told me that the ballast tanks were filling, and the Nautilus sank beneath the waves of the Atlantic.
我留在我的房中。我要躲開船長，使他的眼睛看不到我心中激動的情緒。我就這樣度過這很愁悶的一天，一方面想走，恢復我的自由，另一方面又惋惜，丟開這只神奇的“諾第留斯號，使我的海底研究不能完成！這樣離開這海洋，像我喜歡說的，這樣離開“我的大西洋”，並沒有觀察它的最深水層，並沒有從它取得印度洋和太平洋曾給我揭露的秘密！我的小說剛翻完第一章就從手中掉下去了，我的夢正在最美好的時候就被打斷了！多少苦悶的時間就這樣過去，有時看見自己跟同伴們安全逃在陸地上，有時又不顧自己的理性，希望有意夕）的機會，阻止尼德-蘭的計劃不實現！
I stayed in my stateroom. I wanted to avoid the captain, to hide from his eyes the agitation overwhelming me. What an agonizing day I spent, torn between my desire to regain my free will and my regret at abandoning this marvelous Nautilus, leaving my underwater research incomplete! How could I relinquish this ocean--"my own Atlantic," as I liked to call it--without observing its lower strata, without wresting from it the kinds of secrets that had been revealed to me by the seas of the East Indies and the Pacific! I was putting down my novel half read, I was waking up as my dream neared its climax! How painfully the hours passed, as I sometimes envisioned myself safe on shore with my companions, or, despite my better judgment, as I sometimes wished that some unforeseen circumstances would prevent Ned Land from carrying out his plans.
我兩次到客廳中去。我要看羅盤。我要看諾第留斯號的方向是不是接近或離開海岸。不，諾第留斯號總是在葡萄牙沿岸海水中行駛。它沿著大西洋海岸向北開行。
Twice I went to the lounge. I wanted to consult the compass. I wanted to see if the Nautilus's heading was actually taking us closer to the coast or spiriting us farther away. But no. The Nautilus was still in Portuguese waters. Heading north, it was cruising along the ocean's beaches.
所以，這時候必須打定主意，準備逃走。我的行李並不重，只有我的筆記，沒有什麼別的了。
So I had to resign myself to my fate and get ready to escape. My baggage wasn't heavy. My notes, nothing more.
至于尼摩船長，我心中問，他對於我們的逃走將怎樣想，使他心中有怎樣的苦惱，或者使他有多少的損害，以及當逃走或被發覺或不成功的兩種情況下，他將怎麼辦！當然我沒有什麼可以埋怨他，與此相反，待客的態度，從沒有像他那麼但白真誠。我離開他，我不能說是忘恩負義。沒有什麼誓言把我們跟他束縛在一起。他相信把我們永遠拉在他身邊的，只是客觀環境的力量，而不是我們的約言。但他的這種公然承認，永遠把我們留在船上作囚人的想法，正能說明所有我們的逃走企圖都是合理的。
As for Captain Nemo, I wondered what he would make of our escaping, what concern or perhaps what distress it might cause him, and what he would do in the twofold event of our attempt either failing or being found out! Certainly I had no complaints to register with him, on the contrary. Never was hospitality more wholehearted than his. Yet in leaving him I couldn't be accused of ingratitude. No solemn promises bound us to him. In order to keep us captive, he had counted only on the force of circumstances and not on our word of honor. But his avowed intention to imprison us forever on his ship justified our every effort.
我自從在桑多林島附近跟船長會見以來，就沒有再看見他。在我們出走之前，是不是有機會使我再見他一面呢？我同時又想見他，又怕見他，我注意聽，我是不是可以聽到他在隔壁的房中走動呢。沒有什麼聲響傳到我的耳邊來。那房中想是沒有人了。
I hadn't seen the captain since our visit to the island of Santorini. Would fate bring me into his presence before our departure? I both desired and dreaded it. I listened for footsteps in the stateroom adjoining mine. Not a sound reached my ear. His stateroom had to be deserted.
