WELL, I catched my breath and most fainted. Shut up on a wreck with such a gang as that! —
嗯，我屏住呼吸，几乎要晕倒。闭嘴，遇到那样的一帮人真是够倒霉的！ —

But it warn’t no time to be sentimentering. —
但现在不是感伤的时候。 —

We’d GOT to find that boat now – had to have it for ourselves. —
我们必须找到那条船-必须为我们自己保留。 —

So we went a-quaking and shaking down the stabboard side, and slow work it was, too – seemed a week before we got to the stern. —
于是我们战战兢兢地朝右舷边摸去，进展缓慢-好像要过了一个星期才到船尾。 —

No sign of a boat. Jim said he didn’t believe he could go any further – so scared he hadn’t hardly any strength left, he said. —
没有船的迹象。吉姆说他不相信自己能再继续下去-他嘴里说着，吓得几乎没有任何力气了。 —

But I said, come on, if we get left on this wreck we are in a fix, sure. So on we prowled again. —
但我说，走吧，如果我们被困在这个残骸上，我们肯定会处于困境之中。因此，我们又开始搜寻。 —

We struck for the stern of the texas, and found it, and then scrabbled along forwards on the skylight, hanging on from shutter to shutter, for the edge of the skylight was in the water. —
我们朝德克萨斯州的尾部努力前行，最后找到了-然后从顶篷一直往前挠，从百叶窗上抓住，因为百叶窗的边缘已经淹没在水中。 —

When we got pretty close to the cross-hall door there was the skiff, sure enough! —
当我们靠近横过走廊的门时，确实有一条小船！ —

I could just barely see her. I felt ever so thankful. —
我只能勉强看到她。我感到非常感激。 —

In another second I would a been aboard of her, but just then the door opened. —
再过一秒我就要上船了，但就在那时门打开了。 —

One of the men stuck his head out only about a couple of foot from me, and I thought I was gone; —
其中一个男人把头伸出来，离我只有几英尺远，我以为完蛋了； —

but he jerked it in again, and says:
但他又把头缩了回去，说道：

“Heave that blame lantern out o’ sight, Bill!”
“把那该死的灯笼藏起来，比尔！”

He flung a bag of something into the boat, and then got in himself and set down. —
他扔进船里一个包袋，然后自己也上船坐下。 —

It was Packard. Then Bill HE come out and got in. —
那是Packard。然后比尔也出来上船。 —

Packard says, in a low voice:
Packard低声说道：

“All ready – shove off!”
“准备好了——推开！”

I couldn’t hardly hang on to the shutters, I was so weak. But Bill says:
我几乎无法抓住百叶窗，我太虚弱了。但比尔说道：

“Hold on – ’d you go through him?”
“等等——你搜了他身上吗？”

“No. Didn’t you?”
“没有，你呢？”

“No. So he’s got his share o’ the cash yet.”
“也没有。那他仍然有他那一份现金。”

“Well, then, come along; no use to take truck and leave money.”
“好吧，那就走吧；带货物离开，留下钱没有意义。”

“Say, won’t he suspicion what we’re up to?”
“喂，他会不会怀疑我们在搞什么鬼？”

“Maybe he won’t. But we got to have it anyway. Come along.”
“也许他不会。但无论如何我们得拿到它。跟我来。”

So they got out and went in.
于是他们出去了，然后进去了。

The door slammed to because it was on the careened side; —
门被砰地一声关上，因为它安装在折颠的一侧； —

and in a half second I was in the boat, and Jim come tumbling after me. —
我上了船，还没等多久，吉姆就跟着我摔进来了。 —

I out with my knife and cut the rope, and away we went!
我拿出刀子，割断绳索，我们就驶离了！

We didn’t touch an oar, and we didn’t speak nor whisper, nor hardly even breathe. —
我们没有摇橹，也没有说话或耳语，几乎不敢呼吸。 —

