海底兩萬里 第82期 第7章 一種從未見過的魚(5)

　　An amazing character, this boy; in midocean, this stoic lad seemed right at home!

　　這個(gè)冰一般冷的人在這里好像在自己家里那樣!

　　So, having concluded that our sole chance for salvation lay in being picked up by the Abraham Lincoln's longboats, we had to take steps to wait for them as long as possible.

　　現(xiàn)在我們唯一的生路，就是希望林肯號放下小艇來救我們，所以我們應(yīng)該想辦法，盡力支持，時(shí)間愈久愈好，等待小艇到來。

　　Consequently, I decided to divide our energies so we wouldn't both be worn out at the same time, and this was the arrangement:

　　我于是決定節(jié)約使用我們的力量，使兩人不至同時(shí)筋疲力盡，下面是我們的辦法：

　　while one of us lay on his back, staying motionless with arms crossed and legs outstretched, the other would swim and propel his partner forward.

　　我們一個(gè)人朝天躺著，兩臂交叉，兩腿伸直，浮著不動(dòng)，另一個(gè)人泅水把前一人往前推送。

　　This towing role was to last no longer than ten minutes, and by relieving each other in this way, we could stay afloat for hours, perhaps even until daybreak.

　　做這種“拖船”的工作，每人不能超過十分鐘，我們這樣替換著做，我們就可以在水面浮好幾個(gè)鐘頭，也許可以一直支持到天亮。

　　Slim chance, but hope springs eternal in the human breast! Besides, there were two of us.

　　這是碰運(yùn)氣的事!不過希望在人心中總是根深蒂固的!并且我們又是兩個(gè)人。