They now began the descent of the mountain. —
他们现在开始下山。 —

Climbing down the crater, they went round the cone and reached their encampment of the previous night. —
下降火山口后，他们绕过火山锥，到达了前一晚露营地。 —

Pencroft thought it must be breakfast-time, and the watches of the reporter and engineer were therefore consulted to find out the hour.
潘克罗夫认为现在该是早餐时间了，于是询问了记者和工程师手表上的时间。

That of Gideon Spilett had been preserved from the sea-water, as he had been thrown at once on the sand out of reach of the waves. —
吉迪恩·斯皮莱特的手表被从海水中救了出来，因为他被立刻拖到了远离浪涌的沙滩上。 —

It was an instrument of excellent quality, a perfect pocket chronometer, which the reporter had not forgotten to wind up carefully every day.
这是一枚质量优秀的仪器，一枚完美的怀表，记者每天都注意精心地给它上发条。

As to the engineer’s watch, it, of course, had stopped during the time which he had passed on the downs.
而工程师的手表，在他在高地度过的时间里当然已经停下来了。

The engineer now wound it up, and ascertaining by the height of the sun that it must be about nine o’clock in the morning, he put his watch at that hour.
工程师现在把手表重新发条，通过太阳的高度判断应该是上午九点左右，他将手表调到了那个时间。

“No, my dear Spilett, wait. You have kept the Richmond time, have you not?”
“不，我亲爱的斯皮莱特，等等。你依照里士满时间调的吗？”

“Yes, Cyrus.”
“是的，赛勒斯。”

“Consequently, your watch is set by the meridian of that town, which is almost that of Washington?”
“因此，你的手表是按照那个城市的子午线调的，几乎等同于华盛顿的子午线？”

“Undoubtedly.”
“毫无疑问。”

“Very well, keep it thus. Content yourself with winding it up very, exactly, but do not touch the hands. —
“很好，就保持这样。只要确保给它仔细地上发条，但不要动指针。 —

This may be of use to us.
这可能对我们有用。”

“What will be the good of that?” thought the sailor.
“这有什么用呢？”水手想。

They ate, and so heartily, that the store of game and almonds was totally exhausted. —
他们吃了，而且吃得很饱，以至于猎物和杏仁的存货已经被彻底消耗。 —

But Pencroft was not at all uneasy, they would supply themselves on the way. —
但是潘克罗夫一点也不担心，他们会在路上补给自己。 —

Top, whose share had been very much to his taste, would know how to find some fresh game among the brushwood. —
狗狗顶，很喜欢他的那份，一定会知道在灌木丛中找到新鲜的猎物。 —

Moreover, the sailor thought of simply asking the engineer to manufacture some powder and one or two fowling-pieces; —
此外，水手想着只需简单地请工程师制造一些火药和一两支猎枪； —

he supposed there would be no difficulty in that.
他想那应该不会有困难。

On leaving the plateau, the captain proposed to his companions to return to the Chimneys by a new way. —
离开高原后，船长建议同伴们沿着新的路径返回烟囱。 —

He wished to reconnoiter Lake Grant, so magnificently framed in trees. —
他想要勘察一下格兰特湖，如此美丽地被树木环绕。 —

They therefore followed the crest of one of the spurs, between which the creek that supplied the lake probably had its source. —
于是他们沿着之间可能有支流的一个山脊的顶部前进。 —

In talking, the settlers already employed the names which they had just chosen, which singularly facilitated the exchange of their ideas. —
在交谈中，定居者们已经开始使用刚刚选择的名字，这大大促进了他们的思想交流。 —

Herbert and Pencroft–the one young and the other very boyish–were enchanted, and while walking, the sailor said,
赫伯特和潘克罗夫——一个年轻，一个很孩子气——感到很高兴，在行走时，水手说，

