Chapter 5 At Random! Kapitel 5 Nach dem Zufallsprinzip! Capítulo 5 ¡Al azar! 5 skyrius Atsitiktinai! Rozdział 5 Na chybił trafił! Capítulo 5 Ao acaso! Глава 5 Случайно! Розділ 5 Навмання! 第5章随意！

FOR SOME WHILE the voyage of the Abraham Lincoln was marked by no incident. ||||||||||отмечен||| But one circumstance arose that displayed Ned Land's marvelous skills and showed just how much confidence we could place in him. ||||||Ned Land|||||||||||||| Off the Falkland Islands on June 30, the frigate came in contact with a fleet of American whalers, and we learned that they hadn't seen the narwhale. ||Falklandinseln|||||Fregatte||||||||||||||||||Narwal ||Falkland Islands|||||||||||||||||||||||narwhale species But one of them, the captain of the Monroe , knew that Ned Land had shipped aboard the Abraham Lincoln and asked his help in hunting a baleen whale that was in sight. ||||||||whaling ship||||||embarked||||||||||||||||| Anxious to see Ned Land at work, Commander Farragut authorized him to make his way aboard the Monroe . ||||||||Farragut||||||||| And the Canadian had such good luck that with a right–and–left shot, he harpooned not one whale but two, striking the first straight to the heart and catching the other after a few minutes' chase! |||||||||||||||harpunierte||||||||||||||||||||| Et le Canadien a eu tellement de chance qu'en tirant à droite et à gauche, il a harponné non pas une mais deux baleines, frappant la première en plein cœur et rattrapant l'autre après quelques minutes de course-poursuite ! Assuredly, if the monster ever had to deal with Ned Land's harpoon, I wouldn't bet on the monster. The frigate sailed along the east coast of South America with prodigious speed. By July 3 we were at the entrance to the Strait of Magellan, abreast of Cabo de las Virgenes. |||||||||||||||||Cape of Virgins Le 3 juillet, nous étions à l'entrée du détroit de Magellan, à proximité du Cabo de las Virgenes. But Commander Farragut was unwilling to attempt this tortuous passageway and maneuvered instead to double Cape Horn. ||||||||twisting|||navigated||||| Mais le commandant Farragut ne veut pas tenter ce passage tortueux et manœuvre plutôt pour doubler le cap Horn.

The crew sided with him unanimously. ||supported|||without dissent Indeed, were we likely to encounter the narwhale in such a cramped strait? |||||||||||narrow and confined|narrow passage En effet, avions-nous des chances de rencontrer le narval dans un détroit aussi étroit ? Many of our sailors swore that the monster couldn't negotiate this passageway simply because "he's too big for it!" ||||asserted|||||navigate||narrow channel||||||| Near three o'clock in the afternoon on July 6, fifteen miles south of shore, the Abraham Lincoln doubled that solitary islet at the tip of the South American continent, that stray rock Dutch seamen had named Cape Horn after their hometown of Hoorn. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||isolated||Dutch||||||||town of Hoorn||Hoorn Le 6 juillet, vers trois heures de l'après-midi, à quinze milles au sud de la côte, l'Abraham Lincoln double cet îlot solitaire à la pointe du continent sud-américain, ce rocher errant que les marins hollandais avaient baptisé Cap Horn, d'après leur ville natale de Hoorn. Our course was set for the northwest, and the next day our frigate's propeller finally churned the waters of the Pacific. "Open your eyes! Open your eyes!" repeated the sailors of the Abraham Lincoln . And they opened amazingly wide. |||incredibly| Eyes and spyglasses (a bit dazzled, it is true, by the vista of $2,000.00) didn't remain at rest for an instant. ||binoculars|||blinded||||||view|||||||| Day and night we observed the surface of the ocean, and those with nyctalopic eyes, whose ability to see in the dark increased their chances by fifty percent, had an excellent shot at winning the prize. |||||||||||||night vision||||||||||||||fifty percent|||||||| Jour et nuit, nous avons observé la surface de l'océan, et ceux qui avaient des yeux nyctalopes, dont la capacité à voir dans l'obscurité augmentait leurs chances de 50 %, avaient d'excellentes chances de remporter le prix.

