日本本上就在高我们不及两百英里左右的下方。黑夜快到了。

　　Eight o'clock had just struck. Huge clouds covered the moon's disk, then in its first quarter. The sea undulated placidly beneath the frigate's stempost.

　　船上正敲八点钟。一片片的乌云掩盖了上弦的新月。大海波纹在船后面平静地舒展着。

　　Just then I was in the bow, leaning over the starboard rail. Conseil, stationed beside me, stared straight ahead.

　　这时候，我倚在船头右舷围板上。康塞尔站在我的旁边，眼睛向前看着。

　　Roosting in the shrouds, the crew examined the horizon, which shrank and darkened little by little. Officers were probing the increasing gloom with their night glasses.

　　全体船员，爬在缆素梯绳上面，细心考察渐渐缩小和沉黑了的天边。军官们拿着夜间用的望远镜，向渐次黑暗的各方搜索。

　　Sometimes the murky ocean sparkled beneath moonbeams that darted between the fringes of two clouds. Then all traces of light vanished into the darkness.

　　月亮有时从朵朵的云间吐出一线光芒，使沉黑的海面闪耀着光辉；一会儿又消逝在黑暗中了。

　　Observing Conseil, I discovered that, just barely, the gallant lad had fallen under the general influence. At least so I thought.

　　我看着康塞尔，看出他的情绪多少也受了船上一般的影响。至少我是这样感觉。也许，他的神经还是第一次在好奇心的力量下震动了。