《黎明踏浪號》第十二章 噩夢島

CHAPTER TWELVE THE DARK ISLAND
第十二章　噩夢島

AFTER this adventure they sailed on south and a little east for twelve days with a gentle wind，the skies being mostly clear and the air warm，and saw no bird or fish，except that once there were whales spouting a long way to starboard.Lucy and Reepicheep played a good deal of chess at this time.Then on the thirteenth day，Edmund，from the fighting top，sighted what looked like a great dark mountain rising out of the sea on their port bow.
這段奇遇結束之后，他們順著風，向南偏東的方向航行了十二天，天氣晴朗，空氣很溫暖，天上沒有鳥，海面下也沒有魚，只在右舷外見過一次鯨在噴水。這段時間里露茜和雷佩契普下了不少盤棋。第十三天的時候，愛德蒙在桅頂?shù)挠^測臺上看到左舷的海面上矗立著黑乎乎的一團東西，看上去像一座山。
They altered course and made for this land，mostly by oar， for the wind would not serve them to sail north-east.When evening fell they were still a long way from it and rowed all night. Next morning the weather was fair but a flat calm.The dark mass lay ahead，much nearer and larger，but still very dim，so that some thought it was still a long way off and others thought they were running into a mist.
他們改變航向朝那里開去，可是風力不足，只好靠劃槳，不能向東北行駛。夜幕降臨時，他們離那里還很遠，足足劃了一整夜。第二天早晨，天氣很好，海面上風平浪靜。那一團黑乎乎的龐然大物就橫亙在他們前面，雖然近得多，大得多，但還是非常模糊，有些人還以為它還離得老遠，也有一些人認為他們已經(jīng)闖進了一團迷霧中。
About nine that morning，very suddenly，it was so close that they could see that it was not land at all，nor even，in an ordinary sense，a mist.It was a Darkness.It is rather hard to describe， but you will see what it was like if you imagine yourself looking into the mouth of a railway tunnel-a tunnel either so long or so twisty that you cannot see the light at the far end.And you know what it would be like.For a few feet you would see the rails and sleepers and gravel in broad daylight;then there would come a place where they were in twilight;and then，pretty suddenly， but of course without a sharp dividing line，they would vanish altogether into smooth，solid blackness.It was just so here. For a few feet in front of their bows they could see the swell of the bright greenish-blue water.Beyond that，they could see the water looking pale and grey as it would look late in the evening.But beyond that again，utter blackness as if they had come to the edge of moonless and starless night.
"那一天早晨九點左右，他們以為離陸地已經(jīng)很近，卻突然發(fā)現(xiàn)這里根本不是陸地，也不是通常所說的迷霧，而是一片黑暗。那種狀況很難描寫，如果你設想自己站在一條鐵路隧道的入口，望進去只看到一條很長很長或者彎彎曲曲，望不到盡頭光線的隧道——那你就會明白我的意思了。

你想象一下隧道的樣子，然后先在幾英尺外看見冷白的鐵軌、枕木和碎石，然后來到一個幽暗的地方。再后來，突然一下子，也沒有明顯的分界線，突然就處在渾然一體的黑暗中了。這里的情況就是這樣。在船頭前幾英尺外，他們看得見碧綠的海水在波濤洶涌。再往前，只見海水變成灰蒙蒙的，像在傍晚時分那樣?？墒窃偻h看， 就只見黑漆漆的一片，就像在無星無月的黑夜里一樣。
"
Caspian shouted to the boatswain to keep her back，and all except the rowers rushed forward and gazed from the bows.But there was nothing to be seen by gazing.Behind them was the sea and the sun，before them the Darkness.
凱斯賓大聲下令把船往后劃，除了劃槳的之外，其他人都奔上來， 從船頭向外眺望?？墒强磥砜慈ザ伎床坏绞裁礀|西。后面是大海和太陽，前面是一片黑暗。
“Do we go into this ?”asked Caspian at length.
“要開進去嗎?”凱斯賓終于問道。
“Not by my advice，”said Drinian.
“我覺得還是不進去為妙。”德里寧說。
“The Captain’s right，”said several sailors.
“船長說得對。”好幾個水手說。
“I almost think he is，”said Edmund.
