Jack London. The Sea Wolf (bilingual) CHAPTER I GLAVA I I scarcely know where to begin, though I sometimes facetiously place the cause of it all to Charley Furuseth's credit. He kept a summer cottage in Mill Valley, under the shadow of Mount Tamalpais, and never occupied it except when he loafed through the winter mouths and read Nietzsche and Schopenhauer to rest his brain. When summer came on, he elected to sweat out a hot and dusty existence in the city and to toil incessantly. Had it not been my custom to run up to see him every Saturday afternoon and to stop over till Monday morning, this particular January Monday morning would not have found me afloat on San Francisco Bay. Ne znayu, pravo, s chego nachat', hotya inogda, v shutku, ya svalivayu vsyu vinu na CHarli Feraseta. U nego byla dacha v Mill-Velli, pod sen'yu gory Tamal'pajs, no on zhil tam tol'ko zimoj, kogda emu hotelos' otdohnut' i pochitat' na dosuge Nicshe ili SHopengauera. S nastupleniem leta on predpochital iznyvat' ot zhary i pyli v gorode i rabotat' ne pokladaya ruk. Ne bud' u menya privychki naveshchat' ego kazhduyu subbotu i ostavat'sya do ponedel'nika, mne ne prishlos' by peresekat' buhtu San-Francisko v eto pamyatnoe yanvarskoe utro. Not but that I was afloat in a safe craft, for the Martinez was a new ferry-steamer, making her fourth or fifth trip on the run between Sausalito and San Francisco.The danger lay in the heavy fog which blanketed the bay, and of which, as a landsman, I had little apprehension.In fact, I remember the placid exaltation with which I took up my position on the forward upper deck, directly beneath the pilot-house, and allowed the mystery of the fog to lay hold of my imagination.A fresh breeze was blowing, and for a time I was alone in the moist obscurity - yet not alone, for I was dimly conscious of the presence of the pilot, and of what I took to be the captain, in the glass house above my head. Nel'zya skazat', chtoby "Martines", na kotorom ya plyl, byl nenadezhnym sudnom; etot novyj parohod sovershal uzhe svoj chetvertyj ili pyatyj rejs na pereprave mezhdu Sausalito i San-Francisko.Opasnost' tailas' v gustom tumane, okutavshem buhtu, no ya, nichego ne smyslya v morehodstve, i ne dogadyvalsya ob etom.Horosho pomnyu, kak spokojno i veselo raspolozhilsya ya na nosu parohoda, na verhnej palube, pod samoj rulevoj rubkoj, i tainstvennost' navisshej nad morem tumannoj peleny malo-pomalu zavladela moim voobrazheniem.Dul svezhij briz, i nekotoroe vremya ya byl odin sredi syroj mgly -- vprochem, i ne sovsem odin, tak kak ya smutno oshchushchal prisutstvie rulevogo i eshche kogo-to, po-vidimomu, kapitana, v zasteklennoj rubke u menya nad golovoj. I remember thinking how comfortable it was, this division of labour which made it unnecessary for me to study fogs, winds, tides, and navigation, in order to visit my friend who lived across an arm of the sea. It was good that men should be specialists, I mused. The peculiar knowledge of the pilot and captain sufficed for many thousands of people who knew no more of the sea and navigation than I knew. Pomnitsya, ya razmyshlyal o tom, kak horosho, chto sushchestvuet razdelenie truda i ya ne obyazan izuchat' tumany, vetry, prilivy i vsyu morskuyu nauku, esli hochu navestit' druga, zhivushchego po tu storonu zaliva. Horosho, chto sushchestvuyut specialisty -- rulevoj i kapitan, dumal ya, i ih professional'nye znaniya sluzhat tysyacham lyudej, osvedomlennym o more i moreplavanii ne bol'she moego. On the other hand, instead of having to devote my energy to the learning of a multitude of things, I concentrated it upon a few particular things, such as, for instance, the analysis of Poe's place in American literature - an essay of mine, by the way, in the current Atlantic. Coming aboard, as I passed through the cabin, I had noticed with greedy eyes a stout gentleman reading the Atlantic, which was open at my very essay. And there it was again, the division of labour, the special knowledge of the pilot and captain which permitted the stout gentleman to read my special knowledge on Poe while they carried him safely from Sausalito to San Francisco. Zato ya ne trachu svoej energii na izuchenie mnozhestva predmetov, a mogu sosredotochit' ee na nekotoryh special'nyh voprosah, naprimer -- na roli |dgara Po v istorii amerikanskoj literatury, chemu, kstati skazat', byla posvyashchena moya stat'ya, napechatannaya v poslednem nomere "Atlantika". Podnyavshis' na parohod i zaglyanuv v salon, ya ne bez udovletvoreniya otmetil, chto nomer "Atlantika" v rukah u kakogo-to dorodnogo dzhentl'mena raskryt kak raz na moej stat'e. V etom opyat' skazyvalis' vygody razdeleniya truda: special'nye znaniya rulevogo i kapitana davali dorodnomu dzhentl'menu vozmozhnost' -- v to vremya kak ego blagopoluchno perepravlyayut na parohode iz Sausalito v San-Francisko -- oznakomit'sya s plodami moih special'nyh znanijo Po. A red-faced man, slamming the cabin door behind him and stumping out