We went gliding swift along, dead silent, past the tip of the paddlebox, and past the stern; —
我们静悄悄地快速滑行，从航轮前方悄然掠过，穿过船尾； —

then in a second or two more we was a hundred yards below the wreck, and the darkness soaked her up, every last sign of her, and we was safe, and knowed it.
接着不到一两秒，我们已经在残骸下游一百码之外，黑暗吞噬了它，没有留下丝毫踪影，我们安全了，而且意识到这一点。

When we was three or four hundred yards downstream we see the lantern show like a little spark at the texas door for a second, and we knowed by that that the rascals had missed their boat, and was beginning to understand that they was in just as much trouble now as Jim Turner was.
当我们离下游三四百码远时，我们看到灯笼在船室门口像一颗火花般闪烁了一下，通过这个迹象我们知道那些恶棍们没有赶上他们的船，他们开始明白吉姆·特纳和他们处境一样危险了。

Then Jim manned the oars, and we took out after our raft. —
然后吉姆拿起桨，我们追着我们的筏子出发了。 —

Now was the first time that I begun to worry about the men – I reckon I hadn’t had time to before. —
现在是我第一次为那些人担心——我想我之前还没有来得及担心。 —

I begun to think how dreadful it was, even for murderers, to be in such a fix. —
我开始思考，即使对于杀人犯来说，处于这种困境也是多么可怕。 —

I says to myself, there ain’t no telling but I might come to be a murderer myself yet, and then how would I like it? So says I to Jim:
我对自己说，没有人能够确切地知道我将来是否会成为一个杀人犯，那我会怎么样呢？所以我对吉姆说：

“The first light we see we’ll land a hundred yards below it or above it, in a place where it’s a good hiding-place for you and the skiff, and then I’ll go and fix up some kind of a yarn, and get somebody to go for that gang and get them out of their scrape, so they can be hung when their time comes.”
“我们看到的第一点亮光，我们就会在它下面或上面一百码的地方登陆，找一个对你和小船来说是一个好藏身之处，然后我会编造一个故事，找人去解救那群人，让他们在他们的时间到来时被绞死。”

But that idea was a failure; for pretty soon it begun to storm again, and this time worse than ever. —
但那个想法失败了，因为很快又开始下起了暴风雨，这一次比以往任何时候都糟糕。 —

The rain poured down, and never a light showed; everybody in bed, I reckon. —
雨倾盆而下，看不见任何灯光；我想每个人都已经上床睡觉了。 —

We boomed along down the river, watching for lights and watching for our raft. —
我们沿着河流飞速前进，寻找着灯光，也在寻找我们的筏子。 —

After a long time the rain let up, but the clouds stayed, and the lightning kept whimpering, and by and by a flash showed us a black thing ahead, floating, and we made for it.
过了很久，雨停了，但云仍然低垂，闪电不停地闪烁着，不久之后一道闪电向我们展示了前方的一个黑色物体，漂浮着，我们向它靠近。

It was the raft, and mighty glad was we to get aboard of it again. —
那是漂浮的木筏，我们非常高兴能再次登上它。 —

We seen a light now away down to the right, on shore. So I said I would go for it. —
我们看见右岸有一束灯光，所以我决定去看看。 —

The skiff was half full of plunder which that gang had stole there on the wreck. —
船只里装满了那帮人从沉船上偷来的东西。 —

We hustled it on to the raft in a pile, and I told Jim to float along down, and show a light when he judged he had gone about two mile, and keep it burning till I come; —
我们匆忙地把它堆在木筏上，我告诉吉姆沿着河漂流，大约漂行两英里时点亮一盏灯，一直保持着直到我来； —

then I manned my oars and shoved for the light. —
然后我握住桨开始朝灯光驶去。 —

As I got down towards it three or four more showed – up on a hillside. It was a village. —
当我靠近灯光时，又出现了三四个灯光，挂在小山边上。那是一个村庄。 —

