el opomnit'sya, on shagnul ko mne, shvatil  moyu pravuyu ruku  i
podnes  k  glazam.  YA  popytalsya  osvobodit'sya,  no ego pal'cy  bez  vsyakogo
vidimogo  usiliya krepche ohvatili moyu  ruku, i mne  pokazalos',  chto  u  menya
sejchas  zatreshchat   kosti.   Trudno  pri   takih  obstoyatel'stvah   sohranyat'
dostoinstvo. YA ne mog izvivat'sya ili brykat'sya, kak mal'chishka, odnako ne mog
i  vstupit'  v  edinoborstvo s etim chudovishchem,  ugrozhavshim  odnim  dvizheniem
slomat' mne ruku. Prihodilos' stoyat' smirno i perenosit' eto unizhenie.


     I had time to notice that the pockets  of the dead man had been emptied
on  the  deck, and that his body and his grin had been  wrapped from view in
canvas,  the folds of which the  sailor, Johansen, was sewing  together with
coarse white  twine, shoving the  needle through with a  leather contrivance
fitted on the palm of his hand. Wolf Larsen dropped  my hand with a flirt of
disdain.

     Tem vremenem u pokojnika, kak ya uspel zametit', uzhe obsharili karmany, i
vse,  chto tam syskalos', slozhili na trube, a trup, na lice  kotorogo zastyla
sardonicheskaya  usmeshka, obernuli  v parusinu, i Iogansen prinyalsya shtopat' ee
tolstoj beloj nitkoj, vtykaya iglu  ladon'yu s pomoshch'yu osobogo prisposobleniya,
nazyvaemogo gardanom i sdelannogo iz kuska kozhi. Volk Larsen s prezritel'noj
grimasoj otpustil ruku.


     "Dead  men's  hands  have  kept  it soft.  Good for  little  else  than
dish-washing and scullion work."

     --  Iznezhennaya ruka -- za schet teh zhe mertvecov. Takie  ruki ni na chto,
krome myt'ya posudy i stryapni, ne godny.


     "I  wish  to be  put  ashore," I  said firmly, for I now  had myself in
control. "I shall  pay  you whatever you  judge your delay and trouble to be
worth." He looked at me curiously. Mockery shone in his eyes.

     --  Mne  hotelos' by  sojti na bereg,  -- reshitel'no  skazal ya, ovladev
nakonec  soboj. -- YA uplachu vam, skol'vy potrebuete za hlopoty i zaderzhku  v
puti. On s lyubopytstvom poglyadel na menya. Glaza ego smotreli s nasmeshkoj.


     "I have a counter proposition to make, and for  the good of your  soul.
My  mate's gone, and there'll be a lot of promotion. A sailor  comes  aft to
take  mate's  place, cabin-boy goes  for'ard to take sailor's place, and you
take the cabin-boy's place, sign the articles for the cruise, twenty dollars
per month and found. Now what  do you  say? And mind you, it's for  your own
soul's sake. It will be the making of you.  You might learn in time to stand
on your own legs, and perhaps to toddle along a bit."

     -- U menya drugoe predlozhenie -- dlya vashego zhe blaga. Moj pomoshchnik umer,
i mne pridetsya sdelat' koe-kakie  peremeshcheniya. Odin iz matrosov zajmet mesto
pomoshchnika, yunga otpravitsya  na bak -- na  mesto matrosa, a vy zamenite yungu.
Podpishete uslovie na etot rejs -- dvadcat' dollarov v mesyac i harchi. Nu, chto
skazhete? Zamet'te -- eto dlya vashego zhe blaga! YA sdelayu  vas chelovekom. Vy so
vremenem nauchites'  stoyat'  na  svoih  nogah i,  byt' mozhet,  dazhe  kovylyat'
nemnogo.


     But  I took  no  notice. The sails of the vessel I had seen  off to the
south-west had grown  larger and plainer. They were of the same schooner-rig
as the Ghost, though the hull itself,  I could  see, was smaller. She  was a
pretty sight, leaping and  flying  toward us, and evidently bound to pass at
close range. The wind  had been momentarily increasing, and the sun, after a
few angry gleams, had disappeared. The sea had turned a dull leaden grey and
grown rougher, and  was now tossing  foaming whitecaps to the  sky. We  were
travelling faster, and heeled farther over. Once, in a gust, the rail dipped
under the sea, and the decks on  that  side were  for the moment awash  with
water that made a couple of the hunters hastily lift their feet.

     YA ne pridal znacheniya etim slovam. Zamechennye mnoyu na yugo-zapade  parusa
rosli; oni vyrisovyvalis' vse  otchetlivee i, vidimo, prinadlezhali  takoj  zhe
shhune, kak i "Prizrak", hotya korpus sudna, naskol'ko ya  mog  ego razglyadet',
byl men'she. SHhuna, pokachivayas',  skol'zila nam  navstrechu,  i eto bylo ochen'
krasivoe zrelishche. YA videl, chto ona dolzhna projti sovsem blizko. Veter bystro
krepchal. Solnce, poslav nam neskol'ko tusklyh luchej, skrylos'. More  prinyalo
mrachnyj svincovoseryj  ottenok,  zaburlilo, i k nebu  poleteli kloch'ya  beloj
peny. Nasha shhuna pribavila hodu  i dala bol'shoj kren. Pronessya poryv  vetra,
poruchni ischezli  pod vodoj,  i volna  hlynula na palubu, zastaviv ohotnikov,
sidevshih na zakraine lyuka, pospeshno podzhat' nogi.


     "That vessel will  soon be passing us," I said, after a moment's pause.
"As she is going in the  opposite direction, she  is very probably bound for
San Francisco."

     -- |to sudno skoro projdet mimo nas, -- skazal ya, pomolchav. -- Ono idet
v obratnom napravlenii, byt' mozhet, v San-Francisko.


     "Very  probably," was Wolf Larsen's  answer,  as he turned  partly away
from me and cried out, "Cooky! Oh, Cooky!"

     -- Ves'ma  vozmozhno,  --  otozvalsya  Larsen  i, otvernuvshis'  ot  menya,
kriknul: -- Kok! |j, kok!