on the deck, interrupted my reflections, though I made a mental note of the topic for use in a projected essay which I had thought of calling "The Necessity for Freedom: A Plea for the Artist." The red-faced man shot a glance up at the pilot-house, gazed around at the fog, stumped across the deck and back (he evidently had artificial legs), and stood still by my side, legs wide apart, and with an expression of keen enjoyment on his face. I was not wrong when I decided that his days had been spent on the sea. U menya za spinoj hlopnula dver' salona, i kakoj-to krasnolicyj chelovek zatopal po palube, prervav moi razmyshleniya. A ya tol'ko chto uspel myslenno nametit' temu moej budushchej stat'i, kotoruyu reshil nazvat' "Neobhodimost' svobody. Slovo v zashchitu hudozhnika". Krasnolicyj brosil vzglyad na rulevuyu rubku, posmotrel na okruzhavshij nas tuman, prokovylyal vzad i vpered po palube -- ochevidno, u nego byli protezy -- i ostanovilsya vozle menya, shiroko rasstaviv nogi; na lice ego bylo napisano blazhenstvo. YA ne oshibsya, predpolozhiv, chto on provel vsyu svoyu zhizn' na more. "It's nasty weather like this here that turns heads grey before their time," he said, with a nod toward the pilot-house. -- Ot takoj merzkoj pogody nedolgo i posedet'! -- provorchal on, kivaya v storonu rulevoj rubki. "I had not thought there was any particular strain," I answered. "It seems as simple as A, B, C. They know the direction by compass, the distance, and the speed. I should not call it anything more than mathematical certainty." -- Razve eto sozdaet kakie-to osobye trudnosti? -- otozvalsya ya. -- Ved' zadacha prosta, kak dvazhdy dva -- chetyre. Kompas ukazyvaet napravlenie, rasstoyanie i skorost' takzhe izvestny. Ostaetsya prostoj arifmeticheskij podschet. "Strain!" he snorted. "Simple as A, B, C! Mathematical certainty!" -- Osobye trudnosti! -- fyrknul sobesednik. -- Prosto, kak dvazhdy dva -- chetyreArifmeticheskij podschet. He seemed to brace himself up and lean backward against the air as he stared at me. Slegka otkinuvshis' nazad, on smeril menya vzglyadom. "How about this here tide that's rushin' out through the Golden Gate?" he demanded, or bellowed, rather. "How fast is she ebbin'? What's the drift, eh? Listen to that, will you? A bell-buoy, and we're a-top of it! See 'em alterin' the course!" -- A chto vy skazhete ob otlive, kotoryj rvetsya v Zolotye Vorota? -- sprosil ili, vernee, prolayal on. -- Kakova skorost' techeniya? A kak otnosit? A eto chto -- prislushajtes'-kaKolokol? My lezem pryamo na buj s kolokolomVidite -- menyaem kurs. From out of the fog came the mournful tolling of a bell, and I could see the pilot turning the wheel with great rapidity. The bell, which had seemed straight ahead, was now sounding from the side. Our own whistle was blowing hoarsely, and from time to time the sound of other whistles came to us from out of the fog. Iz tumana donosilsya zaunyvnyj zvon, i ya uvidel, kak rulevoj bystro Zavertel shturval. Kolokol zvuchal teper' ne vperedi, a sboku. Slyshen byl hriplyj gudok nashego parohoda, i vremya ot vremeni na nego otklikalis' drugie gudki. "That's a ferry-boat of some sort," the new-comer said, indicating a whistle off to the right. "And there! D'ye hear that? Blown by mouth. Some scow schooner, most likely. Better watch out, Mr. Schooner-man. Ah, I thought so. Now hell's a poppin' for somebody!" -- Kakoj-to eshche parohodishko! -- zametil krasnolicyj, kivaya vpravo, otkuda donosilis' gudki. -- A etoSlyshite? Prosto gudyat v rozhok. Verno, kakaya-nibud' shalanda. |j, vy, tam, na shalande, ne zevajte! Nu, ya tak i znal. Sejchas kto-to hlebnet liha! The unseen ferry-boat was blowing blast after blast, and the mouth-blown horn was tooting in terror-stricken fashion. Nevidimyj parohod daval gudok za gudkom, i rozhok vtoril emu, kazalos', v strashnom smyatenii. "And now they're payin' their respects to each other and tryin' to get clear," the red-faced man went on, as the hurried whistling ceased. -- Vot teper' oni obmenyalis' lyubeznostyami i starayutsya razojtis', -- prodolzhal krasnolicyj, kogda trevozhnye gudki stihli. His face was shining, his eyes flashing with excitement as he translated into articulate language the speech of the horns and sirens. On raz®yasnyal mne, o chem krichat drug drugu sireny i rozhki, a shcheki u nego goreli i glaza sverkali. "That's a steam-siren a-goin' it over there to the left. And you hear that fellow with a frog in his throat - a steam schooner as near as I can judge, crawlin' in from the Heads against the tide." -- Sleva parohodnaya sirena, a von tam, slyshite, kakoj hripun, -- eto, dolzhno byt', parovaya shhuna; ona polzet ot vhoda v buhtu navstrechu otlivu. A shrill little whistle, piping as if gone mad, came from directly ahead and from very near at hand. Gongs sounded on the Martinez. Our paddle-wheels stopped, their pulsing beat died away, and then they started again. The shrill little whistle, like the