I closed in above the shore light, and laid on my oars and floated. —
我靠近了岸上的灯光，收起桨，让木筏漂在水上。 —

As I went by I see it was a lantern hanging on the jackstaff of a double-hull ferryboat. —
当我经过时，发现那是挂在一艘双体渡船的雄杆上的一盏灯笼。 —

I skimmed around for the watchman, awondering whereabouts he slept; —
我四处探寻着看门人的踪迹，想知道他在哪里睡觉； —

and by and by I found him roosting on the bitts forward, with his head down between his knees. —
不久，我在前面的ベッツ上找到他，他的头被夹在膝盖之间。 —

I gave his shoulder two or three little shoves, and begun to cry.
我轻轻地推了他几下，开始大声哭起来。

He stirred up in a kind of a startlish way; —
他像是被吓了一跳似的转过身来； —

but when he see it was only me he took a good gap and stretch, and then he says:
但是当他发现只是我时，他停了下来伸了个长长的懒腰，然后说：

“Hello, what’s up? Don’t cry, bub. What’s the trouble?”
“嘿，怎么了？别哭了，小伙子。有什么烦恼吗？”

I says:
我说：

“Pap, and mam, and sis, and –”
“爸爸，妈妈，姐姐，还有……”

Then I broke down. He says:
然后我崩溃了。他说：

“Oh, dang it now, DON’T take on so; we all has to have our troubles, and this ‘n ’ll come out all right. —
“噢，别这样，我们都有自己的烦恼，这个问题会解决的。” —

What’s the matter with ‘em?”
他们怎么了？”

“They’re – they’re – are you the watchman of the boat?”
“他们……他们……你是这艘船的看门人吗？”

“Yes,” he says, kind of pretty-well-satisfied like. —
“是的，”他说，满意地回答。 —

“I’m the captain and the owner and the mate and the pilot and watchman and head deck-hand; —
“我既是船长，也是船主，还是船员和舵手和甲板上的负责人； —

and sometimes I’m the freight and passengers. —
有时候我也是货物和乘客。 —

I ain’t as rich as old Jim Hornback, and I can’t be so blame’ generous and good to Tom, Dick, and Harry as what he is, and slam around money the way he does; —
我不像那个老吉姆·霍恩巴克那么有钱，也不像他那样对汤姆、迪克和哈里慷慨好心，像他那样挥金如土； —

but I’ve told him a many a time ’t I wouldn’t trade places with him; —
但是我告诉他很多次，我可不想和他调换位置。” —

for, says I, a sailor’s life’s the life for me, and I’m derned if I’D live two mile out o’ town, where there ain’t nothing ever goin’ on, not for all his spondulicks and as much more on top of it. Says I –”
我说，对于一个水手来说，这就是我的人生，我可不会住在离镇子两英里的地方，那里没什么事情发生，尽管拿出他的钱财和更多的钱山在上面也没用。我说-”

I broke in and says:
我插话道：

“They’re in an awful peck of trouble, and –”
“他们遇到了很大的麻烦，而且-”

“WHO is?”
“谁？”

“Why, pap and mam and sis and Miss Hooker; and if you’d take your ferryboat and go up there –”
“噢，爸爸，妈妈，妹妹和胡克小姐；如果你坐上你的渡船去那里的话-”

“Up where? Where are they?”
“去哪里？他们在哪里？”

“On the wreck.”
“在沉船上。”

“What wreck?”
“什么沉船？”

“Why, there ain’t but one.”
“噢，只有一艘。”

“What, you don’t mean the Walter Scott?”
“什么，你不是说瓦尔特·斯科特号吧？”

“Yes.”
“对的。”

“Good land! what are they doin’ THERE, for gracious sakes?”
“天啊！他们在那里做什么？求求你了！”

“Well, they didn’t go there a-purpose.”
“噢，他们不是特意去那里的。”

