AT SUNRISE the next morning, February 12, the Nautilus rose to the surface of the waves. I rushed onto the platform. The hazy silhouette of Pelusium was outlined three miles to the south. A torrent had carried us from one sea to the other. But although that tunnel was easy to descend, going back up must have been impossible.
第二天，2月12日，天一亮的时候，诺第留斯号就浮出水面。我立即跑到平台上去。南边三海里的地方，隐约瑰出北路斯城的侧影。一道急流把我们从这一个海带到另一个海来了。不过，这地道顺流而下很容易，逆流而上恐怕就不可能。
Near seven o'clock Ned and Conseil joined me. Those two inseparable companions had slept serenely, utterly unaware of the Nautilus's feat.
七点左右，尼德-兰和康塞尔也上来了。这两个分不开的同伴只知安安静静地睡了一觉，全没有留心到诺第留斯号所完成的大胆事业。
"Well, Mr. Naturalist," the Canadian asked in a gently mocking tone, "and how about that Mediterranean?"
“那么，生物学专家，”加拿大人以略带嘲笑的语气问，“您那地中海呢？”
"We're floating on its surface, Ned my friend."
“我们现在就在它的水面上了，尼德朋友。”
"What!" Conseil put in. "Last night . . . ?"
“嗯！”康塞尔哼了一声，“就是昨夜吗？……”
"Yes, last night, in a matter of minutes, we cleared that insuperable isthmus."
“对，就是昨夜，几分钟内，我们便走过了这不能走过的地峡。”
"I don't believe a word of it," the Canadian replied.
“我不能相信这事。”加拿大人回答。
"And you're in the wrong, Mr. Land," I went on. "That flat coastline curving southward is the coast of Egypt."
“您错了，兰师傅，”我立即说，“那向南方弯下去的低低的海岸，就是埃及海岸了。”
"Tell it to the marines, sir," answered the stubborn Canadian.
“先生，您向别人说去吧。”固执的加拿大人回答。
"But if master says so," Conseil told him, "then so be it."
“既然先生肯定了，”康塞尔对他说，“那就要相信先生哩。”
"What's more, Ned," I said, "Captain Nemo himself did the honors in his tunnel, and I stood beside him in the pilothouse while he steered the Nautilus through that narrow passageway."
“尼德，尼摩船长还很客气地让我看了他的地道，当他亲自指挥诺第留斯号通过这条狭窄地道的时候，我在他面前，在领航人的笼间里。”
"You hear, Ned?" Conseil said.
“尼德，您明白了吗？”康塞尔说。
"And you, Ned, who have such good eyes," I added, "you can spot the jetties of Port Said stretching out to sea."
“您的眼力是很好的，”我又说，“尼德，您可以望见那伸出在海中的塞得港长堤。”
The Canadian looked carefully.
加拿大人很用心地看了一下。他说：
"Correct," he said. "You're right, professor, and your captain's a superman. We're in the Mediterranean. Fine. So now let's have a chat about our little doings, if you please, but in such a way that nobody overhears."
“果然，教授，您说得对。您的那位船长是一位杰出人物。我们现在是在地中海了。很好。我们来商谈一下我们的小事情吧，但不要使人们听到我们的谈话。”
I could easily see what the Canadian was driving at. In any event, I thought it best to let him have his chat, and we all three went to sit next to the beacon, where we were less exposed to the damp spray from the billows.
我很知道加拿大人要商谈的是什么事情，不管怎样，我想谈一谈是好些，因为他要谈。我们三人于是坐到探照灯附近，在那边我们可以受到一些浪花打来的泡沫。
"Now, Ned, we're all ears," I said. "What have you to tell us?"
“尼德，”我说，“我们现在静听您的话了。您有什么好消息告诉我们吗？”
"What I've got to tell you is very simple," the Canadian replied. "We're in Europe, and before Captain Nemo's whims take us deep into the polar seas or back to Oceania, I say we should leave this Nautilus."