“Hey, Herbert! how capital it sounds! It will be impossible to lose ourselves, my boy, since, whether we follow the way to Lake Grant, or whether we join the Mercy through the woods of the Far West, we shall be certain to arrive at Prospect Heights, and, consequently, at Union Bay!”
“喂，赫伯特！听起来多么棒啊！我们不可能迷路，我的孩子，因为无论我们是跟着通往格兰特湖的路径走，还是穿越西部的树林加入默西河，我们肯定会到达展望高地，因此，到达联合湾！”

It had been agreed, that without forming a compact band, the settlers should not stray away from each other. —
他们已经商定，没有组成一个紧密的团队，定居者们不应该离开彼此太远。 —

It was very certain that the thick forests of the island were inhabited by dangerous animals, and it was prudent to be on their guard. —
非常确定，岛上茂密的森林中栖息着危险的动物，警惕起来是明智的。 —

In general, Pencroft, Herbert, and Neb walked first, preceded by Top, who poked his nose into every bush. —
通常情况下，潘克罗夫，赫伯特和内布走在最前面，顶在前面，把鼻子伸进每一个灌木丛中。 —

The reporter and the engineer went together, Gideon Spilett ready to note every incident, the engineer silent for the most part, and only stepping aside to pick up one thing or another, a mineral or vegetable substance, which he put into his pocket, without making any remark.
记者和工程师走在一起，吉迪恩·斯普利特准备记录每一个事件，工程师大多数时候保持沉默，只在一旁弯下腰捡起一些东西，矿物或植物物质，然后放进口袋，而不做任何评论。

“What can he be picking up?” muttered Pencroft. —
“他在捡什么？”潘克罗夫低声嘀咕。 —

“I have looked in vain for anything that’s worth the trouble of stooping for.”
我已经徒劳地寻找了很久，没有任何值得为之弯腰的东西。

Towards ten o’clock the little band descended the last declivities of Mount Franklin. —
约十点钟，小队降至富兰克林山的最后一个斜坡。 —

As yet the ground was scantily strewn with bushes and trees. —
地面上还很少有灌木和树木。 —

They were walking over yellowish calcinated earth, forming a plain of nearly a mile long, which extended to the edge of the wood. —
他们走在黄色火山石地面上，形成了一个将近一英里长的平原，一直延伸到树林边缘。 —

Great blocks of that basalt, which, according to Bischof, takes three hundred and fifty millions of years to cool, strewed the plain, very confused in some places. —
根据毕舍夫的说法，那种要冷却三亿五千万年的玄武岩块，散落在平原上，某些地方非常混乱。 —

However, there were here no traces of lava, which was spread more particularly over the northern slopes.
然而，这里没有火山岩的迹象，火山岩主要分布在北坡。

Cyrus Harding expected to reach, without incident, the course of the creek, which he supposed flowed under the trees at the border of the plain, when he saw Herbert running hastily back, while Neb and the sailor were hiding behind the rocks.
锡勒斯·哈丁预计可以平稳地到达小溪的地方，他认为小溪在平原边上树木下流淌，这时看到赫伯特急忙跑回来，而内布和水手躲在岩石后面。

“What’s the matter, my boy?” asked Spilett.
“怎么了，我的孩子？”斯派莱特问道。

“Smoke,” replied Herbert. “We have seen smoke among the rocks, a hundred paces from us.”
“烟,“赫伯特回答说。 “我们在石头间看到了烟，离我们有一百步远。

“Men in this place?” cried the reporter.
“这地方有人吗？”记者喊道。

“We must avoid showing ourselves before knowing with whom we have to deal,” replied Cyrus Harding. —
“在了解我们要面对的人之前，我们必须避免暴露自己,“锡勒斯·哈丁回答道。 —

“I trust that there are no natives on this island; —
“我希望这个岛上没有土著人； —

I dread them more than anything else. Where is Top?”
我比任何其他事情都更害怕他们。Top在哪？

“Top is on before.”
“Top在前面。

“And he doesn’t bark?”
“他不叫吗？”

