美国语文第四册 第181期:白兰地酒河浅滩(3)

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　　but Roger was still swimming with it, desperately² throwing up his head from time to time, and snorting the water from his nostrils³. 罗杰仍然绝望地游着，不时探头从鼻孔喷出水。

　　All his efforts to gain a foothold failed; his strength was nearly spent, and unless some help should come in a few minutes it would come in vain. 他想找到落脚地，可是他的努力都失败了；他几乎用尽了力气，除非几分钟后有人来救援，否则一切都是徒劳。

　　And in the darkness, and the rapidity with which they were borne along, how should help come? 可是天又黑洪水又急，怎么会有人救援呢？

　　All at once Roger's course stopped. 吉尔伯特停了下来。

　　He became an obstacle to the flood, which pressed him against some other obstacle below, and rushed over horse and rider. 吉尔伯特突然感到身体下方有一股力量在吸引他的身体，

　　Thrusting out his hand, Gilbert felt the rough bark of a tree. 他费力向外伸出手，摸到了粗糙的树干。

　　Leaning towards it, and clasping the log in his arms, he drew himself from the saddle,  他向树靠近，双臂抱住树干，离开了马鞍，

　　while Roger, freed from his burden, struggled into the current and instantly disappeared. 同时罗杰由于减少了分量，被奔腾的洪流冲走，立刻消失了。

　　As nearly as Gilbert could ascertain⁴, several timbers, thrown over each other,  正如吉尔伯特想到的，几根木材摞在一起，

　　had lodged⁵, probably upon a rocky islet in the stream, the uppermost one projecting slantingly out of the flood. 堆在水中一处小岛上，最上面那根倾斜着伸出水面。

　　It required all his strength to resist the current which sucked, and whirled, and tugged⁶ at his body,  他使出全身力气对抗着吸引他的旋涡，

　　and to climb high enough to escape its force, without overbalancing his support. 向更高处爬才躲开，又避免抱住的大树失去平衡。

　　At last, though still half immerged, he found himself comparatively safe for a time, yet as far as ever from a final rescue. 最后，尽管半个身体还在水里，但他发现自己相对安全了，可是离最后获救仍然很遥远。

　　Yet a new danger now assailed⁷ him, from the increasing cold. 这时新的危险袭来，水越来越冷。

　　There was already a sting of frost, a breath of ice, in the wind. 风也带着寒霜和冰的气息。

　　In another hour the sky was nearly swept bare of clouds, and he could note the lapse⁸ of the night by the sinking of the moon. 一个小时后，天空中乌云被吹散了，从正在落山的月亮知道夜晚即将过去。

　　But he was by this time hardly in a condition to note anything more. 可是他这时已经没法注意更多东西了。

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