“我要告诉你们的是很简单的几句。”加拿大人回答，“我们现在在欧洲了，在尼摩船长的任性行为还没有带我们到两极的海底中，或把我们带回大洋洲一带之前，我要求离开诺第留斯号。”
I confess that such discussions with the Canadian always baffled me. I didn't want to restrict my companions' freedom in any way, and yet I had no desire to leave Captain Nemo. Thanks to him and his submersible, I was finishing my undersea research by the day, and I was rewriting my book on the great ocean depths in the midst of its very element. Would I ever again have such an opportunity to observe the ocean's wonders? Absolutely not! So I couldn't entertain this idea of leaving the Nautilus before completing our course of inquiry.
我承认，跟加拿大人饲-论这事，总是让我心中很为难。 我一点也不想妨碍我的同伴们得到自由，同时我自己又完全没有离开尼摩船长的愿望。由于他，由于他的船，我日复一日地完成了我的海底研究，也就是在海底把我这部关于海底宝藏的书重写出来。我还能再得到这样一个机会来观察这些海洋的秘密吗？当然不可能！所以我就不可能想象在我们的周期考察完成之前就离开诺第留斯号。
"Ned my friend," I said, "answer me honestly. Are you bored with this ship? Are you sorry that fate has cast you into Captain Nemo's hands?"
“尼德朋友，”我说，“请您直率地回答我。您在这船上觉得厌烦无聊吗？您很悔恨命运把您送到尼摩船长手中来吗？”
The Canadian paused for a short while before replying. Then, crossing his arms:
加拿大人停了一刻，没有回答。然后，交叉着两子说。
"Honestly," he said, "I'm not sorry about this voyage under the seas. I'll be glad to have done it, but in order to have done it, it has to finish. That's my feeling."
“坦白说，我并不悔恨这次海底旅行。我很高兴做了这件事，但是必须做完，才能算数。这就是我的意思。”
"It will finish, Ned."
“尼德，这事一定要做完的。”
"Where and when?"
“在什么地方和什么时候做完呢？”
"Where? I don't know. When? I can't say. Or, rather, I suppose it will be over when these seas have nothing more to teach us. Everything that begins in this world must inevitably come to an end."
“什么地方？我一点不知道。什么时候？我不能说，或不如说，我假定旅行是要结束的，就在那一天，海洋中再没有什么可以给我们学习的时候。在这个世界上，有始必定有终。”
"I think as master does," Conseil replied, "and it's extremely possible that after crossing every sea on the globe, Captain Nemo will bid the three of us a fond farewell."
“我跟先生的想法一样，”康塞尔回答，“很可能：士遍了地球上的所有海洋后，尼摩船长让我们三人全体自由飞走。
"Bid us a fond farewell?" the Canadian exclaimed. "You mean beat us to a fare-thee-well!"
“飞走！”加拿大人喊道，“您是说自由飞走吗？”
"Let's not exaggerate, Mr. Land," I went on. "We have nothing to fear from the captain, but neither do I share Conseil's views. We're privy to the Nautilus's secrets, and I don't expect that its commander, just to set us free, will meekly stand by while we spread those secrets all over the world."
“兰师傅，我们不用夸张，”我立即回答道，“我们一点也不用怕尼摩船长，但我也不同意康塞尔的说法。我们获得诺第留斯号的秘密，我想，它的主人就是恢复我们的自由，也不能任我们把这些秘密随便在陆地上各处宣传。”
"But in that case what do you expect?" the Canadian asked.
“那么，您希望什么呢？”加拿大人问。
"That we'll encounter advantageous conditions for escaping just as readily in six months as now."
“希望有一些我们可能利用，并且应该利用，譬如在六个月后，像现在一样的环境。”
"Great Scott!" Ned Land put in. "And where, if you please, will we be in six months, Mr. Naturalist?"