“我基本上也認為他說得很對。”愛德蒙說。
Lucy and Eustace didn’t speak but they felt very glad inside at the turn things seemed to be taking.But all at once the clear voice of Reepicheep broke in upon the silence.
露茜和尤斯塔斯雖然都沒說話，可是當事情就要確定下來的關鍵時刻，他們心里卻很興奮，突出雷佩契普那獨特的嗓音馬上打破沉默。
“And why not?”he said.“Will someone explain to me why not.”
“為什么不進去?”它說，“有人愿意給我解釋一下嗎?”
No one was anxious to explain，so Reepicheep continued：
沒有人解釋，雷佩契普又說下去：
“If I were addressing peasants or slaves，”he said，“I might suppose that this suggestion proceeded from cowardice.But I hope it will never be told in Narnia that a company of noble and royal persons in the flower of their age turned tail because they were afraid of the dark.”
“假如我是在和莊稼人或奴隸對話，”它說，“我可能會認為提出這個主意是因為怯懦。可是我不希望今后納尼亞有人會說一行尊貴的皇室成員，明明年輕力強， 卻因為害怕黑暗而膽怯還撒腿就跑。”
“But what manner of use would it be ploughing through that blackness ?”asked Drinian.
“可是，辛辛苦苦開進那片黑暗里到底有什么用呢?”德里寧問。
“Use ?”replied Reepicheep.“Use，Captain ? If by use you mean filling our bellies or our purses，I confess it will be no use at all.So far as I know we did not set sail to look for things useful but to seek honour and adventure.And here is as great an adventure as ever I heard of，and here，if we turn back，no tittle impeachment of all our honours.”
“用處?”雷佩契普答，“用處嗎，船長?如果你所謂的用處只是填飽我們的肚子或腰包，我承認沒有用。據(jù)我所知，我們揚帆遠航并不是去找尋有用的東西，而是尋求榮譽和奇遇。眼前就有一場聞所未聞的奇遇，如果往回走，那我們的榮譽就要蒙受不明的指責。”
Several of the sailors said things under their breath that sounded like“Honour be blowed”，but Caspian said：
幾個水手一起低聲嘟囔，好像在說：“狗屁榮譽。”可是凱斯賓說：
“Oh，bother you，Reepicheep.I almost wish we’d left you at home.All right ! If you put it that way，I suppose we shall have to go on.Unless Lucy would rather not ?”
“哎呀，你真討厭，雷佩契普。我真希望一開始把你留在國內(nèi)。好啦! 既然你那樣說，我們只好往前走了，除非露茜不愿意去?”
Lucy felt that she would very much rather not，but what she said out loud was，“I’m game.”
露茜心里非常不愿意去，可是嘴里卻大聲說：“我愿意去。”
“Your Majesty will at least order lights ?”said Drinian.
“陛下下令吧，至少點上燈?”德里寧說。
“By all means，”said Caspian.“See to it，Captain.”
“那還用說，”凱斯賓說，“一定要點，船長。”
So the three lanterns，at the stern，and the prow and the masthead，were all lit，and Drinian ordered two torches amidships.Pale and feeble they looked in the sunshine.Then all the men except some who were left below at the oars were ordered on deck and fully armed and posted in their battle stations with swords drawn.Lucy and two archers were posted on the fighting top with bows bent and arrows on the string.Rynelf was in the bows with his line ready to take soundings.Reepicheep， Edmund，Eustace and Caspian，glittering in mail，were with him. Drinian took the tiller.
然后船尾、船頭、桅頂三處的燈都亮了，德里寧下令在船的中心點兩個火把。這些燈在陽光下看上去黯淡無光。除了幾個劃槳的人之外，所有人都奉命到甲板上去，全副武裝，刀劍出鞘，守在戰(zhàn)斗崗位上。露茜和兩個弓箭手被派到桅頂觀測臺上，弓拉滿，箭上弦。水手賴尼夫在船頭，拿著測深錘隨時準備探測水深。雷佩契普、愛德蒙、尤斯塔斯和凱斯賓都戴上頭盔，披上鎧甲，渾身閃閃發(fā)亮。在他邊上， 德里寧掌著大舵。
“And now，in Aslan’s name，forward !”cried Caspian.“A slow，steady stroke.And let every man be silent and keep his ears open for orders.”