     The Cockney popped out of the galley.

     Tomas Magridzh vynyrnul iz kambuza.


     "Where's that boy? Tell him I want him."

     -- Gde etot yunga? Skazhi emu, chto ya ego zovu.


     "Yes,  sir;" and  Thomas Mugridge fled swiftly aft and disappeared down
another companion-way near the wheel. A moment later he emerged, a heavy-set
young  fellow  of  eighteen  or  nineteen,  with   a  glowering,  villainous
countenance, trailing at his heels.

     -- Est', ser. Tomas Magridzh brosilsya  na  kormu  i ischez v drugom  lyuke
okolo  shturvala. CHerez  sekundu on snova pokazalsya na palube, a za nim shagal
korenastyj paren' let vosemnadcati-devyatnadcati, s licom hmurym i zlobnym.


     "'Ere 'e is, sir," the cook said.

     -- Vot on, ser, -- skazal kok.


     But Wolf Larsen ignored that worthy, turning at once to the cabin- boy.

     No Larsen, ne obrashchaya na nego bol'she vnimaniya, povernulsya k yunge.


     "What's your name, boy?

     -- Kak tebya zovut?


     "George Leach,  sir," came the  sullen answer,  and  the  boy's bearing
showed clearly that he divined the reason for which he had been summoned.

     -- Dzhordzh Lich,  ser, -- posledoval ugryumyj  otvet; vidno bylo, chto yunga
dogadyvaetsya, zachem ego pozvali.


     "Not an Irish name," the captain snapped sharply.  "O'Toole or McCarthy
would  suit your mug a damn sight  better. Unless, very likely,  there's  an
Irishman in your mother's woodpile."

     -- Familiya ne  irlandskaya, -- burknul kapitan. -- O'Tul  ili  Mak-Karti
kuda bol'she podoshlo by k tvoej rozhe. Verno, kakoj-nibud' irlandec pryatalsya u
tvoej mamashi za polennicej.


     I  saw the young fellow's  hands clench  at the  insult, and the  blood
crawl scarlet up his neck.

     YA videl, kak u parnya ot etogo oskorbleniya  szhalis' kulaki i pobagrovela
sheya.


     "But let  that go," Wolf Larsen  continued.  "You may  have  very  good
reasons for forgetting your name, and I'll like you none the worse for it as
long as you toe the mark. Telegraph Hill, of  course, is your port of entry.
It sticks out all over your mug. Tough as they make them and twice as nasty.
I know the kind. Well, you can make up your mind to have it taken out of you
on this craft. Understand? Who shipped you, anyway?"

     -- Nu,  ladno, --  prodolzhal Volk Larsen.  -- U  tebya mogut byt' veskie
prichiny zabyt' svoyu familiyu, -- mne na eto naplevat', poka  ty delaesh'  svoe
delo. Ty, konechno, s Telegrafnoj gory  [2]. |to u tebya  na  lbu  napisano. YA
vashego  brata znayu. Vy tam vse upryamy, kak osly, i zly, kak cherti. No mozhesh'
byt' spokoen, my  tebya zdes' zhivo  oblomaem.  Ponyal?  Kstati,  cherez kogo ty
nanimalsya?


     "McCready and Swanson."

     -- Agentstvo Mak-Kridi i Svenson.


     "Sir!" Wolf Larsen thundered.

     -- Ser! -- zagremel kapitan.


     "McCready and Swanson, sir," the boy corrected, his eyes burning with a
bitter light.

     -- Mak-Kridi i  Svenson,  ser, -- popravilsya yunga, i glaza  ego  zlobno
sverknuli.


     "Who got the advance money?"

     -- Kto poluchil avans?


     "They did, sir."

     -- Oni, ser.


     "I  thought as much.  And  damned glad  you were to  let them have  it.
Couldn't make yourself scarce too quick, with several gentlemen you may have
heard of looking for you."

     -- YA tak i dumal. I ty, nebos',  byl do cherta rad. Speshil, znal, chto za
toboj koe-kto ohotitsya.


     The boy metamorphosed into a savage  on the instant. His  body  bunched
together as  though  for a spring,  and  his face  became  as an  infuriated
beast's as he snarled, "It's a - "

     V  mgnovenie oka  yunga preobrazilsya v  dikarya. On prignulsya, slovno dlya
pryzhka, yarost' iskazila ego lico. -- Vot chto... -- vykriknul bylo on.


     "A  what?" Wolf  Larsen  asked, a peculiar  softness  in  his voice, as
though he were overwhelmingly curious to hear the unspoken word.

     --  CHto?  --  pochti  vkradchivo  sprosil  Larsen,  slovno  ego odolevalo
lyubopytstvo.


     The boy hesitated, then mastered his temper.

     No yunga uzhe vzyal sebya v ruki.


     "Nothin', sir. I take it back."

     -- Nichego, ser. YA beru svoi slova nazad.


     "And you have shown me I was right." This with a  gratified smile. "How
old are you?"

     -- I tem dokazyvaesh', chto ya prav, -- udovletvorenno ulybnulsya  kapitan.
-- Skol'ko tebe let?


     "Just turned sixteen, sir,"

     -- Tol'ko chto ispolnilos' shestnadcat', ser.


     "A lie. You'll never see eighteen again. Big for your age at that, with
muscles like a  horse. Pack up your kit  and  go for'ard  into the fo'c'sle.
You're a boat-puller now. You're promoted; see?"

     --  Vresh'! Tebe  bol'she vosemnadcati. I  ty eshche  velik dlya svoih let, i
muskuly u  tebya, kak u zherebca. Soberi  svoi  pozhitki i perehodi v kubrik na
bak. Budesh' matrosom, grebcom. |to povyshenie, ponyal?


     Without  waiting for the boy's acceptance, the captain  turned  to  the
sailor who had just finished the gruesome task of sewing up the corpse.

     Ne ozhidaya otveta,  kapitan povernulsya k matrosu, kotoryj zashival trup v
parusinu i tol'ko chto zakonchil svoe mrachnoe zanyatie.


     "Johansen, do you know anything about navigation?"