“唉晴！”加拿大人说，“生物学专家，请问您，六个月后，我们将在什么地方呢？”
"Perhaps here, perhaps in China. You know how quickly the Nautilus moves. It crosses oceans like swallows cross the air or express trains continents. It doesn't fear heavily traveled seas. Who can say it won't hug the coasts of France, England, or America, where an escape attempt could be carried out just as effectively as here."
“或者在这里，或者在中国。您知道，诺第留斯号是跑得飞快的东西。“色跑过海洋，像燕子飞过空中，或快车跑过大陆那样。”白并不怕常有船只来往的海洋。谁敢告诉我们说，它不走近法国、英国或美洲海岸，在那里跟在这里一样，不可能有一个很好逃走的机会吗？”
"Professor Aronnax," the Canadian replied, "your arguments are rotten to the core. You talk way off in the future: 'We'll be here, we'll be there!' Me, I'm talking about right now: we are here, and we must take advantage of it!"
“阿龙纳斯先生，”加拿大人回答说，“您的论证根本就错了。您总是爱说将来，如我们将在那里或我们将在这里！ 而我所说的却是现在：我们现在在这里，我们就要利用这个机会。”
I was hard pressed by Ned Land's common sense, and I felt myself losing ground. I no longer knew what arguments to put forward on my behalf.
我被尼德-兰的推理紧紧逼住了，我觉得我在这个场合上输了。我实在找不出对我更有利的论证来。
"Sir," Ned went on, "let's suppose that by some impossibility, Captain Nemo offered your freedom to you this very day. Would you accept?"
“先生，”尼德-兰又说，“我们作一个不可能的假定，假定尼摩船长今天就给您自由，您接受吗？”
"I don't know," I replied.
“我不知道。”我回答说。
"And suppose he adds that this offer he's making you today won't ever be repeated, then would you accept?"
“如果，”他又补充说，“他今天给您自由，以后就不再给了，您接受吗？”
I did not reply.
我不回答。
"And what thinks our friend Conseil?" Ned Land asked.
“康塞尔朋友怎样想呢？”尼德。兰问。
"Your friend Conseil," the fine lad replied serenely, "has nothing to say for himself. He's a completely disinterested party on this question. Like his master, like his comrade Ned, he's a bachelor. Neither wife, parents, nor children are waiting for him back home. He's in master's employ, he thinks like master, he speaks like master, and much to his regret, he can't be counted on to form a majority. Only two persons face each other here: master on one side, Ned Land on the other. That said, your friend Conseil is listening, and he's ready to keep score."
“康塞尔朋友，”这个老实人安静地回答，“康塞尔朋友没有什么可说的，他在这个问题上，是绝对无所谓的。跟他的主人一样，跟他的同伴尼德一样，他是独身的。没有女人，没有父母，没有子女在故乡等着他。他给先生做事，他同先生一样想，他同先生一样说，他很遗憾，人们不能把他算作一票，凑成大多数。现在单单有两个人出席，一边是先生，一边是尼德-兰。这话说过后，康塞尔朋友静听着，他准备记分。”
I couldn't help smiling as Conseil wiped himself out of existence. Deep down, the Canadian must have been overjoyed at not having to contend with him.
我看见康塞尔完全取消了他自己，不能不发出微笑。 实际上，加拿大人，看到他不来反对自己，也应该很高兴。
"Then, sir," Ned Land said, "since Conseil is no more, we'll have this discussion between just the two of us. I've talked, you've listened. What's your reply?"
“那么，”尼德-兰说，“先生，既然康塞尔不存在，我们俩来讨论这问题吧。我说过了，您听到我的诺了。您有话回答吗？”
It was obvious that the matter had to be settled, and evasions were distasteful to me.
很明显，要结束一下，作出结论来，躲躲闪闪是我所不愿意的。我说：
"Ned my friend," I said, "here's my reply. You have right on your side and my arguments can't stand up to yours. It will never do to count on Captain Nemo's benevolence. The most ordinary good sense would forbid him to set us free. On the other hand, good sense decrees that we take advantage of our first opportunity to leave the Nautilus."
