h pursued us. We hove to and ran away, hove to and ran away, and ever astern the struggling patch of sail tossed skyward and fell into the rushing valleys. It was a quarter of a mile away when a thick squall of rain veiled it from view. It never emerged. The wind blew the air clear again, but no patch of sail broke the troubled surface. I thought I saw, for an instant, the boat's bottom show black in a breaking crest. At the best, that was all. For Johnson and Leach the travail of existence had ceased. I snova "Prizrak" rvanulsya vpered i pomchalsya po vetru, i eshche v prodolzhenie dvuh chasov Dzhonson i Lich gnalis' za nami. A my opyat' lozhilis' v drejf i potom vnov' unosilis' vpered; i vse eto vremya loskut parusa metalsya gde-to za kormoj, to vzletaya k nebu, to provalivayas' v puchinu. On byl ot nas vsego v chetverti mili, kogda naletel novyj shkval i za pelenoj dozhdya parus sovsem skrylsya iz glaz. Bol'she my ego ne videli. Veter razognal oblaka, no uzhe nigde sredi voln ne mayachil zhalkij obryvok parusa. Na mig mne pokazalos', chto na vysokom grebne mel'knulo chernoe dnishche shlyupki. I eto bylo vse. Zemnye trudy Dzhonsona i Licha prishli k koncu. The men remained grouped amidships. No one had gone below, and no one was speaking. Nor were any looks being exchanged. Each man seemed stunned - deeply contemplative, as it were, and, not quite sure, trying to realize just what had taken place. Wolf Larsen gave them little time for thought. He at once put the Ghost upon her course - a course which meant the seal herd and not Yokohama harbour. But the men were no longer eager as they pulled and hauled, and I heard curses amongst them, which left their lips smothered and as heavy and lifeless as were they. Not so was it with the hunters. Smoke the irrepressible related a story, and they descended into the steerage, bellowing with laughter. Komanda prodolzhala tolpit'sya na palube. Nikto ne spuskalsya vniz, nikto ne proiznosil ni slova. Lyudi ne osmelivalis' vzglyanut' drug Drugu v glaza. Vse, kazalos', byli tak oshelomleny sluchivshimsya, chto ne mogli eshche prijti v sebya, osoznat' do konca to, chto proizoshlo. No Volk Larsen ne ostavil im vremeni na razmyshleniya. On srazu zhe prikazal polozhit' shhunu na kurs -- i ne na Iokogamu, a na kotikovye lezhbishcha. Teper', natyagivaya snasti, matrosy rabotali vyalo, ugryumo, i ya slyshal, kak s gub ih sryvalis' proklyatiya, takie zhe ugryumye i vyalye Drugoe delo ohotniki. Neunyvayushchij Smok uzhe prinyalsya rasskazyvat' kakuyu-to istoriyu, i oni spustilis' v svoj kubrik, druzhno gogocha. As I passed to leeward of the galley on my way aft I was approached by the engineer we had rescued. His face was white, his lips were trembling. Napravlyayas' na kormu, ya uvidel spasennogo nami mehanika. On shagnul ko mne; lico ego bylo bledno, guby drozhali. "Good God! sir, what kind of a craft is this?" he cried. -- Pomiluj bog, ser! Na kakoe sudno my popali? -- voskliknul on. "You have eyes, you have seen," I answered, almost brutally, what of the pain and fear at my own heart. -- Vy ne slepoj, sami vse videli, -- otvetil ya pochti grubo, tak kak serdce u menya szhimalos' ot boli i straha. "Your promise?" I said to Wolf Larsen. -- Gde zhe vashe obeshchanie? -- obratilsya ya k Volku Larsenu. "I was not thinking of taking them aboard when I made that promise," he answered. "And anyway, you'll agree I've not laid my hands upon them." -- YA ved' ne obeshchal vzyat' ih na bort, ya vovse ne imel etogo v vidu, -- otozvalsya on. -- I kak-nikak vy dolzhny priznat', chto ya "i pal'cem k nim ne pritronulsya". "Far from it, far from it," he laughed a moment later. I, rassmeyavshis', on povtoril: I made no reply. I was incapable of speaking, my mind was too confused. I must have time to think, I knew. This woman, sleeping even now in the spare cabin, was a responsibility, which I must consider, and the only rational thought that flickered through my mind was that I must do nothing hastily if I were to be any help to her at all. -- Net, net, ya i pal'cem