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(fā)瘋了,要把他的船走人杜蒙·居維爾的船幾乎要沉沒的險道中去。忽然它又第二次改變方向,正指著西方,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(xiàn)在,我眼前還現(xiàn)出這島上很好看的班達(dá)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.
突然一下的沖擊把我震倒了。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(dāng)我站起來時,我看見平臺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(yuǎn)的地方是格波羅爾島,這島的海岸從北至西作回環(huán)形,好像一只巨大的胳膊。南邊和東邊,已經(jīng)看見一些由于退潮露出的珊瑚石尖我們的船是整個地擱淺在海里面,而這里的潮水平常不高,這對于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(yuǎn)擱淺在暗礁上,尼摩船長的潛水船不是就完蛋了嗎?