“尼德朋友，我的答复是这样。您反对我，您对。我的论证在您的面前站不住。我们不能指望尼摩船长甘心情愿，恢复我们的自由。一般人最常有的谨慎也使他不会让我们自由的。反过来，小心谨慎也要我们来利用第一次机会，脱离诺第留斯号。”
"Fine, Professor Aronnax, that's wisely said."
“对，阿龙纳斯先生，您这些话说得好。”
"But one proviso," I said, "just one. The opportunity must be the real thing. Our first attempt to escape must succeed, because if it misfires, we won't get a second chance, and Captain Nemo will never forgive us."
“不过，”我说，“我要提出一点，单单一点。机会一定要很有把握。第一次逃走计划一定要成功。因为，如果失败了，我们就找不到再来一次的机会了，同时尼摩船长也不原谅我们了。”
"That's also well put," the Canadian replied. "But your proviso applies to any escape attempt, whether it happens in two years or two days. So this is still the question: if a promising opportunity comes up, we have to grab it."
“您这些话很正确，”加拿大人回答说，“但您提出的这一点可以应用到所有逃走的计划上面，两年后做的或两天内做的都适用。所以，问题还是这个：好机会来了，就要把握住。”
"Agreed. And now, Ned, will you tell me what you mean by a promising opportunity?"
“我同意。尼德，现在请您告诉我，您所谓好机会是指什么说呢？”
"One that leads the Nautilus on a cloudy night within a short distance of some European coast."
‘我所谓好机会，就是指一个黑夜里，诺第留斯号很挨近欧洲的某一处海岸的时候。”
"And you'll try to get away by swimming?"
“你打算泅水逃走吗？”
"Yes, if we're close enough to shore and the ship's afloat on the surface. No, if we're well out and the ship's navigating under the waters."
‘对。如果我们离海岸相当近，船又浮在水面，我们就逃走。如果我们离岸很远，船又在水底航行，我们就留下。”
"And in that event?"
“留下又怎样呢？”
"In that event I'll try to get hold of the skiff. I know how to handle it. We'll stick ourselves inside, undo the bolts, and rise to the surface, without the helmsman in the bow seeing a thing."
“留下，我就想法夺取那只小艇。我知道这小艇是怎样躁纵的。我们走进艇里面去，把螺钉松开，我们就浮上水面来，就是在船头的领航人也看不见我们逃走。”
"Fine, Ned. Stay on the lookout for such an opportunity, but don't forget, one slipup will finish us."
“好，尼德。您小心侦察这个好机会吧，但您不要忘记，如果失败，我们就完了。”
"I won't forget, sir."
“我不至忘记，先生。”
"And now, Ned, would you like to know my overall thinking on your plan?"
“现在，尼德，您愿意知道我对于您的计划的想法吗？”
"Gladly, Professor Aronnax."
“很愿意，阿龙纳斯先生。”
"Well then, I think--and I don't mean 'I hope'--that your promising opportunity won't ever arise."
“那么，我想——我不说我希望——这个好机会不会到来。
"Why not?"
“为什么不会到来？”
"Because Captain Nemo recognizes that we haven't given up all hope of recovering our freedom, and he'll keep on his guard, above all in seas within sight of the coasts of Europe."
“因为尼摩船长不可能不看到，我们并没有抛弃恢复我们自由的希望，他一定小心警戒，特别在这一带接近欧洲海岸的海洋中。”
"I'm of master's opinion," Conseil said.
“我同意先生的看法。”康塞尔说。
"We'll soon see," Ned Land replied, shaking his head with a determined expression.
“我们瞧着办吧。”尼德-兰回答，神气很坚决地摇摇头。
"And now, Ned Land," I added, "let's leave it at that. Not another word on any of this. The day you're ready, alert us and we're with you. I turn it all over to you."
