通译双语文库:沙洲之谜3. 航海日志缺页之谜|3. The missing page in the log-book

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Next morning, we found the Dulcibella wrapped in thick fog, which meant, of course, that nothing could be done until it lifted. After breakfast, we heard someone on deck, and a short, grey-haired man appeared in the cabin doorway.

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Bartels!’ cried Davies. ’Was that the Johannes that I heard arrive last night? Have some coffee.’ He spoke in his very poor German. ’This is my friend, Carruthers. Captain Bartels of the Johannes,’ he added to me, and went to make some coffee.

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Bartels said quietly to me, ’It is good for Captain Davies to have a friend with him. He is a fine young man, but he is too brave, he takes too many risks.’

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Where did you meet?’ I asked, interested.

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In an ugly place, in ugly weather,’ he replied, very seriously. ’Has he not told you?’

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Here it was again, the suggestion of some mystery, some dangerous event that I did not know about. I decided there and then to ask Davies to tell me the truth.

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Just then he came back. ’Bartels helped me out of a bit of trouble in the North Sea, didn’t you, Bartels?’

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It was nothing,’ said Bartels. ’But I’ve told you before, Captain, the North Sea is no place for your little boat at this time of the year.’

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He drank his coffee, and before he went, he advised Davies in a fatherly way to think again about going home before the winter began. Davies went with him back to his own boat, but returned at once, and sat down opposite me in the cabin. I think he knew what was coming.

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What did he mean?’ I asked.

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I’ll tell you,’ said Davies. ’I’ll tell you the whole thing. It’s a kind of confession, I suppose. It’s been worrying me a lot, and perhaps you’ll be able to help me. But it’s for you to decide.’ He paused for a second. ’Something happened when I was in the Frisian Islands that I haven’t told you about.’

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It began near Norderney,’ I said. ’About the 9th of September.’

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How did you guess that?’ he asked in surprise.

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You’re not very good at hiding things,’ I replied. ’Go on.’

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Well, you’re right. Norderney. I’d been asking the local people about ducks, and they told me I should ask a German called Dollmann, with a big yacht, who did a lot of shooting. On the 9th of September I came across his yacht, the Medusa. She was very big, very smart too – new paint, and a crew in uniform. I decided to go and speak to him.’

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Just a minute,’ I said. ’Let’s have a look at the chart.’

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Here’s Norderney,’ he said, spreading out the chart. ’There’s a harbour at the west end of the island, the only real harbour on the islands. The Medusa was anchored near it and I rowed over after dinner, and was taken to the main cabin. It was very grand. Dollmann was finishing dinner.’

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What was he like?’ I asked.

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About fifty, tall and thin, with grey hair and a short grey beard,’ replied Davies. ’I asked about the duck shooting, and he said that there was none at all. But he wanted to know all about me and what I was doing there. We talked for a long time and he was quite friendly when I left. I intended to sail on eastwards next day, but Dollmann came to visit me on the Dulcibella, and then invited me to dinner on the Medusa a couple of times. In the end I stayed three more days anchored at Norderney.’

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How did you spend your time?’ I asked.

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Well, we talked, and – er – I met his daughter two or three times. I hadn’t seen her that first evening.’

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What was she like?’ I asked.

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Oh! A very nice girl,’ he replied, turning a little pink. ’Finally, we left Norderney together. Dollmann said the Baltic would be better for duck shooting. We agreed to sail together as far as Cuxhaven. He was sailing to Hamburg and I was going to take the new ship canal to Kiel. It’s about a hundred kilometres from Norderney to Cuxhaven.’

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Davies paused, looking at the chart. ’We left on the morning of 13th September,’ he began again. ’The weather was bad, and there was a strong wind from the north-west. It was nothing for a big yacht like his, of course, but I soon realized I had been a fool to set out. After Wangeroog, the last of the islands, the wind got really strong, but it was too late to turn back by then. The sand stretches twenty-five kilometres from Cuxhaven right out to the Scharh?rn, so you have to go round the Scharh?rn to reach Cuxhaven, and I knew the sea would be extremely rough there. Suddenly I saw the Medusa was waiting for me to get closer. As I reached her, Dollmann shouted to me, slowly and clearly, "It’s too rough for you to go round the Scharh?rn. Follow me. I’ll show you a short cut through the sandbanks."’

