Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22 The submersible plunged downward, and water closed over them. They glided deeper guided by a state-of-the-art (Alistair assured them) charting system. They all pressed forward in the small space, peering through the green, waiting to see the island appear. As the craft went deeper, the water grew more murky, dark and thick with silt. "Hope we find it soon," Alistair said. "We don't want the oxygen to run out." "Run out?" Dan asked. "I thought you said this was flawless." "Well, yes, the design is. But not necessarily the air circulation. I didn't have time to completely perfect it." Alistair jerked the controls to keep the craft on course. "Thanks for telling us!"

第二十二章船往下沉，水淹没了他们。 他们在最先进的制图系统（阿利斯泰尔向他们保证）的引导下滑得更深。 他们都挤在狭小的空间里，透过绿树向外张望，等着看小岛的出现。 随着船越潜越深，海水变得越来越浑浊，黑暗，淤泥越来越厚。 “希望我们能尽快找到它，”阿利斯泰尔说。 “我们不希望氧气耗尽。” “跑了?”丹问道。“我记得你说过这是完美无瑕的。” “嗯，是的，设计是。 但不一定是空气循环。 我没有时间去完善它。” 阿利斯泰尔猛拉控制杆使飞机保持航向。 “谢谢你告诉我们！”

"Now, Dan, don't get excited. It uses too much oxygen." "We'll try not to breathe," Amy muttered. "I wasn't expecting these currents," Alistair said worriedly. "Well, isn't that good news," Dan said. The submersible was suddenly slammed by a current and spun sideways. "Whoa," Alistair said, struggling for control. "There used to be rapids here, and waterfalls, before the dam, and I guess… there still are, just underneath the surface." "Straight ahead!" Dan called. "I see it!" The island suddenly appeared through the murky water, overgrown with aquatic plant life and the remnants of ancient walls. As Alistair piloted the craft closer, they struggled to match Grace's painting with what they saw. Alistair turned on an exterior light that illuminated the area around them. "There," Alistair cried. "Do you see the rise? And that wall? That is where the Temple of Isis was! Can you see any distinguishing features from

“好了，丹，别激动。 它消耗了太多的氧气。”“我们尽量不呼吸。”艾米喃喃地说。 “我没想到会有这些水流，”阿利斯泰尔担心地说。 “嗯，这不是好消息吗？”丹说。 潜水器突然被一股水流猛击，向侧面旋转。 “哇，”阿利斯泰尔说，挣扎着要控制住自己。 “在大坝建成之前，这里曾经有急流和瀑布，我想……就在水面下，现在还有。” “直走!”丹。 “我看见了！”这座岛突然出现在浑浊的水中，长满了水生植物和古城墙的遗迹。 当阿利斯泰尔驾驶着飞船靠近时，他们努力将格蕾丝的画与他们所看到的相匹配。 阿利斯泰尔打开一盏外部灯，照亮了他们周围的区域。 “好了，”阿利斯泰尔叫道。“你看到上升了吗？” 那堵墙呢？那就是伊西斯神庙所在的地方！你能看到什么不同的特征吗

Grace's map?" Amy moved the flashlight underneath the paper so that she could see both Churchill's painting and Grace's arrows. "See how the wall angles? And there are three large stones. One has a split down the middle." "Can you get any closer?" Dan asked Alistair. The craft lurched as it drifted closer. "It's hard… to keep… on course…" Alistair said, struggling with the wheel. Suddenly, the craft zoomed ahead, pushed by a tricky current, and slammed into the wall. Amy gasped with alarm. "It's all right, we're still airtight," Alistair said, checking the navigation lights. One began to blink yellow. "I think." "Something's carved into the stone!" Dan suddenly cried. "Get closer!" They peered through the murk as they bounced through turbulence. The submersible suddenly tumbled forward like a rolling ball, knocking Amy against the side. Her face pressed against the bubble, right against the ancient wall. She could just make out two letters.

格蕾丝的地图?”艾米把手电筒移到纸下面，这样她就能看到丘吉尔的画和格蕾丝的箭。 “看到墙的角度了吗？”还有三块大石头。 其中一个从中间裂开。” “你能再靠近一点吗？”丹问阿利斯泰尔。 那艘船漂近时摇晃了一下。 “很难……保持……航向……”阿利斯泰尔一边说，一边使劲操纵着方向盘。 突然，飞船在一股棘手的水流的推动下飞速前进，撞到了墙上。 艾米惊恐地倒吸了一口冷气。“没事的，我们还是密不透风的。”阿利斯泰尔一边说，一边检查着导航灯。 其中一个开始闪烁着黄色的光芒。 “我认为”。“石头上刻了什么东西！”丹突然哭了起来。 “离!”当飞机在湍流中颠簸时，他们透过黑暗凝视着。 潜水器突然像一个滚动的球一样向前翻滚，把艾米撞到了船舷上。 她的脸紧贴着泡泡，紧贴着那堵古老的墙。 她只能辨认出两个字母。