“现在，”我又说，“尼德，就谈到这里吧。以后不要再提这事了。到那一夭，您准备好了，您就通知我们，我们跟着您走。我完全听从您。”
That's how we ended this conversation, which later was to have such serious consequences. At first, I must say, events seemed to confirm my forecasts, much to the Canadian's despair. Did Captain Nemo view us with distrust in these heavily traveled seas, or did he simply want to hide from the sight of those ships of every nation that plowed the Mediterranean? I have no idea, but usually he stayed in midwater and well out from any coast. Either the Nautilus surfaced only enough to let its pilothouse emerge, or it slipped away to the lower depths, although, between the Greek Islands and Asia Minor, we didn't find bottom even at 2,000 meters down.
这次谈话谈到这里就结束了，后来发生很严重的后果。 我现在要说，事实好像是证实了我的预见，弄得加拿大人很是失望。是尼摩船长在这一带很多船只往来的海上不信任我们呢？还是他仅仅想躲开所有国家在这地中海行驶的无数船只呢？我不知道。不过，船经常是在水底走，或距海岸很远的海面行驶；或者诺第留斯号浮出来，只让领航人的笼间在水面，或者就潜到很深的水底下去。因为在希腊群岛和小亚细亚之间，我们找不到深两千米的海底。
Accordingly, I became aware of the isle of Karpathos, one of the Sporades Islands, only when Captain Nemo placed his finger over a spot on the world map and quoted me this verse from Virgil:
所以，我只能从维吉尔的诗句中认识斯波拉群岛之一，嘉巴托斯岛，这诗句是尼摩船长的手指放在平面地图上的一个点时给我念出来的：
Est in Carpathio Neptuni gurgite vates
Caeruleus Proteus . . .
在嘉巴托斯上面住着海王涅豆尼的能预言的海神哥留列斯-蒲罗台……
It was indeed that bygone abode of Proteus, the old shepherd of King Neptune's flocks: an island located between Rhodes and Crete, which Greeks now call Karpathos, Italians Scarpanto. Through the lounge window I could see only its granite bedrock. The next day, February 14, I decided to spend a few hours studying the fish of this island group; but for whatever reason, the panels remained hermetically sealed. After determining the Nautilus's heading, I noted that it was proceeding toward the ancient island of Crete, also called Candia. At the time I had shipped aboard the Abraham Lincoln, this whole island was in rebellion against its tyrannical rulers, the Ottoman Empire of Turkey. But since then I had absolutely no idea what happened to this revolution, and Captain Nemo, deprived of all contact with the shore, was hardly the man to keep me informed.
So I didn't allude to this event when, that evening, I chanced to be alone with the captain in the lounge. Besides, he seemed silent and preoccupied. Then, contrary to custom, he ordered that both panels in the lounge be opened, and going from the one to the other, he carefully observed the watery mass. For what purpose? I hadn't a guess, and for my part, I spent my time studying the fish that passed before my eyes.
Among others I noted that sand goby mentioned by Aristotle and commonly known by the name sea loach, which is encountered exclusively in the salty waters next to the Nile Delta. Near them some semiphosphorescent red porgy rolled by, a variety of gilthead that the Egyptians ranked among their sacred animals, lauding them in religious ceremonies when their arrival in the river's waters announced the fertile flood season. I also noticed some wrasse known as the tapiro, three decimeters long, bony fish with transparent scales whose bluish gray color is mixed with red spots; they're enthusiastic eaters of marine vegetables, which gives them an exquisite flavor; hence these tapiro were much in demand by the epicures of ancient Rome, and their entrails were dressed with brains of peacock, tongue of flamingo, and testes of moray to make that divine platter that so enraptured the Roman emperor Vitellius.