As for me, I was hardly drawn by the lure of money and yet was far from the least attentive on board. |||||||||attraction|||||||||||| Quant à moi, je n'étais guère attiré par l'appât du gain et pourtant j'étais loin d'être le moins attentif à bord. Snatching only a few minutes for meals and a few hours for sleep, come rain or come shine, I no longer left the ship's deck. Spending|||||||||||||||||||||||| Sometimes bending over the forecastle railings, sometimes leaning against the sternrail, I eagerly scoured that cotton–colored wake that whitened the ocean as far as the eye could see! ||||||||||back railing|||searched intensely||white||||turned white||||||||| A veces inclinado sobre la barandilla del castillo de proa, a veces apoyado en la de popa, recorría con avidez aquella estela de algodón que blanqueaba el océano hasta donde alcanzaba la vista. Tantôt penché sur la rambarde du gaillard d'avant, tantôt adossé à la rambarde de poupe, je parcourais avidement ce sillage cotonneux qui blanchissait l'océan à perte de vue ! And how many times I shared the excitement of general staff and crew when some unpredictable whale lifted its blackish back above the waves. |||||||||||||||||||dark-colored|||| Et combien de fois ai-je partagé l'excitation de l'état-major et de l'équipage lorsqu'une baleine imprévisible élevait son dos noirâtre au-dessus des vagues. In an instant the frigate's deck would become densely populated. ||||||||thickly| The cowls over the companionways would vomit a torrent of sailors and officers. |hoods|||hatches||||large stream|||| Les capots au-dessus des descentes vomissent un torrent de marins et d'officiers. With panting chests and anxious eyes, we each would observe the cetacean's movements. |heavy||||||||||of the cetacean| I stared; I stared until I nearly went blind from a worn–out retina, while Conseil, as stoic as ever, kept repeating to me in a calm tone: |||||||||||||eye layer||||unfazed||||||||||

"If master's eyes would kindly stop bulging, master will see farther!" ||||||protruding out|||| "Si les yeux du maître cessaient de se creuser, le maître verrait plus loin !" But what a waste of energy! The Abraham Lincoln would change course and race after the animal sighted, only to find an ordinary baleen whale or a common sperm whale that soon disappeared amid a chorus of curses! ||||||||||||||||||||||sperm whale|||||||||

However, the weather held good. Our voyage was proceeding under the most favorable conditions. |||||||ideal| By then it was the bad season in these southernmost regions, because July in this zone corresponds to our January in Europe; but the sea remained smooth and easily visible over a vast perimeter. |||||||||most southern|||||||equates|||||||||||||||||area boundary

Ned Land still kept up the most tenacious skepticism; beyond his spells on watch, he pretended that he never even looked at the surface of the waves, at least while no whales were in sight. |||||||persistent|doubt|||||||||||||||||||||||||| Ned Land gardait toujours le scepticisme le plus tenace ; en dehors de ses périodes de veille, il prétendait ne jamais regarder la surface des vagues, du moins tant qu'il n'y avait pas de baleines en vue. And yet the marvelous power of his vision could have performed yeoman service. |||||||||||excellent| Y, sin embargo, el maravilloso poder de su visión podría haber prestado un gran servicio. Pourtant, le pouvoir merveilleux de sa vision aurait pu rendre de grands services. But this stubborn Canadian spent eight hours out of every twelve reading or sleeping in his cabin. Mais ce Canadien têtu passait huit heures sur douze à lire ou à dormir dans sa cabine. A hundred times I chided him for his unconcern. ||||scolded||||indifference