“好了，以阿斯蘭的名義，前進!”凱斯賓喊道，“槳要劃得慢而穩(wěn)。大家都別說話，安靜地等待命令。”
With a creak and a groan the Dawn Treader started to creep forward as the men began to row.Lucy，up in the fighting top， had a wonderful view of the exact moment at which they entered the darkness.The bows had already disappeared before the sunlight had left the stern.She saw it go.At one minute the gilded stern， the blue sea，and the sky，were all in broad daylight：next minute the sea and sky had vanished，the stern lantern-which had been hardly noticeable before-was the only thing to show where the ship ended.In front of the lantern she could see the black shape of Drinian crouching at the tiller.Down below her the two torches made visible two small patches of deck and gleamed on swords and helmets，and forward there was another island of light on the forecastle.Apart from that，the fighting top，lit by the masthead light which was only just above her，seemed to be a little lighted world of its own floating in lonely darkness.And the lights themselves，as always happens with lights when you have to have them at the wrong time of day，looked lurid and unnatural.She also noticed that she was very cold.
"隨著船員劃槳，黎明踏浪號發(fā)出吱吱嘎嘎，咿咿呀呀的聲音， 悄然前進了。

就在船開進那片黑暗的一瞬間，露茜在桅頂觀測臺上看到了片刻的奇觀。陽光還照著船尾，船頭已經(jīng)看不清楚了。這會兒鍍金的船尾，碧藍的大海和天空，還都在光天化日之下，過一會兒海天都消失了，剛才還看不見的船尾燈，成了船尾的唯一標記。她能看出燈前德里寧正彎著腰掌舵。在她下面，兩支火把照在甲板上留下兩個亮斑， 火光在刀劍和頭盔上閃爍，往前看，船首樓上也有一片亮著。除此之外，她腦袋上方點著燈的觀測臺自成一個發(fā)亮的小天地，漂浮在沉寂的黑暗中。就像你有時不得不在白天，或并不是點燈的時候點燈一樣， 這些燈光看上去總是陰森森而不自然。她突然感到很冷。
"
How long this voyage into the darkness lasted，nobody knew. Except for the creak of the rowlocks and the splash of the oars there was nothing to show that they were moving at all.Edmund， peering from the bows，could see nothing except the reflection of the lantern in the water before him.It looked a greasy sort of reflection，and the ripple made by their advancing prow appeared to be heavy，small，and lifeless.As time went on everyone except the rowers began to shiver with cold.
沒人知道這次到黑暗中的航程要持續(xù)多久。除了槳吱吱嘎嘎， 槳板嘩啦嘩啦的聲音之外，一點都不像船在行進。愛德蒙從船頭上向外張望，除了面前水面上燈光的倒影之外，其他什么都看不見。這倒影看上去黏糊糊的，船頭前進時激起的漣漪也變得凝重、細小、沒有生氣。時間一分一秒地過去，除了劃槳的人，大家都冷得直打哆嗦。
Suddenly，from somewhere-no one’s sense of direction was very clear by now-there came a cry，either of some inhuman voice or else a voice of one in such extremity of terror that he had almost lost his humanity.
現(xiàn)在沒有人還能分清方向，忽然不知從哪兒傳來一聲喊叫，聽上去不像是人類的聲音。要不就是誰被嚇破了膽，聲音沒了人樣兒。
Caspian was still trying to speak-his mouth was too dry-when the shrill voice of Reepicheep，which sounded louder than usual in that silence，was heard.
凱斯賓的喉嚨很干，但他還是想開口說話，這時只聽見雷佩契普那獨特的嗓音，在寂靜中格外響亮。
“Who calls ?”it piped.“If you are a foe we do not fear you， and if you are a friend your enemies shall be taught the fear of us.”
“是誰在叫?”他尖聲說，“如果你是敵人，我們可不怕你。如果你是朋友，我們就同仇敵愾，共同殺敵。”
“Mercy !”cried the voice.“Mercy !Even if you are only one more dream，have merry.Take me on board.Take me，even if you strike me dead.But in the name of all mercies do not fade away and leave me in this horrible land.”
“可憐可憐吧，”那聲音叫道，“行行好吧!即使只不過又是一個夢，也行行好吧。讓我上船。收留我吧，哪怕你們會打死我?？墒?， 千萬行行好，不要再消失，把我扔在這個可怕的鬼地方。”
“Where are you ?”shouted Caspian.“Come aboard and welcome.”