chirping of a cricket amid the cries of great beasts, shot through the fog from more to the side and swiftly grew faint and fainter. I looked to my companion for enlightenment. Pronzitel'nyj svistok neistovstvoval kak oderzhimyj gde-to sovsem blizko vperedi. Na "Martinese" emu otvetili udarami gonga. Kolesa nashego parohoda ostanovilis', ih pul'siruyushchie udary po vode zamerli, a zatem vozobnovilis'. Pronzitel'nyj svistok, napominavshij strekotanie sverchka sredi reva dikih zverej, doletal teper' iz tumana, otkuda-to sboku, i zvuchal vse slabee i slabee. YA voprositel'no posmotrel na svoego sputnika. "One of them dare-devil launches," he said. "I almost wish we'd sunk him, the little rip! They're the cause of more trouble. And what good are they? Any jackass gets aboard one and runs it from hell to breakfast, blowin' his whistle to beat the band and tellin' the rest of the world to look out for him, because he's comin' and can't look out for himself! Because he's comin'! And you've got to look out, too! Right of way! Common decency! They don't know the meanin' of it!" -- Kakoj-to otchayannyj katerok, -- poyasnil on. -- Pryamo stoilo by potopit' ego! Ot nih byvaet mnogo bed, a komu oni nuzhny? Kakoj-nibud' osel zaberetsya na etakuyu posudinu i nositsya po moryu, sam ne znaya zachem, da svistit kak poloumnyj. A vse dolzhny storonit'sya, potomu chto, vidite li, on idet i sam-to uzh nikak postoronit'sya ne umeetPret vpered, a vy smotrite v obaObyazannost' ustupat' dorogu! |lementarnaya vezhlivost'Da oni ob etom nikakogo predstavleniya ne imeyut. I felt quite amused at his unwarranted choler, and while he stumped indignantly up and down I fell to dwelling upon the romance of the fog. And romantic it certainly was - the fog, like the grey shadow of infinite mystery, brooding over the whirling speck of earth; and men, mere motes of light and sparkle, cursed with an insane relish for work, riding their steeds of wood and steel through the heart of the mystery, groping their way blindly through the Unseen, and clamouring and clanging in confident speech the while their hearts are heavy with incertitude and fear. |tot neob®yasnimyj gnev nemalo menya pozabavil; poka moj sobesednik vozmushchenno kovylyal vzad i vpered, ya snova poddalsya romanticheskomu obayaniyu tumana. Da, v etom tumane, nesomnenno, byla svoya romantika. Slovno seryj, ispolnennyj tainstvennosti prizrak, navis on nad kroshechnym zemnym sharom, kruzhashchimsya v mirovom prostranstve. A lyudi, eti iskorki ili pylinki, gonimye nenasytnoj zhazhdoj deyatel'nosti, mchalis' na svoih derevyannyh i stal'nyh konyah. Skvoz' samoe serdce tajny, oshchup'yu prokladyvaya sebe put' v Nezrimom, i shumeli, i krichali samonadeyanno, v to vremya kak ih dushi zamirali ot neuverennosti i straha! The voice of my companion brought me back to myself with a laugh. I too had been groping and floundering, the while I thought I rode clear-eyed through the mystery. Golos moego sputnika vernul menya k dejstvitel'nosti i zastavil usmehnut'sya. Razve ya sam ne bluzhdayu oshchup'yu, dumaya, chto mchus' uverenno skvoz' tajnu? "Hello! Somebody comin' our way," he was saying. "And d'ye hear that? He's comin' fast. Walking right along. Guess he don't hear us yet. Wind's in wrong direction." -- |ge! Kto-to idet nam navstrechu, -- skazal krasnolicyj. -- Slyshite, slyshite? Idet bystro i pryamo na nas. Dolzhno byt', on nas eshche ne slyshit. Veter otnosit. The fresh breeze was blowing right down upon us, and I could hear the whistle plainly, off to one side and a little ahead. Svezhij briz dul nam v lico, i ya otchetlivo razlichil gudok sboku i nemnogo vperedi. "Ferry-boat?" I asked. -- Tozhe passazhirskij? -- sprosil ya. He nodded, then added, "Or he wouldn't be keepin' up such a clip." He gave a short chuckle. "They're gettin' anxious up there." Krasnolicyj kivnul. -- Da, inache on ne letel by tak, slomya golovu. Nashi tam zabespokoilis'! -- hmyknul on. I glanced up. The captain had thrust his head and shoulders out of the pilot-house, and was staring intently into the fog as though by sheer force of will he could penetrate it. His face was anxious, as was the face of my companion, who had stumped over to the rail and was gazing with a like intentness in the direction of the invisible danger. YA posmotrel vverh. Kapitan vysunulsya po grud' iz rulevoj rubki i napryazhenno vglyadyvalsya v tuman, slovno starayas' siloj voli proniknut' skvoz' nego. Lico ego vyrazhalo trevogu. I na lice moego sputnika, kotoryj prokovylyal k poruchnyam i pristal'no smotrel v storonu nezrimoj opasnosti, tozhe byla napisana trevoga. Then everything happened, and with inconceivable rapidity. The fog seemed to break away as though split by a wedge, and the bow of a steamboat emerged, trailing fog-wreaths on either side like seaweed on the snout of Leviathan. I could see the pilot-house and a white-bearded man leaning partly out of it, on his elbows. He was clad in a blue uniform, and I