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Chapter Ten Travels Without the Sun
第十章 在黑暗中前行
"Who's there?" shouted the three travellers. "I am the Warden of the Marches of Underland, and with me stand a hundred Earthmen in arms," came the reply. "Tell me quickly who you are and what is your errand in the Deep Realm?"
“谁在那儿？”三位探险者喊道。“我是地下军队的总督，身后站着一百位全副武装的洞穴人。”那个声音回答，“快告诉我你们是谁，来地下王国有什么目的？”
"We fell down by accident," said Puddleglum, truthfully enough. "Many fall down, and few return to the sunlit lands," said the voice. "Make ready now to come with me to the Queen of the Deep Realm."
“我们是意外掉下来的。”帕德格莱姆说，满脸真诚。“掉下来的多了，但很少有人再回到上面去。”那个声音说，“现在准备和我去见地下王国的女王吧。”
"What does she want with us?" asked Scrubb cautiously. "I do not know," said the voice. "Her will is not to be questioned but obeyed."
“她找我们干什么？”斯库波小心翼翼地问。“我不知道。”那个声音说，“她的话我们只能遵守，不能质疑。”
While he said these words there was a noise like a soft explosion and immediately a cold light, grey with a little blue in it, flooded the cavern.
当他说这番话时，不知哪儿传来一阵噪音，好像轻微的爆炸声。突然，一道寒光射过来，灰色光线中还夹杂着一丝蓝光，它渐渐充满了整个洞穴。
All hope that the speaker had been idly boasting when he spoke of his hundred armed followers died at once. Jill found herself blinking and staring at a dense crowd.
本来他们还希望这家伙说的什么一百名全副武装的洞穴人只是吹牛呢，但这下希望彻底破灭了。吉尔眨了眨眼，发现自己正盯着一片密集的人群。
They were of all sizes, from little gnomes barely a foot high to stately figures taller than men.
这群家伙身高不一，有的小地精差不多只有一英寸高，而有的却比正常人还高。
All carried three-pronged spears in their hands, and all were dreadfully pale, and all stood as still as statues.
他们手里都拿着带有三叉尖的矛，所有人都长着一张苍白到可怕的脸，笔直笔直地站着，和雕像差不多。
Apart from that, they were very different; some had tails and others not, some wore great beards and others had very round, smooth faces, big as pumpkins.
除此之外，他们长得差别很大，一些人有尾巴，一些人没有，一些人留着非常浓密的胡子，而有的则长着一张又圆又光滑的脸，和南瓜差不多大小。
There were long, pointed noses, and long, soft noses like small trunks, and great blobby noses.
鼻子的形状也不尽相同，有人的鼻子又长又尖，有的又长又软，像小象鼻似的，有的则长满滴状斑点。
Several had single horns in the middle of their foreheads. But in one respect they were all alike: every face in the whole hundred was as sad as a face could be.
其中几个人前额的正中间还长着角。但从另一个角度说，这些人都有一个共同点：每张脸都是一副忧伤的表情。
They were so sad that, after the first glance, Jill almost forgot to be afraid of them. She felt she would like to cheer them up.
他们简直太忧伤了，吉尔甚至都忘了自己原先的恐惧。她刚瞥他们一眼就想去安慰这些人一下。
"Well!" said Puddleglum, rubbing his hands. "This is just what I needed. If these chaps don't teach me to take a serious view of life, I don't know what will. Look at that fellow with the walrus moustache—or that one with the—"
“看吧，”帕德格莱姆边搓手边说，“这正是我需要的。如果这些家伙还不能教给我严肃对待生活的话，那真是再也找不到别人了。看看那个长有海象一样胡子的家伙，或那个……”
"Get up," said the leader of the Earthmen. There was nothing else to be done. The three travellers scrambled to their feet and joined hands.
“站起来。”洞穴人的首领发话了。除了站起来，现在也没有什么别的好干。三位探险者挣扎着站起身来，手拉手排成一排。
One wanted the touch of a friend's hand at a moment like that. And the Earthmen came all round them, padding on large, soft feet, on which some had ten toes, some twelve, and others none.
人在这种时候，正需要拉着朋友的手。洞穴人走到跟前把他们三人包围起来，这帮人的脚看上去又大又软，有的长了十根脚趾，有的长了十二根，有的则一根都没长。
"March," said the Warden: and march they did. The cold light came from a large ball on the top of a long pole, and the tallest of the gnomes carried this at the head of the procession.
“往前走。”总督说道。于是他们跟着队伍一起向前行进。冷光来自一个大光球，它安在一根长杆的顶部，由一个走在队伍最前方最高的地精举着。
By its cheerless rays they could see that they were in a natural cavern; the walls and roof were knobbed, twisted, and gashed into a thousand fantastic shapes, and the stony floor sloped downward as they proceeded.
透过幽暗的光线，他们看见自己正在一个天然的山洞里面；一个个圆球状的东西从墙面和屋顶凸起，它们扭曲着，组成了千奇百怪的形状。石头地面呈坡状，一直向下延伸。
It was worse for Jill than for the others, because she hated dark, underground places.
吉尔快受不了了，她讨厌黑暗，尤其是地下这种地方。
And when, as they went on, the cave got lower and narrower, and when, at last, the light-bearer stood aside, and the gnomes, one by one, stooped down (all except the very smallest ones) and stepped into a little dark crack and disappeared, she felt she could bear it no longer.
随着他们越走越深，山洞变得又矮又窄，最后，前面拿灯的和其他地精都要一个个弯下腰（最矮的除外），走进一个既小且黑的洞穴，然后消失于其中。吉尔再也受不了了。
"I can't go in there, I can't! I can't! I won't," she panted. The Earthmen said nothing but they all lowered their spears and pointed them at her.
“我不要进去，我不能！不能！我不去。”吉尔喘息着说。洞穴人什么都没说，但它们开始拿长矛指向吉尔。
"Steady, Pole," said Puddleglum. "Those big fellows wouldn't be crawling in there if it didn't get wider later on. And there's one thing about this underground work, we shan't get any rain."
“走稳点，吉尔。”帕德格莱姆说，“如果不是山洞太窄过不去，它们也不用爬了。走地下只有一点好，不用挨雨淋。”
"Oh, you don't understand. I can't," wailed Jill. "Think how 1 felt on that cliff, Pole," said Scrubb. "You go first, Puddleglum, and I'll come after her."
“哦，你不明白。我不行。”吉尔大哭。“想想我是怎么掉下山崖的，吉尔。”斯库波说，“帕德格莱姆，你走前面，我殿后，让她在中间。”
"That's right," said the Marsh-wiggle, getting down on his hands and knees. "You keep a grip of my heels, Pole, and Scrubb will hold on to yours. Then we'll all be comfortable."
“很好。”沼泽人说，他趴了下来，“吉尔，你拽着我的脚后跟，斯库波拽着你的。这样还舒服点。”
