海底兩萬里 第329期 第23章 珊瑚王國(28)

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Just then a huge cave opened up in our path, hollowed from a picturesque pile of rocks whose smooth heights were completely hung with underwater flora.

這時候，我們面前現(xiàn)出一個寬大的石洞，洞在滿鋪各種海底花草的巖石堆中。

At first this cave looked pitch-black to me. Inside, the sun's rays seemed to diminish by degrees. Their hazy transparency was nothing more than drowned light.

起初，我看這洞中很黑暗。照到這里的太陽光好像漸漸微弱，以至熄滅了。剩下的模糊的亮光只不過是浸在水里的光線罷了。

Captain Nemo went in. We followed him. My eyes soon grew accustomed to this comparative gloom.

尼摩船長進(jìn)入洞中。我們跟他進(jìn)去。我的眼睛不久就習(xí)慣了這種并非漆黑的黑暗。

I distinguished the unpredictably contoured springings of a vault, supported by natural pillars firmly based on a granite foundation, like the weighty columns of Tuscan architecture.

我分辨出那些由天然石柱支架起來的、穹窿很寬大的形成輪廓的起拱石，這些石柱的寬大底座安在花崗巖的石基上，像托斯甘式建筑的笨重石柱那樣。

Why had our incomprehensible guide taken us into the depths of this underwater crypt? I would soon find out.

我們的神秘帶路人為什么拉我們到這海底下的地窖中來呢？我不久就明白了。

After going down a fairly steep slope, our feet trod the floor of a sort of circular pit. There Captain Nemo stopped, and his hand indicated an object that I hadn't yet noticed.

我們走下相當(dāng)陡的斜坡，我們的腳踩踏了一種圓形的井底地面。到這里，尼摩船長停住了，他手指一件東西，但我還不能看清楚。

It was an oyster of extraordinary dimensions, a titanic giant clam,

那是一只身量巨大的珍珠貝，一只龐大無比的車渠，

a holy-water font that could have held a whole lake, a basin more than two meters wide, hence even bigger than the one adorning the Nautilus's lounge.

一個盛一池水的圣水盤，一個超過兩米寬的大缽，所以這只貝比諾第留斯號客廳中放著的還大。

I approached this phenomenal mollusk. Its mass of filaments attached it to a table of granite, and there it grew by itself in the midst of the cave's calm waters.

我走近這出奇少有的軟體動物面前。它的纖維帶把它釘在花崗巖的石板上，附著這石板，它就在這石洞的平靜海水中單獨成長起來。

I estimated the weight of this giant clam at 300 kilograms. Hence such an oyster held fifteen kilos of meat, and you'd need the stomach of King Gargantua to eat a couple dozen.

我估計這只貝的重量有三百公斤。而這樣一只貝可以有十五公斤的凈肉，那就必須有一位卡岡都亞②的肚子才能眷食幾打這樣巨大的貝了。

Captain Nemo was obviously familiar with this bivalve's existence. This wasn't the first time he'd paid it a visit, and I thought his sole reason for leading us to this locality was to show us a natural curiosity.

尼摩船長分明是知道這只雙殼動物的存在。他到這個地方來不止一次了，我想他帶我們到這里來只是要給我們看一件天然的奇物。

I was mistaken. Captain Nemo had an explicit personal interest in checking on the current condition of this giant clam.

我搞錯了。尼摩船長有特別目的，是為了解這車渠的情況而來的。