017 医生讲述：小船的最后一程

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Our little boat was gravely overloaded

我们的小艇严重超载。

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In addition to our supplies, we were carrying five grown men, and three of them — Trelawney, Redruth, and the captain — were over six feet tall

除了补给品，我们还载了五个成年人，其中三人——特里劳尼、雷德鲁斯和船长——身高都超过六英尺。

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We took on water several times, and my pants and the back end of my coat were soaking wet

船进了好几次水，我的裤子和外套后摆都湿透了。

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" Trim the boat," the captain said." Shift around and distribute the weight."

“调整一下小船，”船长说，“挪动挪动，把重量分散开。”

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We were able to stabilize the boat, but all the same, we were afraid to breathe

我们总算稳住了船，但即便如此，大家连大气都不敢喘。

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The tide was now causing a strong, rippling current that swept us off course, away from our proper landing place

潮水这时形成了一股强劲的涟漪急流，把我们冲离了航线，偏离了预定的登陆点。

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We needed some luck or we'd come ashore beside the shore boats, where the pirates might appear at any moment

我们需要一点运气，否则会在岸边小船旁靠岸，那里随时可能冒出海盗。

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" I can't steer us toward the stockade, sir," I said to the captain

“我没法把船驶向木寨，先生，”我对船长说。

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He and Redruth were at the oars." Can you row faster?"

他和雷德鲁斯正在划桨。“你们能划快点儿吗？”

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" Not without flooding the boat," answered the captain

“再快船就要进水了，”船长回答。

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The tide kept sweeping us westward until I turned the head of the boat east, but it was slow going in the direction toward the stockade

潮水一直把我们冲向西边，直到我把船头转向东边，但朝着木寨方向前进依然缓慢。

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" We'll never get ashore at this rate!" I called out

“这样下去我们永远到不了岸！”我喊道。

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" Keep us going upstream and avoid those boats," commanded the captain

“继续逆流而上，避开那些小船。”船长命令道。

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" Eventually, the current will let up a bit, and then we can dodge back along the shore."

“水流最终会减弱一些，那时我们就可以沿着岸边悄悄折返了。”

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" The current has lessened already, sir," said Gray, who sat at the bow." We can ease up a bit, sir."

“水流已经减弱些了，先生，”坐在船头的格雷说，“我们可以稍微慢一点了，先生。”

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" Thank you," I said. We'd all quietly decided to treat Abe Gray as if nothing had happened — as if he had never been one of the mutineers

“谢谢。”我说。我们都默默地决定对待阿贝·格雷就像什么都没发生过——仿佛他从来就不是叛变者中的一员。

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Suddenly the captain gasped," The cannon!"

突然，船长倒吸一口气说：“大炮！”

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I'd entirely forgotten about the ship's guns

我完全忘了船上的火炮。

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To our horror, we saw the five pirates on the Hispaniola busily removing the cover from the big cannon

令我们惊恐的是，我们看见伊斯帕尼奥拉号上的五个海盗正忙着卸下那门大炮的炮罩。

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Not only that, but I realized the cannonballs and some powder had been left behind

不仅如此，我还意识到炮弹和一些火药也留在了那里。

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" Israel was Flint's gunner," said Gray hoarsely

“伊斯莱尔是弗林特的炮手，”格雷嗓音沙哑地说。

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We headed for the landing place, and even though I could keep the boat steady, we dared not row any faster

我们朝着登陆点驶去，虽然我能让小船保持平稳，却不敢划得更快。

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Unfortunately, this course displayed our broadside to the Hispaniola, and we offered a huge target for the pirates

不幸的是，这条航线让我们的侧面完全暴露给了伊斯班袅拉号，成了海盗们的一个大靶子。

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I could see that rascal Israel on the deck putting the cannonballs down the gun's neck

我能看见那个混蛋伊斯莱尔正在甲板上，把炮弹往炮膛里塞。

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" Mr. Trelawney," said the captain," I need you to pick off one of those men — Mr. Hands, if possible."

“特里劳尼先生，”船长说，“我需要你精准射倒一个人——可能的话，就射汉兹先生。”

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Trelawney was as cool as steel while he prepared his gun

特里劳尼在准备火枪时，冷静得像块钢铁。

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" Now," the captain said," easy with that musket, sir, or you'll tip the boat. Everyone stand by to trim her when he pulls the trigger."