“你在哪兒?”凱斯賓叫道，“上來吧!”
There came another cry，whether of joy or terror，and then they knew that someone was swimming towards them.
又聽到了一聲喊叫，不知這是出于喜悅還是出于恐懼，隨后他們聽到有人正向他們游來。
“Stand by to heave him up，men，”said Caspian.
“伙計們，把他拉上來。”凱斯賓說。
“Aye，aye，your Majesty，”said the sailors.Several crowded to the port bulwark with ropes and one，leaning far out over the side，held the torch.A wild，white face appeared in the blackness of the water，and then，after some scrambling and pulling，a dozen friendly hands had heaved the stranger on board.
“是，陛下。”水手們說。幾個人拿著纜繩，擠到左舷，一個人舉著火把，身子遠遠探到船舷外面。一張抓狂的白臉從漆黑的水里冒出來，經(jīng)過一陣攀登和牽拉，十幾只手總算把這個人拉上了船。
Edmund thought he had never seen a wilder-looking man. Though he did not otherwise look very old，his hair was an untidy mop of white，his face was thin and drawn，and，for clothing， only a few wet rags hung about him.But what one mainly noticed were his eyes，which were so widely opened that he seemed to have no eyelids at all，and stared as if in an agony of pure fear. The moment his feet reached the deck he said：
愛德蒙從來沒見過長相這么狂亂的人。雖然他看上去并不很老， 頭發(fā)卻像一團亂蓬蓬的白雪，他的臉非常瘦削，緊緊繃著，身上只掛著一些濕淋淋的破布條。不過更引人注意的是他張得很大的眼睛，好像沒有眼皮一樣，直愣愣的，嚇得沒命似的。他兩腳一踏上甲板就說：
“Fly ! Fly ! About with your ship and fly ! Row，row，row for your lives away from this accursed shore.”
“逃呀!逃呀!船和人一起逃呀!劃呀，劃呀，拼命劃呀，快離開這個晦氣的海岸。”
“Compose yourself，”said Reepicheep，“and tell us what the danger is.We are not used to flying.”
“冷靜一下，”雷佩契普說，“告訴我們這里的危險，我們可不習慣逃跑。”
The stranger started horribly at the voice of the Mouse，which he had not noticed before.
陌生人聽到老鼠的聲音嚇壞了，他剛才沒看到有老鼠。
“Nevertheless you will fly from here，”he gasped.“This is the Island where Dreams come true.”
“不管怎樣你們一定要從這里逃走，”他氣喘吁吁地說，“在這個島，夢會變成真的。”
“That’s the island I’ve been looking for this long time，”said one of the sailors.“I reckoned I’d find I was married to Nancy if we landed here.”
“這正是我多年一直尋求的。”一個水手說，“我想，如果我們在這里上岸，我就可以跟南茜結婚了。
“And I’d find Tom alive again，”said another.
“我就能看到湯姆死而復生了。”另一個說。
“Fools !”said the man，stamping his foot with rage.“That is the sort of talk that brought me here，and I’d better have been drowned or never born.Do you hear what I say ? This is where dreams-dreams，do you understand，come to life，come real. Not daydreams：dreams.”
“笨蛋!”那人怒氣沖沖地跺著腳說，“我就是聽了這些胡說八道的話才到這兒來的，我真恨不得淹死，或是沒生出來。你們在聽我說話嗎?這里是夢……夢變成真實的地方。不是白日夢，是噩夢。”
There was about half a minute’s silence and then，with a great clatter of armour，the whole crew were tumbling down the main hatch as quick as they could and flinging themselves on the oars to row as they had never rowed before;and Drinian was swinging round the tiller，and the boatswain was giving out the quickest stroke that had ever been heard at sea.For it had taken everyone just that halfminute to remember certain dreams they had had-dreams that make you afraid of going to sleep again-and to realize what it would mean to land on a country where dreams come true.
大家沉默了幾十秒，只聽見盔甲鏗鏗鏘鏘的聲音，所有人連滾帶爬地沖下了主艙口，拿起槳就劃，從沒見人這么賣力地劃槳;德里寧扭轉舵柄，讓船來個大轉彎，船長使出航海技術中史無前例的劃法。就在那半分鐘里，人人都想起了自己做過的夢，那是讓人嚇得不敢再入睡的夢——大家都明白了踏上那片會使噩夢成真的地方會有什么后果。
Only Reepicheep remained unmoved.