k nim ne pritronulsyaYA promolchal. YA byl slishkom oshelomlen i ne mog vymolvit' ni slova. Mne nado bylo sobrat'sya s myslyami. YA chuvstvoval na sebe otvetstvennost' za zhenshchinu, kotoraya spala sejchas tam, vnizu v kayute, i otchetlivo soznaval tol'ko odno: nel'zya dejstvovat' oprometchivo, esli ya hochu hot' chem-nibud' byt' ej polezen. CHAPTER XX GLAVA XX The remainder of the day passed uneventfully. The young slip of a gale, having wetted our gills, proceeded to moderate. The fourth engineer and the three oilers, after a warm interview with Wolf Larsen, were furnished with outfits from the slop-chests, assigned places under the hunters in the various boats and watches on the vessel, and bundled forward into the forecastle. They went protestingly, but their voices were not loud. They were awed by what they had already seen of Wolf Larsen's character, while the tale of woe they speedily heard in the forecastle took the last bit of rebellion out of them. Den' zakonchilsya bez novyh proisshestvij. Nebol'shoj shtorm, "promochiv nam zhabry", nachal zatihat'. Mehanik i troe smazchikov posle goryachej perepalki s Volkom Larsenom byli vse zhe raspredeleny po shlyupkam pod nachalo ohotnikov i naznacheny na vahty na shhune, dlya chego ih ekipirovali v raznoe star'e, otyskavsheesya na sklade. Posle etogo, prodolzhaya protestovat', hotya i ne ochen' gromko, oni spustilis' v kubrik na bake. Oni byli uzhe osnovatel'no napugany tem, chto im privelos' nablyudat', i harakter Volka Larsena stanovilsya im v kakoj-to mere yasen, a to, chto oni uslyshali zdes' o kapitane ot matrosov, okonchatel'no otbilo u nih ohotu buntovat'. Miss Brewster - we had learned her name from the engineer - slept on and on. At supper I requested the hunters to lower their voices, so she was not disturbed; and it was not till next morning that she made her appearance. It had been my intention to have her meals served apart, but Wolf Larsen put down his foot. Miss Bruster -- imya ee my uznali ot mehanika -- vse eshche spala. Za uzhinom ya poprosil ohotnikov govorit' mne, chtoby ne potrevozhit' ee. Ona vyshla iz svoej kayuty lish' na sleduyushchee utro. YA bylo rasporyadilsya, chtoby ej podavali otdel'no, no Volk Larsen totchas nalozhil na eto zapret. Who was she that she should be too good for cabin table and cabin society? had been his demand. -- Kto ona takaya, -- zayavil on, -- chtoby gnushat'sya kayut-kompaniej? But her coming to the table had something amusing in it. The hunters fell silent as clams. Jock Horner and Smoke alone were unabashed, stealing stealthy glances at her now and again, and even taking part in the conversation. The other four men glued their eyes on their plates and chewed steadily and with thoughtful precision, their ears moving and wobbling, in time with their jaws, like the ears of so many animals. Poyavlenie nashej passazhirki za stolom privelo k dovol'no komichnym rezul'tatam. Ohotniki totchas primolkli, tochno vody v rot nabrali. Tol'ko Dzhok Horner i Smok ne proyavlyali smushcheniya: oni ukradkoj poglyadyvali na passazhirku i dazhe pytalis' prinyat' uchastie v razgovore. Ostal'nye chetvero utknulis' v svoi tarelki i zhevali zadumchivo i ne toropyas'; ushi ih dvigalis' v takt s chelyustyami, kak u zhivotnyh. Wolf Larsen had little to say at first, doing no more than reply when he was addressed. Not that he was abashed. Far from it. This woman was a new type to him, a different breed from any he had ever known, and he was curious. He studied her, his eyes rarely leaving her face unless to follow the movements of her hands or shoulders. I studied her myself, and though it was I who maintained the conversation, I know that I was a bit shy, not quite self-possessed. His was the perfect poise, the supreme confidence in self, which nothing could shake; and he was no more timid of a woman than he was of storm and battle. Vnachale Volk Larsen govoril malo, razve chto otvechal na voprosy. Nel'zya skazat', chtoby on byl smushchen, -- otnyud' net. No v miss Bruster on videl zhenshchinu novogo