Audiobook Dictation: “He would have been drowned, the…”

He would have been drowned, the breath battered clean out of him, in half a minute more, had he maintained the hopelessly unequal struggle.

若是他繼續這場毫無希望、力量懸殊的掙扎，再過半分鐘，他就會被沖得完全喘不過氣而淹死。

Once more he half emerged, filled his gasping lungs, and pounded onward desperately, half flying and half swimming.

他又一次半浮出水面，讓喘息的肺吸滿空氣，然後拚命向前衝，半飛半游。

It was a mongrel method of progression, in which he was singularly expert.

這是一種不倫不類的前進方式，而他對此卻格外嫻熟。

Immediately over his outstretched gleaming head flew the hawk.

就在他伸長的、閃閃發亮的腦袋正上方，那隻鷹在飛。

Where the waves for an instant sank, they came closer,--but not quite within grasping reach.

在浪頭稍稍低落的地方，牠們靠得更近了，但還不在可以一把抓住的範圍之內。

The marauder from the upper air was waiting till his quarry should reach less turbulent waters.

這個來自高空的掠奪者正等著獵物游進不那麼湍急的水域。

A few yards further on, the torrent fell seething over a long ledge into a pool of brief quiet.

再往前幾碼，急流翻滾著越過一道長長的石簷，落入一個短暫平靜的水潭。

Immediately beyond the lip of the ledge the hawk lifted his wings high over his back and struck downward, so that his talons went deep into the water.

剛過石簷邊緣，那鷹便把雙翼高高舉過背脊，猛地向下一撲，利爪深深沒入水中。

But water was all they clutched.

但牠們抓住的只是水。

The wily drake had plunged with the plunge of the fall itself, and was now darting onward at a safe depth.

那隻狡猾的公鴨隨著瀑布的跌落一同潛了下去，此刻正在安全的深處飛速前行。