我於是心中又問，這個古怪的人是不是在船上。自從那一夜，小艇離開了諾第留斯號執行一個神秘的使命，我對於這個人的思想，略為改變了一些。我想，不管他怎麼說，尼摩船長跟陸地一定還保留某一種關係。難道他從不離開諾第留斯號嗎？有時候，整整幾個星期過去了，我都碰不見他。在這個期間他做什麼事呢？我以為他是憤世嫉俗，心存厭世，不願見人，是不是他到遠處去，完成某種我一直不知道內容性質的秘密行動呢？
Then I began to wonder if this eccentric individual was even on board. Since that night when the skiff had left the Nautilus on some mysterious mission, my ideas about him had subtly changed. In spite of everything, I thought that Captain Nemo must have kept up some type of relationship with the shore. Did he himself never leave the Nautilus? Whole weeks had often gone by without my encountering him. What was he doing all the while? During all those times I'd thought he was convalescing in the grip of some misanthropic fit, was he instead far away from the ship, involved in some secret activity whose nature still eluded me?
所有這些思想，以及其它無數的想法，同時湧到我心中來。在我們所處的奇特情況中，胡亂猜測是無窮無盡的。我感到一種不可忍受的不安。這一天的等待好象是無止境的由於心中煩躁，時間實在是過得太慢了。
All these ideas and a thousand others assaulted me at the same time. In these strange circumstances the scope for conjecture was unlimited. I felt an unbearable queasiness. This day of waiting seemed endless. The hours struck too slowly to keep up with my impatience.
我的晚飯像往常一樣，還是在我的房中吃的。我心中有事，吃得很馬虎。我七點離開餐桌。我心中計算，距我要跟尼德。蘭約定相會的時候，還有一百二十分鐘。我心中的激動更增加了。我的脈搏激烈跳動，我自己不能靜下來。我走來走去，希望運動可以把我心中的煩亂鎮靜一下。我想到我們要在這次大膽逃走中不幸死亡，我並不怎麼難過，但是，想到我們的計劃在離開諾第留斯號之前就被發覺，想到我們被帶到激怒的尼摩船長面前，或者，更為糟糕，他因為我的拋棄他而很痛苦，我的心就怦怦地跳起來了。
As usual, dinner was served me in my stateroom. Full of anxiety, I ate little. I left the table at seven o'clock. 120 minutes-- I was keeping track of them--still separated me from the moment I was to rejoin Ned Land. My agitation increased. My pulse was throbbing violently. I couldn't stand still. I walked up and down, hoping to calm my troubled mind with movement. The possibility of perishing in our reckless undertaking was the least of my worries; my heart was pounding at the thought that our plans might be discovered before we had left the Nautilus, at the thought of being hauled in front of Captain Nemo and finding him angered, or worse, saddened by my deserting him.
我要最後看一次客廳。我從長廊走過去，我到了我不知度過了多少快意和有益的時間的那間陳列室。我兩眼叮者所有這些財富，所有這些寶藏，就像一個人要永遠流亡，走後不再回來的前夜中一樣。這些自然界的神奇品，這些藝術上的傑作，這許多日子來，我的生命力全部集中在它門那裡，現在我要永遠拋開它們了。我又要通過客廳的玻璃，把我的眼光潛入大西洋的水底下，可是嵌板緊閉着，一塊鐵板把我隔開了我還不認識的這個大洋。
I wanted to see the lounge one last time. I went down the gangways and arrived at the museum where I had spent so many pleasant and productive hours. I stared at all its wealth, all its treasures, like a man on the eve of his eternal exile, a man departing to return no more. For so many days now, these natural wonders and artistic masterworks had been central to my life, and I was about to leave them behind forever. I wanted to plunge my eyes through the lounge window and into these Atlantic waters; but the panels were hermetically sealed, and a mantle of sheet iron separated me from this ocean with which I was still unfamiliar.
在客廳中這樣走來走去，我走近門邊，這門在屋角牆上，是通船長的艙房的。我很驚異，這門半開着。我自然而外地退回來。如果尼摩船長在裡面，他可能看見我。同時我聽不見聲響，我走近前去，但房中沒有人。我推開門，走進幾步，房中還是那樸實嚴肅的情景，隱士僧家的風味。
Crossing through the lounge, I arrived at the door, contrived in one of the canted corners, that opened into the captain's stateroom. Much to my astonishment, this door was ajar. I instinctively recoiled. If Captain Nemo was in his stateroom, he might see me. But, not hearing any sounds, I approached. The stateroom was deserted. I pushed the door open. I took a few steps inside. Still the same austere, monastic appearance.
