Grazing the right-bank dike and aiming carefully for the middle arch of the stone bndge below;

 

顺流而下，擦过堤岸的右侧边缘，小心地对准下游石桥的中孔滑下。

I watched them in this way,and lost all this time hoping to see one of them hit the pridge-pier and wreck itself sometime or other,

我就这样望着它们，在对什么时候能看到它们撞在桥墩，成为残骸的憧憬中迷失了自我。

but was always disappointed.

然而，我总是失望。

马克吐温.jpg

 

One was smashed there one morning, but I had just stepped into my room a moment to light a pipe, so I lost it.

 

一天早晨，有一条木筏粉碎在那里，不过却是在我刚踏进房间去点烟时撞击的，因此我还是错过了。

While I was looking down upon the rafts that morning in Heilbronn, the daredevil spirit of adventure came suddenly upon me，and I said to my comrades:

在海尔布隆的那个早晨，当我俯瞰着木筏时，蛮勇的冒险精神突然产生，我对我的同伴们说：

I am going to Heidelberg on a raft.

我准备乘木筏去海徳堡。

Will you venture with me?

你们和我一起去冒险吗？

Their faces paled a little, but they assented with as good a grace as they could.

他们的脸色吓得苍白，不过还是尽可能优雅地表示赞同。

Harris wanted to cable his mother—thought it his duty to do that, as he was all she had in this world.

哈里斯想给他的母亲发一封电报—认为这是他的职责，因为他是母亲在这个世界上唯一的亲人。

so, while he attended to this, I went down to the longest and finest raft and hailed the captain with a heary Ahoy, shipmate!

因此，他去发电报了。与此同时，我跑上那条最长、最好的木筏，热情地向舵手打招呼道：嗨，你们好啊

Which put us upon pleasant terms at once, and we entered upon business.

这一问候立刻使气氛活跃起来，接着我们便进入了正题。

I said we were on a pedestrian tour to Heidelberg, and would like to take passage with him.I said this partly thorough young Z, who spoke German very well,

我说，我们原本是要徒步旅行到海徳堡去的，但现在打算乘坐他们的木筏去那里。我的这些话有一部分是通过蔡德先生翻译的，他的德语说得很好；

and partly through Mr.X who spoke it peculiarly.

另一部分则是通过爱克司先生翻译的，他的德语说得相当地道。

I can understand German as well as the maniac that invented it, but I talk it best through an interpreter.

我能像发明它的狂人一样听明白德语，不过我要通过翻译才能把它说好。

The captain hitched up his trousers, then shifted his quid thoughtfully.

木筏上的舵手提提裤子，边嚼着烟草块，边思考，

Presently he said just what I was expecting he would say-that he had no license to carry passengers,

正如我 所预料的，他说他没有运送旅客的执照，

and therefore was afraid the law would be after him in case the matter got noised about or any accident happened.

万一这件事宣扬出去或者出了什么事故，他就会被追查。