20000 лье под водой

Chapter 7. A Whale of Unknown Species

           "Willmasterletmemakeaslit?"saidhe;and,slippinganopenknifeundermyclothes,herippedthemupfromtoptobottomveryrapidly.Thenhecleverlyslippedthemoffme,whileIswamforbothofus.

           ThenIdidthesameforConseil,andwecontinuedtoswimneartoeachother.

           Nevertheless,oursituationwasnolessterrible.Perhapsourdisappearancehadnotbeennoticed;and,ifithadbeen,thefrigatecouldnottack,beingwithoutitshelm.Conseilarguedonthissupposition,andlaidhisplansaccordingly.Thisquietboywasperfectlyself-possessed.Wethendecidedthat,asouronlychanceofsafetywasbeingpickedupbytheAbrahamLincoln’sboats,weoughttomanagesoastowaitforthemaslongaspossible.Iresolvedthentohusbandourstrength,sothatbothshouldnotbeexhaustedatthesametime;andthisishowwemanaged:whileoneofuslayonourback,quitestill,witharmscrossed,andlegsstretchedout,theotherwouldswimandpushtheotheroninfront.Thistowingbusinessdidnotlastmorethantenminuteseach;andrelievingeachotherthus,wecouldswimonforsomehours,perhapstillday-break.Poorchance!buthopeissofirmlyrootedintheheartofman!Moreover,thereweretwoofus.IndeedIdeclare(thoughitmayseemimprobable)ifIsoughttodestroyallhopeifIwishedtodespair,Icouldnot.

           Thecollisionofthefrigatewiththecetaceanhadoccurredabouteleveno’clockintheeveningbefore.Ireckonedthenweshouldhaveeighthourstoswimbeforesunrise,anoperationquitepracticableifwerelievedeachother.Thesea,verycalm,wasinourfavour.SometimesItriedtopiercetheintensedarknessthatwasonlydispelledbythephosphorescencecausedbyourmovements.Iwatchedtheluminouswavesthatbrokeovermyhand,whosemirror-likesurfacewasspottedwithsilveryrings.Onemighthavesaidthatwewereinabathofquicksilver.

Настройки
Фон страницы
Размер шрифта
Межстрочный интервал
Фразовые глаголы
Показать / Скрыть меню
Шрифт
Roboto Lora
Уведомления
Страница 42 из 384