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When I woke up in darkness, my head was hurting badly, and I was unable to move my hands or feet. I could hear the sailors' shouts and the sound of the wind and the waves. The whole world seemed to go up, up, up, and then down again. I felt very ill, and at first could not under stand what was happening. After a while I realized that I must be somewhere inside the ship, which was moving very fast through the water. 'I've been kidnapped!' I thought angrily. It was clear that my uncle and the captain had planned it together. I began to feel frightened and hopeless, as I lay there in the dark.
我在黑暗中醒过来时，我的头疼得很厉害，手脚也动不了。我能听到水手们的叫声、风声和涛声。整个世界似乎在上升、上升，然后又下降了。我感到病得很厉害，最初稿不清在发生什么事。过了一会儿我意识到一定是在船里某处，那船又在水中快速行驶着。“我被诱拐了！”我气愤地想。显然我叔叔和船长合伙预谋了这一切。我黑暗中躺在那儿时，开始感到害怕和无望。
Some hours later, a light shone in my face. Mr Riach, one of the ship's officers, stood looking down at me. He washed the cut on my head, gave me some water, and told me kindly to go to sleep. The next time he came, I was feeling very hot and ill. He had brought Captain Hoseason with him.
几个小时之后，有一束光照到我脸上。船上的一名叫里亚奇先生的高级船员站在那儿俯视着我。他擦洗了我头上的伤口，给我一些水，并和蔼地让我睡觉。下一次他来时，我感到很热，病了。他把霍齐亚森船长也带来了。
'Now, sir, see for yourself,' said Mr Riach. 'The lad's seriously ill. We must take him out of this unhealthy hole at once.
“好，船长，你自己看看，”里亚奇先生说道，“这个小伙子病得很厉害。我们得立刻把他带出这个不卫生的牢房。”
'That's none of your business,' answered the captain. 'Ye're paid to do your job, not to worry about the by. He's staying down here.'
“那与你无关。”船长回答道，“给你付钱是让你干你的工作，不要为这男孩操心。他得待在下面这儿。”
'I'm only paid to be an officer on this ship,' replied Mr Riach sharply. He looked hard at the captain. 'I'm not paid, like you, to kidnap and murder—'
“我只是受雇来当船上的高级船员。”里亚奇先生厉声答道。他盯着船长。“我不是收了钱，像你一样来诱拐和谋杀——”
Hoseason turned on him angrily. 'What did ye say?' he cried. 'What do ye mean?'
霍齐亚森恼怒地攻击里亚奇。“你说什么？”他叫道，“你是什么意思？”
'You understand,' said Mr Riach, looking calmly at him.
“你明白，”里亚奇先生说道，平静地看着他。
'You should know me by now, Mr Riach. I'm a hard man. But if ye say the lad will die—'
“到现在你也应该了解我了，里亚奇先生。我可不是一个软弱的人。但如果你说这个小伙子将要死掉的话——”
'Aye, he will!' said Mr Riach.
“对，他要死了！”里亚奇先生说道。
'Well, sir, put him where ye like!'
“好吧，先生，把他放在你想要放的地方！”
So I was carried up into the sunlight a few minutes later, and put in a cabin where some of the sailors were sleeping. It was a wonderful feeling to see the daylight and to be able to talk to people again. I lay in the cabin for several days, and after a while began to feel better. The sailors were kind to me in their way. They brought me food and drink, and told me about their families at home. I discovered from them that the ship was sailing to the Carolinas, in North America. There the captain was planning to sell me as a slave, to work in a rich man's house or on a farm.
于是几分钟后，我被人抬到上面阳光能照到之处，并被安置在一个里面有一些水手正在睡觉的机舱里。又能看见阳光、又能和人交谈是一种很好的感觉。我在机舱里躺了几天，不久之后开始感到好些了。水手们以自己的方式善待我。他们给我带来吃的、喝的，并给我讲他们家的事。从他们那儿我发现船正驶往北美洲的卡罗来纳。船长打算在那儿把我当奴隶卖掉，卖到一个有钱人家或一家农场。
I also learnt that both the ship's officers, Mr Riach and Mr Shuan, enjoyed drinking far too much. The sailors liked Mr Shuan, but said that he was sometimes violent when he had drunk a lot. One of the sailors was a young boy, called Ransome. His job was to bring meals to the captain and officers in the round-house, a big cabin on the top of the ship, where the officers slept and ate. When Ransome dropped something or did something wrong, Mr Shuan used to hit him, and I often saw the poor boy crying.
我也了解到船上的高级船员里亚奇先生和舒安先生都酗酒。船员们喜欢舒安先生，但说舒安先生有时喝得太多时很凶。有一个水手是一个年轻的小男孩，名叫兰塞姆。他的工作是给后甲板室（即船顶上的一个大机舱）里的船长和高级船员送饭。高级船员吃住都在后甲板室里。当兰塞姆掉了东西或做错了事时，舒安先生时常揍他，我也经常看见这个可怜的小男孩在哭泣。