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Davies paused, to point out the places on the chart. ’Look, here’s the Telte, it’s a wide channel through the sands. It’s all right if you know your way, but later on it’s cut in two by the Hohenh?rn sandbank, and it gets very shallow and difficult. Dollmann seemed to know what he was doing, so, after a moment’s thought, I held up my arm to show that I would follow him. You asked me if I ever took a pilot. That was the only time.’

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Davies spoke bitterly. ’I followed him into the Telte channel, but then I saw he wasn’t waiting for me. The Medusa was sailing much faster than I could, and soon disappeared into the mist and rain. There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t turn round and go back. At high tide, as it was then, all the sand is covered, so you can’t see the sandbanks or the channels, and there are no buoys. The wind was behind me too, and was very strong by this time. It was driving me straight on to the Hohenh?rn sandbank.

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Suddenly I saw the waves breaking on the Hohenh?rn right in front of me. I tried to steer along the edge of the sandbank, hoping to find a way through. But the wind carried the Dulcibella violently on to the sandbank. The next wave carried me further on to the bank and into a little channel. I can’t describe the next few minutes. My hand had been hurt, and the helm damaged, in that first bump, and I had no control over the boat. The waves were crashing all around me, and finally I ran aground.’

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The wind carried the Dulcibella violently on to the sandbank.’

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Davies shook his head. ’I was so angry with myself, you can’t imagine. I couldn’t do anything because my hand was useless. But that’s when Bartels saw me and came to help. He’d taken shelter in a deeper part of the channel that I was in. He saw I was in difficulties, so he and his boy rowed across to me. They soon had the sails down, and pulled me away from the sand and down the channel, to where the Johannes lay. He’s a good man, Bartels. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be here now.

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The next day he helped me repair the damage to the helm. He was sailing for the Eider River and on to the Baltic that way. It’s longer than going by the new ship canal but both routes come out at Kiel. I went with him, and three days later I was in the Baltic. I wrote to you a week after I got there. You see, by then I had realized that Dollmann was a spy.’

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He said it very simply, and I stared at him in astonishment.

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A spy?’ I said. ’What do you mean? A spy of what – of whom?’

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Well, I’m not sure that "spy" is the right word, but he’s something very bad. He deliberately tried to make me go aground, you see. He tried to kill me.’

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Are you sure?’ It was difficult to believe it.

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Oh yes!’ said Davies calmly. ’I’ve worked it all out. Dollmann knew his way through the sands, by the Telte channel, and his yacht was big enough to manage it. You see, the Telte divides into two before the Hohenh?rn sandbank. Dollmann turned north and then into the channel that goes around the Hohenh?rn. But before he turned, he led me straight for the sandbank. And he deliberately left me behind, so I didn’t know that he had turned. He meant me to keep going straight ahead. I should have been broken to pieces on the Hohenh?rn.’

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Why weren’t you?’ I asked.

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Davies pointed again at the chart. ’Look,’ he said. ’The Telte divides into two quite big channels, which go round the Hohenh?rn to the north and the south. But there’s also a very narrow channel that goes through the middle. It’s so small that I hadn’t noticed it, when I looked at the chart before we sailed. That’s the one I was carried into. If I had been on the sandbank, the Dulcibella would have broken up in three minutes. I was just lucky that day.’

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Lucky – and brave, I thought to myself. ’But what makes you think he’s a spy?’ I asked. ’Perhaps he was in difficulties too, and lost sight of you by accident?’

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Davies shook his head. ’Look at it from the beginning,’ he said. ’The first time I met Dollmann, he asked me all sorts of questions about what I was doing and why. I was terribly enthusiastic about my voyage and talked quite freely. I told him that I was exploring the channels between the islands, working out all the movements of the sandbanks, and making notes about it all, because the English charts were so hopelessly out of date.

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After that he did his best to get rid of me. He said there were no ducks, that the Baltic was very good for sailing and for ducks, and he offered to show me the way. He wanted to get me away from those islands. I don’t think he meant to kill me at first, but when the chance came later on, he just took it.’

