12 The Belly of the Beast

12. THE BELLY OF THE BEAST They ended up at the back of the Pirate Cruncher's mouth. Amazingly, the vehicle was upright, floating in a pool of saliva. Grandpa and Bones were standing on the tongue and peering down the monster's throat, into the darkness. There was no sign of Squawk. "I ain't sure this is such a good idea," said Grandpa. "Yer made yer plan on the word of the squab who lives with the monkeys, y'say?"

12. 他们最后落在了海盗脆饼的嘴巴后面。 令人惊讶的是，这辆车是直立的，漂浮在唾液池中。 爷爷和骨头站在舌头上，凝视着怪物的喉咙，凝视着黑暗。 没有“嘎嘎”的迹象。 “我不确定这是个好主意，”爷爷说。 “你的计划是根据那只和猴子住在一起的乳鸽说的吗？”

"Maybe ye'd best hop aboard, Grandpa," said Jim. He whistled, and Bones bounded across the fleshy

“也许你最好跳上船，爷爷，”吉姆说。 他吹了一声口哨，骨头从肉质上跳了过去

surface and jumped onto Jim's knee. There were murmurings from the parrots, who were still covered by the tarpaulin. Jim's mom turned the key, and the vehicle's engine spluttered to life. Grandpa climbed into the back and buckled his seatbelt. But before they could drive anywhere, there was a mighty gurgling and a wave of liquid gushed from the monster's gut, splashing against the sides of the car-boat. The tongue lifted, and the vehicle surged upward and was thrown into the darkness Jim's mom was steering, but had very little control as they surfed the wave of saliva down toward the Pirate Cruncher's

浮出水面，跳到吉姆的膝盖上。 鹦鹉还在叽叽喳喳地叫着，它们还被防水油布盖着。 吉姆的妈妈转动钥匙，汽车的引擎噼里啪啦地发动起来。 爷爷爬上后座，扣好安全带。 但他们还没来得及开到任何地方，就听到一阵巨大的汩汩声，一股液体从怪物的肚子里喷涌而出，溅在汽车船的侧面。 他的舌头一抬，车子就冲上前去，掉进了黑暗中，吉姆的妈妈在掌舵，但当他们顺着唾液的波浪向海盗脆饼店冲去时，她几乎控制不了自己

belly. At times the wheels would make contact with the walls of the throat and they'd speed along, before being lifted again by the stream of juices. They landed with a splash in a great bubbling puddle littered with bones and jetsam. In the gloom, Jim could make out ramshackle buildings constructed from sections of ships, tattered sails, and upturned boats. Candles and oil lamps fickered, illuminating

腹部。有时，轮子会与喉壁接触，然后加速前进，然后被果汁流再次抬起。 他们扑通一声降落在一个满是骨头和垃圾的大水坑里。 在黑暗中，吉姆能辨认出用船的碎片、破帆和翻倒的船搭成的摇摇欲坠的房子。 蜡烛和油灯摇曳着，照亮着大地

the dark, damp confines of the beast's enormous stomach. Jim's mom put the vehicle into gear and switched on the headlights, and they trundled slowly toward the shacks. Bones hopped onto the front of the vehicle, sniffing the briny air. The candlelight threw large shadows of figures scurrying around amid the shacks onto the stomach walls, but Jim couldn't see anyone. The makeshift town was eerily quiet. A dark, tattered shape dashed across their path. Bones growled. A head popped up from behind an upturned rowboat, and the vehicle came to a halt.

这只巨兽黑暗潮湿的胃里。 吉姆的妈妈把车挂上档，打开前灯，他们慢慢地向棚屋驶去。 骨头跳上车头，嗅着带着咸味的空气。 烛光把在棚屋间跑来跑去的人影投到了肚子上，但吉姆看不见任何人。 这个临时搭建的小镇出奇地安静。 一个破破烂烂的黑影从他们面前冲了过来。 骨头咆哮道。一只翻过来的划艇后面突然冒出一个脑袋，车子停了下来。

"WHO ARE YE?" screeched a voice. "We are the Jolley-Rogers!" Jim shouted, peering into the darkness. There were murmurings and the sound of movement. More shadowy shapes popped up here and there, in hats and rags, with wild hair and long beards, all peering at Jim with glaring eyes. Some held lanterns aloft, which only made their faces look creepier as the flickering light cast hard shadows across their grizzled features.

“你是谁？”一个声音尖叫道。 “我们是乔利-罗杰斯！”吉姆喊道，凝视着黑暗。 有窃窃私语和移动的声音。 更多的影子到处冒出来，戴着帽子，穿破衣服，头发蓬乱，留着长胡子，他们都用怒目瞪着吉姆。 一些人举着灯笼，闪烁的灯光在他们灰白的脸上投下了坚硬的阴影，这只会让他们的脸看起来更令人毛骨悚然。