這時候，房中牆上掛着的幾幅我第一次進來沒有留心到的銅版畫引起我眼光的注意，那是肖像畫，歷史上偉大人物的：｛j像畫，他門一生是永遠忠誠于獻身人類這個偉大思想的：他是：哥修斯哥①，聽到“波蘭完了”的喊聲就跌倒的英雄；波查裡斯②，近代希臘的列盎尼達斯③；俄康乃爾④，愛爾蘭獨立的保衛者：華盛頓，北美合眾國的創始人；馬寧⑤，意大利的愛國志士；林肯，被擁護奴隷制的人所刺殺的美國總統；最後，那位主張黑人解放的殉道者約翰-布朗①，弔在絞架上，就像維克多-雨果用鉛筆畫出來的那個很可怕的樣子。
Just then my eye was caught by some etchings hanging on the wall, which I hadn't noticed during my first visit. They were portraits of great men of history who had spent their lives in perpetual devotion to a great human ideal: Thaddeus Kosciusko, the hero whose dying words had been Finis Poloniae; Markos Botzaris, for modern Greece the reincarnation of Sparta's King Leonidas; Daniel O'Connell, Ireland's defender; George Washington, founder of the American Union; Daniele Manin, the Italian patriot; Abraham Lincoln, dead from the bullet of a believer in slavery; and finally, that martyr for the redemption of the black race, John Brown, hanging from his gallows as Victor Hugo's pencil has so terrifyingly depicted.
在這些英雄人物的心靈和尼摩船長的心靈中間有什麼聯繫呢？究竟從這一群肖像畫中，我可能找出他生平的秘密來嗎？他是被壓迫人民的保護者，奴隷種族的解放者嗎？他是現世紀最近政治的或社會動盪中的一位人物嗎？他是這次可悲的和永遠是光榮的、美洲可怕內戰中的一位英雄嗎卜……
What was the bond between these heroic souls and the soul of Captain Nemo? From this collection of portraits could I finally unravel the mystery of his existence? Was he a fighter for oppressed peoples, a liberator of enslaved races? Had he figured in the recent political or social upheavals of this century? Was he a hero of that dreadful civil war in America, a war lamentable yet forever glorious . . . ?
忽然大鐘響八下了。大鐘的鎚子第一下敲在鈴上，把我從夢中吵醒，我全身抖起來，好像有一隻無形的眼賄穿透我思想的最秘密的地方，我急急走出這個房間。
Suddenly the clock struck eight. The first stroke of its hammer on the chime snapped me out of my musings. I shuddered as if some invisible eye had plunged into my innermost thoughts, and I rushed outside the stateroom.
到客廳中，我的眼睛就盯在羅盤上面。我們的方向總是往北．測程器指的是平常的速度，壓力表指出船在六十米左右深的水層。所以周圍的環境對加拿大人的計劃都有利。
There my eyes fell on the compass. Our heading was still northerly. The log indicated a moderate speed, the pressure gauge a depth of about sixty feet. So circumstances were in favor of the Canadian's plans.
我回到我的房中。我多穿了一些衣服，使身上暖和，海靴、水獺帽、海豹皮裏子的貝足絲織的外衣都穿戴上了。我準備好了，我等着。只有推進器的震動打斷了船上的沉寂。我用心聽，我豎起耳朵來。是不是有些喊叫聲，向我說明尼德-蘭的逃走計劃突然被發覺了嗎？我感覺十分惶恐不安。
I stayed in my stateroom. I dressed warmly: fishing boots, otter cap, coat of fan-mussel fabric lined with sealskin. I was ready. I was waiting. Only the propeller's vibrations disturbed the deep silence reigning on board. I cocked an ear and listened. Would a sudden outburst of voices tell me that Ned Land's escape plans had just been detected? A ghastly uneasiness stole through me. I tried in vain to recover my composure.
差幾分就要到九點鐘了。我把耳朵貼著船長的房門。聽不出聲音來。我走出我的房間，我回到廳中，廳中半黑不明，沒有人。
A few minutes before nine o'clock, I glued my ear to the captain's door. Not a sound. I left my stateroom and returned to the lounge, which was deserted and plunged in near darkness.