dlya nego tipa, neznakomoj emu porody, i ego lyubopytstvo bylo zadeto. On vnimatel'no izuchal ee -- pochti ne otryval glaz ot ee lica ili sledil za dvizheniyami ee ruk i plech. Sam ya tozhe nablyudal za neyu, i hotya razgovor, v sushchnosti, podderzhival odin ya, mne trudno bylo izbavit'sya ot nekotorogo chuvstva robosti i rasteryannosti. Volk Larsen, naprotiv, derzhalsya sovershenno neprinuzhdenno. On byl ispolnen takoj uverennosti v sebe, kotoruyu nichto ne moglo pokolebat'. ZHenshchin on boyalsya nichut' ne bol'she, chem shtorma ili draki. "And when shall we arrive at Yokohama?" she asked, turning to him and looking him squarely in the eyes. -- Kogda zhe my budem v Iokogame? -- sprosila ona vdrug, povernuvshis' k kapitanu i vzglyanuv emu pryamo v glaza. There it was, the question flat. The jaws stopped working, the ears ceased wobbling, and though eyes remained glued on plates, each man listened greedily for the answer. Vopros byl zadan bez obinyakov. Vse chelyusti srazu perestali zhevat', ushi perestali shevelit'sya, i hotya glaza u vseh po-prezhnemu byli ustremleny v tarelki, kazhdyj zhdal otveta s napryazhennym i zhadnym vnimaniem. "In four months, possibly three if the season closes early," Wolf Larsen said. -- Mesyaca cherez chetyre, a mozhet, i cherez tri, esli sezon okonchitsya rano, -- otvetil Volk Larsen. She caught her breath and stammered, "I -- I thought - I was given to understand that Yokohama was only a day's sail away. It - " Here she paused and looked about the table at the circle of unsympathetic faces staring hard at the plates. "It is not right," she concluded. Ona nervno glotnula i neuverenno progovorila: -- A ya schitala... mne skazali, chto do Iokogamy vsego odni sutki puti. Vy... -- Ona zapnulas', i glaza ee obezhali krug nichego ne vyrazhavshih lic, sklonennyh nad tarelkami. -- Vy ne imeete prava tak postupat', -- zakonchila ona. "That is a question you must settle with Mr. Van Weyden there," he replied, nodding to me with a mischievous twinkle. "Mr. Van Weyden is what you may call an authority on such things as rights. Now I, who am only a sailor, would look upon the situation somewhat differently. It may possibly be your misfortune that you have to remain with us, but it is certainly our good fortune." -- |tot vopros vam luchshe obsudit' s misterom Van-Vejdenom, -- promolvil-kapitan, nasmeshlivo kivnuv v moyu storonu. -- On u nas specialist po voprosam Prava. A ya prostoj moryak i smotryu na delo inache. Vam, byt' mozhet, pokazhetsya neschast'em to, chto vy dolzhny ostat'sya s nami, no dlya nas eto, nesomnenno, bol'shoe schast'e. He regarded her smilingly. Her eyes fell before his gaze, but she lifted them again, and defiantly, to mine. I read the unspoken question there: was it right? But I had decided that the part I was to play must be a neutral one, so I did not answer. On, ulybayas', glyadel na nee, i ona opustila glaza, no tut zhe snova podnyala ih i s vyzovom posmotrela na Menya. YA prochel v ee vzglyade nemoj vopros: prav li on? No ya uzhe zaranee reshil, chto dolzhen dlya vidu zanimat' nejtral'nuyu poziciyu, i promolchal. "What do you think?" she demanded. -- Kakovo vashe mnenie? -- sprosila ona. "That it is unfortunate, especially if you have any engagements falling due in the course of the next several months. But, since you say that you were voyaging to Japan for your health, I can assure you that it will improve no better anywhere than aboard the Ghost." -- Vam ne povezlo, osobenno esli vas zhdut sejchas neotlozhnye dela. No raz vy govorite, chto predprinyali puteshestvie v YAponiyu s cel'yu popravit' zdorov'e, to, smeyu vas uverit', na bortu "Prizraka" vy okrepnete kak nigde. I saw her eyes flash with indignation, and this time it was I who dropped mine, while I felt my face flushing under her gaze. It was cowardly, but what else could I do? V ee vzglyade vspyhnulo negodovanie, i na etot raz potupit'sya prishlos' mne; ya chuvstvoval, chto u menya goryat shcheki. YA vel sebya, kak trus, no drugogo vyhoda ne bylo. "Mr. Van Weyden speaks