9 The ice breaks

Chapter 9 The ice breaks "I will pursue it to the ends of the earth," repeated Victor to the entranced captain, "and so here I am." His voice faded away, and his head sagged on the pillow. He was at the end of his strength. Captain Walton got up and went out, closing the door of the cabin behind him. The ship was still imprisoned by ice, and the freezing air struck a chill through his body, though weak sunlight was starting to warm the air a little.

“我要把它追到天涯海角，”维克多向心驰神往的船长重复说，“所以我就在这儿了。” 他的声音渐渐消失了，他的头耷拉在枕头上。 他的体力已尽。 沃尔顿船长站起来走了出去，随手关上了船舱的门。 船仍然被冰包围着，冰冷的空气使他浑身发冷，虽然微弱的阳光开始使空气暖和了一点。

Walton had spent the last few days listening to Victor's story and watching him drift closer to death. "Can it be true?" he wondered. "That strange figure in the distance... was that his monster?" One thing was certain- Victor wasn't going to make it. He was just too weak. The captain felt sorry for him. From what Victor had said, he had acted stupidly, but not out of wickedness. He had just wanted to make great discoveries. "Is that so different from me and my ambition to discover the Pole?" Walton wondered. "And will we ever get there?" As he stood lost in thought, the mountains of ice around the ship began to shift. Then, with a thunderous roar, splits and cracks appeared. The ship would soon be free. The sailors shouted for joy. But over the noise, Walton could hear something else. A voice was coming from the cabin -and it wasn't Victor's.

沃尔顿在过去的几天里一直听着维克多的故事，看着他离死亡越来越近。 “这是真的吗？” “远处那个奇怪的身影…… 那是他的怪物吗？”有一件事是肯定的——维克多活不下去了。 他太虚弱了。船长为他感到难过。 从维克多所说的来看，他的行为是愚蠢的，但并非出于邪恶。 他只是想做出伟大的发现。 “这跟我和我要发现南极的野心有什么不同吗？”沃尔顿很好奇。 “我们能到达那里吗？”当他站在那里陷入沉思时，船周围的冰山开始移动。 接着，随着一声雷鸣般的轰鸣，出现了劈裂和裂缝。 这艘船很快就可以自由航行了。 水手们欢呼起来。 但在嘈杂声中，沃尔顿听到了别的声音。 一个声音从船舱里传出来——那不是维克多的声音。

Walton burst in to find the window open and an ugly creature bent over the bed. It had a hideous face and its skin was greenish and wrinkled, like a corpse. The captain drew a sharp breath. The story was true. "I came to ask his forgiveness," wailed the monster, its face twisted with grief. "But he was already dead."

沃尔顿冲了进来，发现窗户开着，一个丑陋的家伙趴在床上。 它长着一张丑陋的脸，皮肤发青，布满皱纹，像一具尸体。 船长深深地吸了一口气。 这个故事是真的。“我来请求他的原谅，”怪物哀号着，它的脸因悲伤而扭曲。 “但他已经死了。”

Walton looked at the lifeless body on the bed. "Perhaps it's better this way," he thought. "He had so many painful memories." A sob from the monster made Walton look up again. "But you wanted to kill him," he exclaimed. "Villain! You're not crying because he's dead, but because he's beyond your reach."

沃尔顿看着床上那具毫无生气的尸体。 “也许这样更好，”他想。 “他有很多痛苦的回忆。” 怪物呜咽了一声，沃尔顿又抬起头来。 “但你想杀了他，”他喊道。 “坏人!你哭不是因为他死了，而是因为你无法触及他。”

"That may be how it looks, but it's not true," replied the monster. "I don't expect you to understand! Hate has ruined me and my dreams. My last victim lies before me. My crimes destroyed him, but they didn't satisfy me. I wanted to be good. I longed for love and friendship, but I knew only hatred and abuse."

“也许看起来是这样，但这不是真的，”怪物回答说。 “我不指望你能理解！”仇恨毁了我和我的梦想。 最后一个受害者躺在我面前。 我的罪行毁了他，但我并不满足。 我想做个好人。我渴望爱情和友谊，但我只知道仇恨和谩骂。”