1. The canoe was now approaching the land. The man with the carved paddle stopped. "It should be somewhere here," he said. The other man had been in the fore part of the canoe, closely scrutinising the land. He had a sheet of yellow paper on his knee. "Come and look at this, Evans," he said. Both men spoke in low tones, and their lips were hard and dry.
獨木舟正在靠近岸邊。手握雕花槳的男子停止了劃槳。“應該就在這附近了。”他說。另一個男子已經到了獨木舟的船頭，仔細地觀察著岸上的情況。他的一個膝蓋上放了一張黃紙。“埃文斯，快來看看這個。”他說。這兩個男子說話的聲音很低，而且他們的嘴唇看上去又干又硬。
2. The paper had the appearance of a rough map. "Here," said Evans, "is the reef, and here is the gap. This curved and twisting line is the river--I could do with a drink now! --and this star is the place. It's queer, what these little marks down here are for; what are all these little dashes, pointing this way and that?” They both sat for some minutes staring at the map, while the canoe drifted slowly.
這張紙看起來像一幅粗糙的地圖。“這里，”埃文斯說，“是這片暗礁，這里是這條裂谷。這條蜿蜒的曲線是這條河流——終于可以喝到水了！——這個標著星星的位置就是我們要去的地方。奇怪，這里的這些小標記是什么意思？ 還有，這些指著不同方向的小破折號是什么意思？”他們倆就這么坐著，眼睛盯著地圖看了好一會兒，與此同時，他們乘坐的獨木舟緩緩地在水上漂動著。
3. Though they were so near the Treasure, Evans did not feel the exaltation he had anticipated. The intense excitement of the struggle for the plan, and the long night voyage from the mainland in the un-provisioned canoe had, to use his own expression, "taken it out of him." He tried to arouse himself by directing his mind to the ingots they were going to find, but it would not rest there. It came back to the thought of sweet water rippling in the river, and to the almost unendurable dryness of his lips and throat.
盡管他們已經非常靠近寶藏的位置了，但埃文斯并沒有像他之前預計的那樣感到欣喜若狂。努力完成計劃時產生的強烈的興奮感，以及乘著這條沒有任何補給品的獨木舟，從大陸起航的一整夜的長途航行——用他自己的話說——“已經令他精疲力竭了”。他努力把自己的思想更多地集中在他們正在尋找的金子上 ，試圖用這種方式讓自己打起精神。但這辦法并不太奏效，他還會不由自主地重新想起河里流淌著的甜美河水，以及幾乎無法忍受的口干舌燥。
4. "Evans, Evans, you sleepy fool!" Hooker called out. Their canoe now entered the lagoon. "There are the three palm-trees. It must be in a line with that clump of bushes," said his companion. "Mark that. If we go to those bushes and then strike into the bush in a straight line from here, we shall come to it when we come to the stream." At the sight of it Evans revived. "Hurry up, man," he said, "or by heaven I shall have to drink sea water!"
“埃文斯，埃文斯，你個昏昏欲睡的傻瓜！”胡克喊道。他們的獨木舟已經進入了瀉湖。“這有三棵棕櫚樹。它們肯定跟那片灌木叢在一條直線上，” 埃文斯的同伴說，“做上標記。要想從這里沿著直線去到那片灌木叢的里面，我們就得先到溪流邊的這三棵棕櫚樹的位置。”見此情景，埃文斯重新抖擻了精神。“快點，伙計，”他說，“天哪，我可不想再喝海水了！”
5. A little way up Hooker took some water in the hollow of his hand, tasted it, and spat it out. A little further he tried again. "This will do," he said, and they began drinking eagerly. "Curse this!" said Evans suddenly. "It's too slow." And, leaning dangerously over the fore part of the canoe, he began to suck up the water with his lips.