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But what about his crew?’ I asked. ’Surely they would have noticed.’

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There wasn’t anyone else on deck, when he told me about the short cut. He was steering the Medusa himself.’

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And his daughter? Do you think she wanted to get rid of you, too?’

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Davies’s face suddenly went very red. ’I’m sure she knew nothing about it,’ he said fiercely. He began trying to light his pipe again, and I thought I could guess another reason why he had agreed to sail with Dollmann.

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Let’s look at it from Dollmann’s point of view,’ I said. ’A German finds an Englishman exploring the German coast, and checking the charts. Perhaps he thought you were the spy.’

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But that’s just the point,’ cried Davies. ’He’s not German. He’s an Englishman.’

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An Englishman!’

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Yes, I’m sure of it,’ said Davies. ’Every time I spoke to him on the Medusa he spoke German. He said he only knew a few words of English. And when he offered to show me the short cut through the sands, he shouted in German. Now, you know that I never like taking a pilot, so I hesitated before agreeing. He must have thought I hadn’t understood him, so he shouted again, only this time in English, without any German accent.’

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And if he was planning to lead you to your death on the Hohenh?rn,’ I said, ’it wouldn’t matter if you guessed that he wasn’t German!’

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That’s right,’ agreed Davies eagerly. ’I knew you’d understand. I’m sure he’s an Englishman, working for the German government and giving them information. He’s been living here for years, and has a house on Norderney. Oh! And I met a friend of his, a Commander von Brüning, in the German navy. He came on board the Medusa one day when I was there. He’s captain of the gunboat Blitz, on guard duty for the fishing boats around the islands.’

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Did von Brüning seem to know Dollmann well?’

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Yes, very well,’ replied Davies. ’Now,’ he continued, ’let me explain what I think is happening.’

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He took down a map of Germany from the shelf and spread it on the table. ’Look at Germany. It’s the strongest nation in Europe, and it’s led by the young Kaiser, who’s a great man for getting things done. Their industry is growing very fast and, in order to have markets for what they produce, they need colonies. To get and keep these colonies, and to protect their shipping, they need a strong navy. They have only a small one at present, but it’s very good, and they’re building more ships as fast as they can. In Britain we already have a strong navy, because we live on an island, and we need to protect the sea routes between us and our colonies. Most of our food comes to us by sea. If we lose control of the sea, we’re finished. But Germany is in the very centre of Europe, and can get all she needs from her neighbours. She has the biggest army in the world. She can already compete with our industry, and soon she may be able to compete with our navy. And unfortunately, we’re not ready for her. All our naval bases are on the south coast, opposite our old enemy, France. We have no bases in the North Sea. We should realize that Germany is the danger now, and do something about it.’

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Davies paused and looked at me anxiously. ’These are not just my ideas, you know. Other people worry about this too.’

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Yes, I know,’ I said. ’But go on.’

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Davies pointed at the map again. ’Now look at the coast of Germany. It’s very short and it’s cut in two by Denmark. Most of the German coast is on the Baltic, which is not much use to them as it’s too far from the Atlantic. That’s why the Kaiser has built the new ship canal from Kiel to the River Elbe, so that he can move his ships from the Baltic to the North Sea quickly. The North Sea coast is the important one but it’s very short – three hundred kilometres at the most. And not all of it can be used. Most of the coastline is hidden behind sandbanks, or a line of islands. There’s just one wide opening, with the mouths of the three big rivers, the Elbe, the Weser, and the Jade, leading to Hamburg, Bremen, and Wilhelmshaven. The important bit of coast is the hundred and twelve kilometres from Borkum to the Elbe, and that’s the part that Dollmann stopped me exploring.’

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He paused again, looking at the sandbanks shown on the map. ’If England were at war with Germany,’ he added, slowly and seriously, ’the whole of that coast would be important, sands and all. There are channels through those sands that can only be used by small ships like Bartels’ Johannes. In wartime the main sea routes to Hamburg and the other ports would be carefully guarded. But if we knew where the channels through the sands were, small gunboats could use them to attack German ships in the mouths of the big rivers. And, of course, German gunboats could use them to attack our ships off the coast. Then they could disappear among the sands, where our ships would be too big to follow them. All our warships need deep water to sail in, and can’t possibly use those channels.’

