Lastly, I can vouch-as improbable as it seems--that even if I had wanted to destroy all my illusions,

最后，我还要肯定一点—这看来像是不可能的—即使我要打破我心中的一切幻想，

even if I had been willing to "give in to despair," I could not have done so!

即使我要绝望，现在也办不到！

The cetacean had rammed our frigate at about eleven o'clock in the evening.

战舰跟那鲸鱼冲撞的时间是在夜间十一点钟左右。

I therefore calculated on eight hours of swimming until sunrise.

所以到太阳升起，我们还得游泳八个小时。

A strenuous task, but feasible, thanks to our relieving each other.

我们替换着游，游八小时必然可以做到。

The sea was pretty smooth and barely tired us.

海面相当平静，我们还不至于过度疲劳。

Sometimes I tried to peer through the dense gloom, which was broken only by the phosphorescent flickers coming from our movements.

有时，我的眼光想看透深沉的黑暗，但什么也看不见，只有那由于我们游泳动作激起的浪花透出一点闪光来。

I stared at the luminous ripples breaking over my hands, shimmering sheets spattered with blotches of bluish gray.

在我手下破碎的明亮的水波，点缀在镜子般闪闪的水而上，就好像一块块青灰色的金属片。

It seemed as if we'd plunged into a pool of quicksilver.

真可以说，我们是在水银中游泳了。

Near one o'clock in the morning, I was overcome with tremendous exhaustion.

到早晨一点左右，我感到极端疲倦。

My limbs stiffened in the grip of intense cramps.

我的四肢痉挛得很厉害，渐渐发硬，不能灵活运用了。