海底兩萬里 第65期 第6章 開足馬力(7)

But to get near it, the commander went on, I'd have to put a whaleboat at your disposal?

不過你去挨近它的時(shí)候，艦長說，我得給一只捕鯨艇供您使用吧?

Certainly, sir.

當(dāng)然要有一只，先生。

That would be gambling with the lives of my men.

坐小船豈不是拿我的人員的生命去冒險(xiǎn)?

And with my own! the harpooner replied simply.

我的命不算命嗎?這位魚叉手干脆地回答。

Near two o'clock in the morning, the core of light reappeared, no less intense, five miles to windward of the Abraham Lincoln.

到早晨兩點(diǎn)左右，這發(fā)光的焦點(diǎn)，在跟林肯號(hào)前面相距五海里遠(yuǎn)的海面，又發(fā)出同樣強(qiáng)烈的光。

Despite the distance, despite the noise of wind and sea, we could distinctly hear the fearsome thrashings of the animal's tail, and even its panting breath.

雖然距離大，雖然有風(fēng)聲和浪聲，我們還是清楚地聽到這動(dòng)物尾巴的攪水聲。

Seemingly, the moment this enormous narwhale came up to breathe at the surface of the ocean,

并且聽到它的喘息聲。這只巨大的獨(dú)角鯨到洋面上來呼吸的時(shí)候，

air was sucked into its lungs like steam into the huge cylinders of a 2,000-horsepower engine.

空氣吸人它肺中，就像水蒸氣送到兩千馬力機(jī)器的大圓筒里面去那樣。

Hmm! I said to myself. A cetacean as powerful as a whole cavalry regiment-now that's a whale of a whale!

晤!我想，這強(qiáng)大得像一隊(duì)騎兵的鯨魚，一定是一條了不得的鯨魚!