“No.”
“不行。”

“That is strange. However, we must try to call him back.”
“这很奇怪。不过，我们必须设法将他召回。”

In a few moments, the engineer, Gideon Spilett, and Herbert had rejoined their two companions, and like them, they kept out of sight behind the heaps of basalt.
过了一会儿，工程师吉迪恩·斯皮莱特和赫伯特赶回到他们的两位同伴身边，和他们一样，他们躲在玄武岩堆后面。

From thence they clearly saw smoke of a yellowish color rising in the air.
从那里，他们清楚地看到一股黄色的烟雾升入空中。

Top was recalled by a slight whistle from his master, and the latter, signing to his companions to wait for him, glided away among the rocks. —
Top被主人轻轻的哨声叫回来，后者示意他的同伴等待他，然后在岩石间滑进去。 —

The colonists, motionless, anxiously awaited the result of this exploration, when a shout from the engineer made them hasten forward. —
殖民者们一动不动，焦急地等待着这次探险的结果，正当工程师的一声喊叫让他们急忙赶去。 —

They soon joined him, and were at once struck with a disagreeable odor which impregnated the atmosphere.
他们很快加入了他，立刻被浸透在空气中的一股难闻气味所吸引。

The odor, easily recognized, was enough for the engineer to guess what the smoke was which at first, not without cause, had startled him.
工程师很容易地认出了这气味，这足以让他猜到开始时惊吓他的烟雾是什么。

“This fue,” said he, “or rather, this smoke is produced by nature alone. —
“这是火山碳,“他说，”或者说，这烟是自然产生的。 —

There is a sulphur spring there, which will cure all our sore throats.”
那里有一处硫磺温泉，可以治愈我们所有人的喉咙痛。”

“Captain!” cried Pencroft. “What a pity that I haven’t got a cold!”
“船长!” 本克罗夫特喊道。“多么可惜我没有感冒！”

The settlers then directed their steps towards the place from which the smoke escaped. —
殖民者们就朝着烟雾升起的地方走去。 —

They there saw a sulphur spring which flowed abundantly between the rocks, and its waters discharged a strong sulphuric acid odor, after having absorbed the oxygen of the air.
他们看到一处硫磺温泉在岩石间流淌，它的水释放着一股浓烈的硫酸味，吸收了空气中的氧气。

Cyrus Harding, dipping in his hand, felt the water oily to the touch. —
赛勒斯·哈丁伸手在里面蘸了一下，感觉水触感油腻。 —

He tasted it and found it rather sweet. As to its temperature, that he estimated at ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit. —
他尝了一口，发现水味道相当甜。至于温度，他估计是华氏九十五度。 —

Herbert having asked on what he based this calculation,–
在赫伯特问他根据什么计算得出这一结论之后，-

“Its quite simple, my boy,” said he, “for, in plunging my hand into the water, I felt no sensation either of heat or cold. —
“这非常简单，我的孩子，”他说，“因为我把手伸进水中，既没有感觉到热，也没有感觉到冷。 —

Therefore it has the same temperature as the human body, which is about ninety-five degrees.”
因此，它的温度与人体相同，大约是九十五度。”

The sulphur spring not being of any actual use to the settlers, they proceeded towards the thick border of the forest, which began some hundred paces off.
硫磺泉对居民没有任何实际用途，他们向着厚厚的森林边界前进，那里离他们约有一百步远。

There, as they had conjectured, the waters of the stream flowed clear and limpid between high banks of red earth, the color of which betrayed the presence of oxide of iron. —
正如他们所猜测的，那条小溪的水清澈而温和地流过红土高岸之间，土壤的颜色暴露了氧化铁的存在。 —

From this color, the name of Red Creek was immediately given to the watercourse.
从这个颜色，对水道立刻取名为红溪。

