发布时间 : 星期二 文章Unit 12 “Take Over, Bos’n!”课文翻译综合教程三更新完毕开始阅读ddfa9d5ca58da0116d17495e
Unit 12
“Take Over, Bos’n!”
Oscar Schisgall
1
Hour after hour I kept the gun pointed at the other nine men. From the lifeboat‘s
stern, where I‘d sat most of the twenty days of our drifting, I could keep them all covered. If I had to shoot at such close quarters, I wouldn‘t miss. They realized that. Nobody jumped at me. But in the way they all glared I could see how they‘d come to hate my guts. 2
Especially Barrett, who‘d been bos‘n‘s mate; Barrett said in his harsh, cracked voice,
―You‘re a fool, Snyder. Y-you can‘t hold out forever! You‘re half asleep now!‖ 3
I didn‘t answer. He was right. How long can a man stay awake? I hadn‘t dared to shut
my eyes in maybe seventy-two hours. Very soon now I‘d doze off, and the instant that happened they‘d jump on the little water that was left. 4
The last canteen lay under my legs. There wasn‘t much in it after twenty days. Maybe
a pint. Enough to give each of them a few drops. Yet I could see in their bloodshot eyes that they‘d gladly kill me for those few drops. As a man I didn‘t count any more. I was no longer third officer4 of the wrecked Montala. I was just a gun that kept them away from the water they craved. And with their tongue swollen and their cheeks sunken, they were half crazy. 5
The way I judged it, we must be some two hundred miles east of Ascension. Now that
the storms were over, the Atlantic swells were long and easy, and the morning sun was hot – so hot it scorched your skin. My own tongue was thick enough to clog my throat. I‘d have given the rest of my life for a single gulp of water. 6
But I was the man with the gun — the only authority in the boat — and I knew this:
once the water was gone we‘d have nothing to look forward to but death. As long as we could look forward to getting a drink later, there was something to live for. We had to make it last as long as possible. If I‘d given in to the curses, we‘d have emptied the last canteen days ago. By now we‘d all be dead.
7 The men weren‘t pulling on the oars. They‘d stopped that long ago, too weak to go on. The nine of them facing me were a pack of bearded, ragged, half-naked animals, and I
probably looked as bad as the rest. Some sprawled over the gunwales, dozing. The rest watched me as Barrett did, ready to spring the instant I relaxed. 8 9
When they weren‘t looking at my face they looked at the canteen under my legs. Jeff Barrett was the nearest one. A constant threat. The bos‘n‘s mate was a heavy
man, bald, with a scarred and brutal face. He‘d been in a hundred fights, and they‘d left their marks on him.
10 Barrett had been able to sleep — in fact, he‘d slept through most of the night – and I envied him that. His eyes wouldn‘t close. They kept watching me, narrow and dangerous. 11 Every now and then he taunted me in that hoarse, broken voice: 12 ―Why don‘t you quit? You can‘t hold out!‖
13 ―Tonight,‖ I said. ―We‘ll ration the rest of the water tonight.‖ 14 ―By tonight some of us‘ll be dead! We want it now!‖ 15 ―Tonight ,‖ I said.
16 Couldn‘t he understand that if we waited until night the few drops wouldn‘t be sweated out of us so fast? But Barrett was beyond all reasoning. His mind had already cracked with thirst. I saw him begin to rise, a calculating look in his eyes. I aimed the gun at his chest – and he sat down again.
17 I‘d grabbed my Luger on instinct, twenty days ago, just before running for the lifeboat. Nothing else would have kept Barrett and the rest away from the water.
18 These fools — couldn‘t they see I wanted a drink as badly as any of them? But I was in command here — that was the difference. I was the man with the gun, the man who had to think. Each of the others could afford to think only of himself; I had to think of them all.
19 Barrett‘s eyes kept watching me, waiting. I hated him. I hated him all the more because he‘d slept. He had that advantage now. He wouldn‘t keel over.
20 And long before noon I knew I couldn‘t fight any more. My eyelids were too heavy to lift. As the boat rose and fell on the long swells, I could feel sleep creeping over me like paralysis. I bent my head. It filled my brain like a cloud. I was going, going …
21 Barrett stood over me, and I couldn‘t even lift the gun. In a vague way I could guess what would happen. He‘d grab the water first and take his drop. By that time the others would be screaming and tearing at him, and he‘d have to yield the canteen. Well, there was nothing more I could do about it. 22 I whispered, ―Take over, bos‘n.‖
23 Then I fell face down in the bottom of the boat. I was asleep before I stopped moving…
24 When a hand shook my shoulder, I could hardly raise my head. Jeff Barrett‘s hoarse voice said, ―Here! Take your share o‘ the water!‖
25 Somehow I propped myself up on my arms, dizzy and weak. I looked at the men, and I thought my eyes were going. Their figures were dim, shadowy; but then I realized it wasn‘t because of my eyes. It was night. The sea was black; there were stars overhead, I‘d slept the day away.