remember noting how trim and quiet he was. His quietness, under the circumstances, was terrible. He accepted Destiny, marched hand in hand with it, and coolly measured the stroke. As he leaned there, he ran a calm and speculative eye over us, as though to determine the precise point of the collision, and took no notice whatever when our pilot, white with rage, shouted, "Now you've done it!" Vse proizoshlo s nepostizhimoj bystrotoj. Tuman razdalsya v storony, kak razrezannyj nozhom, i pered nami voznik nos parohoda, tashchivshij za soboj kloch'ya tumana, slovno Leviafan -- morskie vodorosli. YA razglyadel rulevuyu rubku i beloborodogo starika, vysunuvshegosya iz nee. On byl odet v sinyuyu formu, ochen' lovko sidevshuyu na nem, i, ya pomnyu, menya porazilo, s kakim hladnokroviem on derzhalsya. Ego spokojstvie pri etih obstoyatel'stvah kazalos' strashnym. On podchinilsya sud'be, shel ej navstrechu i s polnym samoobladaniem zhdal udara. Holodno i kak by zadumchivo smotrel on na nas, slovno prikidyvaya, gde dolzhno proizojti stolknovenie, i ne obratil nikakogo vnimaniya na yarostnyj krik nashego rulevogo: "Otlichilis'!" On looking back, I realize that the remark was too obvious to make rejoinder necessary. Oglyadyvayas' v proshloe, ya ponimayu, chto vosklicanie rulevogo i ne trebovalo otveta. "Grab hold of something and hang on," the red-faced man said to me. All his bluster had gone, and he seemed to have caught the contagion of preternatural calm. -- Ceplyajtes' za chto-nibud' i derzhites' krepche, -- skazal mne krasnolicyj. Ves' ego zador sletel s nego, i on, kazalos', zarazilsya tem zhe sverh®estestvennym spokojstviem. "And listen to the women scream," he said grimly - almost bitterly, I thought, as though he had been through the experience before. -- Nu, sejchas zhenshchiny podnimut vizg! -- serdito, pochti zlobno provorchal on, slovno emu uzhe prihodilos' kogda-to vse eto ispytyvat'. The vessels came together before I could follow his advice. We must have been struck squarely amidships, for I saw nothing, the strange steamboat having passed beyond my line of vision. The Martinez heeled over, sharply, and there was a crashing and rending of timber. I was thrown flat on the wet deck, and before I could scramble to my feet I heard the scream of the women. This it was, I am certain, - the most indescribable of blood-curdling sounds, - that threw me into a panic. I remembered the life-preservers stored in the cabin, but was met at the door and swept backward by a wild rush of men and women. What happened in the next few minutes I do not recollect, though I have a clear remembrance of pulling down life-preservers from the overhead racks, while the red-faced man fastened them about the bodies of an hysterical group of women. This memory is as distinct and sharp as that of any picture I have seen. It is a picture, and I can see it now, - the jagged edges of the hole in the side of the cabin, through which the grey fog swirled and eddied; the empty upholstered seats, littered with all the evidences of sudden flight, such as packages, hand satchels, umbrellas, and wraps; the stout gentleman who had been reading my essay, encased in cork and canvas, the magazine still in his hand, and asking me with monotonous insistence if I thought there was any danger; the red-faced man, stumping gallantly around on his artificial legs and buckling life-preservers on all corners; and finally, the screaming bedlam of women. Suda stolknulis' prezhde, chem ya uspel vospol'zovat'sya ego sovetom. Dolzhno byt', vstrechnyj parohod udaril nas v seredinu borta, no eto proizoshlo vne polya moego zreniya, i ya nichego ne videl. "Martines" sil'no nakrenilsya, poslyshalsya tresk lomayushchejsya obshivki. YA upal plashmya na mokruyu palubu i ne uspel eshche podnyat'sya na nogi, kak uslyshal krik zhenshchin. |to byl neopisuemyj, dusherazdirayushchij vopl', i tut menya ob®yal uzhas. YA vspomnil, chto spasatel'nye poyasa hranyatsya v salone, kinulsya tuda, no u dverej stolknulsya s tolpoj obezumevshih passazhirov, kotoraya otbrosila menya nazad. Ne pomnyu, chto zatem proizoshlo, -- v pamyati moej sohranilos' tol'ko vospominanie o tom, kak ya staskival spasatel'nye poyasa s polok nad golovoj, a Krasnolicyj chelovek nadeval ih na bivshihsya v isterike zhenshchin. |to ya pomnyu otchetlivo, i vsya kartina stoit u menya pered glazami. Kak sejchas vizhu ya zazubrennye Kraya proboiny v stene salona i vpolzavshij v eto otverstie klubyashchijsya seryj tuman; pustye myagkie divany s razbrosannymi na nih paketami, sakvoyazhami, zontami i pledami, ostavlennymi vo vremya vnezapnogo begstva; polnogo dzhentl'mena, ne tak davno mirno chitavshego moyu stat'yu, a teper' napyalivshego na sebya probkovyj poyas i s monotonnoj nastojchivost'yu voproshavshego menya (zhurnal s moej stat'ej vse eshche byl u nego v ruke), est' li opasnost'; krasnolicego cheloveka, kotoryj bodryu kovylyal na svoih iskusstvennyh nogah i nadeval poyasa na vseh, kto