15 The Coming of the Sharkworms

15. THE COMING OF THE SHARKWORMS As the long night wore on, something strange and frightening was happening in the seas around Fort Sinister. The rain poured down without stopping, and for several days the heated swimming baths of the Fat Consul had been overflowing, sending a stream of hot water pouring down the hillside and into the ocean. And this warm current was attracting some unwelcome visitors… SHARKWORMS. From far and wide the Sharkworms came. Terrible creatures half out of nightmares, but only too true I'm afraid, propelled not only by the tremendous force of a shark-like tail, but also by thick, muscly alligator legs that poured through the water, sending them forward at extraordinary speeds. They were swimming towards the Roman Fortress, not just in ones and twos but in tens of thousands, and when the sun came up on the morning before Saturn's day Saturday there was a boiling mass of black fins with jagged edges, circling like vultures

15. 随着长夜的流逝，险恶堡周围的海面上发生了一些奇怪而可怕的事情。 大雨不停地倾盆而下，一连好几天，胖领事的温水浴池都满了水，一股热水从山坡上倾泻而下，流入大海。 这股暖流吸引了一些不受欢迎的访客——鲨鱼虫。 鲨鱼虫从四面八方飞来。 可怕的生物，一半是从恶梦中来的，但恐怕是真的，它们不仅靠鲨鱼尾巴的巨大力量推动，而且靠鳄鱼粗壮的腿推动，这两条腿伸入水中，使它们以惊人的速度前进。 它们不是成群结队，而是成群结队地向罗马堡垒游去。在土星日的星期六前的早晨，太阳升起的时候，有一团沸腾的黑鳍，边缘参差不齐，像秃鹫一样盘旋着

around the island of Fort Sinister. It was as if they were waiting for something. Sharkworms are ancient animals and their brains were formed in who knows what dark and terrible furnace. They knew not why they waited, only that they smelled warm water, and blood-yet-to-be-spilled, and guts-in-the-offing and trouble-about-to-happen. And so they waited, patiently and greedily, waiting and waiting and waiting for some awful event to unfold in the future that would bring them their supper.

围绕着险恶堡岛 他们好像在等待什么。 鲨鱼虫是一种古老的动物，它们的大脑是在不知道什么黑暗可怕的熔炉里形成的。 他们不知道为什么要等待，只知道闻到了温水的味道，还有即将流出的鲜血，还有即将发生的内脏和即将发生的麻烦。 于是，他们耐心地、贪婪地等待着，等待着，等待着，等待着，等待着，等待着将来发生什么可怕的事情，给他们带来晚餐。