海底兩萬里 第330期 第23章 珊瑚王國(30)

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We walked by ourselves, genuine loiterers stopping or straying as our fancies dictated.

我們各走各的路，隨自己的意思，或停下，或走開。

For my part, I was no longer worried about those dangers my imagination had so ridiculously exaggerated.

至于我自己，我已經不把那件由于空想所引起的十分可笑的事放在心上了。

The shallows drew noticeably closer to the surface of the sea, and soon, walking in only a meter of water, my head passed well above the level of the ocean.

海底這時顯然接近海面，不久，我的頭離水面只有一米了。

Conseil rejoined me, and gluing his huge copper capsule to mine, his eyes gave me a friendly greeting.

康塞爾走近我身邊，把他的銅球帽貼著我的銅球帽，他擠弄眼睛，向我作個友誼的敬禮。

But this lofty plateau measured only a few fathoms, and soon we reentered Our Element. I think I've now earned the right to dub it that.

不過這水底高原只有幾米長，不久我們又回到我們的深水中。我想現(xiàn)在我有權利可以這樣講。

Ten minutes later, Captain Nemo stopped suddenly. I thought he'd called a halt so that we could turn and start back.

十分鐘后，尼摩船長忽然停住了。我以為他是停一下就要轉回去。

No. With a gesture he ordered us to crouch beside him at the foot of a wide crevice. His hand motioned toward a spot within the liquid mass, and I looked carefully.

然而不是。他做個手勢，要我們在一個寬大的窩里面，挨近他身邊蹲下來。他用手指著水中的一點，我很注意地觀察。

Five meters away a shadow appeared and dropped to the seafloor. The alarming idea of sharks crossed my mind.

離我們五米的地方，出現(xiàn)一個黑影，下沉到底。使我害怕的鮫魚的念頭又涌現(xiàn)在我心中了。

But I was mistaken, and once again we didn't have to deal with monsters of the deep.

可是，這一次我又錯了，在我們面前的并不是海洋中的怪物。

It was a man, a living man, a black Indian fisherman, a poor devil who no doubt had come to gather what he could before harvest time.

那是一個人，一個活人，一個印度人，一個黑人，當然是一個采珠人，一個可憐人，他未到采珠期就前來采珠了。

I saw the bottom of his dinghy, moored a few feet above his head. He would pe and go back up in quick succession.

我看見他的艇底。停泊在距他頭上只有幾英尺的水面上。他潛入水中，隨即又浮上來。

A stone cut in the shape of a sugar loaf, which he gripped between his feet while a rope connected it to his boat, served to lower him more quickly to the ocean floor.

一塊砸成像小面包一般的石頭夾在兩腳中間，一根繩索縛著石頭，系在他的艇子上，使他可以很快地到海底下來。

This was the extent of his equipment.

以上就是他所有的采珠工具。

Arriving on the seafloor at a depth of about five meters, he fell to his knees and stuffed his sack with shellfish gathered at random.

到了海底，約五米深左右，他立即跪下，把順手拿到的小紋珠：貝塞人他的口袋中。

Then he went back up, emptied his sack, pulled up his stone, and started all over again, the whole process lasting only thirty seconds.

然后，他上去，倒凈口袋，拉出石頭，又開始下水采珠，一上一下，只不過是三十秒鐘。