In a few words, Gideon Spilett, Herbert, and Neb were made acquainted with what had happened. —
Gideon Spilett、Herbert和尼布被告知发生了什么事情。 —

This accident, which appeared so very serious to Pencroft, produced different effects on the companions of the honest sailor.
这次事故在坦诚的水手身边的伙伴们中产生了不同的影响。

Neb, in his delight at having found his master, did not listen, or rather, did not care to trouble himself with what Pencroft was saying.
尼布在找到主人之后，高兴地不愿意听或者说不在乎听彭克罗夫在说什么。

Herbert shared in some degree the sailor’s feelings.
赫伯特在某种程度上分享了水手的感受。

As to the reporter, he simply replied,–
至于记者，他简单地回答说，-

“Upon my word, Pencroft, it’s perfectly indifferent to me!”
“诚然，彭克罗夫，这对我来说无所谓！”

“But, I repeat, that we haven’t any fire!”
“但是，我重复一遍，我们没有任何火！”

“Pooh!”
“咄！”

“Nor any means of relighting it!”
“也没有任何重新点燃的方法！”

“Nonsense!”
“胡说八道！”

“But I say, Mr. Spilett–”
“但我说，斯皮莱特先生——”

“Isn’t Cyrus here?” replied the reporter.
“西里斯不在这里吗？”记者回答道。

“Is not our engineer alive? He will soon find some way of making fire for us!”
“我们的工程师还活着吗？他很快会找到一些点火的方法给我们的！”

“With what?”
“用什么？”

“With nothing.”
“什么都没有。”

What had Pencroft to say? He could say nothing, for, in the bottom of his heart he shared the confidence which his companions had in Cyrus Harding. —
Pencroft有什么话要说？他什么都说不出来，因为他心里跟他的同伴们一样，对Cyrus Harding充满信心。 —

The engineer was to them a microcosm, a compound of every science, a possessor of all human knowledge. —
对他们来说，工程师就是一个微观世界，是所有科学的结合体，是所有人类知识的拥有者。 —

It was better to be with Cyrus in a desert island, than without him in the most flourishing town in the United States. —
与Cyrus在一座荒岛上相处要比在美利坚合众国最繁荣的城镇中没有他要更好。 —

With him they could want nothing; with him they would never despair. —
他们和他在一起什么都不缺，有他们永远不会绝望。 —

If these brave men had been told that a volcanic eruption would destroy the land, that this land would be engulfed in the depths of the Pacific, they would have imperturbably replied,–
如果告诉这些勇敢的人说一次火山喷发会摧毁这片土地，这片土地会被太平洋的深处吞噬，他们会泰然自若地回答说，-

“Cyrus is here!”
“Cyrus在这里！”

While in the palanquin, however, the engineer had again relapsed into unconsciousness, which the jolting to which he had been subjected during his journey had brought on, so that they could not now appeal to his ingenuity. —
然而，在轿子里，工程师却再次失去了知觉，这是因为他在旅途中受到的颠簸引起的，所以他们现在无法求助于他的机智。 —

The supper must necessarily be very meager. —
晚餐必然非常简单。 —

In fact, all the grouse flesh had been consumed, and there no longer existed any means of cooking more game. —
实际上，所有的松鸡肉都已经被消耗光了，再也没有办法烹饪更多的猎物了。 —

Besides, the couroucous which had been reserved had disappeared. They must consider what was to be done.
此外，留着的couroucous已经消失了。他们必须考虑应该怎么办。

First of all, Cyrus Harding was carried into the central passage. —
首先，Cyrus Harding被搬到了中央通道。 —

There they managed to arrange for him a couch of sea-weed which still remained almost dry. —
他们成功地为他准备了一张几乎仍然干燥的海草床。 —

The deep sleep which had overpowered him would no doubt be more beneficial to him than any nourishment.
覆盖住他的深睡眠无疑会比任何营养更有益。

Night had closed in, and the temperature, which had modified when the wind shifted to the northwest, again became extremely cold. —
夜幕降临，温度由于风向转向西北而变得极端寒冷。 —

