In the Engine Room
在机舱里
‘Mr Donovan!’
“多诺万先生!”
‘Yes.’
“在。”
‘The captain wants to see you. You’re an engineer, aren’t you? Come this way, please.’
“船长想见您。您是工程师,对吧?请这边走。”
The sailor opened a door and Daniel went quickly inside.
水手打开一扇门,丹尼尔迅速走了进去。
They went down some stairs.
他们走下几级楼梯。
He opened another door, and a great cloud of steam came out.
他推开另一扇门,一大团蒸汽涌了出来。
Daniel followed the young sailor into the room.
丹尼尔跟着年轻的水手走进房间。
It was very hot in here, and there were clouds of steam everywhere.
这里非常热,到处都是弥漫的蒸汽。
A tall, red-faced man came up to him.
一个身材高大、面色红润的男人向他走来。
‘Mr Donovan? My name’s Humble, Captain Humble. We need you, sir. You’re an engineer, I understand. One of these engines has already stopped, and the other is working very badly. There’s too much steam in this room, sir, and not…’
“是多诺万先生吗?我叫亨布尔,亨布尔船长。我们需要您,先生。据我所知您是位工程师。这些引擎中已经有一台停转了,另一台运转也非常糟糕。这房间里蒸汽太多了,先生,而且不……”
A big wave hit the ship with a terrible crash and Daniel, Captain Humble and the young sailor held onto the wall.
一个巨浪伴随着可怕的撞击声拍击在船上,丹尼尔、亨布尔船长和年轻的水手紧紧抓住了墙壁。
Daniel saw a big man in a blue coat, and shouted to him.
丹尼尔看见一个穿着蓝色外套的大个子男人,便朝他喊道:
‘Are you the ship’s engineer?’
“你是这艘船的轮机长吗?”
‘Yes!’ The man looked angry, tired, and frightened.
“是的!”那人看起来既愤怒、疲惫,又惊恐。
‘What’s the matter? Why has this engine stopped?’
“怎么回事?为什么这台引擎停了?”
‘Why? Because it’s too old, of course! Look here! See this? And this…’
“为什么?当然是因为它太老了!看这儿!看到这个了吗?还有这个……”
For five minutes the two engineers moved around in the steam and smoke, and looked at the big engines.
两位工程师在蒸汽和烟雾中穿梭检查了五分钟,查看着那些巨大的引擎。
‘See? It’s broken here, and here! How can I mend it now, in the middle of a storm? Can you do that, sir?’
“看到了吗?这里坏了,那里也坏了!在暴风雨正猛的时候我怎么修?先生,您能修好吗?”
Daniel shook his head. He was angry and frightened. ‘No, of course I can’t! The ship must go back to land!’
丹尼尔摇了摇头。他又气又怕。“不,我当然修不好!船必须返回陆地!”
The man agreed quickly. ‘That’s right, that’s what I say! But you tell Captain Humble that! He says this is a new, modern ship, so it can go anywhere, in any weather! Our rich passengers want to go to Scotland, so that’s where we’re going, he says! But it’s too dangerous and…’
那人连忙附和道:“没错,我也是这么说的!可您去跟亨布尔船长说吧!他说这是一艘崭新的现代化船只,可以去任何地方,无惧任何天气!我们那些富有的乘客想去苏格兰,所以他说我们就得去!但这太危险了,而且……”
The man stopped when Captain Humble came near. ‘Well, Mr Donovan? Can you help us? Do you know more about engines than this stupid engineer here? He says he can do nothing, and we must go back to Hull, because of a small storm! But I’m sure…’
当亨布尔船长走近时,那人停了下来。“那么,多诺万先生?您能帮我们吗?您对引擎的了解比这个蠢货轮机长多吗?他说他无能为力,还说因为这点小风暴我们就必须回赫尔港!但我确信……”
‘He’s right, Captain Humble!’ shouted Daniel. ‘I can do nothing for these engines here, in this storm! They’re too old, and this one is broken in three places! We must go back to land, Captain, or we will all drown! I cannot help you!’
“他说得对,亨布尔船长!”丹尼尔大喊道,“在这场风暴中,我对这些引擎也无能为力!它们太老旧了,这一台就有三处故障!我们必须返回陆地,船长,否则我们都会淹死!我帮不了你!”
‘Gaaaaaargh!’ The captain pushed Daniel angrily away from him. ‘Then get out of my way, Mr Donovan — you’re no good to me! Get back to the women and children!’
“啊——!”船长愤怒地把丹尼尔推到一边。“那就别挡我的路,多诺万先生——你对我没用了!回到妇女和孩子那边去吧!”
Daniel went quickly to the door, and up the stairs to the wind and rain outside.
丹尼尔快步走到门口,爬上楼梯,回到了外面的风雨之中。
But he was a badly frightened man. His hands were shaking, and it was hard for him to stand in the terrible screaming wind.
但他已被吓得魂飞魄散。他的双手颤抖着,在可怕呼啸的狂风中几乎站立不稳。
Above his head, two sailors were putting up a small sail. ‘That’s no good,’ he thought. ‘It’s too small for a big ship like this. Without engines, we can do nothing.’
在他头顶上方,两名水手正在升起一面小帆。“那没用,”他想,“对于这样一艘大船来说太小了。没有引擎,我们什么也做不了。”
He stared out to sea, but he could see nothing — only the white tops of the great black waves, and the black clouds above.
他凝视着大海,但什么也看不见——只有漆黑巨浪顶端白色的浪花,以及上方乌黑的云层。
No stars, no moon.
没有星星,也没有月亮。
But — far away to the south-west — there was a little light flashing. On… off… on… off.
但是——在遥远的西南方——有一点微光在闪烁。亮……灭……亮……灭。
It went behind a wave, and then came back again, like a star in the night sky, far away.
它隐没在一道波浪之后,随即又重新出现,就像夜空中一颗遥远的星辰。
But it was coming nearer. Nearer all the time.
但它正在靠近。一直在不断靠近。
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