poyavlyalsya v kayute... Pomnyu dikij vizg zhenshchin. This it was, the screaming of the women, that most tried my nerves. It must have tried, too, the nerves of the red-faced man, for I have another picture which will never fade from my mind. The stout gentleman is stuffing the magazine into his overcoat pocket and looking on curiously. A tangled mass of women, with drawn, white faces and open mouths, is shrieking like a chorus of lost souls; and the red-faced man, his face now purplish with wrath, and with arms extended overhead as in the act of hurling thunderbolts, is shouting, "Shut up! Oh, shut up!" Da, etot vizg zhenshchin bol'she vsego dejstvoval mne na nervy. Po-vidimomu, stradal ot nego i krasnolicyj, ibo eshche odna kartina navsegda ostalas' u menya v pamyati: plotnyj dzhentl'men zasovyvaet zhurnal v karman pal'to i s lyubopytstvom oziraetsya krugom; sbivshiesya v kuchu zhenshchiny, s blednymi, iskazhennymi strahom licami, pronzitel'no krichat, slovno hor pogibshih dush, a krasnolicyj chelovek, teper' uzhe sovsem bagrovyj ot gneva, stoit v poze gromoverzhca, potryasaya nad golovoj kulakami, i oret: -- ZamolchiteDa zamolchite zhe! I remember the scene impelled me to sudden laughter, and in the next instant I realized I was becoming hysterical myself; for these were women of my own kind, like my mother and sisters, with the fear of death upon them and unwilling to die. And I remember that the sounds they made reminded me of the squealing of pigs under the knife of the butcher, and I was struck with horror at the vividness of the analogy. These women, capable of the most sublime emotions, of the tenderest sympathies, were open-mouthed and screaming. They wanted to live, they were helpless, like rats in a trap, and they screamed. Pomnyu, kak, glyadya na eto, ya vdrug pochuvstvoval, chto menya dushit smeh, i ponyal, chto ya vpadayu v isteriku; ved' predo mnoyu byli zhenshchiny, takie zhe, kak moya mat' ili sestry, -- zhenshchiny, ohvachennye strahom smerti i ne zhelavshie umirat'. Ih kriki нapomnili mne vizg svinej pod nozhom myasnika, i eto potryaslo menya. |ti zhenshchiny, sposobnye na samye vysokie chuvstva, na samuyu nezhnuyu privyazannost', vopili, razinuv rty. Oni hoteli zhit', no byli bespomoshchny, kak krysy v krysolovke, i vizzhali, ne pomnya sebya. The horror of it drove me out on deck. I was feeling sick and squeamish, and sat down on a bench. In a hazy way I saw and heard men rushing and shouting as they strove to lower the boats. It was just as I had read descriptions of such scenes in books. The tackles jammed. Nothing worked. One boat lowered away with the plugs out, filled with women and children and then with water, and capsized. Another boat had been lowered by one end, and still hung in the tackle by the other end, where it had been abandoned. Nothing was to be seen of the strange steamboat which had caused the disaster, though I heard men saying that she would undoubtedly send boats to our assistance. |to bylo uzhasno, i ya opromet'yu brosilsya na palubu. Pochuvstvovav durnotu, ya opustilsya na skam'yu. Smutno videl ya metavshihsya lyudej, slyshal ih kriki, -- kto-to pytalsya spustit' shlyupki... Vse proishodilo tak, kak opisyvaetsya v knigah. Tali zaedalo. Vse bylo neispravno. Odnu shlyupku spustili, zabyv vstavit' probki: kogda zhenshchiny i deti seli v nee, ona napolnilas' vodoj i perevernulas'. Druguyu shlyupku udalos' spustit' tol'ko odnim koncom: drugim ona povisla na talyah, i ee brosili. A parohoda, kotoryj byl prichinoj bedstviya, i sled prostyl, no krugom govorili, chto on, nesomnenno, vyshlet nam spasatel'nye shlyupki. I descended to the lower deck. The Martinez was sinking fast, for the water was very near. Numbers of the passengers were leaping overboard. Others, in the water, were clamouring to be taken aboard again. No one heeded them. A cry arose that we were sinking. I was seized by the consequent panic, and went over the side in a surge of bodies. How I went over I do not know, though I did know, and instantly, why those in the water were so desirous of getting back on the steamer. The water was cold - so cold that it was painful. The pang, as I plunged into it, was as quick and sharp as that of fire. It bit to the marrow. It was like the grip of death. I gasped with the anguish and shock of it, filling my lungs before the life-preserver popped me to the surface. The taste of the salt was strong in my mouth, and I was strangling with the acrid stuff in my throat and lungs. YA spustilsya na nizhnyuyu palubu. "Martines" bystro pogruzhalsya, voda podstupala k krayu borta. Mnogie passazhiry stali prygat' za bort. Drugie, uzhe barahtayas' v vode, krichali, chtoby ih podnyali obratno na palubu. Nikto ne slushal ih. Vse pokryl obshchij krik: "Tonem!" Poddavshis' ohvativshej vseh panike, ya vmeste s drugimi brosilsya za bort. YA ne otdaval sebe otcheta v tom, chto delayu, no, ochutivshis' v vode, mgnovenno ponyal, pochemu lyudi krugom molili, chtoby