海底兩萬里 第517期 第32章 海灣暖流(7)
We could hope to be picked up. So it was a promising opportunity, despite the thirty miles that separated the Nautilus from these Union coasts.
我們可以希望他們收留我們。所以，盡管“鸚鵡螺號(hào)”現(xiàn)在離美聯(lián)邦海岸還有30海里，這仍是一個(gè)有利的機(jī)會(huì)。
But one distressing circumstance totally thwarted the Canadian's plans. The weather was thoroughly foul. We were approaching waterways where storms are commonplace, the very homeland of tornadoes and cyclones specifically engendered by the Gulf Stream's current. To face a frequently raging sea in a frail skiff was a race to certain disaster. Ned Land conceded this himself. So he champed at the bit, in the grip of an intense homesickness that could be cured only by our escape.
但天氣非常糟糕。這個(gè)令人討厭的情況完全打亂了加拿大人的計(jì)劃。我們現(xiàn)在接近的這一帶海域經(jīng)常有暴風(fēng)雨，確切地說，這是一處由海灣暖流孕育出來的颶風(fēng)和旋風(fēng)的發(fā)源地。如果此時(shí)在一只脆弱的小艇上與時(shí)常有驚濤，駭浪的海洋作斗爭(zhēng)，那肯定是白白送死。尼德·蘭自己也同意這一點(diǎn)。因此， 飽受瘋狂的思鄉(xiāng)病折磨，只有逃跑才能醫(yī)治好的他，此時(shí)只好咬咬牙關(guān)忍一忍。
"Sir," he told me that day, "it's got to stop. I want to get to the bottom of this. Your Nemo's veering away from shore and heading up north. But believe you me, I had my fill at the South Pole and I'm not going with him to the North Pole."
“先生，”那天他對(duì)我說，“這一切該結(jié)束了。我對(duì)此心知肚明。您的尼摩避開陸地向北行駛，但我得跟您說，我在南極已經(jīng)受夠了，我不想跟他到北極去?！?/p>
"What can we do, Ned, since it isn't feasible to escape right now?" "I keep coming back to my idea. We've got to talk to the captain. When we were in your own country's seas, you didn't say a word. Now that we're in mine, I intend to speak up. Before a few days are out, I figure the Nautilus will lie abreast of Nova Scotia, and from there to Newfoundland is the mouth of a large gulf, and the St. Lawrence empties into that gulf, and the St. Lawrence is my own river, the river running by Quebec, my hometown--and when I think about all this, my gorge rises and my hair stands on end! Honestly, sir, I'd rather jump overboard! I can't stay here any longer! I'm suffocating!"
“既然這時(shí)逃走是行不通的，那怎么辦呢，尼德？” “我還是那個(gè)主意，向船長(zhǎng)挑明好了。以前我們?cè)谀膰?guó)家的海里時(shí)，您什么也沒說?，F(xiàn)在我們?cè)谖业膰?guó)家的海里，我可是想說。當(dāng)我想到，沒過幾天，‘鸚鵡螺號(hào)’就要到新蘇格蘭的同一緯度上，而那里接近紐芬蘭島，敞開著一個(gè)大海灣，圣—?jiǎng)趥愃购泳褪亲⑷脒@個(gè)海灣的，圣—?jiǎng)趥愃购邮俏业暮?，我的故鄉(xiāng)魁北克的河。當(dāng)我想到這些，我便怒發(fā)沖冠，我的頭發(fā)都豎起來了。瞧，先生，我寧可跳到海里去，而不愿意留在這兒！我快悶死了！”
