評(píng)論
打印
When the general had gone, Rainsford took up his flight again. It was flight now, a desperate, hopeless flight that carried him on for some hours. Dusk came, then darkness, and still he pressed on. The ground grew softer; the vegetation denser; and insect bit him savagely. Then, as he stepped forward, his foot sank into the ooze. He tried to wrench it back, but the muck sucked viciously at his foot as if it were a giant leech. With a violent effort, he tore his foot free. He knew where he was now. Death Swamp.
將軍離開之后，雷恩斯福德繼續(xù)奔逃。現(xiàn)在這是逃命了，一種孤注一擲、絕望的逃亡讓他跑了好幾個(gè)小時(shí)。天色漸暗，接著黑夜降臨，他仍然加緊趕路。腳下的地面變得越來越軟，植被越來越濃密；蟲子狠狠地叮咬他。接著當(dāng)他正向前行進(jìn)時(shí)，突然一腳陷進(jìn)爛泥中。他想用力把腳抽回來。但是那稀泥就像一只巨大的吸血螞蟥一樣緊緊地吸著他的腳。他竭盡全力才把腳拔了出來。他現(xiàn)在才搞清自己所處的位置：死亡沼澤。
The softness of the earth gave him an idea, and he began to dig. He had dug himself in in France when a second's delay meant death. That had been a placid pastime compared to his digging now. The pit grew deeper. When it was above his shoulders, he climbed out and from hard saplings cut stakes and sharpened them to a fine point. These he planted in the bottom of the pit with the points sticking up. Then he covered the mouth of the pit with weeds and branches.
松軟的土地讓他突然有了個(gè)主意，他開始挖起坑來。他曾在法國挖過防彈坑藏身，那時(shí)耽擱一秒鐘就意味著死亡。和他現(xiàn)在的挖坑相比，那次簡直可以算是輕松的消遣。坑越挖越深，當(dāng)挖到比他肩膀還高的深度時(shí)，他爬了上來，從堅(jiān)硬的小樹上砍下一些枝干，并把一頭削尖。他把這些樹粧插入坑底，尖端朝上。然后他用野草和樹枝蓋住坑口。
He crouched behind a lightning-charred tree and waited. Soon he heard the padding sound of feet on the soft earth, and the night breeze brought him the perfume of the general's cigarette. It seemed that the general was coming with unusual swiftness. Rainsford lived a year in a minute. Then he felt an impulse to cry out with joy, for he heard the sharp scream of pain as the cover of the pit gave way and the pointed stakes found their mark. He leapt up from his concealment, but he cowered back.
他蹲伏在一棵被雷電燒焦了的樹后等待著。過了不久，他聽到踏在松軟的土地上的腳步聲，微微的晚風(fēng)讓他聞到了將軍香煙的香味。似乎將軍這次來得異常迅速。雷恩斯福德度日如年般等待著。這時(shí)，他感到一股想高興地大叫的沖動(dòng)，因?yàn)樗牭搅送纯嗟募饨新暎墙新暟殡S著坑口覆蓋物倒塌和尖樹樁戳進(jìn)目標(biāo)的聲音。他從藏身處跳了起來，但緊跟著又縮了回去。
