海底兩萬里 第285期 第21章 在陸地上的兩天(15)

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The islanders were still there, in greater numbers than on the day before, perhaps 500 or 600 of them. Taking advantage of the low tide, some of them had moved forward over the heads of coral to within two cable lengths of the Nautilus. I could easily distinguish them. They obviously were true Papuans, men of fine stock, athletic in build, forehead high and broad, nose large but not flat, teeth white. Their woolly, red-tinted hair was in sharp contrast to their bodies, which were black and glistening like those of Nubians. Beneath their pierced, distended earlobes there dangled strings of beads made from bone. Generally these savages were naked. I noted some women among them, dressed from hip to knee in grass skirts held up by belts made of vegetation. Some of the chieftains adorned their necks with crescents and with necklaces made from beads of red and white glass. Armed with bows, arrows, and shields, nearly all of them carried from their shoulders a sort of net, which held those polished stones their slings hurl with such dexterity.

土人守在那里，比昨天的人數(shù)更多了，大約有五六百人左右。有些土人乘著低潮，來到珊瑚石尖上，離諾第留斯號約四百米遠。我可以清楚地看見他們。他們是真正的巴布亞人，身材高大，體格魁偉，前額寬大高起，鼻子粗大，但不扁平，牙齒潔白。他們像羊毛一般的頭發(fā)作紅顏色，披散在漆黑發(fā)亮的、像非洲紐比人一般的身軀上。他們的耳垂子，割開了和拉長了，掛著骨質的耳環(huán)。這些土人通常是光著身子，不穿衣服。我看見他們中間有些女人，從腰至膝穿一件真正草葉做的粗糙裙子，上面用一根草帶子系起來。有些頭領脖子上帶著一個彎月形的飾物和紅白兩色的玻璃編成的項鏈。差不多全體上人都帶了弓、箭和盾，肩上背著象網一類的東西，網中裝滿他們能巧妙地用投石機投出來的溜圓石塊。

One of these chieftains came fairly close to the Nautilus, examining it with care. He must have been a "mado" of high rank, because he paraded in a mat of banana leaves that had ragged edges and was accented with bright colors.

其中一個頭領走到相當接近諾第留斯號的地方，很細心地考察這只船。他好像是一個高級的“馬多”，因為他披著一條香蕉樹葉編的圍巾，中邊上織成花樣，并且染了很鮮明的顏色。

I could easily have picked off this islander, he stood at such close range; but I thought it best to wait for an actual show of hostility. Between Europeans and savages, it's acceptable for Europeans to shoot back but not to attack first.

我可以很容易擊斃這個土人，因為他站在很近的地方；但我認為等待他表示出真正故意的攻擊行動之后，再還手才對。