只有雷佩契普依舊保持著鎮(zhèn)定。
“Your Majesty，your Majesty，”he said，“are you going to tolerate this mutiny，this poltroonery ?This is a panic，this is a rout.”
“陛下，陛下，”它說，“你打算縱容這種造反，臨陣脫逃行為嗎? 這是驚慌失措，真是潰不成軍啊!”
“Row，row，”bellowed Caspian.“Pull for all our lives.Is her head right，Drinian ?You can say what you like，Reepicheep. There are some things no man can face.”
“劃啊，劃啊，”凱斯賓大吼道，“加油劃啊!方向對嗎，德里寧? 你愛怎么說就怎么說吧，雷佩契普，有些事情沒有人能應付得了的。”
“It is，then，my good fortune not to be a man，”replied Reepicheep with a very stiff bow.
“如此說來，幸虧我不是人了。”雷佩契普僵硬地鞠躬說。
Lucy from up aloft had heard it all.In an instant that one of her own dreams which she had tried hardest to forget came back to her as vividly as if she had only just woken from it.So that was what was behind them，on the island，in the darkness!For a second she wanted to go down to the deck and be with Edmund and Caspian.But what was the use ? If dreams began coming true， Edmund and Caspian themselves might turn into something horrible just as she reached them.She gripped the rail of the fighting top and tried to steady herself.They were rowing back to the light as hard as they could：it would be all right in a few seconds.But oh，if only it could be all right now !
露茜在桅桿高處聽到了這些對話。她自己竭盡全力忘掉的夢， 頓時全都栩栩如生地重現(xiàn)在眼前，仿佛剛從那個夢中醒來似的。在他們后面，那些噩夢夢境就在那島上的黑暗中!有一瞬間她想要下去， 到甲板上跟愛德蒙和凱斯賓在一起。可是有什么用處呢?如果夢成真的話，等她走到他們面前，他們也可能會變成可怕的怪物。她抓住觀測臺的欄桿，盡力穩(wěn)住身子。他們竭盡全力劃到亮處。很快就沒事了。哎呀，現(xiàn)在沒事就好!
Though the rowing made a good deal of noise it did not quite conceal the total silence which surrounded the ship.
雖然劃槳發(fā)出很大聲音，可是掩飾不了船上籠罩的那片死寂。
Everyone knew it would be better not to listen，not to strain his ears for any sound from the darkness.But no one could help listening.And soon everyone was hearing things.Each one heard something different.
人人都知道最好不要聽，不要豎起耳朵聽黑暗中的任何動靜?？墒谴蠹覅s都情不自禁地聽著。不久就聽到動靜了，而且每個人聽見的都不一樣。
“Do you hear a noise like... like a huge pair of scissors opening and shutting... over there ?”Eustace asked Rynelf.
“你聽到有種聲音像……像大剪刀在咔嚓咔嚓地響嗎?”尤斯塔斯問賴因斯。
“Hush !”said Rynelf.“I can hear them crawling up the sides of the ship.”
“噓!”賴因斯說，“我聽得見他們爬上船舷了。”
“It’s just going to settle on the mast，”said Caspian.
“就要落在桅桿上了。”凱斯賓說。
“Ugh!”said a sailor.“There are the gongs beginning.I knew they would.”
“嘿!”一個水手說，“開始鳴鑼了，我就知道會鳴鑼的。”
Caspian，trying not to look at anything(especially not to keep looking behind him)，went aft to Drinian.
凱斯賓盡力目不斜視，并不回頭看，徑直走向船尾的德里寧那兒。
“Drinian，”he said in a very low voice.“How long did we take rowing in ? -I mean rowing to where we picked up.the stranger.”
“德里寧，”他壓低嗓音說，“我們剛才進去，劃了多長時間呢? 就是從駛入黑暗起到救起那個陌生人為止。”
“Five minutes，perhaps，”whispered Drinian.“Why ?”
“大概五分鐘吧，”德里寧小聲說，“為什么這么問?”
“Because we’ve been more than that already trying to get out.”