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I see,’ I said. I began to understand what Davies was trying to tell me. ’So German gunboats could travel through the sands from Hamburg to Holland, and our North Sea ships couldn’t get near them.’

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That’s right,’ said Davies. ’Or of course, our gunboats could do the trip the other way, if we knew where the channels were. The trouble is, we don’t know. None of our fishing boats use these waters and our charts are years out of date. It just happens that I enjoy sailing in waters like these and bringing the charts up to date.’

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I’m not surprised Dollmann wanted to get rid of you,’ I said.

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Yes,’ agreed Davies. ’But I’d like to know just what Dollmann is doing there.’

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It must be something very important if he’s prepared to kill you,’ I said. ’And there’s only one way to find out.’

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Davies jumped up in excitement and hit his head on the cabin ceiling. ’You mean you’ll come?’ he cried.

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Of course,’ I said. ’We’ll have to go back to Norderney to find out why an Englishman is watching those waters and keeping other people out of them. When do we start?’

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We can go back to the North Sea through the ship canal from Kiel,’ said Davies. ’We could start for Kiel at once. The fog’s lifting and there’s a little south-west wind.’

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How far is it?’ I asked. ’It’ll mean sailing all night!’

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It’s only about forty kilometres,’ he replied. ’I know it’s not the best wind we could have, but we ought to take the chance.’

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It was hopeless arguing about winds with Davies, so we set off lunchless, but full of excitement.

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	liftable [lɪftəbl]	a.1. 可以举起的
	Davies [ˈdeɪvɪs]	戴维斯
	Frisian ['friːʒn]	adj.Friland 的;Friesland 人的n.Friesland 人
	yacht [jÉ’t]	n.快艇,游艇;
	harbour [ˈhɑːbə]	港，海港，港口，港湾入港停泊，停泊
	anchor ['æŋkə(r)]	n.锚;锚状物
	Baltic ['bɔːltɪk]	adj.波罗的海的;波罗的语的
	canal [kə'næl]	n.运河;沟渠
	stretchable [stretʃəbl]	可伸展的;可延伸的
	sandbank ['sændbæŋk]	n.沙洲;沙丘
	buoy [bɔɪ]	n.浮标
	helm [helm]	n.舵;驾驶盘;领导地位
	astonishment [ə'stɒnɪʃmənt]	n.惊讶;令人惊讶的事物
	deliberate [dɪ'lɪbərət]	adj.深思熟虑的;故意的;从容不迫的
	enthusiastic [ɪnˌθjuːzi'æstɪk]	adj.热心的;热情的;热烈的
	hopeless ['həʊpləs]	adj.没有希望的;绝望的;无可救药的
	Medusa [mɪ'djuːzə]	n.水母
	Blitz [blɪts]	n.闪击(尤指空袭);(突击性或集中性的)工作
	Kaiser ['kaɪzə(r)]	n.独裁者;皇帝;凯撒(音译名)
	wartime ['wɔːtaɪm]	n.战时
	gunboat ['ɡʌnbəʊt]	n.炮舰;炮艇
	warship ['wɔːʃɪp]	n.军舰;战舰
	Holland ['hɔlənd]	n.荷兰
	Davies [ˈdeɪvɪs]	戴维斯

3. 航海日志缺页之谜|3. The missing page in the log-book

第二天早上，我们发现“达尔茜贝拉”号被浓雾包围了。毫无疑问，这意味着在雾散之前我们什么也做不了。早饭后，我们听见有人上了甲板，接着，一个头发灰白的小个子男人出现在船舱门口。

巴特尔斯低声对我说：“戴维斯船长有个朋友陪着是好事。他是个好小伙子，可就是胆子太大、太爱冒险了。”

“你们是在哪儿遇到的？”我饶有兴致地问。

“在一个可怕的地方，还有可怕的天气。”他非常严肃地回答道，“他没跟你讲过吗？”