我打開跟圖書室相通的門，室內光線同樣黯淡，同樣是冷清清的。我到挨近門的地方站着，這門對著中央樓梯的籠間。我等待尼德-蘭的信號。
I opened the door leading to the library. The same inadequate light, the same solitude. I went to man my post near the door opening into the well of the central companionway. I waited for Ned Land's signal.
這時候，推進機的震動顯然減低了，一會兒就完全沒有響聲了。諾第留斯號的行動為什麼有變化呢？船這次停住對於尼德-蘭的計劃是順當或是不利，那我可不能說。
At this point the propeller's vibrations slowed down appreciably, then they died out altogether. Why was the Nautilus stopping? Whether this layover would help or hinder Ned Land's schemes I couldn't have said.
這時的沉寂只有被我的心髒的跳動打斷了。
The silence was further disturbed only by the pounding of my heart.
忽然，我感到一下輕微的衝撞。我明白，諾第留斯號是停在大洋底下的地上了。我心中更加不安起來。加拿大人的信號不給我發出來。我很想出去找他，要他改期執行他的計劃。我感覺到，我們的航行不是在平常的情況中進行的……
Suddenly I felt a mild jolt. I realized the Nautilus had come to rest on the ocean floor. My alarm increased. The Canadian's signal hadn't reached me. I longed to rejoin Ned Land and urge him to postpone his attempt. I sensed that we were no longer navigating under normal conditions.
這時候，客廳的門開了，尼摩船長進來。他看見了我，沒有什麼寒暄客套話，池用親熱的語氣說：
Just then the door to the main lounge opened and Captain Nemo appeared. He saw me, and without further preamble:
“啊！教授，我正找您哩。您知道西班牙的歷史嗎？”
"Ah, professor," he said in an affable tone, "I've been looking for you. Do you know your Spanish history?"
就算是一個很熟悉自己本國的歷史的人，但在我所處的情況中，心中恍飽，頭腦昏亂，他也不可能說出一句話來。
Even if he knew it by heart, a man in my disturbed, befuddled condition couldn't have quoted a syllable of his own country's history.
“那麼，”尼摩船長立即又說，“您聽到了我提出的問題嗎？您知道西班牙的歷史嗎？”
"Well?" Captain Nemo went on. "Did you hear my question? Do you know the history of Spain?"
“知道得很少。”我回答。
"Very little of it," I replied.
“許多學者都是這樣，他們不知道，”船長說，“那麼，您請坐，”他又說，“我要告訴您這個國家歷史的一段新奇事件。”
"The most learned men," the captain said, "still have much to learn. Have a seat," he added, "and I'll tell you about an unusual episode in this body of history."
船長躺在一張安樂椅上，我機械地坐在他近邊淡淡的陰影中。
The captain stretched out on a couch, and I mechanically took a seat near him, but half in the shadows.
“教授，”他列-我說，“請您聽我說。這歷史在某一方面可以使您很感興趣，因為它回答了您不能解決的一個問題。”
"Professor," he said, "listen carefully. This piece of history concerns you in one definite respect, because it will answer a question you've no doubt been unable to resolve."
“船長，我聽您說。”我說。我不知道我的對話人要說什麼，我心中想，這件事是不是跟我們的逃走計劃有關係。
"I'm listening, captain," I said, not knowing what my partner in this dialogue was driving at, and wondering if this incident related to our escape plans.
“教授，”尼摩船長又說，“請您注意，我們現在要回溯到1702年了。您知道，在這個時期，您的法國國王路易十四以為專制君主做一下手勢，比利牛斯山就得縮人地下去，他一定要西班牙人接受他的孫子一～安儒公爵做他們的國王。這國王在菲力五世的稱號下，統治了西班牙。可是統治得不高明。他對外有了問題，跟強大的敵人發生爭執。
"Professor," Captain Nemo went on, "if you're amenable, we'll go back in time to 1702. You're aware of the fact that in those days your King Louis XIV thought an imperial gesture would suffice to humble the Pyrenees in the dust, so he inflicted his grandson, the Duke of Anjou, on the Spaniards. Reigning more or less poorly under the name King Philip V, this aristocrat had to deal with mighty opponents abroad.