獨木舟稍稍前進了一點兒，胡克用一只手的手心捧起了一點兒水，嘗了一下，然后吐掉了。再前進一點兒，他又試了一次。“這兒的水能喝。”他說，然后他們迫不及待地喝了起來。“可惡！”埃文斯突然說道。“這也太慢了。”他倚向船頭方向，這動作看上去有些危險，然后他開始探下頭去，用嘴直接吸水喝。
6. They landed ashore, pulled the light canoe far up the beach, and then went up towards the edge of the jungle. Evans had taken a native implement out of the canoe. It was L-shaped, and the transverse piece was armed with polished stone. Hooker carried the paddle. "It is straight now in this direction," said he; "we must push through this till we strike the stream."
他們靠岸了，將獨木舟拉到海灘上距離岸邊較遠處，然后向叢林的方向走去。埃文斯從獨木舟上取下了自帶工具。這東西呈L形，橫向部分裝有拋光石材。胡克則帶著船槳。“現在朝這個方向一直向前走就行了，”他說，“我們必須穿過這片叢林才能到達那條溪流。”

7. They pushed through a close tangle of reeds, broad fronds, and young trees, and at first it was toilsome going, but very speedily the trees became larger and the ground beneath them opened out. Dim white flowers hung from their stems, and ropy creepers swung from tree to tree. The shadow deepened. Evans shivered. "It seems almost cold here after the blaze outside." Then they heard the rush of water.
他們穿過了一個密密麻麻的蘆葦叢，然后是一片寬葉植物，之后是一片小樹，這耗費了他們大量的體力；但很快，他們面前的樹木開始變得越來越高大，腳下的地面也開始變得寬敞。灰白色的花朵從樹莖上垂下來，藤蔓像繩索一樣在樹木間搖擺。樹蔭變深了。埃文斯開始顫抖。“似乎，越是烈日炎炎，樹蔭里越是寒冷。”隨后，他們聽到水湍流而過的聲音。
8. "Here is the river. We should be close to it now," said Hooker. "We have swerved only a little from the straight." "That was to be expected." "You said--" began Evans. "He said there was a heap of stones," said Hooker. The two men looked at each other for a moment. Then, they advanced slowly, looking curiously about them. Suddenly Evans stopped. "What the devil's that?" he said. Hooker followed his finger. It had come into view as they topped a gentle swell of the ground. Then he began to distinguish what it was. The thing was the figure of a dead man lying on his face.
“附近有河流。我們得盡快找到它。”胡克說。“我們僅僅走偏了一點兒。”“預料之中的事。” “你說過……”埃文斯插了一句。“他說那里有一堆石頭，”胡克接過話。兩個人面面相覷了片刻。然后，他們開始慢慢地前行，同時好奇地環顧著四周。埃文斯突然停下了腳步。“那是什么鬼東西？”他說。胡克沿著他手指的方向走去。當他們走到一塊地面稍稍隆起的位置時，那個東西開始變得清晰。然后，胡克開始分辨那東西究竟是什么——他是一個趴在地上的死人！
9. The two men stood staring silently at this ominous dead body. It lay in a clear space among the trees. Nearby was a spade, and further off lay a scattered heap of stones, close to a freshly dug hole. "Somebody has been here before," said Hooker, clearing his throat. He turned white but said nothing.
兩個人默默地站在那里，盯著這個不祥的死尸。死尸在樹木之間的空曠地面上，旁邊有一把鐵鍬，稍遠一點兒是一個亂石堆，亂石堆旁邊有一個新挖的洞。 “有人來過這里了。”胡克清了清嗓子說。埃文斯臉色變得蒼白，但什么話也沒說。
10. He saw that the neck of the dead body was puffed and purple, and the hands and ankles swollen. "Pah!" he said, and suddenly turned away and went towards the excavation. He gave a cry of surprise. He shouted to Evans, who was following him slowly: "You fool! It's all right. It's here still." Then he turned again and looked at the dead man, and then again at the hole. Evans hurried to the hole. Already half exposed by the ill-fated wretch beside them lay a number of dull yellow bars.
