21 在陆地上的两天(17)
"Fine, Conseil! And I agree that there are honorable cannibals who decently devour their prisoners. However, I'm opposed to being devoured, even in all decency, so I'll keep on my guard, especially since the Nautilus's commander seems to be taking no precautions. And now let's get to work!"
“对！康塞尔，我同意你的说法，他们是吃人肉的诚实人,他们是老老实实地吃俘虏的肉。不过我不想被他们吞一食，即使是老老实实的吞一食，我也不愿意。我要时时一警一戒，十分小心，因为诺第留斯号的船长好像一点不注意，不加防范。现在我们动手捞吧。”
For two hours our fishing proceeded energetically but without bringing up any rarities. Our dragnet was filled with Midas abalone, harp shells, obelisk snails, and especially the finest hammer shells I had seen to that day. We also gathered in a few sea cucumbers, some pearl oysters, and a dozen small turtles that we sa一ved for the ship's pantry.
在两个钟头一内一，我们打鱼进行得相当活跃，但没有打到罕见的珍品。打捞器里面装满了驴耳贝、竖琴贝、河贝子，特别又打到了我今天才看见的最好看的糙鱼，我们又打了一些海参，产珍珠的牡蛎和一打左右的小鳖，这些都打来作为船上的食用品。
But just when I least expected it, I laid my hands on a wonder, a natural deformity I'd ha一ve to call it, something very seldom encountered. Conseil had just made a cast of the dragnet, and his gear had come back up loaded with a variety of fairly ordinary seashells, when suddenly he saw me plunge my arms swiftly into the net, pull out a shelled animal, and give a conchological yell, in other words, the most piercing yell a human throat can produce.
但是，在绝对的无意中，我却找到一件珍奇品，我应该说，找到一件自然变形的珍品，这种东西最不容易碰见。康塞尔把打捞器放下去又捞起来的时候，器中装满很平常的各种贝类，他忽然看见我的胳膊很快伸进网里面去，取出一个贝壳来，发出贝类学家的喊声，即是说，发出人类喉咙可以发出的最尖锐的喊声。
"Eh? What happened to master?" Conseil asked, very startled. "Did master get bitten?"
“哎！先生怎么啦？”康塞尔问，他非常惊怪，“先生被咬了吗？”
"No, my boy, but I'd gladly ha一ve sacrificed a finger for such a find!"
“没有，老实人，我实在愿意用我的一个指头来换取我：的发现呢。”
"What find?"
“什么发现呢？”
"This shell," I said, displaying the subject of my triumph.
“就是这个贝壳。”我手指着我的战利品说。
"But that's simply an olive shell of the 'tent olive' species, genus Oliva, order Pectinibranchia, class Gastropoda, branch Mollusca--"
“但这不过是一个普通的斑红橄榄贝,橄榄贝属，节鳃图，腹足纲，软体类门…”
"Yes, yes, Conseil! But instead of coiling from right to left, this olive shell rolls from left to right!"
“对，康塞尔，但这个橄榄贝纹跟普通的不一样，不是从右往左卷过来，而是从左往右转过去。”
"It can't be!" Conseil exclaimed.
“可能吗？”康塞尔喊道。
"Yes, my boy, it's a left-handed shell!"
“一点不错，老实人，这是一个左卷贝！”