20 托列斯海峡(12)
But couldn't we at least get the lay of the land? Ned went on. Here's an island. On this island there are trees. Under those trees land animals loaded with cutlets and roast beef, which I'd be happy to sink my teeth into.
难道我们不可以探一探这地方的情形吗？尼德·兰又说，这是一个岛，在这岛上有树。树下有地上的动物，动物身上有大块大片的肉，我真想咬它们几口呢。
In this instance our friend Ned is right, Conseil said, and I side with his views. Couldn't master persuade his friend Captain Nemo to send the three of us ashore, if only so our feet don't lose the knack of treading on the solid parts of our planet?
这点，尼德·兰老朋友说得对，康塞尔说，我赞同他的意见。先生难道不能问一问阁下的朋友尼摩船长，把我们送到岛上去，就是单单让我们的脚再踩踏一下我们地球上的陆地，让我们不要忘记了在陆地上行走的一习一惯也好啊?
I can ask him, I replied, but he'll refuse.
我可以去问问他，我回答，恐怕他不会答应。
Let master take the risk, Conseil said, and we'll know where we stand on the captain's affability.
请先生试一试好了，康塞尔说，我们对于船长的好意非常感谢，决不至有什么意外行动。
Much to my surprise, Captain Nemo ga一ve me the permission I asked for, and he did so with grace and alacrity, not even exacting my promise to return on board. But fleeing across the New Guinea territories would be extremely dangerous, and I wouldn't ha一ve advised Ned Land to try it. Better to be prisoners aboard the Nautilus than to fall into the hands of Papuan natives.
完全出我意料之外，尼摩船长居然答应了我的请求。他并且很殷勤、很礼貌地答应了我，不要我保证一定回到船上来。本来在新几一内一亚岛上逃亡是很危险的，我决然不让尼德·兰去尝试。落在巴布亚土人手里，还不如在诺第留斯号船上作俘虏好些。
The skiff was put at our disposal for the next morning. I hardly needed to ask whether Captain Nemo would be coming along. I likewise assumed that no crewmen would be assigned to us, that Ned Land would be in sole charge of piloting the longboat. Besides, the shore lay no more than two miles off, and it would be child's play for the Canadian to guide that nimble skiff through those rows of reefs so ill-fated for big ships.
那只小艇可以供我们明天早晨使用。我不问尼摩船长是不是跟我们一同去。我并且想，船上可能没有人来给我们划艇，驾驶小艇的事要尼德·兰一人单独来担任了。此外，我们离岸至多只有两海里远，在暗礁之间的水路中，大船行驶是十分凶险的，但划一只轻快的小艇，对加拿大人来说，算不得一回事，这和玩耍一样。