“I bet they didn’t! Why, great goodness, there ain’t no chance for ‘em if they don’t git off mighty quick! —
“我敢打赌他们不是！哎，天哪，如果他们不快点离开，他们就没机会了！ —

Why, how in the nation did they ever git into such a scrape?”
噢，他们是怎么陷入这种困境的呢？”

“Easy enough. Miss Hooker was a-visiting up there to the town –”
“还算简单。胡克小姐当时正去城里拜访——”

“Yes, Booth’s Landing – go on.”
“是的，布斯登，继续说。”

“She was a-visiting there at Booth’s Landing, and just in the edge of the evening she started over with her nigger woman in the horse-ferry to stay all night at her friend’s house, Miss What-you-may-call-her I disremember her name – and they lost their steeringoar, and swung around and went a-floating down, stern first, about two mile, and saddle-baggsed on the wreck, and the ferryman and the nigger woman and the horses was all lost, but Miss Hooker she made a grab and got aboard the wreck. —
“她在布斯登拜访，就在傍晚的时候，她和她的奴隶女仆一起坐上了马渡轮，准备在她朋友的家里过夜，我不记得她叫什么名字了。结果他们丢了舵橹，船就绕着转弯处顺流而下，大约漂了两英里，最后停在一艘沉船上，马渡轮的船夫、奴隶女仆和马都丧命了，但是胡克小姐抓住机会爬上了沉船。” —

Well, about an hour after dark we come along down in our trading-scow, and it was so dark we didn’t notice the wreck till we was right on it; —
“嗯，天黑后大约有一个小时，我们坐着交易船过来，但是天太黑，我们没注意到沉船直到我们就在上面了。” —

and so WE saddle-baggsed; but all of us was saved but Bill Whipple – and oh, he WAS the best cretur ! —
“所以我们也降落了；但是我们所有人都得救了，只有比尔·惠普尔丧命了，哦，他可是个好人！” —

– I most wish ’t it had been me, I do.”
“——我真希望是我死了，是的，我真的这么想。”

“My George! It’s the beatenest thing I ever struck. And THEN what did you all do?”
“老兄！这是我碰到过的最离奇的事情。然后，你们都做了什么？”

“Well, we hollered and took on, but it’s so wide there we couldn’t make nobody hear. —
“嗯，我们大喊着继续前进，但那里面太宽广，我们没法让任何人听见。” —

So pap said somebody got to get ashore and get help somehow. —
“所以爸爸说必须有人上岸寻求帮助。” —

I was the only one that could swim, so I made a dash for it, and Miss Hooker she said if I didn’t strike help sooner, come here and hunt up her uncle, and he’d fix the thing. —
“我是唯一会游泳的人，所以我冲了过去。霍克小姐说如果我不能尽快找到帮助，就来找她的叔叔，他会解决问题的。” —

I made the land about a mile below, and been fooling along ever since, trying to get people to do something, but they said, ‘What, in such a night and such a current? —
我把船停在了差不多一英里下游，从那以后就一直在愚弄着人们，试图让他们做些事情，可他们都说，“在这样的夜晚和急流之下，做什么呢？ —

There ain’t no sense in it; go for the steam ferry.’ Now if you’ll go and –”
没有意义；还是坐蒸汽渡轮吧。”现在，如果你愿意去——”

“By Jackson, I’d LIKE to, and, blame it, I don’t know but I will; —
“天哪，我想去，该死的，我不知道我会不会去； —

but who in the dingnation’s a-going’ to PAY for it? Do you reckon your pap –”
不过，到底谁会付钱呢？你觉得你老爸会……”

“Why THAT’S all right. Miss Hooker she tole me, PARTICULAR, that her uncle Hornback –”
“为什么那没关系。胡克小姐特意告诉我，她的舅舅霍恩巴克……”

