海底两万里 第224期 第17章 海底森林(5)

A few paces away, a monstrous, meter-high sea spider was staring at me with beady eyes, poised to spring at me. Although my ping suit was heavy enough to protect me from this animal's bites, I couldn't keep back a shudder of horror. Just then Conseil woke up, together with the Nautilus's sailor. Captain Nemo alerted his companion to this hideous crustacean, which a swing of the rifle butt quickly brought down, and I watched the monster's horrible legs writhing in dreadful convulsions.

离我们几步远的地方，有一只高一米的梅蜘蛛，斜着眼注视我，就要向我身上扑来。虽然我的潜水衣相当厚重，可以保护我不会被它咬伤，但我也不能不害怕，不能不颤抖。康塞尔和诺第留斯号的水手就在这个时候醒来。尼摩船长把这个怕人的甲壳类动物指给他的同伴看，他的同伴一枪托打死了它，我看见这个怪物的丑陋脚爪作怕人的抽搐，拼命挣扎。

This encounter reminded me that other, more daunting animals must be lurking in these dark reaches, and my ping suit might not be adequate protection against their attacks. Such thoughts hadn't previously crossed my mind, and I was determined to keep on my guard. Meanwhile I had assumed this rest period would be the turning point in our stroll, but I was mistaken; and instead of heading back to the Nautilus, Captain Nemo continued his daring excursion.

这次碰见这个怪物就使我想到一定还有其他更可怕的动物时常到这黑沉沉的海底下来，我的潜水衣可能无力保护我，无法抵抗它们的袭击。我起先没有想到这事，现在我决心要时刻警惕。此外，我又以为这次休息是我们这次旅行的结束，但我错了，尼摩船长并不让我们回到船上去，仍然继续他的大胆的旅行。

The seafloor kept sinking, and its significantly steeper slope took us to greater depths. It must have been nearly three o'clock when we reached a narrow valley gouged between high, vertical walls and located 150 meters down. Thanks to the perfection of our equipment, we had thus gone ninety meters below the limit that nature had, until then, set on man's underwater excursions.

地面总是往下陷，斜度更是明显，把我们拉到最深的海底。这时候，想是快要到三点了，我们到了一座狭小的山谷中，这山谷在峭壁间，在一百五十米深的海底下。由于我们使用的器械极完善，我们可以超越好像大自然拿来限制人的在海底旅行不得超过丸十米的深度。