23 珊瑚王国(30)
We walked by ourselves, genuine loiterers stopping or straying as our fancies dictated.
我们各走各的路，随自己的意思，或停下，或走开。
For my part, I was no longer worried about those dangers my imagination had so ridiculously exaggerated.
至于我自己，我已经不把那件由于空想所引起的十分可笑的事放在心上了。
The shallows drew noticeably closer to the surface of the sea, and soon, walking in only a meter of water, my head passed well above the level of the ocean.
海底这时显然接近海面，不久，我的头离水面只有一米了。
Conseil rejoined me, and gluing his huge copper capsule to mine, his eyes ga一ve me a friendly greeting.
康塞尔走近我身边，把他的铜球帽贴着我的铜球帽，他挤弄眼睛，向我作个友谊的敬礼。
But this lofty plateau measured only a few fathoms, and soon we reentered Our Element. I think I've now earned the right to dub it that.
不过这水底高原只有几米长，不久我们又回到我们的深水中。我想现在我有权利可以这样讲。
Ten minutes later, Captain Nemo stopped suddenly. I thought he'd called a halt so that we could turn and start back.
十分钟后，尼摩船长忽然停住了。我以为他是停一下就要转回去。
No. With a gesture he ordered us to crouch beside him at the foot of a wide crevice. His hand motioned toward a spot within the liquid mass, and I looked carefully.
然而不是。他做个手势，要我们在一个宽大的窝里面，挨近他身边蹲下来。他用手指着水中的一点，我很注意地观察。
Five meters away a shadow appeared and dropped to the seafloor. The alarming idea of sharks crossed my mind.
离我们五米的地方，出现一个黑影，下沉到底。使我害怕的鲛鱼的念头又涌现在我心中了。
But I was mistaken, and once again we didn't ha一ve to deal with monsters of the deep.
可是，这一次我又错了，在我们面前的并不是海洋中的怪物。
It was a man, a living man, a black Indian fisherman, a poor devil who no doubt had come to gather what he could before harvest time.
那是一个人，一个活人，一个印度人，一个黑人，当然是一个采珠人，一个可怜人，他未到采珠期就前来采珠了。
I saw the bottom of his dinghy, moored a few feet above his head. He would pe and go back up in quick succession.
我看见他的艇底。停泊在距他头上只有几英尺的水面上。他潜入水中，随即又浮上来。
A stone cut in the shape of a sugar loaf, which he gripped between his feet while a rope connected it to his boat, served to lower him more quickly to the ocean floor.
一块砸成像小面包一般的石头夹在两脚中间，一根绳索缚着石头，系在他的艇子上，使他可以很快地到海底下来。
This was the extent of his equipment.
以上就是他所有的采珠工具。
Arriving on the seafloor at a depth of about five meters, he fell to his knees and stuffed his sack with shellfish gathered at random.
到了海底，约五米深左右，他立即跪下，把顺手拿到的小纹珠：贝塞人他的口袋中。
Then he went back up, emptied his sack, pulled up his stone, and started all over again, the whole process lasting only thirty seconds.
然后，他上去，倒净口袋，拉出石头，又开始下水采珠，一上一下，只不过是三十秒钟。