海底兩萬里 第268期 第20章 托列斯海峽(16)
He spotted a coconut palm, beat down some of its fruit, broke them open, and we drank their milk and ate their meat with a pleasure that was a protest against our standard fare on the Nautilus.
他看見一棵椰子樹，打下樹上好幾個椰子，劈開來，我們喝了里面的汁、吃了里面的肉, 心中感到滿意，這正說明了我們對于諾第留斯號船上家常飯食的不滿。
Excellent! Ned Land said.
好吃得很！尼德·蘭說。
Exquisite! Conseil replied.
味道真美！康塞爾回答。
And I don't think, the Canadian said, that your Nemo would object to us stashing a cargo of coconuts aboard his vessel?
我想，加拿大人說，我們把這些果品帶回船上去，您那個尼摩不至于反對吧？
I imagine not, I replied, but he won't want to sample them.
我想他不至于反對，我回答，不過他一定不吃。
Too bad for him! Conseil said.
活該他沒口福！康塞爾說。
And plenty good for us! Ned Land shot back. There'll be more left over!
我們倒可以多吃了！尼德·蘭回答，因為那樣剩下來的才更多。
A word of caution, Mr. Land, I told the harpooner, who was about to ravage another coconut palm. Coconuts are admirable things, but before we stuff the skiff with them, it would be wise to find out whether this island offers other substances just as useful. Some fresh vegetables would be well received in the Nautilus's pantry.
我告訴您一句話，尼德·蘭師傅，我對這個魚叉手說，他又要打另一棵椰子樹了，椰子是好吃的東西，但不要馬上把小艇都裝滿了椰子，先考察一下島上是否還出產別的東西，一些又好吃又有用的東西，這才是聰明的辦法。譬如新鮮的蔬菜，諾第留斯號船上的廚房一定很歡迎。
Master is right, Conseil replied, and I propose that we set aside three places in our longboat: one for fruit, another for vegetables, and a third for venison, of which I still haven't glimpsed the tiniest specimen.
先生說得有理，康塞爾回答，我提議把我們小艇分成三部分，一部分放水果，一部分放蔬菜，一部分放獵物。可是一直到現在，連野味的影子還沒有看見呢。
Don't give up so easily, Conseil, the Canadian replied.
康塞爾，都不應該失望。加拿大人回答。
So let's continue our excursion, I went on, but keep a sharp lookout. This island seems uninhabited, but it still might harbor certain inpiduals who aren't so finicky about the sort of game they eat!
那么，我們繼續(xù)走吧，我說，不過眼睛要留神，要四處張望。雖然島上看來沒有人居住，但很可能有些生人，他們對于豬物性質的看法可能跟我們不同！
Hee hee! Ned put in, with a meaningful movement of his jaws.
嘻：嘻! 尼德·蘭發(fā)出怪聲，擺動著上下兩顎的牙床，作出意義明顯的表示。
