海底两万里 第10期 第1章 飞走的暗礁(10)

The Scotia hadn't run afoul of something, it had been fouled, and by a cutting or perforating instrument rather than a blunt one.

斯各脱亚号不是撞上了什么，而是被什么撞上了。憧它的不是敲击的器械而是钻凿的器械。

This encounter seemed so minor that nobody on board would have been disturbed by it, had it not been for the shouts of crewmen in the hold, who climbed on deck yelling:

这次冲撞是十分轻微的，要不是管船舱的人员跑到甲板上来喊：

"We're sinking! We're sinking!"

“船要沉了：船要沉了!”也许船上的人谁也不会在意。

At first the passengers were quite frightened, but Captain Anderson hastened toreassure them.

旅客们起初十分惊慌，但船长安德生很快就使他们安稳下来。

In fact, there could be no immediate danger. Divided into seven compartments by watertight bulkheads, the Scotia could brave any leak with impunity.

危险并不会立刻就发生。斯各脱亚号由防水板分为七大间，一点也不在乎个把漏洞。

Captain Anderson immediately made his way into the hold. He discovered that the fifthcompartment had been invaded by the sea,

安德生船长立即跑到舱底下去。他查出第五间被海水浸人了，海水浸入十分快，

and the speed of this invasion proved that the leak was considerable.

证明漏洞相当大。

Fortunately this compartment didn't contain the boilers, because their furnaces would have been abruptly extinguished.

好在这间里没有蒸汽炉，不然的话，炉火就要熄灭了。

Captain Anderson called an immediate halt, and one of his sailors dived down to assess the damage.

安德生船长吩咐马上停船，并且命令一个潜水员下水检查船身的损坏情形。

Within moments they had located a hole two meters in width on the steamer's underside.

一会儿，他知道船底有一个长两米的大洞。

Such a leak could not be patched, and with its paddle wheels half swamped, the Scotia had no choice but to continue its voyage.

这样一个裂口是没法堵住的，斯各脱亚号尽管机轮有一半浸在水里，但也必须继续行驶。

By then it lay 300 miles from Cape Clear, and after three days of delay that filled Liverpool with acute anxiety, it entered the company docks.

当时船离克利亚峡还有三百海里，等船驶进公司的码头，已经误了三天期，在这三天里，利物浦的人都为它惶惶不安。