Also, the sea having destroyed the partitions which Pencroft had put up in certain places in the passages, the Chimneys, on account of the draughts, had become scarcely habitable. —
另外，海水摧毁了Pencroft在一些通道里设置的隔断，因此因为有了气流，烟囱几乎无法居住。 —

The engineer’s condition would, therefore, have been bad enough, if his companions had not carefully covered him with their coats and waistcoats.
因此，如果他的同伴没有用外套和背心细心地给他盖好，工程师的情况本来会很糟糕。

Supper, this evening, was of course composed of the inevitable lithodomes, of which Herbert and Neb picked up a plentiful supply on the beach. —
今晚的晚餐当然是由不可避免的磷嵌双壳贝组成，赫伯特和尼布在海滩上采集了大量。 —

However, to these molluscs, the lad added some edible sea-weed, which he gathered on high rocks, whose sides were only washed by the sea at the time of high tides. —
然而，除了这些软体动物，男孩还加入了一些可食用的海草，他在高海岩上收集，那些海岩只在涨潮时被海水冲刷。 —

This sea-weed, which belongs to the order of Fucacae, of the genus Sargassum, produces, when dry, a gelatinous matter, rich and nutritious. —
这种属于海带目，海藻属的海藻，干燥后会产生一种富有营养的胶状物质。 —

The reporter and his companions, after having eaten a quantity of lithodomes, sucked the sargassum, of which the taste was very tolerable. —
记者和他的同伴在吃了大量磷嵌双壳贝之后，吸食了那种味道非常可容忍的海藻。 —

It is used in parts of the East very considerably by the natives. “Never mind!” —
在东方的一些地方，当地人确实在很大程度上使用这种海藻。”别担心!” —

said the sailor, “the captain will help us soon.” —
水手说，“船长很快会来帮助我们。” —

Meanwhile the cold became very severe, and unhappily they had no means of defending themselves from it.
与此同时，天气变得非常寒冷，不幸的是他们没有任何防御寒冷的手段。

The sailor, extremely vexed, tried in all sorts of ways to procure fire. —
水手非常恼火，设法以各种方式取火。 —

Neb helped him in this work. He found some dry moss, and by striking together two pebbles he obtained some sparks, but the moss, not being inflammable enough, did not take fire, for the sparks were really only incandescent, and not at all of the same consistency as those which are emitted from flint when struck in the same manner. —
尼布帮助他做这项工作。他找到了一些干苔藓，并通过将两块卵石碰在一起获得了一些火星，但是因为苔藓不足够易燃，所以没有着火，因为这些火星实际上只是发烫，根本不像击打燧石时发出的那种。 —

The experiment, therefore, did not succeed.
因此，实验失败了。

Pencroft, although he had no confidence in the proceeding, then tried rubbing two pieces of dry wood together, as savages do. —
尽管彭克罗夫对这种做法不太有信心，但还是尝试着把两块干木头擦在一起，就像野人一样。 —

Certainly, the movement which he and Neb exhibited, if it had been transformed into heat, according to the new theory, would have been enough to heat the boiler of a steamer! —
当然，他和尼布展示的运动，如果按照新理论转化为热量，足以加热一艘轮船的锅炉！ —

It came to nothing. The bits of wood became hot, to be sure, but much less so than the operators themselves.
但是没有结果。木头变得热了，确实，但比操作者们热度少得多。

After working an hour, Pencroft, who was in a complete state of perspiration, threw down the pieces of wood in disgust.
工作了一个小时后，完全被汗水湿透的彭克罗夫愤怒地扔下木头片。

“I can never be made to believe that savages light their fires in this way, let them say what they will,” he exclaimed. —
“我绝对不会相信野蛮人用这种方式生火，无论他们说什么，”他大声说道。 —

“I could sooner light my arms by rubbing them against each other!”
“我宁可用我的手臂相互擦热！”

The sailor was wrong to despise the proceeding. Savages often kindle wood by means of rapid rubbing. —
那个水手看不起这种方法是错误的。野蛮人经常通过快速擦拭来点燃木柴。 —