     -- Iogansen, ty chto-nibud' smyslish' v navigacii?


     "No, sir,"

     -- Net, ser.


     "Well, never mind;  you're  mate just the same. Get your traps aft into
the mate's berth."

     -- Nu, ne beda! Vse ravno budesh' teper' pomoshchnikom. Perenesi svoi  veshchi
v kayutu, na ego kojku.


     "Ay, ay, sir," was the cheery response, as Johansen started forward.

     -- Est', ser! -- veselo otvetil Iogansen i tut zhe napravilsya na bak.


     In the meantime the erstwhile cabin-boy had not moved.

     No byvshij yunga vse eshche ne trogalsya s mesta.


     "What are you waiting for?" Wolf Larsen demanded.

     -- A ty chego zhdesh'? -- sprosil kapitan.


     "I  didn't sign for  boat-puller, sir," was the  reply.  "I signed  for
cabin-boy. An' I don't want no boat-pullin' in mine."

     -- YA ne nanimalsya matrosom, ser, --  byl otvet. -- YA nanimalsya yungoj. YA
ne hochu sluzhit' matrosom.


     "Pack up and go for'ard."

     -- Sobiraj veshchi i stupaj na bak!


     This  time  Wolf Larsen's command was thrillingly  imperative. The  boy
glowered sullenly, but refused to move.

     Na etot raz prikaz zvuchal vlastno i grozno. No paren' ugryumo  nasupilsya
i ne dvinulsya s mesta.


     Then came another stirring of Wolf Larsen's tremendous strength. It was
utterly unexpected, and it was  over and done with between the ticks of  two
seconds.  He had sprung fully  six feet across  the deck and driven his fist
into  the other's stomach.  At the same moment, as though I had  been struck
myself, I felt a  sickening shock in the pit of my  stomach. I instance this
to show the  sensitiveness of my nervous  organization at  the time, and how
unused I was to  spectacles of brutality. The cabin-boy - and he weighed one
hundred  and  sixty-five at the very least - crumpled  up. His body  wrapped
limply about the fist like a  wet rag about a stick. He lifted into the air,
described  a short curve, and  struck the deck alongside  the  corpse on his
head and shoulders, where he lay and writhed about in agony.

     Tut  Volk  Larsen snova  pokazal  svoyu chudovishchnuyu  silu.  Vse proizoshlo
neozhidanno, s bystrotoj molnii. Odnim pryzhkom -- futov v shest', ne men'she --
on kinulsya na yungu i udaril ego kulakom v zhivot. V tot zhe mig ya pochuvstvoval
ostruyu bol' pod lozhechkoj,  slovno on  udaril menya. YA upominayu ob etom, chtoby
pokazat', kak chuvstvitel'ny byli v to  vremya moi nervy i kak podobnye grubye
sceny  byli mne neprivychny. YUnga  --  a on, kstati skazat', vesil  nikak  ne
menee sta shestidesyati pyati funtov, -- sognulsya popolam. Ego telo bezzhiznenno
povislo na kulake Larsena, slovno mokraya tryapka na  palke.  Zatem ya  uvidel,
kak on  vzletel  na vozduh, opisal dugu  i ruhnul  na palubu ryadom s trupom,
udarivshis' o doski  golovoj i plechami. Tak on i  ostalsya lezhat',  korchas' ot
boli.


     "Well?" Larsen asked of me. "Have you made up your mind?"

     -- Nu kak? -- povernulsya vdrug Larsen ko mne. -- Vy obdumali?


     I had glanced occasionally at the  approaching schooner, and it was now
almost abreast of us and not  more  than a  couple of hundred yards away. It
was a very trim  and neat little craft. I could see a large, black number on
one of its sails, and I had seen pictures of pilot-boats.

     YA  poglyadel na priblizhavshuyusya  shhunu,  kotoraya uzhe  pochti poravnyalas' s
nami; ee  otdelyalo ot nas ne bolee dvuhsot yardov. |to bylo strojnoe, izyashchnoe
sudenyshko. YA razlichil  krupnyj chernyj nomer na odnom iz parusov i, pripomniv
vidennye mnoyu ran'she izobrazheniya sudov, soobrazil, chto eto locmanskij bot.


     "What vessel is that?" I asked.

     -- CHto eto za sudno? -- sprosil ya.


     "The  pilot-boat Lady Mine," Wolf  Larsen answered grimly. "Got rid  of
her pilots and  running into San Francisco.  She'll be there  in five or six
hours with this wind."

     -- Locmanskij  bot  "Ledi Majn",  -- otvetil Larsen. -- Dostavil  svoih
locmanov  i  vozvrashchaetsya v SanFrancisko.  Pri  takom vetre budet  tam cherez
pyat'-shest' chasov.


     "Will you please signal it, then, so that I may be put ashore."

     -- Bud'te dobry dat' im signal, chtoby oni perepravili menya na bereg.


     "Sorry, but I've  lost the signal book overboard," he remarked, and the
group of hunters grinned.

     -- Ochen' sozhaleyu, no ya uronil svoyu signal'nuyu knigu za bort, -- otvetil
kapitan, i v gruppe ohotnikov poslyshalsya smeh.


     I debated  a moment, looking him squarely in the  eyes. I  had seen the
frightful treatment  of the cabin-boy, and knew that I should very  probably
receive the same, if not worse. As I say, I debated with myself, and then  I
did what I consider the bravest act of my life. I ran to the side, waving my
arms and shouting:

     Sekundu  ya  kolebalsya,  glyadya emu pryamo v  glaza. YA  videl, kak zhestoko
razdelalsya on s yungoj,  i znal, chto  menya, byt' mozhet, ozhidaet to zhe  samoe,
esli ne chto-nibud'  eshche huzhe. Povtoryayu, ya kolebalsya, a potom  sdelal to, chto
do sih por schitayu samym smelym postupkom v moej zhizni. YA brosilsya k bortu i,
razmahivaya rukami, kriknul:


     "Lady  Mine ahoy! Take me ashore!  A  thousand dollars if  you  take me
ashore!"

     -- "Ledi  Majn", ej! Svezite menya na bereg. Tysyachu dollarov za dostavku
na bereg!