“就在一年前，荷蘭、奧地利和英國王室在海牙訂了同盟協定，目的要把菲力五世的王冠摘下來，戴在奧地利某親王的頭上，它們過早地又把查理三世的稱號給了這位親王。”
"In essence, the year before, the royal houses of Holland, Austria, and England had signed a treaty of alliance at The Hague, aiming to wrest the Spanish crown from King Philip V and to place it on the head of an archduke whom they prematurely dubbed King Charles III.
“西班牙當然要抵抗這個同盟，可是它很缺乏士兵和海員，不過金錢是有的。但是有一個條件，那就是要裝過美洲金銀的船隻能夠進入它的海港中來。就是在1702年終。西班牙政府正在等着一隊載有大量全錢的運輸船，由法國派二十三艘戰艦護送，指揮宮是夏都-雷諾海軍大將①，岡為，這時候有敵人們聯合的海軍在大西洋上巡邏。
"Spain had to withstand these allies. But the country had practically no army or navy. Yet it wasn't short of money, provided that its galleons, laden with gold and silver from America, could enter its ports. Now then, late in 1702 Spain was expecting a rich convoy, which France ventured to escort with a fleet of twenty-three vessels under the command of Admiral de Chateau-Renault, because by that time the allied navies were roving the Atlantic.
“這隊運輸船本來要開到加的斯港，但法國海軍司令接到英國艦隊在這一帶海域巡邏的情報，就決定把這隊船開萬噸呢。”
"This convoy was supposed to put into Cadiz, but after learning that the English fleet lay across those waterways, the admiral decided to make for a French port.
"The Spanish commanders in the convoy objected to this decision. They wanted to be taken to a Spanish port, if not to Cadiz, then to the Bay of Vigo, located on Spain's northwest coast and not blockaded.
"Admiral de Chateau-Renault was so indecisive as to obey this directive, and the galleons entered the Bay of Vigo.
"Unfortunately this bay forms an open, offshore mooring that's impossible to defend. So it was essential to hurry and empty the galleons before the allied fleets arrived, and there would have been ample time for this unloading, if a wretched question of trade agreements hadn't suddenly come up.
"Are you clear on the chain of events?" Captain Nemo asked me.
"Perfectly clear," I said, not yet knowing why I was being given this history lesson.
"Then I'll continue. Here's what came to pass. The tradesmen of Cadiz had negotiated a charter whereby they were to receive all merchandise coming from the West Indies. Now then, unloading the ingots from those galleons at the port of Vigo would have been a violation of their rights. So they lodged a complaint in Madrid, and they obtained an order from the indecisive King Philip V: without unloading, the convoy would stay in custody at the offshore mooring of Vigo until the enemy fleets had retreated.
"Now then, just as this decision was being handed down, English vessels arrived in the Bay of Vigo on October 22, 1702. Despite his inferior forces, Admiral de Chateau-Renault fought courageously. But when he saw that the convoy's wealth was about to fall into enemy hands, he burned and scuttled the galleons, which went to the bottom with their immense treasures."
Captain Nemo stopped. I admit it: I still couldn't see how this piece of history concerned me.
"Well?" I asked him.
"Well, Professor Aronnax," Captain Nemo answered me, "we're actually in that Bay of Vigo, and all that's left is for you to probe the mysteries of the place."
The captain stood up and invited me to follow him. I'd had time to collect myself. I did so. The lounge was dark, but the sea's waves sparkled through the transparent windows. I stared.
Around the Nautilus for a half-mile radius, the waters seemed saturated with electric light. The sandy bottom was clear and bright. Dressed in diving suits, crewmen were busy clearing away half-rotted barrels and disemboweled trunks in the midst of the dingy hulks of ships. Out of these trunks and kegs spilled ingots of gold and silver, cascades of jewels, pieces of eight. The sand was heaped with them. Then, laden with these valuable spoils, the men returned to the Nautilus, dropped off their burdens inside, and went to resume this inexhaustible fishing for silver and gold.
I understood. This was the setting of that battle on October 22, 1702. Here, in this very place, those galleons carrying treasure to the Spanish government had gone to the bottom. Here, whenever he needed, Captain Nemo came to withdraw these millions to ballast his Nautilus. It was for him, for him alone, that America had yielded up its precious metals. He was the direct, sole heir to these treasures wrested from the Incas and those peoples conquered by Hernando Cortez!
