Far ahead of him he could see the lights of the village, but here there was only the long empty beach with its black wooden breakwaters, and the shadowy, whispering sea.
他能看到远方村里的灯光,可眼前只有长长的空落落的海滩和黑色的木制防波堤,还有那朦朦胧胧低声作响的大海。
He crossed the stones higher up on the beach and went down to the sand, which was easier to walk on, although he had to climb over the breakwaters every few metres.
他越过海滩高处的石头地往下走上一片沙地,沙地好走一些,虽然每走几米就要爬一段防波堤。
When he looked behind him to see how far he had come, he saw that he might have a companion on his walk home. A dark figure, some way back, seemed to be running to catch up with him, but he never seemed to get any closer. It couldn't be anybody he knew, Parkins thought, so he did not wait for him. However, a companion, he began to think, would really be very welcome on that cold, dark beach. He suddenly remembered the stories he had read in his less sensible childhood—stories of strange companions met in lonely places. 'What would I do now, 'he wondered, 'if I looked back and saw a black figure with wings and a tail? Would I run, or would I stand and fight? Fortunately, the person behind me doesn't look like that—and he seems to be as far away as when I first saw him. I shall get my dinner before he does, and, oh dear! It's nearly time for dinner now. I must run!'
当他回头看自己走出了多远时,发现好像有个伴儿跟他一起往家走。一个黑乎乎的人影似乎在他后面跑着追他,可似乎怎么也不能靠近他。帕金斯心想他肯定不认识这人,于是就没等他。他开始想到,在这寒冷黑暗的沙滩上,有人作伴也是很不错的。突然他又想起小时候不大懂事时读过的故事——那些在人烟稀少的地方遇到奇怪伴侣的故事。“我现在该怎么办呢?”他心里想,“如果我回头看到一个长着翅膀和尾巴的黑影,我是跑,还是站在那里跟他拼呢?还好,我后面那人不像是那样的——他离我的距离似乎跟我一开始看到他时差不多。我得先吃饭,天啊!快到吃饭时间了,我得跑了!”
At dinner the Professor found the Colonel much calmer than he had been in the afternoon.
吃饭时,教授发现上校比下午平静多了。