海底两万里 第82期 第7章 一种从未见过的鱼(5)

　　An amazing character, this boy; in midocean, this stoic lad seemed right at home!

　　这个冰一般冷的人在这里好像在自己家里那样!

　　So, having concluded that our sole chance for salvation lay in being picked up by the Abraham Lincoln's longboats, we had to take steps to wait for them as long as possible.

　　现在我们唯一的生路，就是希望林肯号放下小艇来救我们，所以我们应该想办法，尽力支持，时间愈久愈好，等待小艇到来。

　　Consequently, I decided to divide our energies so we wouldn't both be worn out at the same time, and this was the arrangement:

　　我于是决定节约使用我们的力量，使两人不至同时筋疲力尽，下面是我们的办法：

　　while one of us lay on his back, staying motionless with arms crossed and legs outstretched, the other would swim and propel his partner forward.

　　我们一个人朝天躺着，两臂交叉，两腿伸直，浮着不动，另一个人泅水把前一人往前推送。

　　This towing role was to last no longer than ten minutes, and by relieving each other in this way, we could stay afloat for hours, perhaps even until daybreak.

　　做这种“拖船”的工作，每人不能超过十分钟，我们这样替换着做，我们就可以在水面浮好几个钟头，也许可以一直支持到天亮。

　　Slim chance, but hope springs eternal in the human breast! Besides, there were two of us.

　　这是碰运气的事!不过希望在人心中总是根深蒂固的!并且我们又是两个人。