"Bah!" he replied. "Nothing's out there, Professor Aronnax, and if there is some animal, what chance would we have of spotting it? There is nothing|||||||||||||||||seeing| Can't you see we're just wandering around at random? Vous ne voyez pas que nous nous promenons au hasard ? People say they've sighted this slippery beast again in the Pacific high seas—I'm truly willing to believe it, but two months have already gone by since then, and judging by your narwhale's personality, it hates growing moldy from hanging out too long in the same waterways! ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||narwhale's personality|behavioral traits||||becoming stale|||||||||bodies of water La gente dice que ha vuelto a ver a esta resbaladiza bestia en alta mar del Pacífico. Realmente estoy dispuesto a creerlo, pero ya han pasado dos meses desde entonces y, a juzgar por la personalidad de tu narval, también odia enmohecerse por pasar el rato. mucho tiempo en los mismos cursos de agua! On dit avoir revu cette bête glissante en haute mer dans le Pacifique - je veux bien le croire, mais deux mois se sont déjà écoulés depuis, et à en juger par la personnalité de ton narval, il déteste moisir à force de traîner trop longtemps dans les mêmes cours d'eau ! It's blessed with a terrific gift for getting around. |gifted|||great|||| Il est doté d'un formidable don pour se déplacer. Now, professor, you know even better than I that nature doesn't violate good sense, and she wouldn't give some naturally slow animal the ability to move swiftly if it hadn't a need to use that talent. |||||||||||contradict|||||||||||||||||||||||| Or, professeur, vous savez mieux que moi que la nature ne viole pas le bon sens et qu'elle ne donnerait pas à un animal naturellement lent la capacité de se déplacer rapidement s'il n'avait pas besoin d'utiliser ce talent. So if the beast does exist, it's already long gone!" I had no reply to this. Obviously we were just groping blindly. ||||searching around|without direction But how else could we go about it? All the same, our chances were automatically pretty limited. Yet everyone still felt confident of success, and not a sailor on board would have bet against the narwhale appearing, and soon.

On July 20 we cut the Tropic of Capricorn at longitude 105°, and by the 27th of the same month, we had cleared the equator on the 110th meridian. ||||||||||||||||||||||equator|||| These bearings determined, the frigate took a more decisive westward heading and tackled the seas of the central Pacific. |navigational directions|||||||firm|to the west|||confronted|||||| Ces repères déterminés, la frégate prend un cap plus décisif vers l'ouest et aborde les mers du Pacifique central. Commander Farragut felt, and with good reason, that it was best to stay in deep waters and keep his distance from continents or islands, whose neighborhoods the animal always seemed to avoid—"No doubt," our bosun said, "because there isn't enough water for him!" |||||||||||||||||||||||||vicinity||||||||||ship's officer|||||||| So the frigate kept well out when passing the Tuamotu, Marquesas, and Hawaiian Islands, then cut the Tropic of Cancer at longitude 132° and headed for the seas of China. |||||||||Tuamotu Islands|Marquesas Islands||Islands|||||Tropic of Cancer||Tropic of Cancer||at|||||||

We were finally in the area of the monster's latest antics! ||||||||||behavior or actions Nous sommes enfin dans la zone des dernières frasques du monstre ! And in all honesty, shipboard conditions became life–threatening. |||truthfully|on the ship|||| En toute honnêteté, les conditions de vie à bord sont devenues dangereuses. Hearts were pounding hideously, gearing up for futures full of incurable aneurysms. ||||preparing|||||||aneurysms Les cœurs battaient la chamade, se préparant à des avenirs pleins d'anévrismes incurables. The entire crew suffered from a nervous excitement that it's beyond me to describe. Nobody ate, nobody slept. Twenty times a day some error in perception, or the optical illusions of some sailor perched in the crosstrees, would cause intolerable anguish, and this emotion, repeated twenty times over, kept us in a state of irritability so intense that a reaction was bound to follow. |||||||||||||||||||||невыносимую|страдание||||||||||||||||||||||| ||||||||||visual|optical illusions|||||||||||||||||||||||||frustration||||||||| Vingt fois par jour, une erreur de perception, ou les illusions d'optique d'un marin perché dans les arbres, provoquaient une angoisse intolérable, et cette émotion, répétée vingt fois, nous maintenait dans un état d'irritabilité si intense qu'une réaction ne pouvait manquer de s'ensuivre.