"Did you know, professor," he asked me with a smile, "that the sea contained such wealth?"
"I know it's estimated," I replied, "that there are 2,000,000 metric tons of silver held in suspension in seawater."
“不錯，不過提煉這些銀，所花的費用比所得的利益還大。在這灣中就不同了，我只需撿拾人們所丟掉的就行了。還不僅在這維哥灣中，在其他千百處的失事地點也一樣，這都由我的海底地表徵圖記下來了。您現在明白了我是有無窮億萬的財富嗎？”
"Surely, but in extracting that silver, your expenses would outweigh your profits. Here, by contrast, I have only to pick up what other men have lost, and not only in this Bay of Vigo but at a thousand other sites where ships have gone down, whose positions are marked on my underwater chart. Do you understand now that I'm rich to the tune of billions?"
“我明白了，船長。但請您讓我說一句，就是您來撈打維哥灣金銀的事，您不過比跟您競爭的一個會社的工作先走一步罷了。”
"I understand, captain. Nevertheless, allow me to inform you that by harvesting this very Bay of Vigo, you're simply forestalling the efforts of a rival organization."
“什麼會社呢？”
"What organization?"
“是一個獲得西班牙政府的特許，來打撈這些沉沒的運輸船隻的會社。會社的股東們因為有巨大利潤可圖，大家都受到誘惑，興緻很高，因為人們估計這些沉沒的財寶有五萬萬的巨大價值呢。”
"A company chartered by the Spanish government to search for these sunken galleons. The company's investors were lured by the bait of enormous gains, because this scuttled treasure is estimated to be worth 500,000,000 francs."
“五萬萬！”尼摩船長回答，“從前是在灣裡，現在卻不在了。”
"It was 500,000,000 francs," Captain Nemo replied, "but no more!"
“正是，”我說，“所以對這些股東發出一個通知，可能是一陣好事。恐怕通知要很受歡迎呢。通常，賭博的人所最悔恨的，主要是他們的瘋狂希望的毀滅，金錢的損失還在其次呢。不過，我並不惋惜這些股東們，我想到的是千千萬萬的苦難人，把這許多的財富好好地分配給他們將有多少的好處，可是現在這些財富對他們是沒有用處了！”
"Right," I said. "Hence a timely warning to those investors would be an act of charity. Yet who knows if it would be well received? Usually what gamblers regret the most isn't the loss of their money so much as the loss of their insane hopes. But ultimately I feel less sorry for them than for the thousands of unfortunate people who would have benefited from a fair distribution of this wealth, whereas now it will be of no help to them!"
我本來不想表示這個惋惜的意思，我感覺到這要傷了尼摩船長的感情。
No sooner had I voiced this regret than I felt it must have wounded Captain Nemo.
“沒有用處！”他激動地回答，“那麼，先生，您認為由我收集起來，這些財富是丟了嗎？照您來看，我車辛苦苦打扮這些財物是為我自己嗎？誰告訴您我不是好仔地正當使用它們呢？您以為我不知道世上有無數受苦的人，有被壓迫的種族嗎？有無數要救濟的窮人，要報仇的犧牲者嗎，您不明白嗎。……”
"No help!" he replied with growing animation. "Sir, what makes you assume this wealth goes to waste when I'm the one amassing it? Do you think I toil to gather this treasure out of selfishness? Who says I don't put it to good use? Do you think I'm unaware of the suffering beings and oppressed races living on this earth, poor people to comfort, victims to avenge? Don't you understand . . . ?"
尼摩船長說到最後幾句就停住了，是不是心中後悔說了過多的話呢？我精對了。不論是什麼動機，要他到海底下來尋求獨立自主，他首先還是一個人！
Captain Nemo stopped on these last words, perhaps sorry that he had said too much. But I had guessed. Whatever motives had driven him to seek independence under the seas, he remained a human being before all else! His heart still throbbed for suffering humanity, and his immense philanthropy went out both to downtrodden races and to individuals!
我於是明白了，當諾第留斯號航行在起義反抗的克里特島海中的時候，尼摩船長送出去的數百萬金子是給誰的！
And now I knew where Captain Nemo had delivered those millions, when the Nautilus navigated the waters where Crete was in rebellion against the Ottoman Empire!