Another resident of these seas caught my attention and revived all my memories of antiquity. This was the remora, which travels attached to the bellies of sharks; as the ancients tell it, when these little fish cling to the undersides of a ship, they can bring it to a halt, and by so impeding Mark Antony's vessel during the Battle of Actium, one of them facilitated the victory of Augustus Caesar. From such slender threads hang the destinies of nations! I also observed some wonderful snappers belonging to the order Lutianida, sacred fish for the Greeks, who claimed they could drive off sea monsters from the waters they frequent; their Greek name anthias means "flower," and they live up to it in the play of their colors and in those fleeting reflections that turn their dorsal fins into watered silk; their hues are confined to a gamut of reds, from the pallor of pink to the glow of ruby. I couldn't take my eyes off these marine wonders, when I was suddenly jolted by an unexpected apparition.
In the midst of the waters, a man appeared, a diver carrying a little leather bag at his belt. It was no corpse lost in the waves. It was a living man, swimming vigorously, sometimes disappearing to breathe at the surface, then instantly diving again.
I turned to Captain Nemo, and in an agitated voice:
"A man! A castaway!" I exclaimed. "We must rescue him at all cost!"
The captain didn't reply but went to lean against the window.
The man drew near, and gluing his face to the panel, he stared at us.
To my deep astonishment, Captain Nemo gave him a signal. The diver answered with his hand, immediately swam up to the surface of the sea, and didn't reappear.
"Don't be alarmed," the captain told me. "That's Nicolas from Cape Matapan, nicknamed 'Il Pesce.' He's well known throughout the Cyclades Islands. A bold diver! Water is his true element, and he lives in the sea more than on shore, going constantly from one island to another, even to Crete."
"You know him, captain?"
"Why not, Professor Aronnax?"
This said, Captain Nemo went to a cabinet standing near the lounge's left panel. Next to this cabinet I saw a chest bound with hoops of iron, its lid bearing a copper plaque that displayed the Nautilus's monogram with its motto Mobilis in Mobili.
Just then, ignoring my presence, the captain opened this cabinet, a sort of safe that contained a large number of ingots.
They were gold ingots. And they represented an enormous sum of money. Where had this precious metal come from? How had the captain amassed this gold, and what was he about to do with it?
I didn't pronounce a word. I gaped. Captain Nemo took out the ingots one by one and arranged them methodically inside the chest, filling it to the top. At which point I estimate that it held more than 1,000 kilograms of gold, in other words, close to 5,000,000 francs.
After securely fastening the chest, Captain Nemo wrote an address on its lid in characters that must have been modern Greek.
This done, the captain pressed a button whose wiring was in communication with the crew's quarters. Four men appeared and, not without difficulty, pushed the chest out of the lounge. Then I heard them hoist it up the iron companionway by means of pulleys.
Just then Captain Nemo turned to me:
"You were saying, professor?" he asked me.
"I wasn't saying a thing, captain."
"Then, sir, with your permission, I'll bid you good evening."
And with that, Captain Nemo left the lounge.
I reentered my stateroom, very puzzled, as you can imagine. I tried in vain to fall asleep. I kept searching for a relationship between the appearance of the diver and that chest filled with gold. Soon, from certain rolling and pitching movements, I sensed that the Nautilus had left the lower strata and was back on the surface of the water.
Then I heard the sound of footsteps on the platform. I realized that the skiff was being detached and launched to sea. For an instant it bumped the Nautilus's side, then all sounds ceased.
Two hours later, the same noises, the same comings and goings, were repeated. Hoisted on board, the longboat was readjusted into its socket, and the Nautilus plunged back beneath the waves.
So those millions had been delivered to their address. At what spot on the continent? Who was the recipient of Captain Nemo's gold?
The next day I related the night's events to Conseil and the Canadian, events that had aroused my curiosity to a fever pitch. My companions were as startled as I was.
"But where does he get those millions?" Ned Land asked.