     I waited,  watching  two men  who  stood  by  the wheel,  one  of  them
steering. The other was lifting  a  megaphone to his lips. I did not turn my
head, though  I expected  every  moment a killing blow from the  human brute
behind me. At last,  after what seemed centuries, unable longer to stand the
strain, I looked  around.  He  had not moved. He  was  standing  in the same
position, swaying easily to the roll of the ship and lighting a fresh cigar.

     YA vpilsya  vzglyadom v dvoih  lyudej,  stoyavshih  u  shturvala.  Odin iz nih
pravil, drugoj  podnes k  gubam rupor.  YA  ne  povorachival  golovy  i kazhduyu
sekundu zhdal,  chto  zver'-chelovek,  stoyavshij  za  moej spinoj, odnim  udarom
ulozhit menya na meste. Nakonec -- mne  pokazalos', chto proshli  veka,  -- ya ne
vyderzhal i oglyanulsya. Larsen ne tronulsya s mesta. On stoyal v toj zhe poze, --
slegka pokachivayas' na rasstavlennyh nogah, i raskurival novuyu sigaru.


     "What  is  the  matter? Anything wrong?" This was the cry from the Lady
Mine.

     -- V chem delo? Sluchilos' chto-nibud'? -- razdalos' s "Ledi Majn".


     "Yes!" I shouted, at  the top of my lungs. "Life or death! One thousand
dollars if you take me ashore!"

     -- DaDa! -- blagim matom zaoral ya.  --  Spasite, spasiteTysyachu dollarov
za dostavku na bereg!


     "Too  much 'Frisco tanglefoot for the health  of my crew!"  Wolf Larsen
shouted  after. "This  one" -  indicating  me  with  his  thumb  -  "fancies
sea-serpents and monkeys just now!"

     -- Rebyata hvatili lishnego v Frisko! -- razdalsya golos Larsena.  -- |tot
vot, -- on ukazal na menya, -- dopilsya uzhe do zelenogo zmiya!


     The man  on  the  Lady Mine  laughed  back through the  megaphone.  The
pilot-boat plunged past.

     Na "Ledi Majn" rashohotalis' v rupor, i sudno poshlo mimo.


     "Give  him hell for me!" came a final cry, and the two men  waved their
arms in farewell.

     -- Vsyp'te emu kak sleduet ot nashego imeni!  -- doleteli  naputstvennye
slova, i stoyavshie u shturvala pomahali rukami v znak privetstviya.


     I leaned despairingly over  the rail, watching the trim little schooner
swiftly increasing  the  bleak sweep  of  ocean  between  us. And she  would
probably be  in San Francisco in five or six hours! My head seemed bursting.
There was an ache in my throat as  though my heart were up in  it. A curling
wave  struck  the side  and splashed salt spray on my lips.  The wind puffed
strongly, and the Ghost heeled far over, burying her lee rail. I could  hear
the water rushing down upon the deck.

     V  otchayanii ya  oblokotilsya o poruchni, glyadya, kak bystro  shiritsya polosa
holodnoj morskoj vody,  otdelyayushchaya nas ot  strojnogo  malen'kogo  sudna. Ono
budet  v San-Francisko cherez  pyat'  ili  shest'  chasov!  U menya  golova poshla
krugom, serdce  otchayanno zakolotilos'  i  k  gorlu podkatil komok.  Penistaya
volna  udarila  o  bort, i ne bryznulo v  lico solenoj vlagoj. Veter naletal
poryvami, i "Prizrak", sil'no krenyas', zaryvalsya v vodu podvetrennym bortom.
YA slyshal, kak voda s shipeniem vzbegala na palubu.


     When I turned around, a moment later, I saw the cabin-boy staggering to
his feet.  His face was  ghastly white,  twitching with suppressed pain.  He
looked very sick.

     Oglyanuvshis', ya uvidel yungu, kotoryj s trudom podnyalsya na nogi. Lico ego
bylo mertvenno bledno i zeleno ot boli. YA ponyal, chto emu ochen' ploho.


     "Well, Leach, are you going for'ard?" Wolf Larsen asked.

     -- Nu, Lich, idesh' na bak? -- sprosil kapitan.


     "Yes, sir," came the answer of a spirit cowed.

     -- Est', ser, -- posledoval pokornyj otvet.


     "And you?" I was asked.

     -- A ty? -- povernulsya kapitan ko mne.


     "I'll give you a thousand - " I began, but was interrupted.

     -- YA dam vam tysyachu... -- nachal ya, no on prerval menya.


     "Stow that! Are you going to take up your duties as  cabin-boy? Or do I
have to take you in hand?"

     -- Bros'  eto!  Ty soglasen pristupit'  k  obyazannostyam  yungi? Ili  mne
pridetsya vzyat'sya za tebya?


     What was I  to do? To  be brutally beaten, to be killed  perhaps, would
not help my case. I looked steadily  into  the cruel grey eyes.  They  might
have  been  granite for  all the  light and warmth  of  a  human  soul  they
contained. One may see the soul stir in some men's eyes, but his were bleak,
and cold, and grey as the sea itself.

     CHto mne bylo delat'? Dat' zverski izbit' sebya,  mozhet byt', dazhe  ubit'
-- kakoj  ot  etogo  prok?  YA tverdo  posmotrel v  zhestkie  serye glaza. Oni
pohodili na granitnye  glaza izvayaniya -- tak malo  bylo v nih  chelovecheskogo
tepla. Obychno v glazah lyudej otrazhayutsya  ih dushevnye dvizheniya, no eti  glaza
byli besstrastny i holodny, kak svincovo-seroe more.


     "Well?"

     -- Nu, chto?


     "Yes," I said.

     -- Da, -- skazal ya.


     "Say 'yes, sir.'"

     -- Skazhi: da, ser.


     "Yes, sir," I corrected.

     -- Da, ser, -- popravilsya ya.


     "What is your name?"

     -- Kak tebya zovut?


     "Van Weyden, sir."

     -- Van-Vejden, ser.


     "First name?"

     -- Imya?


