海底兩萬里 第23期 第3章 隨您先生的便(1)

THREE SECONDS before the arrival of J. B. Hobson's letter, I no more dreamed of chasing the unicorn than of trying for the Northwest Passage.

在收到何伯遜部長的信之前三秒鐘，我還像不愿意去北冰洋旅行一樣不愿意去追逐海麒麟。

Three seconds after reading this letter from the honorable Secretary of the Navy, I understood at last that my true vocation, my sole purpose in life, was to hunt down this disturbing monster and rid the world of it.

讀了這位海軍部長的來信，三秒鐘之后，我才理解到我的真正志愿，我生平的唯一目的，就是要捕捉這樣搗亂的怪物，把它從世界上清除出去。

Even so, I had just returned from an arduous journey, exhausted and badly needing a rest.

可是我剛剛長途跋涉回來，很疲倦，非常需要休息。

I wanted nothing more than to see my country again, my friends, my modest quarters by the Botanical Gardens, my dearly beloved collections!

我只想回去，回祖國去，看看朋友，看看我在植物園內(nèi)的小房子和我收藏的珍貴標(biāo)本。

But now nothing could hold me back. I forgot everything else, and without another thought ofexhaustion, friends, or collections, I accepted the American government's offer.

但現(xiàn)在什么也不能阻止我。我忘記了一切，忘記了疲倦、朋友、珍藏，我毫不猶豫就接受了美國政府的邀請。

"Besides," I mused, "all roads lead home to Europe, and our unicorn may be gracious enough to take me toward the coast of France!

而且，我還有這樣一個(gè)想法，反正條條道路都可以回到歐洲，海麒麟也許客客氣氣地把我引到法國海岸邊!

That fine animal may even let itself be captured in European seas,as a personal favor to me,and I'll bring back to the Museum of Natural History at least half a meter of its ivory lance!"

這個(gè)有名的動物一也許討我喜歡,要讓我在歐洲海中捉到它，那么，我至少也要拿上半米以上的牙戟帶給自然科學(xué)博物館。