又来了，各种迹象都暗示着存在一个我不知道的秘密，一次危险的经历。我当即下了决心，要让戴维斯告诉我真相。

就在这时，他回来了。“在北海的时候，巴特尔斯帮我摆脱了点儿麻烦，是吧，巴特尔斯？”

“也没什么啦。”巴特尔斯说，“不过船长，我之前就跟你说过，这个时节的北海你的小船可吃不消。”

他喝完咖啡，走之前又像慈父一般劝告戴维斯，让他再考虑考虑冬季到来之前就回国。戴维斯陪他回到他的船上，不过马上又回来了，在船舱里跟我面对面坐下。我想他知道接下来要发生什么。

“他是什么意思？”我问。

“我会告诉你，”戴维斯说，“把整件事情都告诉你。我想这也算是一种坦白吧。这件事近来让我很犯愁，你也许能帮到我，但帮不帮由你自己决定。”他停了片刻又说，“在弗里西亚群岛发生了一些事，我没有告诉你。”

“最初是在诺德奈附近吧。”我说，“9月9号前后。”

“你怎么猜到的？”他惊奇地问。

“你不太擅长隐藏秘密。”我答道，“接着说吧。”

“稍等。”我说，“咱们看看海图吧。”

“诺德奈在这儿。”他展开海图说，“这座岛的西头有个港口，也是弗里西亚群岛唯一真正的港口。‘美杜莎’号就停泊在港口附近。晚饭后我划着小艇过去，被领进了主舱，那里面很豪华。多尔曼差不多吃完晚饭。”

“他什么样子？”我问。

“那几天你是怎么过的呢？”我问。

“唔，我们聊天，还有——嗯——我碰到他女儿两三回。头一天晚上我没见到她。”

“她什么样呢？”我问。

他最后这句话说得言简意赅。我惊讶地注视着他。

“间谍？”我问，“你是什么意思？什么间谍——哪儿的间谍？”

“唉，我也不知道‘间谍’这个词用得准不准，但他肯定是个大坏蛋。你看，他故意想办法让我的船搁浅。他想让我死。”

“你确定吗？”这番话真令人难以置信。

“那你怎么逃过一劫的呢？”我问。

不止幸运，还有勇敢，我心想。“不过你为什么觉得他是间谍呢？”我问，“也许他也遇到了麻烦，不小心把你领丢了？”

“从那之后，他就极力想除掉我。他说那里没有野鸭，波罗的海则更适合航行和猎鸭子，还主动提出要给我带路。他想让我离开那片群岛。我觉得他一开始并没打算杀死我，但后来机会来了，他便利用了这个机会。”

“可他的船员呢？”我问，“肯定有人会注意到吧。”

“他提出带我抄近路时，没有别人在甲板上。当时他亲自驾驶‘美杜莎’号。”

“那他女儿呢？你觉得她也想除掉你吗？”

戴维斯的脸突然涨得通红。“我肯定她对这件事一无所知。”他激动地说着，想要再次点着烟斗。我想我能猜到他愿意跟多尔曼一起航行的另外一个原因了。

“咱们再从多尔曼的角度分析一下。”我说，“一个德国人发现一个英国人在考察德国的海岸线、修正海图，说不定他以为你是间谍呢。”

“可这正是问题的关键。”戴维斯叫道，“他不是德国人，他是英国人。

“英国人！”

“因为如果他真打算利用霍恩霍恩沙洲来除掉你，”我说，“你就算猜到他不是德国人，也无所谓了！”

“冯布吕宁看起来和多尔曼熟吗？”

“熟，很熟。”戴维斯回答。“好啦，”他接着说道，“让我来讲讲我对时局的分析。”

戴维斯顿了顿，焦虑地看着我，“要知道，这不是我一个人的看法，其他人也有这个担忧。”

“对，我知道。”我说，“你接着说吧。”

“我懂了。”我开始明白了戴维斯想要表达的意思，“也就是说，德国炮艇能够穿过那些沙洲，从汉堡到达荷兰，而我们的北海军舰却无法靠近它们。”

