Ch8-Through the Underworld

CHAPTER EIGHT Through the Underworld "Soon we will enter the Underworld," said Heartof-the-Wind. She led Jack and Annie through the mangrove forest until they came to a river hidden by trees and vines. As the leafy branches swayed in the breeze, moonlight danced on the silvery water. "This is the Sacred Well," the Mayan girl said. "Our journey to the Underworld begins here." She stepped over to a hollowed-out log canoe at the

“我们很快就要进入地狱了。”风之心说。 她领着杰克和安妮穿过红树林，来到一条被树木和藤蔓隐藏的河边。 树叶在微风中摇曳，月光在银色的水面上舞动。 “这是圣井，”玛雅女孩说。 “我们的冥界之旅从这里开始” 她走到一个空的原木独木舟

water's edge. She picked up a wooden paddle lying beside the boat. As Heart-of-the-Wind pushed the canoe into the Sacred Well, Jack turned to Annie. "Remember how the travel guide mentioned sinkholes filled with water?" he whispered. "This must be one of them." "Sacred Well sounds way better than sinkhole, doesn't it?" whispered Annie. "Definitely," said Jack. Heart-of-the-Wind slipped down into the dugout canoe and picked up the paddle. "Please, climb in," she said. Jack and Annie carefully lowered themselves down into the rough interior of the boat. Jack held their bag on his lap. Heart-of-the-Wind began paddling through the waters of the Sacred Well. As she shifted her paddle from side to side, the log canoe glided over the shimmering river. It curved down a shadowy passageway between rocks and then arrived at the yawning mouth of a cave.

水的边缘。她拿起船边的一个木桨。 当风之心把独木舟推入圣井时，杰克转向安妮。 “还记得旅游指南上提到的充满水的天坑吗？”他低声说。 “这一定是其中之一。” “圣井听起来比天坑好听多了，不是吗？”安妮小声说。 “当然，”杰克说。“风之心”溜进防空洞的独木舟，拿起桨。 “请爬进去，”她说。 杰克和安妮小心翼翼地把自己放到小船粗糙的内部。 杰克把他们的包放在腿上。 风之心开始在圣井里划水。 当她左右挥动桨时，小木舟在波光粼粼的河水上滑行。 它沿着岩石间一条阴暗的通道蜿蜒而下，来到一个山洞的洞口。

"Now we enter the Underworld," said Heart-ofthe-Wind. Moonlight shimmered on the underground river as the canoe glided in and out of light-filled passageways and tunnels. Water dripped and trickled down the cave walls. Soon one of the tunnels opened into a huge chamber that had a giant hole in the ceiling, letting in the full light of the moon. "Oh, man," breathed Jack. Huge columns of white rock stretched down from the ceiling of the cavern. The columns looked as if they were made of gleaming ice, and thousands of tiny icicle-like strands covered the craggy walls. "What are those?" Annie asked. "Stone sculptures made by the Rain God," said Heart-of-the-Wind. Jack knew from a geology book that the formations were called stalactites. They were made by centuries of dripping and trickling water in caves. But he liked Heart-of-the-Wind's answer better.

“现在我们进入冥界了。”风之心说。 月光在地下河上闪烁，独木舟在光线充足的通道和隧道中进进出出。 水从岩壁上滴落下来。 很快，其中一条隧道通向一个巨大的房间，天花板上有一个巨大的洞，让月光照进来。 “哦，伙计。”杰克喘着气说。巨大的白色岩柱从洞顶向下伸展。 这些石柱看起来好像是用闪闪发光的冰做成的，成千上万条像冰柱一样的细丝覆盖在嶙峋的墙壁上。 “那是什么？”安妮问。 “雨神造的石雕。”风之心说。 杰克从一本地质学书上知道这种构造叫做钟乳石。 它们是由几个世纪以来洞穴里滴落的水形成的。 但他更喜欢风之心的回答。

The Mayan girl carefully steered the canoe around the gleaming columns. "Look there," she whispered. She pointed to a ledge in the chamber. On the ledge was a platform that held carved wooden statues. Some looked like snarling jaguars, others like coiled serpents. The largest was a statue of an angry king with a terrible scowl. "They guard the Underworld and protect the ancestor spirits," Heart-of-the-Wind explained. "Cool," said Annie. Heart-of-the-Wind steered the canoe around a corner and into another cave tunnel. This tunnel was completely dark, without a trace of light. The air was cold and clammy. The canoe bumped against the rock walls. Jack reached out and felt the slippery, drippy stone. He pulled his hand back and shuddered. As Heart-of-the-Wind paddled on through the black tunnel, Jack clutched his bag and tried to still his racing heart. The Underworld frightened him a little now: the tireless drip-drip of water, the strange statues of serpents and jaguars, and now the dank utter darkness of the tunnel.

玛雅女孩小心翼翼地驾着独木舟绕过闪闪发光的石柱。 “看那儿，”她低声说。 她指着房间里的一个壁架。 岩架上有一个平台，上面放着雕刻的木制雕像。 有的看起来像咆哮的美洲虎，有的看起来像盘绕的蛇。 最大的一座雕像是一个愤怒的国王，面带狰狞的面容。 “他们守护冥界，保护祖先的灵魂。”风之心解释道。 “酷，”安妮说。“风之心”驾着独木舟拐过一个弯，进入了另一个洞穴隧道。 地道里一片漆黑，一点亮光也没有。 空气又冷又湿。 独木舟撞在岩壁上。 杰克伸出手，摸了摸那块又滑又湿的石头。 他把手缩回来，打了个寒战。 当“风之心”号划着桨穿过黑色的隧道时，杰克抓着他的包，试图让他的心跳平静下来。 冥界现在让他有点害怕了：不知疲倦的滴水声，奇怪的蛇和美洲虎雕像，现在是隧道里潮湿的黑暗。

"Where are the ancestor spirits?" whispered Annie. "They are all around us," Heart-of-the-Wind whispered back. "They are watching everything we do." Oh, man, Jack thought. No wonder the king's warriors were afraid to enter the Underworld. "Do not be afraid," said the Mayan girl, as if she had read his thoughts. "I will protect you." "Thank you," whispered Annie, sounding a little nervous herself. Heart-of-the-Wind paddled through the twists and turns of the Underworld, until finally the canoe emerged onto a glistening pool that was open to the moonlit sky.

“祖先的灵魂在哪里？”安妮小声问。 “他们就在我们周围。”风之心小声回答。 “他们在监视我们的一举一动。” 哦，天哪，杰克想。难怪国王的战士不敢进入冥界。 “不要害怕，”玛雅女孩说，好像她读懂了他的想法。 “我会保护你的。”“谢谢你。”安妮小声说，听起来也有点紧张。 “风之心”在曲折的冥界中划着桨，最后独木舟来到了一个闪闪发光的池塘，对着月光下的天空。

"Whew. We made it," said Annie. "And lived to tell about it!" Jack said, only half joking. "That was great," said Annie. "You are both more brave than my father's men," said Heart-of-the-Wind. "Not really," said Jack. But he secretly liked thinking of himself as being braver than an ancient Mayan warrior. "That was an incredible ride."

“呼。我们成功了，”安妮说。 “而且还能活着讲出来！”杰克半开玩笑地说。 “太棒了，”安妮说。 “你们俩都比我父亲的手下勇敢。”风之心说。 “不完全是，”杰克说。但他私下里喜欢认为自己比古代玛雅战士更勇敢。 “那是一段不可思议的旅程。”