And this reaction wasn't long in coming. For three months, during which each day seemed like a century, the Abraham Lincoln plowed all the northerly seas of the Pacific, racing after whales sighted, abruptly veering off course, swerving sharply from one tack to another, stopping suddenly, putting on steam and reversing engines in quick succession, at the risk of stripping its gears, and it didn't leave a single point unexplored from the beaches of Japan to the coasts of America. ||||||||||||||navigated through|||||||||||||changing direction|||changing direction||||course direction|||||||||backward motion|||||||||damaging||mechanical components|||||||||||shorelines||Japan|||shorelines|| Pendant trois mois, où chaque jour semble un siècle, l'Abraham Lincoln sillonne toutes les mers septentrionales du Pacifique, fonçant sur les baleines aperçues, s'écartant brusquement de sa route, virant brutalement d'un bord à l'autre, s'arrêtant soudainement, mettant en marche la vapeur et inversant les moteurs en succession rapide, au risque de dégarnir ses engrenages, et il ne laisse pas un seul point inexploré des plages du Japon aux côtes de l'Amérique. And we found nothing! Nothing except an immenseness of deserted waves! |||vastness||| Nothing remotely resembling a gigantic narwhale, or an underwater islet, or a derelict shipwreck, or a runaway reef, or anything the least bit unearthly! |||||||||||||abandoned vessel|||||||||| Rien qui ressemble de près ou de loin à un gigantesque narval, à un îlot sous-marin, à une épave abandonnée, à un récif qui s'emballe ou à quoi que ce soit d'anormal !

So the reaction set in. At first, discouragement took hold of people's minds, opening the door to disbelief. ||loss of hope|||||||||| A new feeling appeared on board, made up of three–tenths shame and seven–tenths fury. ||||||||||one||||| Un nouveau sentiment est apparu à bord, composé de trois dixièmes de honte et de sept dixièmes de fureur. The crew called themselves "out–and–out fools" for being hoodwinked by a fairy tale, then grew steadily more furious! ||||||||||обманутыми||||||||| ||||||||||deceived||||||||| The mountains of arguments amassed over a year collapsed all at once, and each man now wanted only to catch up on his eating and sleeping, to make up for the time he had so stupidly sacrificed. ||||accumulated|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Les montagnes d'arguments accumulés pendant un an se sont effondrées d'un seul coup, et chaque homme n'a plus qu'une envie : rattraper le temps qu'il a bêtement sacrifié en mangeant et en dormant.

With typical human fickleness, they jumped from one extreme to the other. |usual||inconstancy|||||||| Inevitably, the most enthusiastic supporters of the undertaking became its most energetic opponents. This reaction mounted upward from the bowels of the ship, from the quarters of the bunker hands to the messroom of the general staff; and for certain, if it hadn't been for Commander Farragut's characteristic stubbornness, the frigate would ultimately have put back to that cape in the south. ||||||interior|||||||||bunker crew||||dining area||||||||||||||Commander Farragut||||||||||||||| Cette réaction monte des entrailles du navire, des quartiers des hommes de soute jusqu'à la salle de réunion de l'état-major ; et il est certain que sans l'entêtement caractéristique du commandant Farragut, la frégate aurait finalement fait demi-tour vers ce cap au sud. But this futile search couldn't drag on much longer. ||pointless|||||| The Abraham Lincoln had done everything it could to succeed and had no reason to blame itself. Never had the crew of an American naval craft shown more patience and zeal; they weren't responsible for this failure; there was nothing to do but go home. A request to this effect was presented to the commander. The commander stood his ground. His sailors couldn't hide their discontent, and their work suffered because of it. I'm unwilling to say that there was mutiny on board, but after a reasonable period of intransigence, Commander Farragut, like Christopher Columbus before him, asked for a grace period of just three days more. |||||||rebellion|||||||||stubbornness||||||||||||||||| After this three–day delay, if the monster hadn't appeared, our helmsman would give three turns of the wheel, and the Abraham Lincoln would chart a course toward European seas. |||||||||||steering officer|||||||||||||||||| This promise was given on November 2. It had the immediate effect of reviving the crew's failing spirits. The ocean was observed with renewed care. Each man wanted one last look with which to sum up his experience. Chaque homme voulait un dernier regard pour résumer son expérience. Spyglasses functioned with feverish energy. |operated||| Spyglasses fonctionne avec une énergie fébrile. A supreme challenge had been issued to the giant narwhale, and the latter had no acceptable excuse for ignoring this Summons to Appear! Un défi suprême a été lancé au narval géant, et ce dernier n'a aucune excuse acceptable pour ignorer cette citation à comparaître !

