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。