But every sort of wood does not answer for the purpose, and besides, there is “the knack,” following the usual expression, and it is probable that Pencroft had not “the knack.”
但并非所有种类的木材都适用于此目的，而且还有所谓的“诀窍”，按照通常的说法，彭克罗夫可能没有“诀窍”。

Pencroft’s ill humor did not last long. Herbert had taken the bits of wood which he had turned down, and was exerting himself to rub them. —
彭克罗夫的坏脾气没持续多久。赫伯特拿起他扭曲的木材，努力开始擦拭。 —

The hardy sailor could not restrain a burst of laughter on seeing the efforts of the lad to succeed where he had failed.
勇敢的水手看到男孩努力成功，忍不住大笑。

“Rub, my boy, rub!” said he.
“擦啊，我的好孩子，擦！”他说。

“I am rubbing,” replied Herbert, laughing, “but I don’t pretend to do anything else but warm myself instead of shivering, and soon I shall be as hot as you are, my good Pencroft!”
“我正在擦，”赫伯特笑着回答说：“但我只是想暖和一下自己，而不是发抖，很快我会和你一样热，亲爱的彭克罗夫！”

This soon happened. However, they were obliged to give up, for this night at least, the attempt to procure fire. —
这一夜他们被迫放弃了点燃火的尝试。 —

Gideon Spilett repeated, for the twentieth time, that Cyrus Harding would not have been troubled for so small a difficulty. —
吉迪恩·斯皮莱特第二十次重复说，赛勒斯·哈丁不会因为这么小的困难而烦恼。 —

And, in the meantime, he stretched himself in one of the passages on his bed of sand. —
同时，他平躺在一条通道里，身下铺着沙子。 —

Herbert, Neb, and Pencroft did the same, while Top slept at his master’s feet.
赫伯特，内布和彭克罗夫也一样，而狗狗托普则在主人脚下睡觉。

Next day, the 28th of March, when the engineer awoke, about eight in the morning, he saw his companions around him watching his sleep, and, as on the day before, his first words were:–
第二天，三月二十八日，当工程师早上八点左右醒来时，看到围绕在他周围的同伴们都在盯着他的睡眠，和前一天一样，他的第一句话是：–

“Island or continent?” This was his uppermost thought.
“岛屿还是大陆？”这是他最关注的事情。

“Well!” replied Pencroft, “we don’t know anything about it, captain!”
“嗯！”彭克罗夫回答说，“我们对此一无所知，船长！”

“You don’t know yet?”
“你还不知道吗？”

“But we shall know,” rejoined Pencroft, “when you have guided us into the country.”
“但是等我们进入乡间，就会知道了，”彭克罗夫回答道。

“I think I am able to try it,” replied the engineer, who, without much effort, rose and stood upright.
“我想我可以试一试，”工程师回答道，然后毫不费力地站起来。

“That’s capital!” cried the sailor.
“太好了！”水手叫道。

“I feel dreadfully weak,” replied Harding. —
“我感觉非常虚弱，”哈丁回答道。 —

“Give me something to eat, my friends, and it will soon go off. —
“给我些吃的，朋友们，很快就会好的。” —

You have fire, haven’t you?”
“你们有火，对吗？”

This question was not immediately replied to. But, in a few seconds–
这个问题没有立即回答。但是几秒钟后，

“Alas! we have no fire,” said Pencroft, “or rather, captain, we have it no longer!”
“唉！我们没有火了，”彭克罗夫说，“或者说，船长，我们不再有火了！”

And the sailor recounted all that had passed the day before. —
然后水手讲述了前一天发生的一切。 —

He amused the engineer by the history of the single match, then his abortive attempt to procure fire in the savages’ way.
他通过一个火柴的故事使工程师感到有趣，然后又讲述了他试图按照野蛮人的方式取火的失败尝试。

“We shall consider,” replied the engineer, “and if we do not find some substance similar to tinder–”
“我们会考虑的，”工程师回答道，“如果找不到类似火绒的物质——”

“Well?” asked the sailor.
“那么呢？”水手问道。

“Well, we will make matches.
“好吧，我们就自己制作火柴。”

“Chemicals?”
“化学药品？”

“Chemicals!”
“化学品！”