with the voice of authority," Wolf Larsen laughed. -- Nu, tut misteru Van-Vejdenu i karty v ruki, -- rassmeyalsya Volk Larsen. I nodded my head, and she, having recovered herself, waited expectantly. YA kivnul, a miss Bruster uzhe ovladela soboj i molcha zhdala, chto posleduet dal'she. "Not that he is much to speak of now," Wolf Larsen went on, "but he has improved wonderfully. You should have seen him when he came on board. A more scrawny, pitiful specimen of humanity one could hardly conceive. Isn't that so, Kerfoot?" -- Nel'zya skazat', chtoby on stal zdorovyakom, -- prodolzhal Volk Larsen, -- no on izmenilsya k luchshemu, porazitel'no izmenilsya. Posmotreli by vy na nego, kogda on tol'ko poyavilsya na shhune. ZHalkij, shchuplen'kij chelovechishko -- smotret' ne na chto. Verno, Kerfut? Kerfoot, thus directly addressed, was startled into dropping his knife on the floor, though he managed to grunt affirmation. Kerfut byl tak zahvachen vrasploh etim neozhidannym obrashcheniem k nemu, chto uronil na pol nozh i aromychal v znak soglasiya chto-to malovrazumitel'noe. "Developed himself by peeling potatoes and washing dishes. Eh, Kerfoot?" -- CHistka kartofelya i myt'e posudy poshli emu vprok. Tak, chto li, Kerfut? Again that worthy grunted. Sej dostojnyj muzh snova chto-to promychal. "Look at him now. True, he is not what you would term muscular, but still he has muscles, which is more than he had when he came aboard. Also, he has legs to stand on. You would not think so to look at him, but he was quite unable to stand alone at first." -- Poglyadite na nego sejchas. Silachom ego, pravda, ne nazovesh', no vse zhe u nego poyavilis' muskuly, chego ran'she i v pomine ne bylo. I teper' on dovol'no tverdo stoit na nogah. A vnachale, poverite li, sovershenno ne mog obhodit'sya bez postoronnej pomoshchi. The hunters were snickering, but she looked at me with a sympathy in her eyes which more than compensated for Wolf Larsen's nastiness. In truth, it had been so long since I had received sympathy that I was softened, and I became then, and gladly, her willing slave. But I was angry with Wolf Larsen. He was challenging my manhood with his slurs, challenging the very legs he claimed to be instrumental in getting for me. Ohotniki posmeivalis', no sochuvstvennyj vzglyad devushki voznagradil menya s lihvoj za vse izdevatel'stva Volka Larsena. Po pravde govorya, ya tak davno ne vstrechal ni v kom uchastiya, chto teper' ono gluboko tronulo menya, i ya srazu stal ee dobrovol'nym rabom. No na Volka Larsena ya byl zol. Svoimi oskorbleniyami on brosal vyzov moemu muzhskomu dostoinstvu, kak by podstrekaya menya dokazat', naskol'ko tverdo ya stoyu na nogah, -- ved' etim, po ego slovam, ya byl obyazan emu. "I may have learned to stand on my own legs," I retorted. "But I have yet to stamp upon others with them." -- Vozmozhno, chto stoyat' na nogah ya uzhe nauchilsya, -- otpariroval ya, -- a vot popirat' lyudej nogami -- k etomu eshche ne privyk. He looked at me insolently. "Your education is only half completed, then," he said dryly, and turned to her. On prenebrezhitel'no poglyadel na menya. "We are very hospitable upon the Ghost. Mr. Van Weyden has discovered that. We do everything to make our guests feel at home, eh, Mr. Van Weyden?" -- Znachit, vashe perevospitanie eshche daleko ne zakoncheno, -- suho obronil on i povernulsya k miss Bruster: -- My zdes' na "Prizrake" ochen' gostepriimny. Mister Van-Vejden uzhe ubedilsya v etom. My idem na vse, lish' by nashi gosti chuvstvovali sebya kak doma. Ne tak li, mister Van-Vejden? "Even to the peeling of potatoes and the washing of dishes," I answered, "to say nothing to wringing their necks out of very fellowship." -- Dazhe razreshaete im chistit' kartofel' i myt' posudu, ne govorya uzhe o tom, chto poroj hvataete ih za gorlo v znak osobogo druzheskogo raspolozheniya. "I beg of you not to receive false impressions of us from Mr. Van Weyden," he interposed with mock anxiety. "You will observe, Miss Brewster, that he carries a dirk in his belt, a - ahem - a most