ih podnyali obratno na parohod. Voda byla holodnaya, nesterpimo holodnaya. Kogda ya pogruzilsya v nee, menya obozhglo, kak ognem. Holod pronikal do kostej; kazalos', smert' uzhe zaklyuchaet menya v svoi ledyanye ob®yatiya. YA zahlebnulsya ot neozhidannosti i straha i uspel nabrat' v legkie vody prezhde, chem spasatel'nyj poyas snova podnyal menya na poverhnost'. Vo rtu u menya bylo solono ot morskoj vody, i ya zadyhalsya ot oshchushcheniya chego-to edkogo, pronikshego mne v gorlo i v legkie. But it was the cold that was most distressing. I felt that I could survive but a few minutes. People were struggling and floundering in the water about me. I could hear them crying out to one another. And I heard, also, the sound of oars. Evidently the strange steamboat had lowered its boats. As the time went by I marvelled that I was still alive. I had no sensation whatever in my lower limbs, while a chilling numbness was wrapping about my heart and creeping into it. Small waves, with spiteful foaming crests, continually broke over me and into my mouth, sending me off into more strangling paroxysms. No osobenno uzhasen byl holod. Mne kazalos', chto ya etogo ne vyderzhu, chto minuty moi sochteny. Vokrug menya v vode barahtalis' lyudi. Oni chto-to krichali drug drugu. YA slyshal takzhe plesk vesel. Ochevidno, potopivshij nas parohod vyslal za nami shlyupki. Vremya shlo, i menya izumlyalo, chto ya vse eshche zhiv. No moi nogi uzhe utratili chuvstvitel'nost', i onemenie rasprostranyalos' dal'she, podstupalo k samomu serdcu. Melkie serditye volny s penistymi hrebtami perekatyvalis' cherez menya; ya zahlebyvalsya i zadyhalsya. The noises grew indistinct, though I heard a final and despairing chorus of screams in the distance, and knew that the Martinez had gone down. Later, - how much later I have no knowledge, - I came to myself with a start of fear. I was alone. I could hear no calls or cries - only the sound of the waves, made weirdly hollow and reverberant by the fog. A panic in a crowd, which partakes of a sort of community of interest, is not so terrible as a panic when one is by oneself; and such a panic I now suffered. Whither was I drifting? The red-faced man had said that the tide was ebbing through the Golden Gate. Was I, then, being carried out to sea? And the life-preserver in which I floated? Was it not liable to go to pieces at any moment? I had heard of such things being made of paper and hollow rushes which quickly became saturated and lost all buoyancy. And I could not swim a stroke. And I was alone, floating, apparently, in the midst of a grey primordial vastness. I confess that a madness seized me, that I shrieked aloud as the women had shrieked, and beat the water with my numb hands. SHum i kriki stanovilis' vse glushe; poslednij otchayannyj vopl' donessya do menya izdali, i ya ponyal, chto "Martines" poshel ko dnu. Potom -- skol'ko proshlo vremeni, ne znayu, -- ya ochnulsya, i uzhas snova ovladel mnoj. YA byl odin. YA ne slyshal bol'she golosov, krikov o pomoshchi -- tol'ko shum voln, kotoromu tuman pridaval kakuyu-to tainstvennuyu, vibriruyushchuyu gulkost'. Panika, ohvatyvayushchaya cheloveka, kogda on v tolpe i razdelyaet obshchuyu uchast', ne tak uzhasna, kak strah, perezhivaemyj v odinochestve. Kuda nesli menya volny? Krasnolicyj govoril, chto otliv uhodit cherez Zolotye Vorota. Neuzheli menya uneset v otkrytoe more? A ved' moj spasatel'nyj poyas mozhet razvalit'sya v lyubuyu minutu! YA slyshal, chto eti poyasa delayut inogda iz kartona i trostnika, i togda, namoknuv, oni bystro teryayut plavuchest'. A ya sovsem ne umel plavat'. YA byl odin, i menya neslo nevedomo kuda, sredi izvechnoj seroj bezbrezhnosti. Priznayus', mnoj ovladelo bezumie, i ya krichal, kak krichali zhenshchiny, i bil po vode okochenevshimi rukami. How long this lasted I have no conception, for a blankness intervened, of which I remember no more than one remembers of troubled and painful sleep. When I aroused, it was as after centuries of time; and I saw, almost above me and emerging from the fog, the bow of a vessel, and three triangular sails, each shrewdly lapping the other and filled with wind. Where the bow cut the water there was a great foaming and gurgling, and I seemed directly in its path. I tried to cry out, but was too exhausted. The bow plunged down, just missing me and sending a swash of water clear over my head. Then the long, black side of the vessel began slipping past, so near that I could have touched it with my hands. I tried to reach it, in a mad resolve to claw into the wood with my nails, but my arms were heavy and lifeless. Again I strove to call out, but made no sound. Ne znayu, kak dolgo eto tyanulos'. Potom ya vpal v zabyt'e, i vspominayu ob etom tol'ko, kak o trevozhnom muchitel'nom sne. Kogda ya ochnulsya, kazalos', proshli veka. Pochti nad samoj golovoj ya uvidel vystupavshij iz tumana nos sudna i tri treugol'nyh parusa, zahodyashchie odin za drugoj i napolnennye