It was only a large stream, deep and clear, formed of the mountain water, which, half river, half torrent, here rippling peacefully over the sand, there falling against the rocks or dashing down in a cascade, ran towards the lake, over a distance of a mile and a half, its breadth varying from thirty to forty feet. —
这只是一条宽广而清澈的大溪流，由山泉组成，半河半激流，此处在沙滩上悄然涟漪，那里跌落在岩石上或瀑布中奔腾，朝着湖水流去，全程一英里半，宽度在三十至四十英尺之间变化。 —

Its waters were sweet, and it was supposed that those of the lake were so also. —
它的水甜，人们也认为湖水也是如此。 —

A fortunate circumstance, in the event of their finding on its borders a more suitable dwelling than the Chimneys.
这是一个幸运的巧合，如果他们在湖边找到一个比壁炉更适合的住所。

As to the trees, which some hundred feet downwards shaded the banks of the creek, they belonged, for the most part, to the species which abound in the temperate zone of America and Tasmania, and no longer to those coniferae observed in that portion of the island already explored to some miles from Prospect Heights. —
至于树木，则下面一百多英尺的溪岸上大部分属于一些在美洲和塔斯马尼亚温带地区极为丰富的品种，而不再是在已被探索过的离展望高地几英里的那部分岛上所观察到的针叶树。 —

At this time of the year, the commencement of the month of April, which represents the month of October, in this hemisphere, that is, the beginning of autumn, they were still in full leaf. —
在每年四月，即在这个半球代表十月的时候，即秋天的开始，它们仍然浓密茂盛。 —

They consisted principally of casuarinas and eucalypti, some of which next year would yield a sweet manna, similar to the manna of the East. Clumps of Australian cedars rose on the sloping banks, which were also covered with the high grass called “tussac” in New Holland; —
它们主要由木麻黄和桉树组成，明年一些树将结出类似东方的甘露般的甜美果实。澳大利亚雪松丛生在这些斜坡上，上面还覆盖着新荷兰被称为“tussac”的高草; —

but the cocoanut, so abundant in the archipelagoes of the Pacific, seemed to be wanting in the island, the latitude, doubtless, being too low.
但椰子，在太平洋的群岛中如此丰富的椰子，在这个岛上似乎是缺少的，无疑是因为纬度太低。

“What a pity!” said Herbert, “such a useful tree, and which has such beautiful nuts!”
“真可惜！”赫伯特说，“这么有用的树，还有那么漂亮的果仁！”

As to the birds, they swarmed among the scanty branches of the eucalypti and casuarinas, which did not hinder the display of their wings. —
至于鸟类，它们成群结队地飞翔在桉树和木麻黄这些稀疏树枝之间，这并没有妨碍它们展翅飞翔。 —

Black, white, or gray cockatoos, paroquets, with plumage of all colors, kingfishers of a sparkling green and crowned with red, blue lories, and various other birds appeared on all sides, as through a prism, fluttering about and producing a deafening clamor. —
黑、白或灰的凤头鹦鹉，羽毛呈现各种颜色，闪闪发光的绿色翠鸟，头顶红色冠羽的蓝色鹦哥，以及其他各种鸟类在四周飞舞，如同透过棱镜，制造出震耳欲聋的喧闹声。 —

Suddenly, a strange concert of discordant voices resounded in the midst of a thicket. —
突然，在灌木丛中传来一阵奇怪的不协调声音。 —

The settlers heard successively the song of birds, the cry of quadrupeds, and a sort of clacking which they might have believed to have escaped from the lips of a native. —
定居者们连续听到了鸟的歌声、四足动物的叫声，以及一种类似于原住民口中发出的喋喋不休的声音。 —

Neb and Herbert rushed towards the bush, forgetting even the most elementary principles of prudence. Happily, they found there, neither a formidable wild beast nor a dangerous native, but merely half a dozen mocking and singing birds, known as mountain pheasants. —
Neb和Herbert冲向灌木丛，完全忘记了最基本的谨慎原则。幸运的是，他们发现那里并没有强大的野兽或危险的土著，只是几只山鹇鸟，会模仿和歌唱。 —

