海底兩萬里 第237期 第18章 太平洋下四千里(9)

They were migrating from the temperate zones toward zones still warmer, following the itineraries of herring and sardines. We stared at them through our thick glass windows: they swam backward with tremendous speed, moving by means of their locomotive tubes, chasing fish and mollusks, eating the little ones, eaten by the big ones, and tossing in indescribable confusion the ten feet that nature has rooted in their heads like a hairpiece of pneumatic snakes. Despite its speed, the Nautilus navigated for several hours in the midst of this school of animals, and its nets brought up an incalculable number, among which I recognized all nine species that Professor Orbigny has classified as native to the Pacific Ocean.

它們遵循著槽白魚和沙丁魚所走的路線，從溫帶地方轉(zhuǎn)移到較暖的水域去。我們通過很厚的透亮玻璃，看見它們向后倒退，極端迅速地游泳，運(yùn)用它們的運(yùn)動卿管轉(zhuǎn)動，追趕魚類和軟體動物，吃小魚，或被大魚吃掉。它們把天生就的頭上十只腿腳在難以形容地胡亂抓爬，好像小孩玩的蛇形吹氣管子。諾第留斯號，不管它走得多么快，但在這大群動物中間也走了好幾個鐘頭，魚網(wǎng)打到了無數(shù)的這種搶烏賊，其中我看到了被奧賓尼分類的九種太平洋品種。

During this crossing, the sea continually lavished us with the most marvelous sights. Its variety was infinite. It changed its setting and decor for the mere pleasure of our eyes, and we were called upon not simply to contemplate the works of our Creator in the midst of the liquid element, but also to probe the ocean's most daunting mysteries.

人們看到，在這次航行中，海洋把所有的各種奇妙景象不斷地擺出來，它時時更換布景和場面，使我們的眼睛看來十分愉快，我們不單被吸引，要在海水里面觀察造物者的作品，并且還要來理解海洋底下最驚人的秘密。

During the day of December 11, I was busy reading in the main lounge. Ned Land and Conseil were observing the luminous waters through the gaping panels. The Nautilus was motionless. Its ballast tanks full, it was sitting at a depth of 1,000 meters in a comparatively unpopulated region of the ocean where only larger fish put in occasional appearances.

12月11日，我整天都在客廳中看書。尼德·蘭和康塞爾通過打開的嵌板，注視那明亮的海水。諾第留斯號停住不動了。它的儲水池滿裝著水。它在水深一千米的地方，這是海洋中很少有生物居留的區(qū)域，只有大魚偶然在這里出現(xiàn)。

Just then I was studying a delightful book by Jean Macé, The Servants of the Stomach, and savoring its ingenious teachings, when Conseil interrupted my reading.

我這時正讀讓·馬西著的一本很有趣味的書—胃的調(diào)理者，我正津津有味地讀著書中美妙的教導(dǎo)的時候，被康塞爾的說話聲打斷。

"Would master kindly come here for an instant?" he said to me in an odd voice.

“請先生來一下行嗎?"他帶著很驚異的聲音對我說。

"What is it, Conseil?"

“有什么事，康塞爾?

"It's something that master should see."

“先生請來看吧。”