“好了，”船长说，“举枪要稳，先生，否则你会把船弄翻。所有人都准备好，等他扣动扳机时稳住船身。”

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The rowing stopped, the squire raised his gun, and we leaned over to the other side to keep the balance

划桨停了下来，乡绅举起了枪，我们都把身子倾向另一边以保持平衡。

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By this time, the pirates on the Hispaniola had turned the cannon toward us

这时候，伊斯班袅拉号上的海盗们已经把大炮转向了我们这边。

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Israel, who was at the muzzle with the rammer, was the most exposed

正在炮口拿着推弹杆的伊斯莱尔，是最容易暴露的那个。

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However, just as Trelawney fired, Israel bent down and the shot whistled over him

然而，就在特里劳尼开火时，伊斯雷尔恰好弯下腰，子弹呼啸着从他头顶飞过。

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It hit one of the other four pirates, and he fell with a cry

子弹击中了另外四名海盗中的一个，他惨叫一声倒下了。

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His cry was echoed not only by his companions on board but also by a great number of voices from the shore

他的叫声不仅在船上的同伙中响起回声，岸上也传来许多人的呼喊，

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as the other pirates came out from among the trees

因为其他海盗从树林里钻了出来。

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" The pirates are going toward the boats," I said

"海盗们正朝小船走去。" 我说。

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" Row!" cried the captain." We mustn't mind if we flood her now

"快划！" 船长喊道。"现在就算船进水也顾不得了。

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If we can't get ashore, we're done for."

要是上不了岸，我们就完了。"

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" They're taking only one boat," I said

"他们只推走了一条船。" 我说。

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" The crew of the other boat is staying on the shore to cut us off."

"另一条船的人在岸上留守，要截断我们的去路。"

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" It's not them I mind. It's the cannon," the captain said

"我倒不担心他们。我担心的是大炮。" 船长说。

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" There is no way they can miss us

他们绝不可能打偏。

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Tell us, Squire, when you have another chance at a shot, and we'll stop."

乡绅，等您再有射击机会时告诉我们一声，我们就停下来。

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Meanwhile, we'd been making pretty good headway for a boat so overloaded, and we'd taken on very little water

同时，对于一艘如此超载的小船，我们前进的速度相当快，而且几乎没有进什么水。

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We were now close, and in thirty or forty strokes, we could beach her on a narrow belt of sand below the clustering trees

我们现在已经很近了，再划三四十下桨，就能把她拖上树丛下方的一片狭长沙滩。

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The pirates' boat was still behind us, and the tide, which had so cruelly delayed us, was also delaying them

海盗的小船仍在我们后面，那如此无情地耽搁了我们行程的潮水，也同样在耽搁他们。

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The one source of danger was the cannon

唯一危险来源就是那门大炮。

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" I think I can pick off another man," said the squire

“我想我能再干掉一个，”乡绅说。

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" Hold!" the captain shouted, quick as an echo, and our boat stopped so fast that water poured over the stern

“停！”船长大喊，快得像回声一般，我们的小船停得如此突然，以至于水从船尾漫了进来。

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A cannonball came toward us at that same instant, and the squire's shot missed

就在同一瞬间，一颗炮弹向我们飞来，而乡绅那一枪打偏了。

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Where the cannonball hit, no one could tell, but it must have gone over our heads and plunged into the water

没人说得清那颗炮弹击中了哪里，但它一定是从我们头顶飞过，然后扎进了水里，

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because its impact contributed to our disaster

因为它激起的浪头加剧了我们的灾难。

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At any rate, our boat sank in three feet of water

总之，我们的小船在三英尺深的水里沉没了。

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The captain and I got to our feet, but the other three went under and came up drenched

船长和我站了起来，但另外三人掉进水里，冒出来时浑身湿透。

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So far, there was no great harm

到目前为止，还没有大的损害。

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No lives were lost, and we could wade ashore safely, but all the food and supplies were underwater

没有人员伤亡，而且我们能安全地涉水上岸，但所有的食物和物资都泡在水里了。

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To make things worse, only two guns out of the five remained ready to use

更糟的是，五支枪里只有两支还能用。

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Instinctively, I'd snatched my musket and held it over my head, and the captain had wisely carried his over his shoulder

我本能地一把抓起步枪，把它举过头顶，而船长则明智地把他的枪扛在了肩上。

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But the other three were soaked

可另外三支枪都湿透了。

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We heard voices in the woods along the shore, and we worried we might be cut off from the stockade in our weakened state

我们听到岸边树林里传来人声，不禁担心以我们如此被削弱的状态，可能会被切断通往木寨的路。

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I also worried whether Hunter and Joyce could withstand an attack

我也担心亨特和乔伊斯是否能抵挡住一次攻击。

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Hunter was steady, but Joyce was a polite house servant, not a man of war

亨特是沉稳的，但乔伊斯是个彬彬有礼的家仆，并非善战之人。

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So we waded ashore as fast as we could, leaving behind the poor rowboat and half of all our powder and provisions

于是我们竭尽全力快速涉水上岸，把那艘可怜的小划艇，连同我们一半的火药和给养都丢在了身后。