He sipped his wine, and then with a businesslike air, he went on, "Ivan will supply you with hunting clothes, food, a knife. I suggest you wear moccasins; they leave a poorer trail. I suggest too that you avoid the big swamp in the southeast corner of the island. We call it Death Swamp. There's quicksand there. One foolish fellow tried it. The deplorable part of it was that Lazarus followed him. He was the finest hound in my pack. Well, I must beg you to excuse me now. I always take a little nap after lunch. You'll hardly have time for that, I'm afraid. You'll want to start, no doubt. I shall not follow until dusk. Hunting at night is so much more exciting than by day, don't you think? Au revoir, Mr. Rainsford."
他喝了一小口葡萄酒,然后摆出一副一本正经的样子继续说道:“伊万会给你猎装、食物和一把刀子。我建议你穿上软皮平底鞋,那样留下的鞋印要浅一些。我还得建议你避开岛东南角的大沼泽地,我们叫它死亡沼泽,那里有流沙。有个愚蠢的家伙曾经去试过。令人遗憾的是拉撒路也跟他去了,它可是我那一群狗中最出色的猎狗啊。行啦,请你原谅,我现在就告辞了。我总要在午饭后小睡一会儿。恐怕你几乎没有时间休息。你肯定想现在就出发吧。黄昏之前我不会跟着你。晚上打猎要比白天打猎有趣得多,你说是吗?再见,雷恩斯福德先生。”
General Zaroff, with a deep courtly bow, strolled from the room.
扎洛夫将军深深地礼貌地鞠了个躬,悠闲地走出了房间。
Rainsford had fought his way through the bush for two hours. "I must keep my nerve. I must keep my nerve," he said through tight teeth.
雷恩斯福德在灌木丛中艰难地行进了两个小时。“我必须保持镇静,必须保持镇静,”他咬紧牙关说道。
He had not been entirely clear-headed when the chateau gates snapped shut behind him. His whole idea at first was to put distance between himself and General Zaroff. He had plunged along, spurred on by a sharp feeling of panic. But now he had got a grip on himself, had stopped, and was taking stock of himself and the situation.
当他身后的城堡大门猛然关上时,他的头脑还没有完全清醒过来。他最初的想法就是尽量拉开自己和扎洛夫将军的距离。他被一股强烈的恐惧感驱使着,一直在狂冲猛跑。但是现在他控制住了自己的情绪,停了下来,开始估量自己的处境。
He saw that straight flight was futile; inevitably it would bring him face to face with the sea. He was in a picture with a frame of water, and his operations, clearly, must take place within that frame.
他心里清楚,径直往前跑是徒劳的,那样不可避免地要跑到海边。他现在好像身处在一幅画中,大海就像是那个画框,而他的行动显然必须在这个框内进行。