26 So we were in our twenty-first night adrift — the night in which the tramp Croton finally picked us up – but now, as I turned my head to Barrett there was no sign of any ship. He knelt beside me, holding out the canteen, his other hand with gun steady on the men.
27 I stared at the canteen as if it were a mirage. Hadn‘t they finished that pint of water this morning? When I looked up at Barrett‘s ugly face, it was grim. He must have guessed my thoughts.
28 ―You said, ?Take over, bos‘n,‘ didn‘t you?‖ he growled. ―I‘ve been holding off these apes all day.‖ He hefted the Luger in his hand. ―When you‘re boss-man,‖ he added, ―in command and responsible for the rest — you — you sure get to see things different, don‘t you?‖
“水手长，接手吧!”
奥斯卡·希斯高尔
1.
一小时又一小时，我用枪指着其他九个人。我站在救生艇尾部，把所有人都控制在我的
火力下，在海上漂流的二十天里，我大多数时间都坐在艇尾。距离这么近，要是我不得不开枪，肯定命中。他们很清楚这一点。谁也不敢贸然袭击。不过，从他们愤怒的目光里，我看得出他们有多恨我。
2. 当过水手长的巴雷特尤其如此。他用沙哑的声音说：―斯奈德，你是个笨蛋。你——你不可能永远这么坚持下去吧!你现在都半睡半醒啦!‖
3. 我没吭声。他说得对。一个人能连续多久保持清醒？差不多七十二小时了，我连眼睛都不敢眨一下。用不了多久我就会睡过去，我眼睛一闭他们就会向剩下的那丁点儿水扑过去。 4. 最后一个水壶就放在我腿下。都二十天了里面也没什么水了。可能只有一品脱。只够每个人喝几滴而已。然而，从他们布满血丝的眼睛我能看出来，为了那可怜兮兮的几滴水，他们真恨不得能把我杀了。在他们眼里，我已经不算是一个人了。我不再是失事的蒙塔拉号的三副，而只是阻止他们得到所渴望的水的一把枪。他们舌头肿胀双颊凹陷，已经处于半疯狂状态……
5. 据我判断，我们肯定在阿森松岛以东约两百英里处。暴风雨已经平息，大西洋的浪涛变得平缓了，早晨的阳光炎热，热得灼人。我自己的舌头也肿得把喉咙塞住了。我愿意放弃余生只为能喝一口水。
6. 然而，我是带枪的人，是救生艇上唯一的权威。我心里明白：一旦水没了，我们就没有什么盼头了，只有等死。只要我们还能期盼着到时能喝上一点水，我们就有个念想。我们必须让那点水维持得尽可能久一点。要是我对咒骂和咆哮让步，我们好几天前就已经把最后一壶水喝得精光。到现在可就一个活口都没有了。
7. 水手们没有划桨。他们早就不划了，身体实在太虚弱，没法继续划桨。我面前的九个人是一群胡子拉碴、衣不蔽体的野兽，我自己的模样估计也好不到哪儿去。 8. 他们不是瞪着我的脸，就是盯着我腿下的那只水壶。
9. 杰夫·巴雷特靠我最近，一直是个威胁。这水手长个头魁梧，秃顶，脸上有伤疤，一副凶相。他身经百战，身上伤疤累累。
10. 巴雷特已经睡足了——事实上，他差不多整晚上都在睡——我真羡慕他的福分。他的眼睛一直睁着，一直眯成一条缝威胁地盯着我。 11. 他时不时用他那沙哑的破嗓子奚落我： 12. ―你为什么不认输？你坚持不了多久啦!‖
13. ―今天晚上，‖我说，―我们晚上就把剩下那点水分来喝了。‖ 14. ―到晚上有些人就死啦!我们现在就要分!‖ 15. ―到晚上分。‖我说。
16. 难道他不明白，等到晚上才喝的话，那几滴水就不会那么快变成汗水？可巴雷特已经听
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搭救了我们——但这会儿，我扭头看到巴雷特时，船还没有任何踪迹。他跪在我身旁，递过水壶，另一只手稳稳握住枪对着其他人。
27. 我凝视着水壶，仿佛它是幻象。他们难道不是今天上午就把那品脱水喝完了吗？我抬头看着巴雷特那张丑陋的脸，那张脸上毫无表情。他肯定猜透了我的心思。
28. ―你说过：?水手长，接手吧‘，不是吗？‖他咆哮着说，―我整天都在防着这帮野人，‖他举起那把鲁格尔半自动手枪。―要是你当头儿，‖他补充道，―当指挥，要对其他人负责——你——你看问题的角度肯定就不一样了，不是吗？‖