“我們試圖劃出來已經(jīng)不止五分鐘了。”
Drinian’s hand shook on the tiller and a line of cold sweat ran down his face.The same idea was occurring to everyone on board. “We shall never get out，never get’ out，”moaned the rowers.“He’s steering us wrong.We’re going round and round in circles.We shall never get out.”The stranger，who had been lying in a huddled heap on the deck，sat up and burst out into a horrible screaming laugh.
德里寧掌舵的那只手開始哆嗦了，一行冷汗從臉上流下來。船上的人都冒出同樣的念頭。“我們出不去了，我們出不去了，”劃槳的人悲嘆道，“他把我們領錯航線了。我們都在繞圈子，永遠出不去了。”那個陌生人一直蜷成一團躺在甲板上，現(xiàn)在卻坐起來，在一旁尖聲怪氣地恐怖地大笑。
“Never get out !”he yelled.“That’s it.Of course.We shall never get out.What a fool I was to have thought they would let me go as easily as that.No，no，we shall never get out.”
“出不去了!”他大聲喊道，“一點也不錯。當然，我們永遠出不去了。我多蠢啊，竟然以為他們這次會放過我。不，不，我們永遠出不去的。”
Lucy leant her head on the edge of the fighting top and whispered，“Aslan，Aslan，if ever you loved us at all，send us help now.”The darkness did not grow any less，but she began to feel a little-a very，very little-better.“After all，nothing has really happened to us yet，”she thought.
露茜把腦袋靠在觀測臺邊上，輕輕地說：“阿斯蘭啊，阿斯蘭， 你真愛我們的話，馬上來救救我們吧。”那片黑暗雖然并未減少絲毫， 可是她開始感到有一點兒好轉，只有那么一丁點。“說到底，我們還沒出過什么事呢。”她暗暗想道。
“Look !”cried Rynelf’s voice hoarsely from the bows. There was a tiny speck of light ahead，and while they watched a broad beam of light fell from it upon the ship.It did not alter the surrounding darkness，but the whole ship was lit up as if by searchlight.Caspian blinked，stared round，saw the faces of his companions all with wild，fixed expressions.Everyone was staring in the same direction：behind everyone lay his black， sharply-edged shadow.
“瞧!”賴尼夫在船頭嘶啞地喊道。前面有一小點光，他們看了一會兒，那一點光竟發(fā)出一大束光來照在船身上。雖然并沒改變周圍漆黑的環(huán)境，可是整條船就像被探照燈照亮了似的。凱斯賓眨眨眼， 朝四下看著，只見伙伴們臉上個個都帶著狂熱而專注的神情。大家目不轉睛地望著同一方向，每個人的身后都有一道輪廓分明的黑影。
Lucy looked along the beam and presently saw something in it. At first it looked like a cross，then it looked like an aeroplane， then it looked like a kite，and at last with a whirring of wings it was right overhead and was an albatross.It circled three times round the mast and then perched for an instant on the crest of the gilded dragon at the prow.It called out in a strong sweet voice what seemed to be words though no one understood them.After that it spread its wings，rose，and began to fly slowly ahead， bearing a little to starboard.Drinian steered after it not doubting that it offered good guidance.But no one except Lucy knew that as it circled the mast it had whispered to her，“Courage，dear heart，”and the voice，she felt sure，was Aslan’s，and with the voice a delicious smell breathed in her face.
露茜順著光束看去，很快就看見光束里有什么東西。第一眼覺得像個十字架，再看又像一架飛機，再后來像個風箏，最后風箏翅膀呼呼地旋轉，飛到頭頂上空，原來是只信天翁。信天翁繞著桅桿飛了三圈，接著在船頭鍍金的龍脖子上歇了片刻。它發(fā)出一串有力的悅耳聲音，似乎在說什么，可沒人聽得懂。之后它就張開翅膀飛了起來， 一開始飛得很慢，稍微偏向右舷。德里寧對它的導航深信不疑，就跟著它駕駛。可是除了露茜，誰也不知道它繞著桅桿飛時悄悄對她說過： “勇敢點兒，寶貝兒。”她相信這是阿斯蘭的聲音，話音未落，還有一股奇妙的香味散發(fā)到她臉上。
In a few moments the darkness turned into a greyness ahead， and then，almost before they dared to begin hoping，they had shot out into the sunlight and were in the warm，blue world again.And all at once everybody realized that there was nothing to be afraid of and never had been.They blinked their eyes and looked about them.The brightness of the ship herself astonished them：they had half expected to find that the darkness would cling to the white and the green and the gold in the form of some grime or scum.And then first one，and then another，began laughing.