“难怪多尔曼想要除掉你。”我说。

“是呀，”戴维斯赞同道，“不过我倒真想知道多尔曼在那儿干什么勾当。”

“他都打算杀了你，那肯定是很重要的事情。”我说，“只有一种方法能弄清楚。”

戴维斯激动地跳起来，头撞到了舱顶。“你的意思是你会跟我一道？”他叫道。

“当然了，”我说，“我们得回诺德奈去，弄清楚为什么一个英国人要看守着这片海域，不让别人靠近。咱们什么时候出发？”

“咱们可以从基尔走运河回北海。”戴维斯说，“现在就可以动身去基尔。雾开始散了，也开始有点儿西南风了。”

“要走多远呀？”我问，“这意味着连夜航行啊！”

“只有40公里左右。”他答道，“我知道现在风不是最合适的，但咱们得抓住时机。”

在风的问题上，谁也辩不过戴维斯。尽管我们没吃午饭就起航了，但内心很是激动。

Next morning, we found the Dulcibella wrapped in thick fog, which meant, of course, that nothing could be done until it lifted. After breakfast, we heard someone on deck, and a short, grey-haired man appeared in the cabin doorway.

Bartels!’ cried Davies. ’Was that the Johannes that I heard arrive last night? Have some coffee.’ He spoke in his very poor German. ’This is my friend, Carruthers. Captain Bartels of the Johannes,’ he added to me, and went to make some coffee.

Bartels said quietly to me, ’It is good for Captain Davies to have a friend with him. He is a fine young man, but he is too brave, he takes too many risks.’

Where did you meet?’ I asked, interested.

In an ugly place, in ugly weather,’ he replied, very seriously. ’Has he not told you?’

Here it was again, the suggestion of some mystery, some dangerous event that I did not know about. I decided there and then to ask Davies to tell me the truth.

Just then he came back. ’Bartels helped me out of a bit of trouble in the North Sea, didn’t you, Bartels?’

It was nothing,’ said Bartels. ’But I’ve told you before, Captain, the North Sea is no place for your little boat at this time of the year.’

He drank his coffee, and before he went, he advised Davies in a fatherly way to think again about going home before the winter began. Davies went with him back to his own boat, but returned at once, and sat down opposite me in the cabin. I think he knew what was coming.

What did he mean?’ I asked.

It began near Norderney,’ I said. ’About the 9th of September.’

How did you guess that?’ he asked in surprise.

You’re not very good at hiding things,’ I replied. ’Go on.’

Just a minute,’ I said. ’Let’s have a look at the chart.’

Here’s Norderney,’ he said, spreading out the chart. ’There’s a harbour at the west end of the island, the only real harbour on the islands. The Medusa was anchored near it and I rowed over after dinner, and was taken to the main cabin. It was very grand. Dollmann was finishing dinner.’

What was he like?’ I asked.

How did you spend your time?’ I asked.

Well, we talked, and – er – I met his daughter two or three times. I hadn’t seen her that first evening.’

What was she like?’ I asked.

The wind carried the Dulcibella violently on to the sandbank.’

He said it very simply, and I stared at him in astonishment.

A spy?’ I said. ’What do you mean? A spy of what – of whom?’

Well, I’m not sure that "spy" is the right word, but he’s something very bad. He deliberately tried to make me go aground, you see. He tried to kill me.’

Are you sure?’ It was difficult to believe it.

Why weren’t you?’ I asked.

Lucky – and brave, I thought to myself. ’But what makes you think he’s a spy?’ I asked. ’Perhaps he was in difficulties too, and lost sight of you by accident?’

But what about his crew?’ I asked. ’Surely they would have noticed.’

There wasn’t anyone else on deck, when he told me about the short cut. He was steering the Medusa himself.’

And his daughter? Do you think she wanted to get rid of you, too?’

Davies’s face suddenly went very red. ’I’m sure she knew nothing about it,’ he said fiercely. He began trying to light his pipe again, and I thought I could guess another reason why he had agreed to sail with Dollmann.

Let’s look at it from Dollmann’s point of view,’ I said. ’A German finds an Englishman exploring the German coast, and checking the charts. Perhaps he thought you were the spy.’