To this no reply was possible. After breakfast I made my way to the lounge and went about my work. I wrote up my notes until five o'clock in the afternoon. Just then--was it due to some personal indisposition?--I felt extremely hot and had to take off my jacket made of fan mussel fabric. A perplexing circumstance because we weren't in the low latitudes, and besides, once the Nautilus was submerged, it shouldn't be subject to any rise in temperature. I looked at the pressure gauge. It marked a depth of sixty feet, a depth beyond the reach of atmospheric heat.
I kept on working, but the temperature rose to the point of becoming unbearable.
"Could there be a fire on board?" I wondered.
I was about to leave the lounge when Captain Nemo entered. He approached the thermometer, consulted it, and turned to me:
"42 degrees centigrade," he said.
"I've detected as much, captain," I replied, "and if it gets even slightly hotter, we won't be able to stand it."
"Oh, professor, it won't get any hotter unless we want it to!"
"You mean you can control this heat?"
“那么，您也可以随意把它减低吗？”
"No, but I can back away from the fireplace producing it."
“不能，不过我们可以离开这产生热力的地方。”
"So it's outside?"
“那么，这热是外来的。”
"Surely. We're cruising in a current of boiling water."
“不错。我们现在在滚沸的水流中行驶了。”
"It can't be!" I exclaimed.
“可能吗？“我喊道。
"Look."
“请看。”
The panels had opened, and I could see a completely white sea around the Nautilus. Steaming sulfurous fumes uncoiled in the midst of waves bubbling like water in a boiler. I leaned my hand against one of the windows, but the heat was so great, I had to snatch it back.
嵌板打开，我看见诺第留斯号周围的海完全是白的。 一阵硫磺质的水蒸气在水流中间升起，水流像火锅中的水一般沸腾。我把手放在一块玻璃上，但热得厉害，我赶快把手缩回来。
"Where are we?" I asked.
“我们现在在什么地方？”我问。
"Near the island of Santorini, professor," the captain answered me, "and right in the channel that separates the volcanic islets of Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni. I wanted to offer you the unusual sight of an underwater eruption."
“教授，”船长回答我说，“我们现在在桑多休岛附近，就是在把尼亚一加孟宜小岛和巴列亚一加孟宜小岛分开的那条水道中。我是想给您看一看海底喷火的新奇景象。”
"I thought," I said, "that the formation of such new islands had come to an end."
“我原以为，”我说，“这些新岛屿的形成早就停止了。”
"Nothing ever comes to an end in these volcanic waterways," Captain Nemo replied, "and thanks to its underground fires, our globe is continuously under construction in these regions. According to the Latin historians Cassiodorus and Pliny, by the year 19 of the Christian era, a new island, the divine Thera, had already appeared in the very place these islets have more recently formed. Then Thera sank under the waves, only to rise and sink once more in the year 69 A.D. From that day to this, such plutonic construction work has been in abeyance. But on February 3, 1866, a new islet named George Island emerged in the midst of sulfurous steam near Nea Kameni and was fused to it on the 6th of the same month. Seven days later, on February 13, the islet of Aphroessa appeared, leaving a ten-meter channel between itself and Nea Kameni. I was in these seas when that phenomenon occurred and I was able to observe its every phase. The islet of Aphroessa was circular in shape, measuring 300 feet in diameter and thirty feet in height. It was made of black, glassy lava mixed with bits of feldspar. Finally, on March 10, a smaller islet called Reka appeared next to Nea Kameni, and since then, these three islets have fused to form one single, selfsame island."
