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Chapter Twelve The Dark Island
第十二章 噩梦岛
After this adventure they sailed on south and a little east for twelve days with a gentle wind, the skies being mostly clear and the air warm, and saw no bird or fish, except that once there were whales spouting a long way to starboard.
这段奇遇结束之后, 他们顺着风, 向南偏东的方向航行了十二天, 天气晴朗, 空气很温暖, 天上没有鸟, 海面下也没有鱼, 只在右舷外见过一次鲸在喷水。
Lucy and Reepicheep played a good deal of chess at this time.
这段时间里露茜和雷佩契普下了不少盘棋。
Then on the thirteenth day, Edmund, from the fighting top, sighted what looked like a great dark mountain rising out of the sea on their port bow.
第十三天的时候, 爱德蒙在桅顶的观测台上看到左舷的海面上矗立着黑乎乎的一团东西, 看上去像一座山。
They altered course and made for this land, mostly by oar, for the wind would not serve them to sail north-east.
他们改变航向朝那里开去, 可是风力不足, 只好靠划桨, 不能向东北行驶。
When evening fell they were still a long way from it and rowed all night.
夜幕降临时, 他们离那里还很远, 足足划了一整夜。
Next morning the weather was fair but a flat calm.
第二天早晨, 天气很好, 海面上风平浪静。
The dark mass lay ahead, much nearer and larger, but still very dim, so that some thought it was still a long way off and others thought they were running into a mist.
那一团黑乎乎的庞然大物就横亘在他们前面, 虽然近得多, 大得多, 但还是非常模糊, 有些人还以为它还离得老远, 也有一些人认为他们已经闯进了一团迷雾中。
About nine that morning, very suddenly, it was so close that they could see that it was not land at all, nor even, in an ordinary sense, a mist. It was a Darkness.
那一天早晨九点左右, 他们以为离陆地已经很近, 却突然发现这里根本不是陆地, 也不是通常所说的迷雾, 而是一片黑暗。
It is rather hard to describe, but you will see what it was like if you imagine yourself looking into the mouth of a railway tunnel-a tunnel either so long or so twisty that you cannot see the light at the far end.
那种状况很难描写, 如果你设想自己站在一条铁路隧道的入口, 望进去只看到一条很长很长或者弯弯曲曲, 望不到尽头光线的隧道----
And you know what it would be like.
那你就会明白我的意思了。
For a few feet you would see the rails and sleepers and gravel in broad daylight; then there would come a place where they were in twilight; and then, pretty suddenly, but of course without a sharp dividing line, they would vanish altogether into smooth, solid blackness.
你想象一下隧道的样子, 然后先在几英尺外看见冷白的铁轨、枕木和碎石, 然后来到一个幽暗的地方。再后来, 突然一下子, 也没有明显的分界线, 突然就处在浑然一体的黑暗中了。
It was just so here. For a few feet in front of their bows they could see the swell of the bright greenish-blue water.
这里的情况就是这样。在船头前几英尺外, 他们看得见碧绿的海水在波涛汹涌。
Beyond that, they could see the water looking pale and grey as it would look late in the evening.
再往前, 只见海水变成灰蒙蒙的, 像在傍晚时分那样。
But beyond that again, utter blackness as if they had come to the edge of moonless and starless night.
可是再往远看, 就只见黑漆漆的一片, 就像在无星无月的黑夜里一样。
Caspian shouted to the boatswain to keep her back, and all except the rowers rushed forward and gazed from the bows.
凯斯宾大声下令把船往后划, 除了划桨的之外, 其他人都奔上来, 从船头向外眺望。
But there was nothing to be seen by gazing. Behind them was the sea and the sun, before them the Darkness.
可是看来看去都看不到什么东西。后面是大海和太阳, 前面是一片黑暗。
"Do we go into this ?"asked Caspian at length.
"要开进去吗?"凯斯宾终于问道。
"Not by my advice, "said Drinian.
"我觉得还是不进去为妙。"德里宁说。
"The Captain's right, "said several sailors.
"船长说得对。"好几个水手说。
"I almost think he is, "said Edmund.
"我基本上也认为他说得很对。"爱德蒙说。
Lucy and Eustace didn't speak but they felt very glad inside at the turn things seemed to be taking.
露茜和尤斯塔斯虽然都没说话, 可是当事情就要确定下来的关键时刻, 他们心里却很兴奋,
But all at once the clear voice of Reepicheep broke in upon the silence.
突然，雷佩契普清晰的声音打破了沉默。
"And why not?"he said. "Will someone explain to me why not. "
"为什么不进去?"它说, "有人愿意给我解释一下吗?"
No one was anxious to explain, so Reepicheep continued：
没有人解释, 雷佩契普又说下去：
"If I were addressing peasants or slaves, "he said, "I might suppose that this suggestion proceeded from cowardice.
"假如我是在和庄稼人或奴隶对话, "它说, "我可能会认为提出这个主意是因为怯懦。
But I hope it will never be told in Narnia that a company of noble and royal persons in the flower of their age turned tail because they were afraid of the dark. "
可是我不希望今后纳尼亚有人会说一行尊贵的皇室成员, 明明年轻力强, 却因为害怕黑暗而胆怯还撒腿就跑。"
"But what manner of use would it be ploughing through that blackness ?"asked Drinian.
"可是, 辛辛苦苦开进那片黑暗里到底有什么用呢?"德里宁问。