"Katherine Cahill!" she shouted. "I think the next one is numbers," Dan said. "Get closer!" "I see it!" Amy cried. Alistair maneuvered the craft closer. Fronds waved in front, carried by the current, and they had to wait until their view cleared. The light shone on the wall. "One half of a gram!" Dan said. "But what's with the M and Ms?" Amy asked. "Yeah, I prefer Skittles," Dan said, peering at the wall. There was a sharp cut in the stone after the large M. "It looks like the big M is covering another letter," Amy said. "There must have been a word there. We can't read it!" "It must have happened when they moved the temple," Dan said. There was a sheen of sweat on Alistair's face. "No," he said quietly. "The M is for Madrigal. They did it."

“凯瑟琳·卡希尔！” “我认为下一个是数字，”丹说。 “离!”“我看见了！”艾米哭了。 阿利斯泰尔驾驶着飞船靠近了一些。 前面的树叶被水流冲走，在晃动，他们只好等着看清楚。 灯光照在墙上。 “半克！”丹说。 “但是M和Ms是什么意思？”艾米问。 “是啊，我更喜欢彩虹糖。”丹盯着墙说。 在大M之后，石头上有一个锋利的切口。 “看起来大M盖住了另一个字母，”艾米说。 “那里一定有什么话。 我们看不懂！”丹说：“这一定是他们搬寺庙的时候发生的。” 阿利斯泰尔的脸上有一层汗珠。 “不，”他平静地说。M代表牧歌。 他们做到了。”

As if pushed by an unseen hand, the submersible suddenly rocked from side to side alarmingly. Amy and Dan grabbed the edges of their seats as Alistair struggled for control. Suddenly, a red light began to blink on the console. "We're taking on water," Alistair said. "There must be a leak. If the submersible gets too heavy…" "What?" Amy asked frantically. "We can't rise." Alistair yanked the controls. "The water must have gotten in the electrical system. I lost the rudder!" The current picked up the submersible like a small stick and hurled it toward the wall. "Do something!" Dan cried. "I'm trying!" Terror plastered Amy to her seat. At the very last moment, the current whirled the submersible away. "What are we going to do?" Amy tried to keep

好象有一只看不见的手在推着，潜水艇突然左右摇晃，很吓人。 艾米和丹紧紧抓住座位边缘，阿利斯泰尔挣扎着要控制住自己。 突然，控制台上的红灯开始闪烁。 “我们要下水了，”阿利斯泰尔说。 “一定有漏洞。如果潜水器太重……”“什么？”艾米疯狂地问。 “我们起不来了。”阿利斯泰尔猛拉控制装置。 “水一定是进了电力系统。 我失去了舵！”水流把潜水器像一根小棍子一样卷起来，把它抛向墙边。 “做点什么!”丹哭了。 “我在!”艾美吓得坐在座位上。 在最后一刻，水流把潜水器卷走了。 “我们该怎么办？”艾米试图保持

the panic out of her voice. Trapped under the deep waters of the lake, and nobody knew where they were… It was as though the malevolent force of the Madrigals had worked on them from afar and led them to their doom. Alistair looked at the gauges. His face grew pale. "We're sinking." Amy gripped the sides of her chair. Slowly, the submersible sank to the bottom. It bumped down on the sand and tilted to one side. Everything went silent. Was this how it would end, with this terrible silence? "How much air do we have?" Amy asked. Alistair looked at the gauge. "Difficult to say." She looked at him hard. "Say it." He swallowed. "Fifteen minutes. Maybe." They were all silent for a long moment. Then Dan shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "No way. I'm not giving up. We're getting out of here."

她声音里的恐慌消失了。 他们被困在湖的深处，没有人知道他们在哪里……好像牧歌的邪恶力量从远处对他们起了作用，把他们引向了毁灭。 阿利斯泰尔看了看仪表。 他的脸色变得苍白。“我们下沉。” 艾米紧紧抓住椅子的两边。 慢慢地，潜水器沉到海底。 它撞在沙滩上，向一边倾斜。 一切都沉默了。就这样结束了吗，这可怕的沉默？ “我们有多少空气？”艾米问。 阿利斯泰尔看了看仪表。 “很难说。”她狠狠地看着他。 “说。”他吞下。“十五分钟。 也许吧。”他们都沉默了很长时间。 然后丹摇了摇头。“不，”他坚定地说。 “没门。我不会放弃。 我们要离开这里。”