vetrom. Voda penilas' i klokotala tam, gde ee razrezal nos korablya, a ya byl kak raz na ego puti. YA hotel kriknut', no u menya ne hvatilo sil. Nos sudna skol'znul vniz, edva ne zadev menya, i volna perekatilas' nad moej golovoj. Zatem mimo menya nachal skol'zit' dlinnyj chernyj bort sudna -- tak blizko, chto ya mog by kosnut'sya ego rukoj. YA sdelal popytku uhvatit'sya za nego, ya gotov byl vpit'sya v derevo nogtyami, no ruki moi byli tyazhely i bezzhiznenny. YA snova popytalsya kriknut', no golos izmenil mne. The stern of the vessel shot by, dropping, as it did so, into a hollow between the waves; and I caught a glimpse of a man standing at the wheel, and of another man who seemed to be doing little else than smoke a cigar. I saw the smoke issuing from his lips as he slowly turned his head and glanced out over the water in my direction. It was a careless, unpremeditated glance, one of those haphazard things men do when they have no immediate call to do anything in particular, but act because they are alive and must do something. Promel'knula mimo korma, nyrnuv v puchinu mezhdu volnami, i ya mel'kom uvidel cheloveka u shturvala i eshche odnogo, spokojno kurivshego sigaru. YA videl dymok, podnimavshijsya ot ego sigary, kogda on medlenno povernul golovu i skol'znul vzglyadom po vode v moyu storonu. |to byl sluchajnyj, rasseyannyj vzglyad, sluchajnyj povorot golovy, odno iz teh dvizhenij, kotorye lyudi delayut mashinal'no, kogda oni nichem ne zanyaty, -- prosto iz potrebnosti v dvizhenii. But life and death were in that glance. I could see the vessel being swallowed up in the fog; I saw the back of the man at the wheel, and the head of the other man turning, slowly turning, as his gaze struck the water and casually lifted along it toward me. His face wore an absent expression, as of deep thought, and I became afraid that if his eyes did light upon me he would nevertheless not see me. But his eyes did light upon me, and looked squarely into mine; and he did see me, for he sprang to the wheel, thrusting the other man aside, and whirled it round and round, hand over hand, at the same time shouting orders of some sort. The vessel seemed to go off at a tangent to its former course and leapt almost instantly from view into the fog. No dlya menya v etom vzglyade byla zhizn' ili smert'. YA videl, kak tuman uzhe snova pogloshchaet sudno. YA videl spinu rulevogo i golovu togo, drugogo, kogda on medlenno, ochen' medlenno obernulsya i ego vzglyad skol'znul po vode. |to byl otsutstvuyushchij vzglyad cheloveka, pogruzhennogo v dumu, i ya s uzhasom podumal, chto on vse ravno ne zametit menya, dazhe esli ya popadu v pole ego zreniya. No vot ego vzglyad upal na menya, i ego glaza vstretilis' s moimi glazami. On uvidel menya. Prygnuv k shturvalu, on ottolknul rulevogo i sam bystro zavertel koleso, vykrikivaya v to zhe vremya kakuyu-to komandu. Sudno nachalo otklonyat'sya v storonu i pochti v tot zhe mig skrylos' v tumane. I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness, and tried with all the power of my will to fight above the suffocating blankness and darkness that was rising around me. A little later I heard the stroke of oars, growing nearer and nearer, and the calls of a man. When he was very near I heard him crying, in vexed fashion, "Why in hell don't you sing out?" This meant me, I thought, and then the blankness and darkness rose over me. YA pochuvstvoval, chto snova vpadayu v bespamyatstvo, i napryag vse sily, chtoby ne poddat'sya pustote i mraku, stremivshimsya poglotit' menya. Vskore ya uslyshal bystro priblizhavshijsya plesk vesel i chej-to golos. Potom, uzhe sovsem blizko, razdalsya serdityj okrik: -- Kakogo cherta vy ne otklikaetes'? "|to mne krichat", -- podumal ya i tut zhe provalilsya v pustotu i mrak. CHAPTER II GLAVA II I seemed swinging in a mighty rhythm through orbit vastness. Sparkling points of light spluttered and shot past me. They were stars, I knew, and flaring comets, that peopled my flight among the suns. As I reached the limit of my swing and prepared to rush back on the counter swing, a great gong struck and thundered. For an immeasurable period, lapped in the rippling of placid centuries, I enjoyed and pondered my tremendous flight. Mne pokazalos', chto kakaya-to sila kachaet i neset menya v mirovom prostranstve, podchiniv moshchnomu ritmu. Mercayushchie iskorki vspyhivali i proletali mimo. YA dogadyvalsya, chto eto zvezdy i ognennye komety, soprovozhdayushchie moj polet sredi svetil. Kogda v svoem kachanii ya snova dostig vershiny amplitudy i uzhe gotov byl pustit'sya v obratnyj put', gde-to udaril i zagudel gromadnyj gong. Neischislimo dolgo, celye stoletiya, bezmyatezhno kanuvshie v vechnost', naslazhdalsya ya svoim ispolinskim poletom. But a change came over the face of the dream, for a dream I told myself it must be. My rhythm grew shorter and shorter. I was jerked from swing to counter swing with irritating haste. I could scarcely catch my breath, so