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Chapter Thirteen Underland Without The Queen
第十三章 没有女王的地下王国
All felt that they had earned what Scrubb called a "breather".
他们终于能像斯库波说的，好好休息一下了。
The Witch had locked the door and told the Earthmen not to disturb her, so there was no danger of interruption for the present.
先前女巫把门锁上，命令洞穴人不得打扰，所以现在根本不用担心有人进来。
Their first business was, of course, Puddleglum's burnt foot.
第一件要处理的当然是帕德格莱姆烧伤的脚。
A couple of clean shirts from the Prince's bedroom, torn into strips, and well greased on the inside with butter and salad oil off the supper table, made a fairly good dressing.
他们从王子的房间拿来些干净衣服，撕成碎条，从餐桌上拿点黄油、色拉油之类的抹在布条内侧，缠在帕德格莱姆的脚上。
When this had been applied, they all sat down and had a little refreshment, and discussed plans for escaping from the Underworld.
一切完毕后，他们坐下来吃了点东西，开始讨论如何逃离地下王国。
Rilian explained that there were quite a lot of outlets by which one could get to the surface; he had been taken out through most of them at one time or another.
据瑞廉说，这里有很多出口通往地上，他几乎全去过。
But he had never gone out alone, only with the Witch; and he had always reached these outlets by going in a ship across the Sunless Sea.
但不是自己，每次都由女王带着进出。到达这些出口必须乘船渡过无阳海。
What the Earthmen would say if he went down to the harbour without the Witch, and with four strangers, and simply ordered a ship, no one could guess.
他说：“如果洞穴人看到我没和女巫一起去港口，而是与四个陌生人一起叫船出海，他们会作何反应，没人猜得到。
But most likely they would ask awkward questions. On the other hand the new outlet, the one for the invasion of Overworld, was on this side of the sea, and only a few miles away.
他们很有可能会问些奇怪的问题。另一方面，那个用来侵略地上王国的地道入口就在无阳海那边，离此只有几英里远。”
The Prince knew that it was nearly finished; only a few feet of earth divided the diggings from the outer air. It was even possible that it had now been quite finished.
王子知道地道已经快完成了，目前离地面只有几英尺。没准现在已经挖好了。
Perhaps the Witch had come back to tell him this and to start the attack.
女巫当时就是来告诉他这件事的，让他准备发动袭击。
Even if it was not, they could probably dig themselves out by that route in a few hours—if they could only get there without being stopped, and if only they found the diggings unguarded. But those were the difficulties.
就算没完成，给他们几小时也足够了——如果他们能顺利到那儿，如果隧道没人把守的话。几小时之内他们也可以将它挖通。这些都是潜在的困难。
"If you ask me—" began Puddleglum, when Scrubb interrupted. "I say," he asked, "what's that noise?" "I've been wondering that for some time!" said Jill.
“如果你们问我的话……”帕德格莱姆说，这时他被斯库波打断了。“我说，”斯库波问道，“那是什么声音？”“我已经注意它很久了！”吉尔说。
They had all, in fact, been hearing the noise but it had begun and increased so gradually that they did not know when they had first noticed it.
实际上，他们都听见了，一开始声音很小，如今才渐渐变大，所以他们也弄不清自己首次听见声音是什么时候。
For a time it had been only a vague disquiet like gentle winds, or traffic very far away. Then it swelled to a murmur like the sea. Then came rumblings and rushings.
那声音十分微弱，和微风差不多，也像很远地方传来的车马声。然后，它渐渐发展成海洋的低吟。最后是轰鸣和万马奔腾之声。
Now there seemed to be voices as well and also a steady roaring that was not voices. "By the Lion," said Prince Rilian, "it seems this silent land has found a tongue at last."
如今，它又像是说话声夹杂着拉着长音的怒吼声。“以狮王的名义，”瑞廉王子说，“这片沉默的大地终于有点声音了。”
He rose, walked to the window, and drew aside the curtains. The others crowded round him to look out. The very first thing they noticed was a great red glow.
他站起身来走到窗边，把窗帘拉到一边。其他人都凑过去朝窗外瞧。首先映入他们眼帘的是一道刺眼的红光。
Its reflection made a red patch on the roof of the Underworld thousands of feet above them, so that they could see a rocky ceiling which had perhaps been hidden in darkness ever since the world was made.
红色光斑反射到地下王国的屋顶上，屋顶很高，大约有几千英尺，透过光他们才能看到这里的石制天花板，也许以前它都隐藏在浓浓的黑暗中。
The glow itself came from the far side of the city so that many buildings, grim and great, stood up blackly against it. But it also cast its light down many streets that ran from it towards the castle. And in those streets something very strange was going on.
红光从城市远端传来，所以被许多既暗且高的楼房遮挡住，但它仍照亮了许多通往城堡的街道。街上发生的事情非常奇怪。
The closely-packed, silent crowds of Earthmen had vanished. Instead, there were figures darting about by ones, or twos, or threes.
那些挤成一团、安安静静的洞穴人不见了；相反，这些洞穴人开始三个一群两个一伙儿的横冲直撞。
They behaved like people who do not want to be seen: lurking in shadow behind buttresses or in doorways, and then moving quickly across the open into fresh places of hiding.
他们躲躲藏藏，不想被发现：先隐藏在堡垒或门洞的阴影中，然后急冲到开阔地带寻找新的掩体。
But the strangest thing of all, to anyone who knew the gnomes, was the noise.
但最令人不解的是这些地精居然还发出声音。
Shouts and cries came from all directions. But from the harbour there came a low, rumbling roar which grew steadily louder and was already shaking the whole city.
四面八方的喊声不绝于耳。港口地带声音最大，低沉的吼声逐渐放大，甚至震得整个城市都在抖动。
"What's happened to the Earthmen?" said Scrubb. "Is it them shouting?"
“洞穴人怎么了？”斯库波问，“是他们在嚷吗？”
"Tis hardly possible," said the Prince. "I never heard one of the rascals so much as speak with a loud voice in all the weary years of my bondage. Some new devilry, I don't doubt."
“这简直不可能。”王子说，“我被囚禁的这些年从没听这些家伙大声说过话。是什么别的怪物吧，我觉得。”
"And what is that red light over there?" asked Jill. "Is something on fire?"
“那边的红光是什么？”吉尔问，“什么东西着火了吗？”
"If you ask me," said Puddleglum, "I should say that was the central fires of the Earth breaking out to make a new volcano. We'll be in the middle of it, I shouldn't wonder."
“如果你问我的话，”帕德格莱姆说，“我认为那是从地球中心冒出来的火，一座新火山就要诞生了。而我们就在火山中央，我一点都不怀疑。”