A few skillful blows from a stick soon put an end to their concert, and procured excellent food for the evening’s dinner.
几下灵巧的击打很快结束了它们的音乐会，也为晚餐准备了美味的食物。

Herbert also discovered some magnificent pigeons with bronzed wings, some superbly crested, others draped in green, like their congeners at Port- Macquarie; —
Herbert还发现了一些翠绿翅膀的壮观鸽子，有些有华美的羽冠，有些披着绿色的羽毛，就像波特·麦夸里的同类一样。 —

but it was impossible to reach them, or the crows and magpies which flew away in flocks.
但却无法接近它们，或飞走的乌鸦和喜鹊。

A charge of small shot would have made great slaughter among these birds, but the hunters were still limited to sticks and stones, and these primitive weapons proved very insufficient.
一波小鸟，用小鸟打会大量捕杀，但猎人们仍然被限制在手杖和石头，这些原始武器被证明非常不足以。

Their insufficiency was still more clearly shown when a troop of quadrupeds, jumping, bounding, making leaps of thirty feet, regular flying mammiferae, fled over the thickets, so quickly and at such a height, that one would have thought that they passed from one tree to another like squirrels.
当一群四足动物跳跃、腾空并做30英尺的跳跃时，它们的不足更明显，这些真正的飞行哺乳动物飞越灌木丛，速度如此之快以至于人们会认为它们像松鼠一样从一棵树跳到另一棵树。

“Kangaroos!” cried Herbert.
“袋鼠！”Herbert喊道。

“Are they good to eat?” asked Pencroft.
“它们好吃吗？”Pencroft问道。

“Stewed,” replied the reporter, “their flesh is equal to the best venison!–”
“炖着吃，”记者回答道，“它们的肉堪比最好的鹿肉！”

Gideon Spilett had not finished this exciting sentence when the sailor, followed by Neb and Herbert, darted on the kangaroos tracks. —
Gideon Spilett还没说完这足够刺激的句子，水手便紧随其后，Neb和Herbert则冲向了袋鼠的足迹。 —

Cyrus Harding called them back in vain. But it was in vain too for the hunters to pursue such agile game, which went bounding away like balls. —
Cyrus Harding徒劳地呼唤他们回来。但追逐如此灵活的猎物是徒劳的，它们像球一样蹦蹦跳跳地逃逸开来。 —

After a chase of five minutes, they lost their breath, and at the same time all sight of the creatures, which disappeared in the wood. —
五分钟的追逐之后，他们喘着气，与此同时也失去了那些生物的踪迹，它们消失在树林中。 —

Top was not more successful than his masters.
狗狗Top没有比他的主人更成功。

“Captain,” said Pencroft, when the engineer and the reporter had rejoined them, “Captain, you see quite well we can’t get on unless we make a few guns. —
“船长，” 当工程师和记者重新加入他们时，Pencroft说道，”船长，你很清楚我们如果不制造一些枪就无法继续前行。 —

Will that be possible?”
那有可能吗?”

“Perhaps,” replied the engineer, “but we will begin by first manufacturing some bows and arrows, and I don’t doubt that you will become as clever in the use of them as the Australian hunters.”
“也许，”工程师回答说，”但我们将首先制造一些弓箭，我毫不怀疑你们会和澳大利亚猎人一样熟练地使用它们。”

“Bows and arrows!” said Pencroft scornfully. “That’s all very well for children!”
“弓箭!” Pencroft轻蔑地说道，”那只适合孩子们!”