“It is not more difficult than that,” cried the reporter, striking the sailor on the shoulder.
“不会比那更困难，”记者大声说着，打了海员一下肩膀。

The latter did not think it so simple, but he did not protest. All went out. —
后者认为事情没有那么简单，但并未抗议。所有人出去了。 —

The weather had become very fine. The sun was rising from the sea’s horizon, and touched with golden spangles the prismatic rugosities of the huge precipice.
天气变得非常晴朗。太阳从海平面升起，金色斑点触及了巨大悬崖的多彩皱褶。

Having thrown a rapid glance around him, the engineer seated himself on a block of stone. —
工程师扫视了一眼周围，坐在一块石头上。 —

Herbert offered him a few handfuls of shell-fish and sargassum, saying,–
赫伯特递给他几把贝壳和海草说道，–

“It is all that we have, Captain Harding.”
“这是我们有的所有东西，哈丁船长。”

“Thanks, my boy,” replied Harding; “it will do–for this morning at least.”
“谢谢，孩子，”哈丁回答说，”至少今天早上够了。”

He ate the wretched food with appetite, and washed it down with a little fresh water, drawn from the river in an immense shell.
他以胃口吃掉了那些凄惨的食物，用一只大贝壳中装的少量清水漱下。

His companions looked at him without speaking. —
他的同伴默默地看着他。 —

Then, feeling somewhat refreshed, Cyrus Harding crossed his arms, and said,–
然后，感觉有些恢复精神，赛勒斯·哈丁交叉双臂说道，–

“So, my friends, you do not know yet whether fate has thrown us on an island, or on a continent?”
“那么，我的朋友们，你们还不知道命运是否将我们投入了一座岛屿还是一片大陆？”

“No, captain,” replied the boy.
“不知道，船长，”男孩回答说。

“We shall know to-morrow,” said the engineer; “till then, there is nothing to be done.”
“明天我们会知道，”工程师说道，”在那之前，没有别的事情可做。”

“Yes,” replied Pencroft.
“是的，”潘克洛夫回答说。

“What?”
“什么？”

“Fire,” said the sailor, who, also, had a fixed idea.
“火，”水手说道，他也有一个固定的想法。

“We will make it, Pencroft,” replied Harding.
“我们会做到的，潘克洛夫，”哈丁回答道。

“While you were carrying me yesterday, did I not see in the west a mountain which commands the country?”
“昨天你背着我时，我不是看到西边有一座能俯瞰整个国家的山吗？”

“Yes,” replied Spilett, “a mountain which must be rather high–”
“是的，”斯皮莱特回答说，”一座可能相当高的山–”

“Well,” replied the engineer, “we will climb to the summit to-morrow, and then we shall see if this land is an island or a continent. —
“好吧，”工程师回答道，”我们明天会爬到山顶，然后我们就会知道这片土地是岛屿还是大陆。 —

Till then, I repeat, there is nothing to be done.”
在那之前，我重申，没有什么可以做的。”

“Yes, fire!” said the obstinate sailor again.
“对，火！”顽固的水手又说道。

“But he will make us a fire!” replied Gideon Spilett, “only have a little patience, Pencroft!”
“但他会给我们做火的！”吉迪恩·斯皮莱特回答道，”只要稍微耐心，潘克洛夫！”

The seaman looked at Spilett in a way which seemed to say, “If it depended upon you to do it, we wouldn’t taste roast meat very soon”; but he was silent.
水手看了看斯皮莱特，似乎在说，“如果要靠你来做的话，我们很快就尝不到烤肉了”；但他保持沉默。

Meanwhile Captain Harding had made no reply. —
与此同时，哈丁船长没有回答。 —

He appeared to be very little troubled by the question of fire. —
他似乎对火的问题并不太担忧。 —

For a few minutes he remained absorbed in thought; —
他沉思了几分钟； —

then again speaking,–
然后再次开口，

“My friends,” said he, “our situation is, perhaps, deplorable; but, at any rate, it is very plain. —
“我的朋友们，”他说道，”也许我们的处境很糟糕；但无论如何，它非常清晰明了。” —