     "Humphrey, sir; Humphrey Van Weyden."

     -- Hemfri, ser. Hemfri Van-Vejden.


     "Age?"

     -- Vozrast?


     "Thirty-five, sir."

     -- Tridcat' pyat', ser.


     "That'll do. Go to the cook and learn your duties."

     -- Ladno. Pojdi k koku, on tebe pokazhet, chto ty dolzhen delat'.


     And thus it was that I passed into a state  of involuntary servitude to
Wolf Larsen. He was stronger than I, that was all. But it was very unreal at
the time. It is no less unreal now that I look back upon it. It will  always
be to me a monstrous, inconceivable thing, a horrible nightmare.

     Tak  sluchilos',  chto ya,  pomimo  moej voli,  popal  v  rabstvo  k Volku
Larsenu.  On  byl  sil'nee menya, vot i vse. No  v to vremya eto kazalos'  mne
kakim-to navazhdeniem. Da i sejchas, kogda ya oglyadyvayus' na proshloe,  vse, chto
priklyuchilos' togda so mnoj, predstavlyaetsya mne sovershenno neveroyatnym. Takim
budet eto predstavlyat'sya mne i vpred'  -- chem-to chudovishchnym i  nepostizhimym,
kakim-to uzhasnym koshmarom.


     "Hold on, don't go yet."

     -- Podozhdi!


     I stopped obediently in my walk toward the galley.

     YA poslushno ostanovilsya, ne dojdya do kambuza.


     "Johansen, call all hands. Now that we've everything cleaned up,  we'll
have the funeral and get the decks cleared of useless lumber."

     -- Iogansen, vyzovi vseh naverhTeper' vse kak budto stalo na svoe mesto
i mozhno zanyat'sya pohoronami i ochistit' palubu ot nenuzhnogo hlama.


     While Johansen  was summoning the  watch below,  a couple  of  sailors,
under  the  captain's  direction,  laid  the canvas-swathed  corpse  upon  a
hatch-cover. On either side the  deck, against the rail and bottoms up, were
lashed a number  of small boats.  Several men picked up the hatch-cover with
its ghastly freight, carried it to the lee side, and rested it on the boats,
the feet pointing overboard. To the feet was attached the sack of coal which
the cook had fetched.

     Poka  Iogansen  sobiral  komandu, dvoe matrosov, po  ukazaniyu kapitana,
polozhili  zashityj  i  parusinu  trup na  lyuchinu. U  oboih bortov na  palube,
dnishchami  kverhu,  byli prinajtovleny  malen'kie shlyupki.  Neskol'ko  matrosov
podnyali dosku s ee strashnym gruzom i polozhili na eti  shlyupki  s podvetrennoj
storony, povernuv  trup  nogami k  moryu. K nogam privyazali prinesennyj kokom
meshok s uglem.


     I had always  conceived a burial  at  sea to be  a very solemn and awe-
inspiring event,  but  I was  quickly disillusioned, by this  burial  at any
rate.  One of the  hunters, a  little dark-eyed man  whom his  mates  called
"Smoke," was  telling  stories,  liberally  intersprinkled  with  oaths  and
obscenities;  and every minute or so the group  of hunters gave mouth  to  a
laughter  that  sounded  to  me  like  a  wolf-  chorus  or the  barking  of
hell-hounds.  The sailors  trooped noisily  aft,  some of  the  watch  below
rubbing the sleep from their  eyes, and talked  in low tones together. There
was an ominous and worried  expression on their faces.  It was  evident that
they did  not like the outlook of a voyage under such a captain and begun so
inauspiciously. From time to time they stole  glances  at Wolf Larsen, and I
could see that they were apprehensive of the man.

     Pohorony  na more predstavlyalis' mne  vsegda  torzhestvennym,  vnushayushchim
blagogovenie obryadom, no to, chemu ya stal svidetelem,  mgnovenno razveyalo vse
moi illyuzii. Odin iz ohotnikov, nevysokij  temnoglazyj paren',  -- ya slyshal,
kak tovarishchi nazyvali ego Smokom, --  rasskazyval anekdoty, shchedro sdobrennye
brannymi i nepristojnymi slovami.  V gruppe ohotnikov pominutno  razdavalis'
vzryvy  hohota,  kotorye napominali mne ne  to voj volkov, ne to  laj psov v
preispodnej. Matrosy,  stucha sapogami,  sobiralis'  na  korme. Nekotorye  iz
podvahtennyh protirali zaspannye  glaza  i  peregovarivalis'  vpolgolosa. Na
licah  matrosov  zastylo mrachnoe, ozabochennoe  vyrazhenie. Ochevidno, im  malo
ulybalos'  puteshestvie s  etim  kapitanom, nachavsheesya  k  tomu zhe pri  stol'
pechal'nyh predznamenovaniyah. Vremya  ot vremeni  oni ukradkoj  poglyadyvali na
Volka Larsena, i ya videl, chto oni ego pobaivayutsya.


     He stepped up to the  hatch-cover, and all caps came off. I ran my eyes
over them -- twenty  men all told; twenty-two including the man at the wheel
and myself. I was pardonably  curious in my survey, for it  appeared my fate
to be pent up  with them on this miniature floating world for I knew not how
many  weeks  or  months.  The  sailors,   in  the  main,  were  English  and
Scandinavian,  and  their  faces  seemed  of  the heavy,  stolid  order. The
hunters, on  the  other hand, had stronger and  more diversified faces, with
hard lines and the marks of the free play of passions. Strange to say, and I
noted it all once,  Wolf Larsen's features showed  no such evil stamp. There
seemed nothing vicious in them. True, there  were  lines, but they were  the
lines  of  decision and  firmness.  It seemed,  rather,  a  frank  and  open
countenance,  which  frankness or  openness was enhanced by the fact that he
was smooth-shaven. I could hardly believe - until the next incident occurred
-- that it was the face of a man who could behave as  he  had behaved to the
cabin-boy.