fiercely was I impelled through the heavens. The gong thundered more frequently and more furiously. I grew to await it with a nameless dread. Then it seemed as though I were being dragged over rasping sands, white and hot in the sun. This gave place to a sense of intolerable anguish. My skin was scorching in the torment of fire. The gong clanged and knelled. The sparkling points of light flashed past me in an interminable stream, as though the whole sidereal system were dropping into the void. I gasped, caught my breath painfully, and opened my eyes. Two men were kneeling beside me, working over me. My mighty rhythm was the lift and forward plunge of a ship on the sea. The terrific gong was a frying-pan, hanging on the wall, that rattled and clattered with each leap of the ship. The rasping, scorching sands were a man's hard hands chafing my naked chest. I squirmed under the pain of it, and half lifted my head. My chest was raw and red, and I could see tiny blood globules starting through the torn and inflamed cuticle. No son moj nachal menyat'sya, a ya uzhe ponimal, chto eto son. Amplituda moego poleta stanovilas' vse koroche i koroche. Menya nachalo brosat' iz storony v storonu s razdrazhayushchej bystrotoj. YA edva uspeval perevesti duh: s takoj stremitel'nost'yu mchalsya ya v nebesnom prostranstve. Gong grohotal vse chashche i yarostnee. YA zhdal kazhdogo ego udara s nevyrazimym uzhasom. Potom mne pokazalos', chto menya tashchat po hrustyashchemu, belomu, raskalennomu solncem pesku. |to prichinyalo mne nevynosimye muki. Moyu kozhu opalyal ogon'. Gong gudel, kak pohoronnyj kolokol. Sverkayushchie tochki mchalis' mimo neskonchaemym potokom, slovno vsya zvezdnaya sistema provalivalas' v pustotu. YA vzdohnul, s trudom perevel dyhanie i otkryl glaza. Dva cheloveka, stoya na kolenyah, hlopotali nado mnoj. To, chto kachalo menya v moshchnom ritme i neslo kuda-to, okazalos' kachkoj sudna na volnah okeana, a vmesto uzhasnogo gonga ya uvidel visevshuyu na stene skovorodu, kotoraya brenchala i drebezzhala pri kazhdom naklone sudna. Hrustyashchij, opalyavshij menya ognem pesok prevratilsya v zhestkie ladoni kakogo-to cheloveka, rastiravshego moyu obnazhennuyu grud'. YA zastonal ot boli, pripodnyal golovu i posmotrel na svoe krasnoe, vospalennoe telo, pokrytoe kapel'kami krovi, prostupivshimi skvoz' rascarapannuyu kozhu. "That'll do, Yonson," one of the men said. "Carn't yer see you've bloomin' well rubbed all the gent's skin orf?" -- Hvatit, Ionson, -- skazal vtoroj. -- Ne vidish', chto li, sovsem sodral s dzhentl'mena kozhu! The man addressed as Yonson, a man of the heavy Scandinavian type, ceased chafing me, and arose awkwardly to his feet. The man who had spoken to him was clearly a Cockney, with the clean lines and weakly pretty, almost effeminate, face of the man who has absorbed the sound of Bow Bells with his mother's milk. A draggled muslin cap on his head and a dirty gunny-sack about his slim hips proclaimed him cook of the decidedly dirty ship's galley in which I found myself. Tot, kogo nazvali Ionsonom, -- chelovek moguchego skandinavskogo tipa, -- perestal rastirat' menya i neuklyuzhe podnyalsya na nogi. U vtorogo -- sudya po vygovoru, tipichnogo kokni [1] -- byli melkie, pochti zhenstvennye cherty lica; vneshnost' ego pozvolyala predpolozhit', chto on s molokom materi vpital v sebya perezvon londonskih cerkovnyh kolokolov. Gryaznyj polotnyanyj d kolpak na golove i grubyj zasalennyj perednik na uzkih bedrah izoblichali v nem koka togo chrezvychajno gryaznogo kambuza, v kotorom ya nahodilsya. "An' 'ow yer feelin' now, sir?" he asked, with the subservient smirk which comes only of generations of tip-seeking ancestors. -- Nu, kak vy sebya chuvstvuete, ser? -- sprosil on s ugodlivoj ulybkoj, kotoraya yavlyaetsya naslediem mnogih pokolenij, privykshih poluchat' na chaj. For reply, I twisted weakly into a sitting posture, and was helped by Yonson to my feet. The rattle and bang of the frying-pan was grating horribly on my nerves. I could not collect my thoughts. Clutching the woodwork of the galley for support, - and I confess the grease with which it was scummed put my teeth on edge, - I reached across a hot cooking-range to the offending utensil, unhooked it, and wedged it securely into the coal-box. Vmesto otveta ya s usiliem pripodnyalsya i sel, a zatem s pomoshch'yu Ionsona vstal na nogi. Drebezzhanie skovorody uzhasno dejstvovalo mne na nervy YA ne mog sobrat'sya s myslyami. Uhvativshis', chtoby ne upast', za derevyannuyu pereborku, okazavshuyusya nastol'ko sal'noj i gryaznoj, chto ya nevol'no stisnul zuby ot otvrashcheniya, ya potyanulsya k nesnosnoj posudine, visevshej nad topivshejsya plitoj, snyal ee s gvozdya i shvyrnul v yashchik s uglem. The cook grinned at my exhibition of nerves, and thrust into my hand a steaming mug with an "'Ere, this'll do yer good." It was a nauseous mess, - ship's coffee, - but the heat of it was revivifying. Between gulps of the molten stu