Either we are on a continent, and then, at the expense of greater or less fatigue, we shall reach some inhabited place, or we are on an island. —
无论我们是在一个大陆上，然后，不管多大的疲劳，我们都将到达某个有人居住的地方，还是我们在一个岛上。 —

In the latter case, if the island is inhabited, we will try to get out of the scrape with the help of its inhabitants; —
在后一种情况下，如果这个岛有人居住，我们将试图在居民的帮助下解决困境； —

if it is desert, we will try to get out of the scrape by ourselves.”
如果它是荒岛，我们将尽力自己解决困境。”

“Certainly, nothing could be plainer,” replied Pencroft.
“毫无疑问，这再明显不过了”，潘克罗夫回答说。

“But, whether it is an island or a continent,” asked Gideon Spilett, “whereabouts do you think, Cyrus, this storm has thrown us?”
“但是，不管是一个岛还是一个大陆，”吉迪恩·斯皮莱特问，“你认为，赛勒斯，这场风暴把我们扔到了哪里？”

“I cannot say exactly,” replied the engineer, “but I presume it is some land in the Pacific. —
“我不能确切地说”，工程师回答说，“但我猜想是太平洋的某个地方。 —

In fact, when we left Richmond, the wind was blowing from the northeast, and its very violence greatly proves that it could not have varied. —
事实上，当我们离开里士满的时候，风是从东北吹来的，而飓风的猛烈程度证明风向不可能改变。 —

If the direction has been maintained from the northeast to the southwest, we have traversed the States of North Carolina, of South Carolina, of Georgia, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, itself, in its narrow part, then a part of the Pacific Ocean. I cannot estimate the distance traversed by the balloon at less than six to seven thousand miles, and, even supposing that the wind had varied half a quarter, it must have brought us either to the archipelago of Mendava, either on the Pomotous, or even, if it had a greater strength than I suppose, to the land of New Zealand. —
如果风向一直从东北吹向西南，那么我们已经穿越了北卡罗来纳州、南卡罗来纳州、乔治亚州、墨西哥湾、墨西哥本土，然后是太平洋的一部分。我估计热气球穿越的距离至少不少于六到七千英里，即使假设风的变化比我想象的多了一半，它必定带我们去梦达瓦群岛、波莫图斯，甚至，如果它的强度比我想象的大，去新西兰的陆地。 —

If the last hypothesis is correct, it will be easy enough to get home again. —
如果最后这个假设是正确的，那么回家就很容易了。 —

English or Maoris, we shall always find some one to whom we can speak. —
无论是英国人还是毛利人，我们总会找到一些可以交谈的人。 —

If, on the contrary, this is the coast of a desert island in some tiny archipelago, perhaps we shall be able to reconnoiter it from the summit of that peak which overlooks the country, and then we shall see how best to establish ourselves here as if we are never to go away.”
如果相反，这是一座位于某个微小群岛的荒岛的海岸，也许我们将能够从俯瞰整个国家的那座山峰上侦察出来，然后我们将看到如何最好地在这里建立自己的生活，就好像我们永远不会离开一样。”

“Never?” cried the reporter. “You say ‘Never,’ my dear Cyrus?”
“永远？”记者叫道，“你说‘永远’，我亲爱的赛勒斯？”

“Better to put things at the worst at first,” replied the engineer, “and reserve the best for a surprise.”
“最好一开始就把事情想到最糟”，工程师回答说，“并将最好的留作惊喜。

“Well said,” remarked Pencroft. “It is to be hoped, too, that this island, if it be one, is not situated just out of the course of ships; —
“说得好”，潘克罗夫说。“也希望，如果这是一个岛的话，不要坐落在船只航线的外面； —

that would be really unlucky!”
那将真是倒霉！”

“We shall not know what we have to rely on until we have first made the ascent of the mountain,” replied the engineer.
“我们要先攀登这座山，才能知道我们能依靠什么，”工程师回答道。

“But to-morrow, captain,” asked Herbert, “shall you be in a state to bear the fatigue of the ascent?”
“但是，明天，船长，”赫伯特问道，“你能承受得了攀登的疲劳吗？”