“Don’t be proud, friend Pencroft,” replied the reporter. —
“不要骄傲，朋友Pencroft，”记者回答道。 —

“Bows and arrows were sufficient for centuries to stain the earth with blood. —
“弓箭几个世纪以来就足以使大地染血。 —

Powder is but a thing of yesterday, and war is as old as the human race–unhappily.”
火药仅仅是昨天的事，战争就像人类一样古老–不幸地。”

“Faith, that’s true, Mr. Spilett,” replied the sailor, “and I always speak too quickly. —
“事实上，这是真的，Spilett先生，”海员回答道，”我总是说话太快。 —

You must excuse me!”
请原谅我!”

Meanwhile, Herbert constant to his favorite science, Natural History, reverted to the kangaroos, saying,–
与此同时，对于他最喜欢的科学-自然历史，Herbert又回到了袋鼠身上说，“”

“Besides, we had to deal just now with the species which is most difficult to catch. —
此外，我们现在必须处理最难捕捉的种类。 —

They were giants with long gray fur; but if I am not mistaken, there exist black and red kangaroos, rock kangaroos, and rat kangaroos, which are more easy to get hold of. —
它们是身披长灰毛的巨人们；但如果我没记错，还有黑色和红色的袋鼠、岩石袋鼠和鼠袋鼠，更容易抓到。 —

It is reckoned that there are about a dozen species.”
据说约有十几种。

“Herbert,” replied the sailor sententiously, “there is only one species of kangaroos to me, that is ‘kangaroo on the spit,’ and it’s just the one we haven’t got this evening!”
“Herbert，”水手庄严地回答说，”对我来说，袋鼠只有一种，那就是旋转烤袋鼠，可惜今晚我们没有找到!”

They could not help laughing at Master Pencroft’s new classification. —
他们忍不住笑了起来，因为彭克罗夫特先生的新分类。 —

The honest sailor did not hide his regret at being reduced for dinner to the singing pheasants, but fortune once more showed itself obliging to him.
这位诚实的水手没有掩饰他对只能吃唱歌野鸡的遗憾，但幸运再次对他慷慨。

In fact, Top, who felt that his interest was concerned went and ferreted everywhere with an instinct doubled by a ferocious appetite. —
事实上，托普感到自己的利益受到影响，带着加倍的狂野食欲到处搜寻。 —

It was even probable that if some piece of game did fall into his clutches, none would be left for the hunters, if Top was hunting on his own account; —
实际上，如果有一些猎物落入他爪中，很可能猎人们就什么也捕不到了，如果托普是在自己独自寻找的话； —

but Neb watched him and he did well.
但内布看了他，他表现得很好。

Towards three o’clock the dog disappeared in the brushwood and gruntings showed that he was engaged in a struggle with some animal. —
大约三点钟，狗在灌木丛中消失了，呻吟声显示它和某种动物在搏斗。 —

Neb rushed after him, and soon saw Top eagerly devouring a quadruped, which ten seconds later would have been past recognizing in Top’s stomach. —
奈布冲了过去，很快看到托普正在渴望地吞食一只四足动物，十秒钟后在托普的胃里就无法辨认。 —

But fortunately the dog had fallen upon a brood, and besides the victim he was devouring, two other rodents–the animals in question belonged to that order–lay strangled on the turf.
但幸运的是，狗袭击了一窝动物，除了他正在吞食的受害者外，另外两只啮齿动物–这些动物属于那个目–被勒死在草地上。

Neb reappeared triumphantly holding one of the rodents in each hand. —
奈布得意洋洋地出现了，手里拿着两只啮齿动物。 —

Their size exceeded that of a rabbit, their hair was yellow, mingled with green spots, and they had the merest rudiments of tails.
它们比兔子还大，毛发是黄色的，夹杂着绿斑，尾巴只有些微发育。

The citizens of the Union were at no loss for the right name of these rodents. —
联邦市民不用费力就能给这些啮齿动物找到合适的名字。 —

They were maras, a sort of agouti, a little larger than their congeners of tropical countries, regular American rabbits, with long ears, jaws armed on each side with five molars, which distinguish the agouti.
它们是钝齿鼠，一种略大于热带国家同类动物的啮齿动物，有着长耳朵，咬合面各有五颗臼齿，这一特点区分了钝齿鼠。

