Captain? I said.
“船長?”我說。
He didn't reply. I left him and climbed onto the platform. Conseil and the Canadian were already there.
船長沒有回答。我于是離開他,登上平臺。康塞爾和加拿大人已經(jīng)在我之前到了那里。
What caused that explosion? I asked.
“爆炸聲是哪里來的?”我問。
A cannon going off, Ned Land replied.
“一聲炮響?!蹦岬隆ぬm回答說。
I stared in the direction of the ship I had spotted. It was heading toward the Nautilus, and you could tell it had put on steam. Six miles separated it from us.
我朝我先前看到的那艘船的方向望去。那艘船已經(jīng)向“鸚鵡螺號”靠近,我們可以從它噴出的蒸汽看到它正加大馬力。我們之間相隔只有6海里。
What sort of craft is it, Ned?
“那是什么船,尼德?”
From its rigging and its low masts, the Canadian replied, "I bet it's a warship. Here's hoping it pulls up and sinks this damned Nautilus!"
“從帆纜索具和桅桿高度看,”加拿大人回答說,“我敢打賭那是一艘戰(zhàn)艦。它能追上我們,而且在必要時,將這該死的‘鸚鵡螺號’擊沉!”
Ned my friend, Conseil replied, "what harm could it do the Nautilus? Will it attack us under the waves? Will it cannonade us at the bottom of the sea?"
“尼德朋友,”康塞爾回答說,“它能對‘鸚鵡螺號’造成什么損害?它能在水下攻擊嗎?它能在水下開炮嗎?”
Tell me, Ned, I asked, "can you make out the nationality of that craft?"
“告訴我,尼德,”我問,“您能不能辨別出這艘船的國籍?”
Creasing his brow, lowering his lids, and puckering the corners of his eyes, the Canadian focused the full power of his gaze on the ship for a short while.
加拿大人緊蹙雙眉,耷下眼瞼,眼睛瞇成一條線,全神貫注地盯了一會那艘船。
No, sir, he replied. "I can't make out what nation it's from. It's flying no flag. But I'll swear it's a warship, because there's a long pennant streaming from the peak of its mainmast."
“不,先生,”他回答,“我看不出它是屬于哪個國家的。它的旗沒有掛起來。但我能肯定那是一艘戰(zhàn)艦,因為它的大桅桿頂端飄著一面長長的戰(zhàn)旗。”
For a quarter of an hour, we continued to watch the craft bearing down on us.
我們繼續(xù)觀察了一刻鐘這艘正朝著我們開過來的船只。