“I hope so,” replied the engineer, “provided you and Pencroft, my boy, show yourselves quick and clever hunters.”
“我希望可以，”工程师回答道，“只要你和潘克洛夫，我的孩子，表现得聪明迅速。”

“Captain,” said the sailor, “since you are speaking of game, if on my return, I was as certain of roasting it as I am of bringing it back–”
“船长，”水手说道，“既然您在谈论猎物，如果我回来时，制服它的肯定像带回来一样肯定–”

“Bring it back all the same, Pencroft,” replied Harding.
“潘克洛夫，即使一样带回来就好了，”哈丁回答道。

It was then agreed that the engineer and the reporter were to pass the day at the Chimneys, so as to examine the shore and the upper plateau. —
于是大家商议工程师和记者留在烟囱处当天，以便检查海岸和上层高地。 —

Neb, Herbert, and the sailor were to return to the forest, renew their store of wood, and lay violent hands on every creature, feathered or hairy, which might come within their reach.
内布、赫伯特和水手则返回森林，补充木柴，抓住一切会靠近的有羽毛或毛茸的生物。

They set out accordingly about ten o’clock in the morning, Herbert confident, Neb joyous, Pencroft murmuring aside,–
他们约早上十点出发，赫伯特充满信心，内布兴高采烈，潘克洛夫则在暗中抱怨着–

“If, on my return, I find a fire at the house, I shall believe that the thunder itself came to light it.” —
“如果我回来时发现房子里有火，我会相信是雷自己点燃了它。” —

All three climbed the bank; and arrived at the angle made by the river, the sailor, stopping, said to his two companions,–
三人爬上了河岸，在河流拐角处停下，水手对两位同伴说道–

“Shall we begin by being hunters or wood-men?”
“我们先成为猎人还是木匠呢？”

“Hunters,” replied Herbert. “There is Top already in quest.”
“猎人，”赫伯特回答道，“Top已经在搜寻了。”

“We will hunt, then,” said the sailor, “and afterwards we can come back and collect our wood.”
“那我们就先去狩猎，”水手说道，“之后再回来收集木柴。”

This agreed to, Herbert, Neb, and Pencroft, after having torn three sticks from the trunk of a young fir, followed Top, who was bounding about among the long grass.
经过商量，赫伯特、内布和潘克洛夫从一棵年轻杉树的树干上拔下三根树枝，跟着在长草中跳跃的Top走了过去。

This time, the hunters, instead of following the course of the river, plunged straight into the heart of the forest. —
这次猎人们没有沿着河流走，而是径直进入了森林的深处。 —

There were still the same trees, belonging, for the most part, to the pine family. —
那里依然有着相同的树木，大部分属于松树家族。 —

In certain places, less crowded, growing in clumps, these pines exhibited considerable dimensions, and appeared to indicate, by their development, that the country was situated in a higher latitude than the engineer had supposed. —
在某些不那么拥挤的地方，松树生长成丛，体型相当庞大，看起来表明这片土地所处的纬度比工程师所猜测的要高。 —

Glades, bristling with stumps worn away by time, were covered with dry wood, which formed an inexhaustible store of fuel. —
空地上满是被时间侵蚀得只剩树桩的荒地，覆盖着干枯的木材，构成了用不完的燃料库。 —

Then, the glade passed, the underwood thickened again, and became almost impenetrable.
然后，穿过空地后，灌木丛再度加厚，几乎变得难以穿越。

It was difficult enough to find the way among the groups of trees, without any beaten track. —
在树群中间找路已经相当困难，因为没有现成的小路。 —

So the sailor from time to time broke off branches which might be easily recognized. —
因此，海员不时折下一些容易辨认的树枝。 —

But, perhaps, he was wrong not to follow the watercourse, as he and Herbert had done on their first excursion, for after walking an hour not a creature had shown itself. —
但也许他错了，不该像他和赫伯特在第一次探险时那样沿着水道走，因为走了一个小时，连一只动物都没有出现。 —

Top, running under the branches, only roused birds which could not be approached. —
Top在树枝下奔跑，只惊起了无法靠近的鸟。 —