“Hurrah!” cried Pencroft, “the roast has arrived! and now we can go home.”
“万岁！”彭克罗夫特喊道，“烤肉来了！现在我们可以回家了。”

The walk, interrupted for an instant, was resumed. —
稍作停顿后，继续前行。 —

The limpid waters of the Red Creek flowed under an arch of casuannas, banksias, and gigantic gum-trees. —
红溪的清澈水流在一片木鳖树、班基亚树和巨大的桉树拱下流淌。 —

Superb lilacs rose to a height of twenty feet. —
绝美的紫丁香树长到了二十英尺高。 —

Other arborescent species, unknown to the young naturalist, bent over the stream, which could be heard murmuring beneath the bowers of verdure.
其他高大的树种，年轻的自然学家不认识，俯身在可以听到涓涓细流声音的绿荫下。

Meanwhile the stream grew much wider, and Cyrus Harding supposed that they would soon reach its mouth. —
与此同时，小溪变得更宽，赛勒斯·哈丁猜想他们很快就会到达它的出口。 —

In fact, on emerging from beneath a thick clump of beautiful trees, it suddenly appeared before their eyes.
事实上，在从美丽的浓密树丛下面出来后，它突然出现在他们眼前。

The explorers had arrived on the western shore of Lake Grant. The place was well worth looking at. —
探险家们抵达了格兰特湖的西岸。这个地方值得一看。 —

This extent of water, of a circumference of nearly seven miles and an area of two hundred and fifty acres, reposed in a border of diversified trees. —
这片水域周长近七英里，面积达两百五十英亩，在各种树木的环绕下悠然休憩。 —

Towards the east, through a curtain of verdure, picturesquely raised in some places, sparkled an horizon of sea. —
向东，在一帷幕状隆起的绿色中，有时可以看到一片闪烁着的海平线。 —

The lake was curved at the north, which contrasted with the sharp outline of its lower part. —
湖水北边呈曲线，与下部的尖锐轮廓形成对比。 —

Numerous aquatic birds frequented the shores of this little Ontario, in which the thousand isles of its American namesake were represented by a rock which emerged from its surface, some hundred feet from the southern shore. —
许多水鸟经常出没在这个小小的安大略湖岸边，他们的美国名字中的一千个小岛被一块从南部岸边冒出来的岩石代表了。 —

There lived in harmony several couples of kingfishers perched on a stone, grave, motionless, watching for fish, then darting down, they plunged in with a sharp cry, and reappeared with their prey in their beaks. —
几对翠鸟栖息在一块石头上，严肃、不动，守候着鱼，然后俯冲下去，带着尖叫声，叼着猎物浮出水面。 —

On the shores and on the islets, strutted wild ducks, pelicans, water-hens, red-beaks, philedons, furnished with a tongue like a brush, and one or two specimens of the splendid menura, the tail of which expands gracefully like a lyre.
湖岸和小岛上，野鸭、鹈鹕、水鸡、红喙鸟、短尾鹈鹕等丰富多彩的水鸟在自然中优美地舞动着。

As to the water of the lake, it was sweet, limpid, rather dark, and from certain bubblings, and the concentric circles which crossed each other on the surface, it could not be doubted that it abounded in fish.
至于湖水，清甜、透明，稍微昏暗，从某些气泡和交错的同心圆可以断定，湖里有很多鱼。

“This lake is really beautiful!” said Gideon Spilett. “We could live on its borders!”
“这个湖真的很美！”盖迪昂·斯皮莱特说道。”我们可以在湖边生活！”

“We will live there!” replied Harding.
“我们就在那里生活！”哈丁回答道。

The settlers, wishing to return to the Chimneys by the shortest way, descended towards the angle formed on the south by the junction of the lake’s bank. —
定居者们希望以最短的路线返回烟囱，沿着南方岸边交汇处的角度而下。 —