     Kapitan podoshel k doske; vse obnazhili golovy. YA prismatrivalsya k lyudyam,
sobravshimsya na  palube, --  ih bylo dvadcat' chelovek; znachit, vsego na bortu
shhuny,  esli schitat' rulevogo i menya, nahodilos' dvadcat'  dva cheloveka. Moe
lyubopytstvo bylo prostitel'no, tak kak mne predstoyalo,  po-vidimomu, ne odnu
nedelyu, a byt' mozhet, i ne odin mesyac, provesti vmeste s etimi lyud'mi v etom
kroshechnom  plavuchem   mirke.   Bol'shinstvo  matrosov   byli  anglichane   ili
skandinavy, s tyazhelymi, malopodvizhnymi licami. Lica ohotnikov, izborozhdennye
rezkimi morshchinami, byli bolee energichny i interesny, i na nih lezhala  pechat'
neobuzdannoj igry strastej.  Stranno skazat', no, kak  ya srazu zhe otmetil, v
chertah Volka  Larsena ne  bylo  nichego porochnogo. Ego lico tozhe  izborozdili
glubokie morshchiny,  no oni govorili  lish' o reshimosti i  sile voli. Vyrazhenie
lica bylo  skoree dazhe pryamodushnoe, otkrytoe, i vpechatlenie eto  usilivalos'
blagodarya tomu,  chto  on  byl  gladko  vybrit. Ne verilos'  -- do sleduyushchego
stolknoveniya, chto  eto  tot  samyj chelovek, kotoryj  tak zhestoko  oboshelsya s
yungoj.


     At this moment, as he opened his mouth to speak, puff after puff struck
the  schooner and  pressed her  side under.  The wind  shrieked  a wild song
through the rigging.  Some of the hunters glanced  anxiously  aloft. The lee
rail, where the  dead  man lay, was buried in the  sea, and  as the schooner
lifted and righted the  water swept across  the deck  wetting  us above  our
shoe-tops.  A shower of rain drove  down upon us, each  drop stinging like a
hailstone.  As it passed,  Wolf Larsen began to  speak,  the bare-headed men
swaying in unison, to the heave and lunge of the deck.

     Vot on otkryl rot, sobirayas' chto-to skazat', no v etot mig rezkij poryv
vetra  naletel na  shhunu, sil'no  nakreniv. Veter diko svistel  i  zavyval v
snastyah.  Nekotorye  iz ohotnikov trevozhno poglyadyvali na nebo. Podvetrennyj
bort, u kotorogo lezhal pokojnik, zarylsya v vodu, i, kogda shhuna vypryamilas',
volna  perekatilas'  cherez  palubu,  zahlestnuv  nam  nogi  vyshe  shchikolotki.
Vnezapno hlynul liven'; tyazhelye krupnye kapli bili, kak gradiny. Kogda shkval
pronessya, kapitan zagovoril, i vse  slushali ego, obnazhiv golovy, pokachivayas'
v takt s hodivshej pod nogami paluboj.


     "I only remember one part of the service," he said, "and that  is, 'And
the body shall be cast into the sea.' So cast it in."

     -- YA  pomnyu tol'ko chast'  pohoronnoj sluzhby, --  skazal Larsen.  -- Ona
glasit: "I telo da budet predano moryu". Tak vot i bros'te ego tuda.


     He ceased speaking. The men  holding the hatch-cover seemed  perplexed,
puzzled no doubt by the  briefness of the ceremony. He burst upon them  in a
fury.

     On umolk. Lyudi, derzhavshie  lyuchinu, byli  smushcheny;  kratkost' ceremonii,
vidimo, ozadachila ih. No kapitan yarostno na nih nakinulsya:


     "Lift up that end  there, damn you! What  the  hell's the  matter  with
you?"

     --  Podnimajte  etot  konec,  chert by  vas  podral!  Kakogo  d'yavola vy
kanitelites'?


     They elevated the end of the hatch-cover with pitiful  haste, and, like
a dog flung overside, the dead man slid feet first into the sea. The coal at
his feet dragged him down. He was gone.

     Kto-to toroplivo podhvatil konec doski, i mertvec, vybroshennyj za bort,
slovno sobaka, soskol'znul v  more nogami vpered. Meshok s uglem, privyazannyj
k nogam, potyanul ego vniz. On ischez.


     "Johansen," Wolf  Larsen said briskly to the new mate,  "keep all hands
on deck now they're here. Get in the  topsails and jibs and make a  good job
of it. We're  in  for a sou'-easter. Better reef the jib  and  mainsail too,
while you're about it."

     --  Iogansen!  --  rezko  kriknul  kapitan  svoemu novomu pomoshchniku. --
Ostav'  vseh  naverhu, raz  uzh  oni  zdes'.  Ubrat'  topselya i  klivera,  da
pozhivejNado zhdat' zyujd-osta. Zaodno voz'mi rify u grota! I u stakselya!


     In a moment the  decks were in commotion, Johansen bellowing orders and
the men  pulling or  letting  go  ropes  of  various  sorts - all  naturally
confusing to a landsman such as myself. But it was the  heartlessness of  it
that especially struck me. The  dead man  was an episode that was  past,  an
incident that was dropped, in a canvas  covering with a sack of coal,  while
the  ship  sped along and her work went on. Nobody had  been  affected.  The
hunters  were laughing at  a fresh  story  of Smoke's;  the men  pulling and
hauling, and  two  of  them  climbing aloft;  Wolf  Larsen  was studying the
clouding  sky  to  windward;  and the  dead  man,  dying  obscenely,  buried
sordidly, and sinking down, down -

     Vmig vse na palube prishlo  v dvizhenie. Iogansen zychno  vykrikival slova
komandy, matrosy vybirali i travili razlichnye snasti, a mne, cheloveku sugubo
suhoputnomu,  vse  eto,  konechno, predstavlyalos'  sploshnoj nerazberihoj.  No
bol'she  vsego  porazilo menya  proyavlennoe etimi  lyud'mi besserdechie.  Smert'
cheloveka byla  dlya  nih melkim epizodom, kotoryj kanul v vechnost'  vmeste  s
zashitym v parusinu trupom i meshkom uglya, i korabl' vse tak zhe prodolzhal svoj
put',  i  rabota  shla  svoim  cheredom. Nikto ne byl vzvolnovan. Ohotniki uzhe
opyat' smeyalis' kakomu-to nepristojnomu anekdotu Smoka.  Komanda  vybirala  i
travila  snasti, dvoe matrosov polezli na machtu. Volk Larsen  vsmatrivalsya v
oblachnoe nebo s  navetrennoj storony. A chelovek, tak  zhalko okonchivshij  svoi
dni i tak nedostojno pogrebennyj, opuskalsya vse glubzhe i glubzhe na dno.