Even the couroucous were invisible, and it was probable that the sailor would be obliged to return to the marshy part of the forest, in which he had so happily performed his grouse fishing.
甚至暗鸡也看不见，海员可能会被迫返回那片干脆干净地捕鸟的沼泽地区。

“Well, Pencroft,” said Neb, in a slightly sarcastic tone, “if this is all the game which you promised to bring back to my master, it won’t need a large fire to roast it!”
“好啦，潘克罗夫，”尼布略带讽刺地说，”如果这就是你承诺给主人带回的所有猎物，那我们烤它用不着太大火！”

“Have patience,” replied the sailor, “it isn’t the game which will be wanting on our return.”
“耐心点，”海员回答说，”我们回去后缺的不是猎物。”

“Have you not confidence in Captain Harding?”
“你不相信哈定船长吗？”

“Yes.”
“相信。”

“But you don’t believe that he will make fire?”
“但你不相信他能生火吗？”

“I shall believe it when the wood is blazing in the fireplace.”
“木头在壁炉里燃烧的时候我就相信。”

“It will blaze, since my master has said so.”
“它会熊熊燃烧，因为我的主人已经这么说了。”

“We shall see!”
“我们拭目以待！”

Meanwhile, the sun had not reached the highest point in its course above the horizon. —
与此同时，太阳还没有达到地平线之上最高点的位置。 —

The exploration, therefore, continued, and was usefully marked by a discovery which Herbert made of a tree whose fruit was edible. —
因此，探索继续进行，赫伯特发现了一棵结出可食用果实的树，这次发现非常有用。 —

This was the stone-pine, which produces an excellent almond, very much esteemed in the temperate regions of America and Europe. —
这是一棵石松树，它结出一个在美洲和欧洲温带地区非常受推崇的优质杏仁。 —

These almonds were in a perfect state of maturity, and Herbert described them to his companions, who feasted on them.
这些杏仁已经完全成熟，赫伯特向同伴们描述了它们，他们开始享用。

“Come,” said Pencroft, “sea-weed by way of bread, raw mussels for meat, and almonds for dessert, that’s certainly a good dinner for those who have not a single match in their pocket!”
“来吧，”潘克罗夫说，“海藻做面包，生贝壳当肉，杏仁做甜点，对于那些口袋里没有一根火柴的人来说，这绝对是一顿丰盛的晚餐！”

We mustn’t complain,” said Herbert.
“我们不应该抱怨，”赫伯特说。

“I am not complaining, my boy,” replied Pencroft, “only I repeat, that meat is a little too much economized in this sort of meal.”
“我不是在抱怨，孩子，”潘克罗夫回答说，“只是我再次重申，在这种饭食中肉有点太节俭了。”

“Top has found something!” cried Neb, who ran towards a thicket, in the midst of which the dog had disappeared, barking. —
“拓普发现了什么！”尼布喊道，他朝着灌木丛跑去，狗已经消失在那里，不停地叫着。 —

With Top’s barking were mingled curious gruntings.
拓普的叫声中掺杂着奇怪的呼噜声。

The sailor and Herbert had followed Neb. If there was game there this was not the time to discuss how it was to be cooked, but rather, how they were to get hold of it.
船员和赫伯特紧随尼布。如果那里有猎物，现在不是讨论它怎么烹饪的时候，而是他们如何捉住它。

The hunters had scarcely entered the bushes when they saw Top engaged in a struggle with an animal which he was holding by the ear. —
猎人们刚进入灌木丛，就看到拓普正在和一只动物争斗，他抓住它的耳朵。 —

This quadruped was a sort of pig nearly two feet and a half long, of a blackish brown color, lighter below, having hard scanty hair; —
这种四足动物类似一只将近二英尺半长的猪，呈黑褐色，下面颜色较浅，毛发稀疏； —

its toes, then strongly fixed in the ground, seemed to be united by a membrane. —
它的脚趾，紧紧地扎进地里，似乎由膜相连。 —

Herbert recognized in this animal the capybara, that is to say, one of the largest members of the rodent order.
赫伯特认出这种动物是水豚，也就是啮齿目中最大的成员之一。

