正是,在平面地圖上記下的那個點,展開了上面說的一條暖流,日本人叫做黑水流,黑水流從孟加拉灣出來,受熱帶太陽光線的直射,很為溫暖,橫過馬六甲海峽,沿著亞洲海岸前進(jìn),人太平洋北部作環(huán)彎形,直到阿留地安群島。它將樟腦樹干和各地方的各樣土產(chǎn)輸送出去,它的暖流的純靛藍(lán)色跟大洋的水流顯然分開。諾第留斯號要走的就是這條水流。我兩眼盯著它,我看見它抿沒在太平洋的無邊水際中;我正感到自己跟水流一齊奔馳的時候,尼德·蘭和康塞爾在客廳門口出現(xiàn)了。
My two gallant companions stood petrified at the sight of the wonders on display.
我的兩個老實同伴看見堆在他們眼前的神奇物品,驚怪得發(fā)楞了:
Where are we? the Canadian exclaimed. In the Quebec Museum?
我們在什么地方呢?我們在什么地方呢?加拿大人喊,我們在魁北克博物館嗎?
Begging master's pardon, Conseil answered, but this seems more like the Sommerard artifacts exhibition!
如果先生認(rèn)為可以,康塞爾答,還不如說這是桑美拉大廈呢!
My friends, I replied, signaling them to enter, you're in neither Canada nor France, but securely aboard the Nautilus, fifty meters below sea level.
朋友們,我回答,我同時做個手勢,讓他們進(jìn)來,你們不是在加拿大,也不是在法蘭西,而是在諾第留斯號船上,在海底下五十米。
If master says so, then so be it, Conseil answered. But in all honesty, this lounge is enough to astonish even someone Flemish like myself.
當(dāng)然要相信先生的話,因為先生這樣肯定了??等麪柣卮?,老實說,這個客廳,就是讓我這個佛蘭蒙人看來也要驚奇。
Indulge your astonishment, my friend, and have a look, because there's plenty of work here for a classifier of your talents.
朋友,你驚奇吧,你好好地看吧,因為對于你這么能干的一個分類者,這里實在有不少的工作可做哩。
Conseil needed no encouraging. Bending over the glass cases, the gallant lad was already muttering choice words from the naturalist's vocabulary: class Gastropoda, family Buccinoidea, genus cowry, species Cypraea madagascariensis, etc.
我并不需要鼓勵康塞爾去做。這個老實人早就彎身在玻璃柜子上,嘴里已經(jīng)低聲說出生物學(xué)家所用的詞匯:腹足綱,油螺科,磁貝屬,馬達(dá)加斯加介蛤種,等等…