四签名 80凶手的末日（13）

We were within a boat's-length by this time, and almost within touch of our quarry¹.

这时彼此之间只有一船之隔了，几乎能触摸到我们的猎物了

I can see the two of them now as they stood, the white man with his legs far apart, shrieking² out curses,

我现在能看到他们俩人在站立着，白人叉开两腿不断地怒骂，

and the unhallowed dwarf³ with his hideous⁴ face, and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us in the light of our lantern.

那个矮小的黑人满脸忿恨地向着我们的灯光，咬牙切齿地狂叫。

It was well that we had so clear a view of him.

幸而我们看他们看得很清楚。

Even as we looked he plucked out from under his covering a short, round piece of wood, like a school-ruler, and clapped it to his lips.

那个小黑人从毯子里掏出了一个好似木尺的短圆的木棒搁在唇边。

Our pistols rang out together.

我们立即扳动枪机，两弹启发。

He whirled round, threw up his arms, and, with a kind of choking cough, fell sideways into the stream.

那黑人转了转身就两手高举，喘了口气，跌入河内，

I caught one glimpse of his venomous, menacing eyes amid the white swirl⁵ of the waters.

刹那之间我就看到他那一双狠毒的眼睛在白色的漩涡之中消失了。

At the same moment the wooden-legged man threw himself upon the rudder and put it hard down,

这时，那装木腿的人冲向船舵，用尽他全身力量扳那舵柄，

so that his boat made straight in for the southern bank,

那船突向南岸冲去，

while we shot past her stern, only clearing her by a few feet.

我们以相差几尺的距离躲开了它的船尾总算没有撞上。

We were round after her in an instant, but she was already nearly at the bank.

我们随即转变方向追上前去。那时"曙光"号已经接近南岸，

It was a wild and desolate⁶ place, where the moon glimmered⁷ upon a wide expanse of marsh-land,

岸上是一块荒凉的旷野，月光照着空旷的沼地，

with pools of stagnant⁸ water and beds of decaying vegetation.

地面上聚着一片片的死水和一堆堆的腐烂植物。

The launch, with a dull thud, ran up upon the mud-bank, with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water.

那只汽船冲到岸上就搁浅了，船头耸向空中，船尾没在水里。

1 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

2 shrieking   

v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were all shrieking with laughter. 他们都发出了尖锐的笑声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

4 hideous   

adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的

参考例句：

• The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
• They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗，是丑陋的畜牲。

5 swirl   

v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形

参考例句：

• The car raced roughly along in a swirl of pink dust.汽车在一股粉红色尘土的漩涡中颠簸着快速前进。
• You could lie up there,watching the flakes swirl past.你可以躺在那儿，看着雪花飘飘。

6 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

7 glimmered   

v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "There glimmered the embroidered letter, with comfort in its unearthly ray." 她胸前绣着的字母闪着的非凡的光辉，将温暖舒适带给他人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• The moon glimmered faintly through the mists. 月亮透过薄雾洒下微光。 来自辞典例句

8 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。