Meanwhile, the capybara did not struggle against the dog. —
与此同时，水豚并没有与狗搏斗。 —

It stupidly rolled its eyes, deeply buried in a thick bed of fat. —
它愚蠢地翻着白眼，浸在厚厚的一层脂肪中。 —

Perhaps it saw men for the first time.
或许它是第一次见到人类。

However, Neb having tightened his grasp on his stick, was just going to fell the pig, when the latter, tearing itself from Top’s teeth, by which it was only held by the tip of its ear, uttered a vigorous grunt, rushed upon Herbert, almost overthrew him, and disappeared in the wood.
然而，涅布紧紧握着他的棍子，正要敲倒那只猪，而就在那时，猪被Top的牙齿扯脱，只剩下耳朵尖被咬住，猛地发出一声有力的哼声，冲向赫伯特，几乎把他撞倒，然后消失在树林里。

“The rascal!” cried Pencroft.
“这家伙！”彭克罗夫叫道。

All three directly darted after Top, but at the moment when they joined him the animal had disappeared under the waters of a large pond shaded by venerable pines.
三人立刻追随Top冲了过去，但就在他们赶到时，那动物已经消失在一片被古老松树遮蔽的大池塘的水面下。

Neb, Herbert, and Pencroft stopped, motionless. —
涅布、赫伯特和彭克罗夫停住了，一动不动。 —

Top plunged into the water, but the capybara, hidden at the bottom of the pond, did not appear.
Top跳入水中，但水豚隐藏在池塘底下，没有再露面。

“Let us wait,” said the boy, “for he will soon come to the surface to breathe.”
“让我们等等，”男孩说，“因为它很快会浮到水面呼吸。”

“Won’t he drown?” asked Neb.
“它不会淹死吗？”涅布问。

“No,” replied Herbert, “since he has webbed feet, and is almost an amphibious animal. But watch him.”
“不会，”赫伯特回答，“因为它有蹼，几乎是两栖动物。但是看着它。”

Top remained in the water. Pencroft and his two companions went to different parts of the bank, so as to cut off the retreat of the capybara, which the dog was looking for beneath the water.
Top留在水中。 彭克罗夫和他的两个同伴走到岸的不同部位，以便阻止水豚逃跑，而Top在水下寻找。

Herbert was not mistaken. In a few minutes the animal appeared on the surface of the water. —
赫伯特没错。 几分钟后，动物出现在水面上。 —

Top was upon it in a bound, and kept it from plunging again. —
Top一跃而上，阻止它再次跳入水中。 —

An instant later the capybara, dragged to the bank, was killed by a blow from Neb’s stick.
紧接着，水豚被拖上岸后，被涅布的棍棒击杀。

“Hurrah!” cried Pencroft, who was always ready with this cry of triumph.
“万岁！”彭克罗夫高兴地叫道，这是他经常喜欢用的胜利呼喊。

“Give me but a good fire, and this pig shall be gnawed to the bones!”
“只要给我生火，这只猪就会被啃得干干净净！”

Pencroft hoisted the capybara on his shoulders, and judging by the height of the sun that it was about two o’clock, he gave the signal to return.
彭克罗夫把水豚扛在肩膀上，看了看太阳的高度，判断是约两点，于是向回走去。

Top’s instinct was useful to the hunters, who, thanks to the intelligent animal, were enabled to discover the road by which they had come. —
由于这只聪明的动物，狗的本能对猎人们很有帮助，使他们能够发现回去的路。 —

Half an hour later they arrived at the river.
半个小时后，他们到达了河边。

Pencroft soon made a raft of wood, as he had done before, though if there was no fire it would be a useless task, and the raft following the current, they returned towards the Chimneys.
彭克罗夫又做了一个木筏，就像之前一样，尽管如果没有火就没有意义，筏随着水流前行，他们向着烟囱返回。

But the sailor had not gone fifty paces when he stopped, and again uttering a tremendous hurrah, pointed towards the angle of the cliff,–
但是水手走了没五十步就停住了，再次高喊着指向岩壁的角落，–

“Herbert! Neb! Look!” he shouted.
“赫伯特！涅布！看！”他喊道。

Smoke was escaping and curling up among the rocks.
烟雾从石头间飘逸升腾。