Two days passed. The Abraham Lincoln stayed at half steam. L'Abraham Lincoln est resté à mi-vapeur. On the offchance that the animal might be found in these waterways, a thousand methods were used to spark its interest or rouse it from its apathy. ||slight possibility||||||||||||||||||||||||indifference Dans l'éventualité où l'animal se trouverait dans ces cours d'eau, mille méthodes ont été utilisées pour susciter son intérêt ou le sortir de son apathie. Enormous sides of bacon were trailed in our wake, to the great satisfaction, I must say, of assorted sharks. |||||||||||||||||various|predatory fish While the Abraham Lincoln heaved to, its longboats radiated in every direction around it and didn't leave a single point of the sea unexplored. ||||moved forward|||lifeboats|spread out||||||||||||||| But the evening of November 4 arrived with this underwater mystery still unsolved. |||||||||||not resolved

At noon the next day, November 5, the agreed–upon delay expired. After a position fix, true to his promise, Commander Farragut would have to set his course for the southeast and leave the northerly regions of the Pacific decisively behind. Après une prise de position, fidèle à sa promesse, le commandant Farragut doit mettre le cap au sud-est et laisser résolument derrière lui les régions septentrionales du Pacifique.

By then the frigate lay in latitude 31° 15' north and longitude 136° 42' east. The shores of Japan were less than 200 miles to our leeward. Night was coming on. Eight o'clock had just struck. Huge clouds covered the moon's disk, then in its first quarter. ||||moon|||||| The sea undulated placidly beneath the frigate's stempost. ||moved gently||||| La mer ondulait placidement sous le mât d'étrave de la frégate. Just then I was in the bow, leaning over the starboard rail. Conseil, stationed beside me, stared straight ahead. Roosting in the shrouds, the crew examined the horizon, which shrank and darkened little by little. perching|||sails|||||||diminished||||| Acurrucados en los obenques, los tripulantes examinan el horizonte, que se encoge y oscurece poco a poco. Se perchant dans les haubans, l'équipage examine l'horizon qui se rétrécit et s'assombrit peu à peu. Officers were probing the increasing gloom with their night glasses. |||||||||binóculos Sometimes the murky ocean sparkled beneath moonbeams that darted between the fringes of two clouds. ||dark and unclear||||light from the moon||moved quickly|||edges||| Parfois, l'océan trouble scintillait sous les rayons de lune qui passaient entre les franges de deux nuages. Then all traces of light vanished into the darkness.

Observing Conseil, I discovered that, just barely, the gallant lad had fallen under the general influence. En observant Conseil, j'ai découvert que, de justesse, le brave garçon était tombé sous l'influence générale. At least so I thought. Perhaps his nerves were twitching with curiosity for the first time in history.

"Come on, Conseil!" I told him. "Here's your last chance to pocket that $2,000.00!" "If master will permit my saying so," Conseil replied, "I never expected to win that prize, and the Union government could have promised $100,000.00 and been none the poorer." |||||||||||||||||||||||||||at a loss "Si le maître me permet de le dire", a répondu M. Conseil, "je n'ai jamais espéré gagner ce prix, et le gouvernement de l'Union aurait pu promettre 100 000 dollars et n'en aurait pas été plus pauvre". "You're right, Conseil, it turned out to be a foolish business after all, and we jumped into it too hastily. "Tu as raison, Conseil, cela s'est avéré être une affaire insensée après tout, et nous nous sommes lancés trop vite. What a waste of time, what a futile expense of emotion! Six months ago we could have been back in France—" "In master's little apartment," Conseil answered. "In master's museum! And by now I would have classified master's fossils. ||||||||master's fossils And master's babirusa would be ensconced in its cage at the zoo in the Botanical Gardens, and it would have attracted every curiosity seeker in town!" |||||||||||zoo|||||||||||||| "Quite so, Conseil, and what's more, I imagine that people will soon be poking fun at us!" "To be sure," Conseil replied serenely, "I do think they'll have fun at master's expense. "Bien sûr, répondit Conseil avec sérénité, je pense qu'ils s'amuseront aux dépens du maître. And must it be said . ?" "It must be said, Conseil." "Well then, it will serve master right!" "Eh bien, cela servira le maître !" "How true!" "When one has the honor of being an expert as master is, one mustn't lay himself open to—" "Quand on a l'honneur d'être un expert comme l'est le maître, il ne faut pas s'exposer à..." Conseil didn't have time to complete the compliment. In the midst of the general silence, a voice became audible. It was Ned Land's voice, and it shouted: "Ahoy! Hello there There's the thing in question, abreast of us to leeward!" L'objet en question est là, sous le vent, à côté de nous.