海底兩萬里 第123期 第9章 尼德·蘭的憤怒(8)

　　To tell the truth, friend Land, I know little more about it than you do.

　　老實說，尼德·蘭好朋友，我跟您一樣，知道的不比您多。

　　But in a nutshell, what do you suppose is going on?

　　那么，您就猜一猜，怎么樣?

　　My supposition is that sheer chance has made us privy to an important secret.

　　我想，這次偶然事件使我們知道了一個重大的秘密。

　　Now then, if the crew of this underwater boat have a personal interest in keeping that secret,

　　如果潛水艇上的人認為這個秘密對他們有重大利害關系，一定要保守，

　　and if their personal interest is more important than the lives of three men, I believe that our very existence is in jeopardy.

　　如果這種利害關系比三個人的生命更要緊，那么，我認為我們的生命就危險了。

　　If such is not the case, then at the first available opportunity, this monster that has swallowed us will return us to the world inhabited by our own kind.

　　反過來，如果情形不是這樣，那么，一有機會，這個吞食我們的怪物就可以把我們送回我們?nèi)祟惥幼〉拇箨憽?/p>

　　Unless they recruit us to serve on the crew, Conseil said, and keep us here.

　　就怕他們把我們編人他們的船員名冊中了，康塞爾說，他們就這樣把我們留下來了…

　　Till the moment, Ned Land answered, when some frigate that's faster or smarter than the Abraham Lincoln captures this den of buccaneers, then hangs all of us by the neck from the tip of a mainmast yardarm!

　　留下我們，尼德·蘭答，一直到有一艘比林肯號更快、或更靈巧的戰(zhàn)艦，破獲了這個匪巢，把巢中的人員和我們送到船上大桅的橫木上，讓大家自由自在，盡量呼吸一次空氣。

　　Well thought out, Mr. Land, I replied.

　　尼德·蘭師傅，您想得對，我答，

　　But as yet, I don't believe we've been tendered any enlistment offers. Consequently, it's pointless to argue about what tactics we should pursue in such a case.

　　可是，據(jù)我們知道，人家還沒有向我們提出關于這事的建議，我們現(xiàn)在就來討論應該采取哪一種辦法，是沒有用處的。

　　I repeat: let's wait, let's be guided by events, and let's do nothing, since right now there's nothing we can do.

　　我一再說，我們要等待，既然沒事就不必隨便找事。