海底兩萬里 第323期 第23章 珊瑚王國(22)

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Captain Nemo took me to the central companionway whose steps led to the platform. Ned and Conseil were there, enraptured with the "pleasure trip" getting under way.

尼摩船長領(lǐng)我到中央樓梯，梯上通至平臺。尼德·蘭和康塞爾早在那里了，他們對于準(zhǔn)備做的“海底游玩”很為高興。

Oars in position, five of the Nautilus's sailors were waiting for us aboard the skiff, which was moored alongside.

諾第留斯船上的五個水手拿著槳，在緊靠著大船的小艇中等待我們。

The night was still dark. Layers of clouds cloaked the sky and left only a few stars in view.

夜色還很黑暗。片片的云彩遮滿天空，只露出很稀微的星光。

My eyes flew to the side where land lay, but I saw only a blurred line covering three-quarters of the horizon from southwest to northwest.

我兩眼向陸地方面看，我只見一條搖曳不定的直線，封住了從西南到西北的四分之三的天邊。

Going up Ceylon's west coast during the night, the Nautilus lay west of the bay, or rather that gulf formed by the mainland and Mannar Island.

在夜間上溯了錫蘭島西部海岸，現(xiàn)在到了這海口的西邊，或不如說，到了馬納爾島陸地形成的這個海灣的西邊。

Under these dark waters there stretched the bank of shellfish, an inexhaustible field of pearls more than twenty miles long.

這里深水底下，羅列著小紋貝礁石巖脈，長度超過二十英里，真是采不盡的珍珠生產(chǎn)常尼摩船長。

Captain Nemo, Conseil, Ned Land, and I found seats in the stern of the skiff.

康塞爾、尼德·蘭和我，我們坐在小艇后面、小艇挺長用手把著舵，

The longboat's coxswain took the tiller; his four companions leaned into their oars; the moorings were cast off and we pulled clear.

他的四個同伴抉著槳，解了繩索，我們就離開大船了。

The skiff headed southward. The oarsmen took their time.

小艇向南駛?cè)?，艇中的潛水人并不急子下水?/p>

I watched their strokes vigorously catch the water, and they always waited ten seconds before rowing again, following the practice used in most navies.

他們的槳使勁地在水中劃，我注意到這是海軍戰(zhàn)艦上常用的方法。

While the longboat coasted, drops of liquid flicked from the oars and hit the dark troughs of the waves, pitter-pattering like splashes of molten lead.

每寸秒劃一下。小艇在一定的速度上前進(jìn)，水珠像熔鉛散射出的液體一樣，落在漆黑的水波中嘶嘶作響。

Coming from well out, a mild swell made the skiff roll gently, and a few cresting billows lapped at its bow.

一陣不大的波浪從海面沖來，使小艇發(fā)生輕微的顛簸，有些浪花飛濺到它的前頭。