Unit-12-“Take-Over-Bosn!”课文翻译综合教程三

Unit12“TakeOver,Bos’n!”OscarSchisgall1 HourafterhourIkeptthegunpointedattheotherninemen.Fromthelifeboat’sstern,whereI’dsatmostofthetwentydaysofourdrifting,Icouldkeepthemallcovered.IfIhadtoshootatsuchclosequarters,Iwouldn’tmiss.Theyrealizedthat.Nobodyjumpedatme.ButinthewaytheyallglaredIcouldseehowthey’dcometohatemyguts.2 EspeciallyBarrett,who’dbeenbos’n’smate;Barrettsaidinhisharsh,crackedvoice,“You’reafool,Snyder.Y-youcan’tholdoutforever!You’rehalfasleepnow!”3 Ididn’tanswer.Hewasright.Howlongcanamanstayawake?Ihadn’tdaredtoshutmyeyesinmaybeseventy-twohours.VerysoonnowI’ddozeoff,andtheinstantthathappenedthey’djumponthelittlewaterthatwasleft.4 Thelastcanteenlayundermylegs.Therewasn’tmuchinitaftertwentydays.Maybeapint.Enoughtogiveeachofthemafewdrops.YetIcouldseeintheirbloodshoteyesthatthey’dgladlykillmeforthosefewdrops.AsamanIdidn’tcountanymore.Iwasnolongerthirdofficer4ofthewreckedMontala.Iwasjustagunthatkeptthemawayfromthewatertheycraved.Andwiththeirtongueswollenandtheircheekssunken,theywerehalfcrazy.5 ThewayIjudgedit,wemustbesometwohundredmileseastofAscension.Nowthatthestormswereover,theAtlanticswellswerelongandeasy,andthemorningsunwashot–sohotitscorchedyourskin.Myowntonguewasthickenoughtoclogmythroat.I’dhavegiventherestofmylifeforasinglegulpofwater.6 ButIwasthemanwiththegun—theonlyauthorityintheboat—andIknewthis:oncethewaterwasgonewe’dhavenothingtolookforwardtobutdeath.Aslongaswecouldlookforwardtogettingadrinklater,therewassomethingtolivefor.Wehadtomakeitlastaslongaspossible.IfI’dgivenintothecurses,we’dhaveemptiedthelastcanteendaysago.Bynowwe’dallbedead.7 Themenweren’tpullingontheoars.They’dstoppedthatlongago,tooweaktogoon.Thenineofthemfacingmewereapackofbearded,ragged,half-nakedanimals,andIprobablylookedasbadastherest.Somesprawledoverthegunwales,dozing.TherestwatchedmeasBarrettdid,readytospringtheinstantIrelaxed.8 Whentheyweren’tlookingatmyfacetheylookedatthecanteenundermylegs.9 JeffBarrettwasthenearestone.Aconstantthreat.Thebos’n’smatewasaheavyman,bald,withascarredandbrutalface.He’dbeeninahundredfights,andthey’dlefttheirmarksonhim.10 Barretthadbeenabletosleep—infact,he’dsleptthroughmostofthenight–andIenviedhimthat.Hiseyeswouldn’tclose.Theykeptwatchingme,narrowanddangerous.11 Everynowandthenhetauntedmeinthathoarse,brokenvoice:12 “Whydon’tyouquit?Youcan’tholdout!”13 “Tonight,”Isaid.“We’llrationtherestofthewatertonight.”14 “Bytonightsomeofus’llbedead!Wewantitnow!”15 “Tonight,”Isaid.16 Couldn’theunderstandthatifwewaiteduntilnightthefewdropswouldn’tbesweatedoutofussofast?ButBarrettwasbeyondallreasoning.Hismindhadalreadycrackedwiththirst.Isawhimbegintorise,acalculatinglookinhiseyes.Iaimedthegunathischest–andhesatdownagain.17 I’dgrabbedmyLugeroninstinct,twentydaysago,justbeforerunningforthelifeboat.NothingelsewouldhavekeptBarrettandtherestawayfromthewater.18 Thesefools—couldn’ttheyseeIwantedadrinkasbadlyasanyofthem?ButIwasincommandhere—thatwasthedifference.Iwasthemanwiththegun,themanwhohadtothink.Eachoftheotherscouldaffordtothinkonlyofhimself;Ihadtothinkofthemall.19 Barrett’seyeskeptwatchingme,waiting.Ihatedhim.Ihatedhimallthemorebecausehe’dslept.Hehadthatadvantagenow.Hewouldn’tkeelover.不进任何道理了，他的头脑由于口渴已经疯狂了。我看他要站起来，眼睛流露出狡猾的眼神。我用枪对准他的胸膛——他又坐下来了。17. 二十天前，就在奔向救生艇时，我出于本能抓起我那把德国造鲁格尔半自动手枪。换了别的任何东西，都不可能保护住那点水不被巴雷特和其他人喝掉。18. 这帮笨蛋——难道他们看不出我也像大家一样渴望喝上一点水吗？不过这儿由我负责——这就是区别。我是拿着枪的人，就得思考。其余的每个人顾自己就好了;我可得顾全大局。19. 巴雷特一直双眼盯着我，等待着时机。我恨他。因为他休息过了，我更恨他。他现在有这个优势。他不会突然倒下。20. 离正午之前还有很久，我知道自己已完全无力跟谁搏斗了。我的眼皮沉重得抬不起来了。当救生艇随着平缓的波浪起伏时，我可以感觉睡意慢慢笼罩我的全身，我快要瘫了。我垂下头。睡意像一片云一样笼罩了我的头脑。我慢慢，慢慢地，失去了知觉……21. 巴雷特密切注视着我，可我连枪都举不起了。我能隐约猜出接下来会发生的事情。他肯定会头一个抓住水壶喝下他的那一份水，那会儿其余的人会冲他吼叫，拉扯他，而他只得让出水壶。唉，事已至此，我也无能为力了。22. 我悄声说：“水手长，接手吧。”23. 接着我便脸朝下摔跌到船舱底里。身体还没着地，我已经睡着了……24. 当一只手摇晃我的肩膀时，我连头也抬不起来。杰夫·巴雷特的沙哑嗓音说：“来!喝口水!”25. 我尽力用双手撑起身体，晕晕沉沉，虚弱无力。我看着水手们，但我觉得我的视力已经不行了，只能隐隐约约看到一些朦胧的人影，然后我意识到不是我的眼睛有问题，而是夜色的关系。海面一片漆黑，头顶繁星闪烁；我睡了整整一天。26. 这是我们在海上漂流的第二十一夜了——就在这一夜偶然路过的货船格罗汤号终于