“在火山区域的海中没有什么是停止的，”尼摩船长回答，“地球也老是受地下火力的煎熬。根据嘉西奥多尔①和蒲林尼的话，公元19年，已经有一个新岛，名字叫铁那女神，在新近形成的那些小岛地位上出现。不久这岛沉下去，到公元69年又浮出来，以后又沉下去一次。白那个时期后直到现在，海中的浮沉工作停止了。但是，1866年2月3日，一个新的小岛，名为佐治岛，在硫磺质的水蒸气中间，近尼亚一加孟宜小岛的地方浮出来了，同月6日，它同尼亚一。 加孟宜合并起来，七天后，2月13日，阿夫罗沙小岛出现，在它和尼亚一孟加宜中间让开一“条宽十米的水道。这件抒事发生的时候，我正在这一带海中，我可以观察岛屿形成的所有阶段。阿夫罗沙小岛是圆圈形，直径三百英尺，高三十英尺，它的成分为黑色的和坡璃质的火山石，同时大杂了长石碎片。最后，8月10日，又有一个更小的小岛，名为列卡岛，在近尼亚～加孟宜小岛地方出现，自后，这三个小岛合并在一起，形成为一个大岛。”
"What about this channel we're in right now?" I asked.
“目前我们所在的水道在哪里呢？”我问。
"Here it is," Captain Nemo replied, showing me a chart of the Greek Islands. "You observe that I've entered the new islets in their place."
“这不是吗，”尼摩船长情着一张希腊群岛的地图回答我，“您看到，我把新出现的小岛都加上去了。”
"But will this channel fill up one day?"
“这水道有一天要填平吗？”
"Very likely, Professor Aronnax, because since 1866 eight little lava islets have surged up in front of the port of St. Nicolas on Palea Kameni. So it's obvious that Nea and Palea will join in days to come. In the middle of the Pacific, tiny infusoria build continents, but here they're built by volcanic phenomena. Look, sir! Look at the construction work going on under these waves."
“那很可能，阿龙纳斯先生，因为，自1866年以来，有八个火山石的小岛在巴列亚～加孟宜小岛的圣尼古拉港对面浮出来了。显然，在很近的期间，尼亚和巴列亚两小岛就要连接起来。”
I returned to the window. The Nautilus was no longer moving. The heat had become unbearable. From the white it had recently been, the sea was turning red, a coloration caused by the presence of iron salts. Although the lounge was hermetically sealed, it was filling with an intolerable stink of sulfur, and I could see scarlet flames of such brightness, they overpowered our electric light.
我回到玻璃近边。诺第留斯号停住不走了。热气愈来愈令人不能忍受。海水本来是白的，由于有铁盐，发生染色作用，现在转变为红色。虽然客厅关得很严密，但有一种令人屹不消的硫磺气味送进来，同时我又望见了赤红色的火焰，辉煌灿烂，把电灯的光辉都掩盖下去了。
I was swimming in perspiration, I was stifling, I was about to be cooked. Yes, I felt myself cooking in actual fact!
我全身湿透，喘不过气未，就要被煮熟了。事实上，我真觉得人家在煮我！
"We can't stay any longer in this boiling water," I told the captain.
“我们再不能留在这沸腾的水流中了。”我对船长说。
"No, it wouldn't be advisable," replied Nemo the Emotionless.
“是的，再留在这儿就大不谨慎了。心平气和的尼摩回答说。
He gave an order. The Nautilus tacked about and retreated from this furnace it couldn't brave with impunity. A quarter of an hour later, we were breathing fresh air on the surface of the waves.
命令发出，诺第留斯号船身转过来，离开这座熔炉，冒昧地留下难免要碰到危险呢！一刻钟后，我们又在海面上呼吸了。
It then occurred to me that if Ned had chosen these waterways for our escape attempt, we wouldn't have come out alive from this sea of fire.
于是我心中想，如果尼德-兰选择这－带的海来实行我们的逃走计划，我们恐怕不能活着走出这火海吧。
The next day, February 16, we left this basin, which tallies depths of 3,000 meters between Rhodes and Alexandria, and passing well out from Cerigo Island after doubling Cape Matapan, the Nautilus left the Greek Islands behind.
第二天，2月16日，我们离开了这海，它在罗得岛和亚历山大港之间，深度有三千米，诺第留斯号行驶在雪利哥海面，绕过马达邦角后，就扔下希腊群岛不见了。