     Then it  was  that  the cruelty  of  the sea,  its  relentlessness  and
awfulness, rushed upon me. Life  had become cheap and tawdry, a beastly  and
inarticulate  thing, a soulless stirring of the ooze and slime. I held on to
the weather rail, close by  the shrouds,  and gazed out across  the desolate
foaming waves to the low-lying fog-  banks that hid  San  Francisco  and the
California  coast.  Rain-  squalls  were  driving in between,  and  I  could
scarcely see  the  fog. And  this  strange vessel,  with its  terrible  men,
pressed under  by wind and sea and ever leaping up and out, was heading away
into the south-west, into the great and lonely Pacific expanse.

     Oshchushchenie zhestokosti i  neumolimosti  morskoj stihii  vdrug nahlynulo na
menya, i  zhizn'  pokazalas' mne  chem-to  deshevym i  mishurnym, chem-to dikim  i
bessmyslennym --  kakim-to nelepym barahtan'em v gryaznoj tine. YA derzhalsya za
fal'shbort u samyh vant i smotrel na ugryumye, penistye volny i nizko navisshuyu
gryadu  tumana,  skryvavshuyu  ot  nas  San-Francisko  i  kalifornijskij bereg.
Vremenami naletal  shkval s dozhdem, i  togda i samyj tuman ischezal iz glaz za
plotnoj zavesoj dozhdya.  A nashe strannoe  sudno,  s ego  chudovishchnym ekipazhem,
nyryalo  po volnam, ustremlyayas' na yugo-zapad  v  shirokie, pustynnye  prostory
Tihogo okeana.


        CHAPTER IV

        GLAVA IV


     What happened to me next on the sealing-schooner Ghost, as I  strove to
fit into my new environment, are matters  of humiliation and pain. The cook,
who was called "the doctor" by the crew, "Tommy" by the hunters, and "Cooky"
by Wolf Larsen, was  a  changed  person. The  difference worked in my status
brought  about a corresponding difference in treatment from him. Servile and
fawning as he had  been before, he was now as domineering  and bellicose. In
truth,  I  was no longer  the fine gentleman with a skin soft as a "lydy's,"
but only an ordinary and very worthless cabin-boy.

     Vse moi staraniya prisposobit'sya k novoj dlya menya obstanovke zverobojnoj
shhuny  "Prizrak"  prinosili  mne  lish'  beskonechnye  stradaniya  i  unizheniya.
Magridzh,  kotorogo  komanda  nazyvala "doktorom",  ohotniki  --  "Tommi",  a
kapitan --  "kokom", izmenilsya, kak po volshebstvu. Peremena v moem polozhenii
rezko povliyala na ego obrashchenie so mnoj. Ot prezhnej  ugodlivosti ne ostalos'
i sleda:  teper' on  tol'ko  pokrikival da  branilsya. Ved'  ya ne byl  bol'she
izyashchnym dzhentl'menom,  s  kozhej  "nezhnoj,  kak  u  ledi",  a  prevratilsya  v
obyknovennogo i dovol'no bestolkovogo yungu.


     He  absurdly insisted upon my addressing  him as  Mr. Mugridge, and his
behaviour and carriage were insufferable as he  showed me my duties. Besides
my work in the cabin, with its four small state- rooms, I was supposed to be
his  assistant  in the  galley, and my  colossal ignorance  concerning  such
things as  peeling potatoes or washing greasy pots was a source of  unending
and sarcastic wonder to  him. He  refused to  take into consideration what I
was, or, rather, what  my life and the  things I was accustomed to had been.
This  was part of  the attitude he chose to adopt toward me; and  I confess,
ere the day was done, that I hated him with more lively feelings than  I had
ever hated any one in my life before.

     Kok treboval,  kak eto ni smeshno, chtoby ya nazyval ego "mister Magridzh",
a  sam,  ob®yasnyaya  mne  moi   obyazannosti,  byl   nevynosimo  grub.   Pomimo
obsluzhivaniya kayut-kompanii s vyhodivshimi v nee chetyr'mya  malen'kimi kayutami,
ya dolzhen byl pomogat' emu  v kambuze, i moe polnoe nevezhestvo po chasti myt'ya
kastryul'  i  chistki  kartofelya  sluzhilo  dlya  nego  neissyakaemym  istochnikom
izumleniya  i  nasmeshek.  On  ne  zhelal  prinimat' vo  vnimanie  moe  prezhnee
polozhenie,  vernee,  zhizn',  kotoruyu  ya privyk vesti.  Emu  ne bylo do etogo
Nikakogo dela,  i priznayus',  chto uzhe k koncu pervogo Dnya  ya  nenavidel  ego
sil'nee, chem kogo by to ni bylo v ZHizni.


     This first day was  made more  difficult for me  from the fact that the
Ghost,  under close reefs (terms such as  these I did not learn till later),
was plunging through what Mr. Mugridge  called  an "'owlin' sou'-easter." At
half-past  five, under  his directions, I set the table in  the cabin,  with
rough-weather trays in place, and then carried the tea and cooked  food down
from the galley.  In  this  connection I  cannot forbear  relating my  first
experience with a boarding sea.

     |tot  pervyj  den'  byl  dlya  menya  tem  trudnee,  chto  "Prizrak",  pod
zariflennymi   parusami  (s   podobnymi  terminami   ya   poznakomilsya   lish'
vposledstvii),  nyryal  v  volnah,  kotorye  nasylal  na nas  "revushchij",  kak
vyrazilsya mister Magridzh, zyujd-ost. V polovine shestogo  ya, po ukazaniyu koka,
nakryl stol  v  kayutkompanii,  predvaritel'no  ustanoviv na nem  reshetku  na
sluchaj burnoj  pogody, a zatem  nachal  podavat' edu i chaj. V svyazi s etim ne
mogu ne  rasskazat'  o  svoem pervom blizkom znakomstve  s  sil'noj  morskoj
kachkoj.


