海底兩萬(wàn)里 第474期 第29章 缺少空氣(4)

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I didn't tell my two companions about this new danger. There was no point in dampening the energy they were putting into our arduous rescue work. But when I returned on board, I mentioned this serious complication to Captain Nemo.

我并不讓我的兩個(gè)同伴知道這個(gè)危險(xiǎn)，以免他們做這種辛苦救護(hù)工作的勇氣受到打擊。不過(guò)，當(dāng)我回到船上的時(shí)候，我向尼摩船長(zhǎng)提出，要他注意這種嚴(yán)重的復(fù)雜情形。

I know, he told me in that calm tone the most dreadful outlook couldn't change. "It's one more danger, but I don't know any way of warding it off. Our sole chance for salvation is to work faster than the water solidifies. We've got to get there first, that's all." Get there first! By then I should have been used to this type of talk!

“我知道這事，”他對(duì)我說(shuō)，他總是這樣，最可怕的意外也不能更改他的鎮(zhèn)定，“這是多加了一個(gè)危險(xiǎn)，我看不見(jiàn)有什么方法可以躲過(guò)。我們得救的唯一機(jī)會(huì)，就是我們的工作比凍結(jié)作用進(jìn)行得更快。問(wèn)題在于誰(shuí)先搶在前面。”搶在前面！我早就應(yīng)該習(xí)慣于這種說(shuō)法了！

For several hours that day, I wielded my pick doggedly. The work kept me going. Besides, working meant leaving the Nautilus, which meant breathing the clean oxygen drawn from the air tanks and supplied by our equipment, which meant leaving the thin, foul air behind.

這一天，在好幾個(gè)鐘頭內(nèi)，我堅(jiān)持頑強(qiáng)地?fù)]動(dòng)鐵锨。這工作支持和鼓勵(lì)我。并且，工作就等于離開(kāi)諾第留斯號(hào)，也就是直接呼吸那現(xiàn)在是從儲(chǔ)藏庫(kù)取來(lái)的、由空氣箱供應(yīng)的純潔空氣，就是離開(kāi)那貧乏和惡濁的船上空氣。

Near evening one more meter had been dug from the trench. When I returned on board, I was wellnigh asphyxiated by the carbon dioxide saturating the air. Oh, if only we had the chemical methods that would enable us to drive out this noxious gas! There was no lack of oxygen. All this water contained a considerable amount, and after it was decomposed by our powerful batteries, this life-giving elastic fluid could have been restored to us. I had thought it all out, but to no avail because the carbon dioxide produced by our breathing permeated every part of the ship. To absorb it, we would need to fill containers with potassium hydroxide and shake them continually. But this substance was missing on board and nothing else could replace it.

到了晚上，坑又挖去了一米。當(dāng)我回到船上時(shí)，我吸了空氣中飽和的碳酸氣，差不多窒息了。??！我們?yōu)槭裁礇](méi)有方法來(lái)消除這種有害的氣體呢！我們并不缺乏氧。這海水中含有大量的氧，我們的強(qiáng)力電池可以把它分解出來(lái)，它可能給我們把那興奮刺激人的氣體回復(fù)了原來(lái)狀態(tài)。我想過(guò)這事，但有利：么用處，因?yàn)?，由我們呼吸產(chǎn)生的碳酸氣已經(jīng)侵入船上各部分了。吸收碳酸氣，要把氯化鉀放在排氣管中，不停地?fù)u動(dòng)玻璃管。可是船上缺乏氯化鉀，沒(méi)有別的物質(zhì)可以替代。

That evening Captain Nemo was forced to open the spigots of his air tanks and shoot a few spouts of fresh oxygen through the Nautilus's interior. Without this precaution we wouldn't have awakened the following morning.

這一晚上，尼摩船長(zhǎng)必須打開(kāi)儲(chǔ)藏庫(kù)的龍頭，放出數(shù)陣純潔空氣到諾第留斯號(hào)內(nèi)部。沒(méi)有這種措施，也許我們?cè)缟暇筒荒苄褋?lái)。

The next day, March 26, I returned to my miner's trade, working to remove the fifth meter. The Ice Bank's side walls and underbelly had visibly thickened. Obviously they would come together before the Nautilus could break free. For an instant I was gripped by despair. My pick nearly slipped from my hands. What was the point of this digging if I was to die smothered and crushed by this water turning to stone, a torture undreamed of by even the wildest savages! I felt like I was lying in the jaws of a fearsome monster, jaws irresistibly closing.

第二夭，8月26日，我又做礦工的工作，要把第五米的冰挖出來(lái)。冰山的兩側(cè)和底層顯然加厚了。很顯然，這些冰塊在諾第留斯號(hào)可能脫身之前，都要凝結(jié)起來(lái)。我一時(shí)感到絕望。我的鐵锨差不多要從我手中掉下來(lái)了。挖有什么用處，既然我要被窒息死，被這變?yōu)槭^的水所壓扁，就是野蠻人的殘酷也沒(méi)有發(fā)明出這樣的一種酷刑。好像我是夾在一個(gè)怪物的牙床里面，無(wú)法抵抗，逐漸收緊在利齒中了。

Supervising our work, working himself, Captain Nemo passed near me just then. I touched him with my hand and pointed to the walls of our prison. The starboard wall had moved forward to a point less than four meters from the Nautilus's hull.

這時(shí)候，尼摩船長(zhǎng)指揮工作，他自己也工作，從我身邊走過(guò)。我手挨他，把我們冰監(jiān)牢的墻壁指給他看。船右舷的冰墻挨近諾第留斯號(hào)的船身不及四米了。