胡克看到尸體的頸部已經發腫且呈紫色，手和腳踝已經腫脹。 “呸！”他說，然后突然轉身走向那個洞口。他驚叫起來，然后朝著緩慢地跟在后面的埃文斯喊道：“你個傻瓜！沒事的。東西還在。”然后，他再次轉身看著那個死尸和那個洞。埃文斯趕緊跑到洞口。洞口已經被這個不幸的可憐蟲挖開了一半，旁邊散落著一些土黃色的棒條。
11. Hooker was puzzled. “I wonder how he found the place." Evans stood with the ingot in his hands. "We shall have to take this stuff to our homeland, how shall we get it to the canoe? What are you staring at?" Hooker turned to him. "I can't stand him ..." He nodded towards the corpse. "It's so like----" "Rubbish!" said Evans. "All dead men are alike." Hooker looked into his face. "I'm going to bury him, anyhow, before I lend a hand with this stuff." "Don't be a fool, Hooker," said Evans. Hooker hesitated, and then his eye went carefully over the brown soil about them. "It scares me somehow," he said. "What's come to you, Hooker?" said Evans. "Have you lost your wits?"
胡克滿臉困惑地說：“我很納悶他是怎么找到這地方的。”埃文斯站在那里，雙手捧著金子。“我們必須把這些東西帶回我們的家鄉。我們該怎么把它們弄到獨木舟上呢？你盯著看什么呢？”胡克轉向他，說：“我無法忍受他了......”埃文斯向尸體的方向點了點頭。“他太像……”“垃圾！”埃文斯說，“死人都一個樣。”胡克看著他的臉說：“不管怎樣，在我弄走這些寶藏前，我要把他埋葬了。”“別傻了，胡克。”埃文斯說。胡克猶豫了一下，然后仔細查看了一下他們周圍的棕色土壤。“這家伙有點兒嚇到我了。”他說。“你怎么了，胡克？”埃文斯問道，“你喪失理智了嗎？”
12. Suddenly, Evans began to breathe heavily. "Can't you speak? What's the matter with you?" said Hooker. Evans stood for a moment staring at Hooker, and then with a groan clutched at his own throat. "Don't come near me," he said, "I'll be better in a minute. Don't touch me! Don't touch me! Put the gold back!"
突然，埃文斯開始氣喘吁吁。“你說不出話了嗎？你怎么了？”胡克問道。埃文斯站在那里一動不動，眼睛盯著胡克。過了好一陣，他才從喉嚨里擠出一陣呻吟聲。“別靠近我，”他說，“我馬上就沒事了。不要碰我！不要碰我！把快把金子放回去！”
13. "Can't I do anything for you?" said Hooker. Then, he suddenly felt a little prick on the ball of his thumb. He looked at his hand and saw a slender thorn, perhaps two inches in length. Evans gave an inarticulate cry and rolled over. Hooker stared at the thorn for a moment with dilated eyes. Then he looked at Evans, who was now crumpled together on the ground. He thought of the little dashes in the corner of the map, and in a moment he understood. "Evans!" he cried. But Evans was silent and motionless. A profound silence brooded over the forest. He stared at the distorted but still quivering body of his companion. The dull pain spread towards his throat and grew slowly in intensity. Far above him a faint breeze stirred the greenery, and the white petals of some unknown flower came floating down through the gloom.
“我不能幫你嗎？”胡克說。話音剛落，他突然覺得自己的拇指被刺了一下。他看到自己的手上刺了一根細長的荊棘，大概兩英寸長。埃文斯大喊了一聲，然后開始在地上翻滾，聽不清他究竟喊了什么。胡克睜大眼睛盯著刺在他手上的那根荊棘，看了好一會兒。然后，他看向埃文斯——此時，埃文斯已經在地上團成一團。他想起了地圖上的那些小破折號，終于恍然大悟。“埃文斯！”他喊道。可，埃文斯卻一聲不吭，一動不動。一片死寂籠罩著整個森林。他盯著他同伴那已變得扭曲但仍在顫抖的身體。一股鈍痛蔓延到他的喉嚨，而且程度還在不斷緩慢加強。在他頭頂的空中，一陣淡淡的微風攪動著綠葉，一些不知名花朵的白色花瓣穿過幽暗飄落下來。