     "Look  sharp  or  you'll  get  doused,"   was  Mr.  Mugridge's  parting
injunction, as I left the galley with a big tea-pot in one hand, and  in the
hollow of the other  arm several  loaves  of fresh-baked  bread. One  of the
hunters, a  tall, loose-jointed chap named Henderson, was  going aft at  the
time from the steerage (the name the hunters facetiously gave their midships
sleeping quarters) to the cabin. Wolf Larsen  was on  the poop,  smoking his
everlasting cigar.

     --  Glyadi  v  oba, ne to okatit! -- naputstvoval  menya  mister Magridzh,
kogda  ya  vyhodil iz  kambuza  s  bol'shim chajnikom v  ruke i  s  neskol'kimi
karavayami svezheispechennogo hleba pod  myshkoj.  Odin iz ohotnikov, dolgovyazyj
paren'  po imeni Genderson, napravlyalsya v eto vremya  iz "chetvertogo  klassa"
(tak nazyvali oni v shutku svoj kubrik) v kayut-kompaniyu. Volk Larsen kuril na
yute svoyu neizmennuyu sigaru.


     "'Ere she comes. Sling yer 'ook!" the cook cried.

     -- Idet, idetDerzhis'! -- zakrichal kok.


     I stopped,  for I did not know what was coming, and saw the galley door
slide shut with a bang. Then  I saw Henderson leaping like a madman for  the
main  rigging, up which he shot, on the inside, till he was many feet higher
than my head. Also I saw a great wave, curling and foaming, poised far above
the rail. I was directly under it. My mind did not work  quickly, everything
was so new and strange. I grasped  that I was in danger, but that was all. I
stood still, in trepidation. Then Wolf Larsen shouted from the poop:

     YA ostanovilsya, tak kak ne ponyal, chto, sobstvenno, "idet". Dver' kambuza
s  treskom  zatvorilas' za  mnoj, a Genderson opromet'yu brosilsya k  vantam i
provorno polez po  nim vverh, poka ne ochutilsya u menya nad  golovoj. I tol'ko
tut ya zametil  gigantskuyu  volnu  s  penistym grebnem,  vysoko  vzmyvshuyu nad
bortom. Ona shla  pryamo  na menya. Moj mozg  rabotal medlenno, potomu chto  vse
zdes' bylo dlya  menya  eshche novo i  neobychno. YA ponyal  tol'ko, chto mne  grozit
opasnost',  i  zastyl na meste,  ocepenev ot uzhasa. Tut Larsen kriknul mne s
yuta:


     "Grab hold something, you - you Hump!"

     -- Derzhis' za chto-nibud', ej, ty... Hemp! [3]


     But it was too late. I sprang toward the rigging, to which I might have
clung, and was met by the descending wall of water. What happened after that
was very  confusing. I  was beneath the  water, suffocating and drowning. My
feet were out from under me, and I was turning over and over and being swept
along I knew not where. Several times I collided against hard  objects, once
striking my right knee a  terrible blow. Then  the  flood seemed suddenly to
subside and I was breathing the good air again. I had been swept against the
galley and around the steerage companion-way  from the weather side into the
lee scuppers. The pain  from my hurt knee was  agonizing. I could not put my
weight on it, or, at least, I thought I could not put my weight on it; and I
felt sure  the  leg  was broken. But the cook was after me, shouting through
the lee galley door:

     No bylo uzhe pozdno. YA prygnul k vantam,  chtoby  ucepit'sya  za  nih, i v
etot  mig  stena vody  obrushilas' na menya, i vse smeshalos'. YA byl pod vodoj,
zadyhalsya  i  tonul.   Paluba   ushla  iz-pod   nog,  i  ya  kuda-to  poletel,
perevernuvshis'  neskol'ko  raz  cherez  golovu.  Menya shvyryalo  iz  storony  v
storonu, udaryalo o kakie-to tverdye predmety, i ya sil'no ushib pravoe koleno.
Potom  volna othlynula, i mne udalos' nakonec  perevesti duh. YA  uvidel, chto
menya otneslo s  navetrennogo borta za kambuz mimo lyuka v kubrik, k  shpigatam
podvetrennogo borta. YA chuvstvoval ostruyu  bol'  v kolene i ne mog stupit' na
etu  nogu,  ili  tak  po krajnej  mere  mne kazalos'. YA byl uveren, chto noga
slomana. No kok uzhe krichal mne iz kambuza:


     "'Ere,  you!  Don't  tyke all night  about  it!  Where's the  pot? Lost
overboard? Serve you bloody well right if yer neck was broke!"

     -- |j, ty! Dolgo ty budesh' tam valandat'sya? Gde chajnik? Uronil za bort?
ZHal', chto ty ne slomal sebe sheyu!


     I  managed to struggle to my feet. The great tea-pot was  still  in  my
hand.  I limped to the galley and handed it to him. But he was consumed with
indignation, real or feigned.

     YA koe-kak podnyalsya na nogi i  zakovylyal  k kambuzu. Ogromnyj chajnik vse
eshche  byl u  menya  v  ruke,  i ya otdal ego  koku.  No  Magridzh  zadyhalsya  ot
negodovaniya -- to li nastoyashchego, to li pritvornogo.


     "Gawd blime me  if you ayn't a slob.  Wot  're you good for anyw'y, I'd
like to  know? Eh? Wot 're you good for any'wy? Cawn't even carry  a  bit of
tea aft without losin' it. Now I'll 'ave to boil some more.

     -- Nu i rastyapa zhe ty! Kuda ty godish'sya,  hotel by ya znat'? A? Kuda  ty
godish'sya? Ne mozhesh' chaj donestiA ya teper' izvol' zavarivat' snova!


     "An' wot 're you  snifflin'  about?" he burst  out at me, with  renewed
rage. "'Cos you've 'urt yer pore little leg, pore little