This said, the Canadian withdrew, leaving me close to dumbfounded. I had imagined that if it came to this, I would have time to think about it, to talk it over. My stubborn companion hadn't granted me this courtesy. But after all, what would I have said to him? Ned Land was right a hundred times over.These were near-ideal circumstances, and he was taking full advantage of them. In my selfish personal interests, could I go back on my word and be responsible for ruining the future lives of my companions? Tomorrow, might not Captain Nemo take us far away from any shore?
說完這話,加拿大人就退出去,讓我一人不知所措地呆在房中;我也想過,機(jī)會來了,我可以有時間來考慮,來討論。但我那性情固執(zhí)的同伴不讓我這樣做。到底,我還能對他說什么話呢?尼德·蘭十分對。他現(xiàn)在要利用的,的確是一個好機(jī)會。我可以食言反悔嗎?我能為了完全個人的利益,損害我的同伴們的將來嗎?我負(fù)得了這種責(zé)任嗎?明天,尼摩船長不是很可以把我們帶到離開所有陸地的大海中去嗎?
Just then a fairly loud hissing told me that the ballast tanks were filling, and the Nautilus sank beneath the waves of the Atlantic.
這時候,發(fā)出相當(dāng)響的嘯聲,我曉得船上儲水池盛滿水了,諾第留斯號潛入大茵洋水底下去了。
I stayed in my stateroom. I wanted to avoid the captain, to hide from his eyes the agitation overwhelming me. What an agonizing day I spent, torn between my desire to regain my free will and my regret at abandoning this marvelous Nautilus, leaving my underwater research incomplete! How could I relinquish this ocean-"my own Atlantic," as I liked to call it-without observing its lower strata, without wresting from it the kinds of secrets that had been revealed to me by the seas of the East Indies and the Pacific! I was putting down my novel half read, I was waking up as my dream neared its climax! How painfully the hours passed, as I sometimes envisioned myself safe on shore with my companions, or, despite my better judgment, as I sometimes wished that some unforeseen circumstances would prevent Ned Land from carrying out his plans.
我留在我的房中。我要躲開船長,使他的眼睛看不到我心中激動的情緒。我就這樣度過這很愁悶的一天,一方面想走,恢復(fù)我的自由,另一方面又惋惜,丟開這只神奇的“諾第留斯號,使我的海底研究不能完成!這樣離開這海洋,像我喜歡說的,這樣離開“我的大西洋”,并沒有觀察它的最深水層,并沒有從它取得印度洋和太平洋曾給我揭露的秘密!我的小說剛翻完第一章就從手中掉下去了,我的夢正在最美好的時候就被打斷了!多少苦悶的時間就這樣過去,有時看見自己跟同伴們安全逃在陸地上,有時又不顧自己的理性,希望有意夕)的機(jī)會,阻止尼德·蘭的計劃不實現(xiàn)!