What was that? A strange, rustling, hissing sound, as of cattle trampling through dry reeds,—a sound which quivered and shook, even in the breath of the hurrying wind!
那是什么?一种奇怪的嘶嘶的声音传来,就像牛群踩过芦苇丛的声音,即使是在风里,这声音也令人震颤!
Roger snorted, stood still, and trembled in every limb; and a sensation of awe and terror struck a chill through Gilbert's heart.
罗杰打了个响鼻,一动不动,四肢发抖;一丝敬畏使吉尔伯特心寒。
The sound drew swiftly nearer, and became a wild, seething roar, filling the whole breadth of the valley.
声音迅速靠近,变成了翻腾的咆哮声,响彻山谷。
"The dam! the dam!" cried Gilbert, "the dam has given way!"
“大坝!大坝!”吉尔伯特叫了起来,“大坝决口了!”
He turned Roger's head, gave him the rein, struck, spurred, cheered, and shouted.
他转向罗杰的头,抓住缰绳用力拍打、喊叫、给马加油。
The brave beast struggled through the impeding flood, but the advance wave of the coming inundation already touched his side.
勇敢的罗杰在洪水中奋力挣扎,可是洪水已经涨到了马的身体。
He staggered; a line of churning foam bore down upon them, the terrible roar was all around and over them, and horse and rider were whirled away.
马踉跄了一下;洪水夹杂着漩涡和泡沫袭来,四周都是洪水的咆哮声,马和骑手被卷走了。
What happened during the first few seconds, Gilbert could never distinctly recall.
吉尔伯特无法清楚记得最初几秒发生了什么。
Now they were whelmed in the water, now riding its careering tide, torn through the tops of brushwood, jostled by floating logs and timbers of the dam,
他们一会被洪水淹没,一会又被冲到奔腾的浪尖,有时水底的灌木撕扯着身体,有时被水中漂浮的木材撞得东倒西歪,
but always, as it seemed, remorselessly held in the heart of the tumult and the ruin.
就这样困在了无情的洪水和杂物中间。