過了一會兒，前面那片黑暗就變成一片灰暗。之后，他們的內(nèi)心還不敢抱有希望，這條船就穿進陽光中，走到了溫暖的藍色天地。就像有些時候，你躺在床上看見陽光瀉進窗戶，聽到窗外早班的郵差和送奶人的笑聲，才清醒地認識到這原來只不過是個夢，這不是真的， 這種感覺真是妙不可言。為了體會到醒來的樂趣，哪怕夢到噩夢也是值得的。當他們沖出黑暗時，所有人都有這種體會。船身的明亮使他們大為吃驚：他們原來還以為會被黑暗糾纏不放，在雪白、碧綠、金黃的船身上留下污垢和殘渣。呆立片刻，所有人都朗聲大笑起來。
“I reckon we’ve made pretty good fools of ourselves，”said Rynelf.
“我想，我們耍了自己一回。”賴尼夫說。
Lucy lost no time in coming down to the deck，where she found the others all gathered round the newcomer.For a long time he was too happy to speak，and could only gaze at the sea and the sun and feel the bulwarks and the ropes，as if to make sure he was really awake，while tears rolled down his cheeks.
露茜下來走到甲板上，看到大家都圍著那個陌生人。他興奮到許久說不出話來，只是望著大海和太陽，摸著船舷和纜繩，仿佛努力讓他相信自己是醒著的，臉上淚水滾滾直流。
“Thank you，”he said at last.“You have saved me from... but I won’t talk of that.And now let me know who you are.I am a Telmarine of Narnia，and when I was worth anything men called me the Lord Rhoop.”
“太感謝你們了，”他終于說，“你們把我救出來了……我不愿提那件事。現(xiàn)在我跟你們說我是什么人。我是納尼亞的臺爾馬人， 當年很有身份時，被大家稱作羅普公爵。”
“And I，”said Caspian，“am Caspian，King of Narnia，and I sail to find you and your companions who were my father’s friends.”
“我就是納尼亞國王凱斯賓，”凱斯賓說，“我出海遠航就是來找你以及你的伙伴，你們可是我父親的好朋友。”
Lord Rhoop fell on his knees and kissed the King’s hand. “Sire，”he said，“you are the man in all the world I most wished to see.Grant me a boon.”
羅普公爵當即跪下，吻了國王的手。“陛下，”他說，“您是這個世界上我最希望見到的人，請陛下開恩。”
“What is it ?”asked Caspian.
“什么事?”凱斯賓問。
“Never to bring me back there，”he said.He pointed astern. They all looked.But they saw only bright blue sea and bright blue sky.The Dark Island and the darkness had vanished for ever.
“請您不要問我，也別讓任何人問我這些年來在噩夢島上的所見所聞。”羅普公爵懇求地說道。
“Why !”cried Lord Rhoop.“You have destroyed it !”
“這好說，公爵，”凱斯賓回答，不禁又打了個寒噤，“問你， 我也認為不該問你。我愿意拿出全部財寶，也決不愿聽到這種事。”
“I don’t think it was us，”said Lucy.

“Sire，”said Drinian，“this wind is fair for the southeast.Shall I have our poor fellows up and set sail ? And after that，every man who can be spared，to his hammock.”
“陛下，”德里寧說，“這會兒朝東南去正是順風。要不要叫我們可憐的伙伴起來準備起航?等開船后，空出來的人手再去吊床睡覺。”
“Yes，”said Caspian，“and let there be grog all round.Heigh-ho，I feel I could sleep the clock round myself.”
“好的，”凱斯賓說，“讓大家痛飲一場。啊哈，我困得現(xiàn)在能睡上一天一夜。”
So all afternoon with great joy they sailed south-east with a fair wind.But nobody noticed when the albatross had disappeared.


然后整個下午大家都很開心，船向東南順風行駛，船后的噩夢島越來越小，越來越模糊。不過沒有人注意到那只信天翁什么時候不見了。