25 地中海四十八小时(9)

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?

说完这话,加拿大人就退出去,让我一人不知所措地呆在房中;我也想过,机会来了,我可以有时间来考虑,来讨论。但我那情固执的同伴不让我这样做。到底,我还能对他说什么话呢?尼德·兰十分对。他现在要利用的,的确是一个好机会。我可以食言反悔吗?我能为了完全个人的利益,损害我的同伴们的将来吗?我负得了这种责任吗?明天,尼摩船长不是很可以把我们带到离开所有陆地的大海中去吗?

Just then a fairly loud hissing told me that the ballast tanks were filling, and the Nautilus sank beneath the waves of the Atlantic.

这时候,发出相当响的啸声,我晓得船上储水池盛满水了,诺第留斯号潜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。我要躲开船长,使他的眼睛看不到我心中激动的情绪。我就这样度过这很愁闷的一天,一方面想走,恢复我的自由,另一方面又惋惜,丢开这只神奇的“诺第留斯号,使我的海底研究不能完成!这样离开这海洋,像我喜欢说的,这样离开“我的大西洋”,并没有观察它的最深水层,并没有从它取得印度洋和太平洋曾给我揭露的秘密!我的小说刚翻完第一章就从手中掉下去了,我的梦正在最美好的时候就被打断了!多少苦闷的时间就这样过去,有时看见自己跟同伴们安全逃在陆地上,有时又不顾自己的理,希望有意夕)的机会,阻止尼德·兰的计划不实现!