福尔摩斯探案集·工程师大拇指案 第25期:被砍掉的大拇指(11)
And then suddenly in the silence I heard a sound which sent my heart into my mouth.
这时，在寂静之中，我突然听到了一种声音，这声音一下子使我急得心都要跳出来了。
It was the clank of the levers and the swish of the leaking cylinder.
那是杠杆的铿锵声和水管漏水的飕飕声。
He had set the engine at work.
他开动了机器。
The lamp still stood upon the floor where I had placed it when examining the trough.
灯还在地板上，是我检查铁槽时放在那里的。
By its light I saw that the black ceiling was coming down upon me, slowly, jerkily,
借着灯光我看到黑黝黝的房顶正缓慢地、摇摇晃晃地向我压下来。
but, as none knew better than myself, with a force which must within a minute grind me to a shapeless pulp.
没有人比我更清楚了，它的压力足够在一分钟内把我碾成烂肉酱。
I threw myself, screaming, against the door, and dragged with my nails at the lock.
我尖声呼喊，用身体撞门，用指抠门锁。
I implored the colonel to let me out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my cries.
我苦苦哀求上校放我出去，但是无情的杠杆铿锵声淹没了我的呼喊。
The ceiling was only a foot or two above my head, and with my hand upraised I could feel its hard, rough surface.
房顶离我的头只有一两英尺了，我举起手就能摸着那坚硬粗糙的表面。
Then it flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend very much upon the position in which I met it.
这时候我心里突然掠过一个念头，想到一个人死亡时的痛苦很大程度上是取决于临死时的姿势。
If I lay on my face the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered to think of that dreadful snap.
如果我是趴着的，重量就会落在脊椎骨上。一想到那压断骨头时可怕的劈啪声，我不禁浑身打起颤来。
Easier the other way, perhaps; and yet, had I the nerve to lie and look up at that deadly black shadow wavering down upon me?
也许另一个姿势会好一些；然而是否我有胆量仰面躺在那里眼巴巴地望着那一团要命的黑影摇摇晃晃地向我压下来呢？
Already I was unable to stand erect, when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hope back to my heart.
我已经站不直了，突然我的眼光落在一件东西上，心里迸发出了希望的火花。