It was not without difficulty that they broke a path through the thickets and brushwood which had never been put aside by the hand of mm, and they thus went towards the shore, so as to arrive at the north of Prospect Heights. —
他们费了不少力气才在从未被人工整理过的灌木丛和树篱中开辟出一条道路，他们朝着海岸走去，以便抵达展望高地的北部。 —

Two miles were cleared in this direction, and then, after they had passed the last curtain of trees, appeared the plateau, carpeted with thick turf, and beyond that the infinite sea.
他们在这个方向上清理了两英里的道路，然后，当他们穿过最后一排树木后，出现了铺满浓密草皮的高地，以及无尽的大海。

To return to the Chimneys, it was enough to cross the plateau obliquely for the space of a mile, and then to descend to the elbow formed by the first detour of the Mercy. But the engineer desired to know how and where the overplus of the water from the lake escaped, and the exploration was prolonged under the trees for a mile and a half towards the north. —
要返回烟囱只需斜穿高地一英里，然后沿着第一个梅西的拐角下降。但工程师想要了解从湖中溢出的水是如何、何处流出的，因此他们继续向北在树木下延伸了一英里半。 —

It was most probable that an overfall existed somewhere, and doubtless through a cleft in the granite. —
最有可能的是溢出口存在于某处，而且很可能是通过花岗岩裂缝。 —

This lake was only, in short, an immense center basin, which was filled by degrees by the creek, and its waters must necessarily pass to the sea by some fall. —
简而言之，这个湖只是一个巨大的中心盆地，逐渐被小溪填满，它的水必然通过某处瀑布流向大海。 —

If it was so, the engineer thought that it might perhaps be possible to utilize this fall and borrow its power, actually lost without profit to any one. —
如果是这样，工程师认为也许可以利用这泻、借用它的力量，这种本该有利于任何人的东西却被白白浪费。 —

They continued then to follow the shores of Lake Grant by climbing the plateau; —
他们继续沿着湖格兰特的湖岸攀登高地； —

but, after having gone a mile in this direction, Cyrus Harding had not been able to discover the overfall, which, however, must exist somewhere.
但在这个方向上走了一英里后，赛勒斯哈丁还是没能找到溢出口，但那必须存在于某处。

It was then half-past four. In order to prepare for dinner it was necessary that the settlers should return to their dwelling. —
当时已经是下午四点半了。为了准备晚餐，定居者们必须返回住所。 —

The little band retraced their steps, therefore, and by the left bank of the Mercy, Cyrus Harding and his companions arrived at the Chimneys.
因此，小队原路返回，通过梅西河的左岸，赛勒斯·哈丁和他的伙伴们抵达了烟囱。

The fire was lighted, and Neb and Pencroft, on whom the functions of cooks naturally devolved, to the one in his quality of Negro, to the other in that of sailor, quickly prepared some broiled agouti, to which they did great justice.
火被点燃了，尼布和潘克罗夫作为厨师的职责很自然地落到了他们身上，一个是因为他是黑人，另一个是因为他是水手，很快就烤好了一些豪猪肉，他们都吃得津津有味。

The repast at length terminated; at the moment when each one was about to give himself up to sleep, Cyrus Harding drew from his pocket little specimens of different sorts of minerals, and just said,–
这顿饭终于结束了；每个人都准备去睡觉的时候，赛勒斯·哈丁从口袋里拿出了不同种类矿物的小标本，只是说了一句，

“My friends, this is iron mineral, this a pyrite, this is clay, this is lime, and this is coal. —
“我的朋友们，这是铁矿石，这是黄铁矿，这是黏土，这是石灰，这是煤。 —

Nature gives us these things. It is our business to make a right use of them. —
大自然赐予我们这些东西。我们的任务是正确地利用它们。 —

To-morrow we will commence operations.”
明天我们就开始行动。”