“Great guns! is HE her uncle? Looky here, you break for that light over yonder-way, and turn out west when you git there, and about a quarter of a mile out you’ll come to the tavern; —
“天哪！他是她的舅舅？你看，你向那边的灯亮冲过去，到了那里转向西边，大约四分之一英里后你就会来到旅馆； —

tell ‘em to dart you out to Jim Hornback’s, and he’ll foot the bill. —
告诉他们送你出去到吉姆·霍恩巴克那儿，并且他会为账单买单。 —

And don’t you fool around any, because he’ll want to know the news. —
不要耽搁，因为他会想知道最新消息。 —

Tell him I’ll have his niece all safe before he can get to town. Hump yourself, now; —
告诉他我会在他赶到镇上之前保证把他的侄女安全送到。快点，现在就开始行动； —

I’m agoing up around the corner here to roust out my engineer.”
我要过去转个弯找俺的船长。”

I struck for the light, but as soon as he turned the corner I went back and got into my skiff and bailed her out, and then pulled up shore in the easy water about six hundred yards, and tucked myself in among some woodboats; —
我走向灯光，但他一转弯我就返回去，上了我的小艇，把她舀了出来，然后在离岸大约六百码的平静水域停了下来，躲在一些木船中间； —

for I couldn’t rest easy till I could see the ferryboat start. —
因为我想看到渡船启动，所以我一直不得安宁。 —

But take it all around, I was feeling ruther comfortable on accounts of taking all this trouble for that gang, for not many would a done it. —
总的来说，我感觉还相当舒服，因为我为那个团伙费了这么多力气，而不是许多人会这么做。 —

I wished the widow knowed about it. I judged she would be proud of me for helping these rapscallions, because rapscallions and dead beats is the kind the widow and good people takes the most interest in.
我希望寡妇知道这件事。我估计她会为我帮助这些无赖感到自豪，因为无赖和吃软饭的人是寡妇和好人们最感兴趣的人群。

Well, before long here comes the wreck, dim and dusky, sliding along down! —
好吧，不久之后这里就来了一艘船舶的残骸，昏暗而朦胧地顺流而下！ —

A kind of cold shiver went through me, and then I struck out for her. —
一阵寒意从我的身上传过来，然后我朝她游去。 —

She was very deep, and I see in a minute there warn’t much chance for anybody being alive in her. —
她非常沉，我立刻看出来她里面没什么人还活着的机会。 —

I pulled all around her and hollered a little, but there wasn’t any answer; all dead still. —
我在她周围划着船并喊了一声，但没有任何回应；一片死寂。 —

I felt a little bit heavy-hearted about the gang, but not much, for I reckoned if they could stand it I could.
对于那帮人，我感到有点沉重的心情，但不多，因为我想如果他们能忍受得了，我也能。

Then here comes the ferryboat; so I shoved for the middle of the river on a long down-stream slant; —
然后渡船来了，所以我朝着河流中间推动，朝下游倾斜地划动。 —

and when I judged I was out of eye-reach I laid on my oars, and looked back and see her go and smell around the wreck for Miss Hooker’s remainders, because the captain would know her uncle Hornback would want them; —
当我判断自己已经脱离视线后，我停下船桨回头看，看到她绕着残骸嗅来嗅去，因为船长知道霍克小姐的叔叔霍恩巴克会想要它们。 —

and then pretty soon the ferryboat give it up and went for the shore, and I laid into my work and went a-booming down the river.
然后很快渡船放弃了，靠岸了，我立刻开始划桨，沿着河流奔驰。

It did seem a powerful long time before Jim’s light showed up; —
在吉姆的灯光出现之前，这似乎是漫长的一段时间。 —

and when it did show it looked like it was a thousand mile off. —
而当它出现时，看起来像是离我们一千英里远。 —

By the time I got there the sky was beginning to get a little gray in the east; —
当我到那时，天空东方已经开始有点发白了 —

so we struck for an island, and hid the raft, and sunk the skiff, and turned in and slept like dead people.
所以我们朝一个岛屿驶去，隐藏了木筏，沉了小船，就像死人一样躺下睡觉。