"What's this? They're firing at us!" I exclaimed.

“怎么？他们朝我们开炮！”我喊道。

"Good lads!" the Canadian muttered.

“勇敢的人们！”加拿大人小声说。

"That means they don't see us as castaways clinging to some wreckage!"

“这么说他们没把我们当做攀附在船骸上的遇难者！”

"With all due respect to master—gracious!" Conseil put in, shaking off the water that had sprayed over him from another shell. "With all due respect to master, they've discovered the narwhale and they're cannonading the same."

“先生别生气——天哪，”康塞尔摔了摔另一发炮弹溅在他身上的水珠，说，“先生别生气，他们以为这是一头独角鲸，他们在炮轰独角鲸呢。”

"But it must be clear to them," I exclaimed, "that they're dealing with human beings."

“但他们得看清楚，”我喊道，“他们是在和人打交道啊。”

"Maybe that's why!" Ned Land replied, staring hard at me.

“或许正是因为这样呢。”尼德·兰盯着我说。

The full truth dawned on me. Undoubtedly people now knew where they stood on the existence of this so-called monster. Undoubtedly the latter's encounter with the Abraham Lincoln, when the Canadian hit it with his harpoon, had led Commander Farragut to recognize the narwhale as actually an underwater boat, more dangerous than any unearthly cetacean!

我茅塞顿开。毫无疑问，人们现在知道怎样对付这只所谓怪物的存在。可能，当“鹦鹉螺号”和“林肯号”船相撞，加拿大人用鱼叉攻击它时，法拉古指挥官就认出这头独角鲸是一艘潜水艇，一艘比神奇的鲸类动物更危险的潜水艇。

Yes, this had to be the case, and undoubtedly they were now chasing this dreadful engine of destruction on every sea!

是的，应该是这样的，毫无疑问，人们目前正在所有的海域里追寻这只可怕的破坏性潜艇！

Dreadful indeed, if, as we could assume, Captain Nemo had been using the Nautilus in works of vengeance! That night in the middle of the Indian Ocean, when he imprisoned us in the cell, hadn't he attacked some ship? That man now buried in the coral cemetery, wasn't he the victim of some collision caused by the Nautilus? Yes, I repeat: this had to be the case.

如果正如我们能想象到的一样，尼摩船长把“鹦鹉螺号”船只用于进行一项报复行为的话，那的确太可怕了！那天晚上，当他把我们囚禁在那间小房间里时，他难道不是在印度洋上攻击了某只船只吗？那个现在埋在珊瑚墓地里的人，不就是“鹦鹉螺号”引发的冲撞的受害者吗？是的，我再重复一遍。事情应该是这样的。