unusual thing for a ship's officer to do. While really very estimable, Mr. Van Weyden is sometimes - how shall I say? - er - quarrelsome, and harsh measures are necessary. He is quite reasonable and fair in his calm moments, and as he is calm now he will not deny that only yesterday he threatened my life." -- Boyus', chto so slov mistera Van-Vejdena vy mozhete sostavit' sebe prevratnoe predstavlenie o nas, -- s pritvornym bespokojstvom perebil menya Volk Larsen. -- Zamet'te, miss Bruster, chto on nosit na poyase tesak, a eto, gm, veshch' dovol'no neobychnaya dlya pomoshchnika kapitana. Voobshche mister Van-Vejden chelovek, dostojnyj vsyacheskogo uvazheniya, no inogda on, kak by eto skazat', byvaet dovol'no neuzhivchiv, i togda prihoditsya pribegat' k krutym meram. Vprochem, v spokojnye minuty on dostatochno rassuditelen i spravedliv, kak, naprimer, sejchas, i, veroyatno, ne stanet otricat', chto lish' vchera grozil ubit' menya. I was well-nigh choking, and my eyes were certainly fiery. He drew attention to me. YA chut' ne zadohnulsya ot vozmushcheniya, i glaza moi, verno, pylali. Larsen ukazal na menya. "Look at him now. He can scarcely control himself in your presence. He is not accustomed to the presence of ladies anyway. I shall have to arm myself before I dare go on deck with him." -- Vot, posmotrite na nego! On ele sderzhivaetsya, dazhe v vashem prisutstvii. Konechno, on ne privyk k zhenskomu obshchestvuPridetsya i mne vooruzhit'sya, inache ya ne risknu vyjti vmeste s nim na palubu. He shook his head sadly, murmuring, "Too bad, too bad," while the hunters burst into guffaws of laughter. -- Priskorbno, priskorbno, -- pomolchav, probormotal on, v to vremya kak ohotniki pokatyvalis' so smehu. The deep-sea voices of these men, rumbling and bellowing in the confined space, produced a wild effect. The whole setting was wild, and for the first time, regarding this strange woman and realizing how incongruous she was in it, I was aware of how much a part of it I was myself. I knew these men and their mental processes, was one of them myself, living the seal-hunting life, eating the seal-hunting fare, thinking, largely, the seal-hunting thoughts. There was for me no strangeness to it, to the rough clothes, the coarse faces, the wild laughter, and the lurching cabin walls and swaying sea-lamps. Osipshie ot morskogo vetra golosa etih lyudej i raskaty ih grubogo hohota zvuchali zloveshche i diko. Da i vse krugom bylo dikim. I, glyadya na etu zhenshchinu, takuyu dalekuyu i chuzhduyu vsem nam, ya vpervye osoznal, naskol'ko sam ya szhilsya s etoj sredoj. YA uspel horosho uznat' etih lyudej, uznat' ih mysli i chuvstva; ya stal odnim iz nih, zhil ih zhizn'yu -- zhizn'yu morskih promyslov, pitalsya, kak vse na morskih promyslah, i byl pogruzhen v te zhe zaboty. I eto uzhe ne kazalos' mne strannym, kak Ne kazalas' strannoj eta grubaya odezhda i grubye lica, dikij smeh, hodivshie hodunom pereborki kayuty i raskachivayushchiesya lampy. As I buttered a piece of bread my eyes chanced to rest upon my hand. The knuckles were skinned and inflamed clear across, the fingers swollen, the nails rimmed with black. I felt the mattress- like growth of beard on my neck, knew that the sleeve of my coat was ripped, that a button was missing from the throat of the blue shirt I wore. The dirk mentioned by Wolf Larsen rested in its sheath on my hip. It was very natural that it should be there, - how natural I had not imagined until now, when I looked upon it with her eyes and knew how strange it and all that went with it must appear to her. Namazyvaya maslom lomot' hleba, ya sluchajno ostanovil vzglyad na svoih rukah. Sustavy byli obodrany v krov' i vospaleny, pal'cy raspuhli, pod nogtyami gryaz'. YA znal, chto obros gustoj shchetinistoj borodoj, chto rukav moej kurtki lopnul po shvu, chto u vorota gruboj sinej rubahi ne hvataet pugovicy. Tesak, o kotorom upomyanul Volk Larsen, visel v nozhnah u poyasa. Do sih por eto kazalos' mne vpolne estestvennym, i tol'ko sejchas, vzglyanuv na vse glazami Mod Bruster, ya ponyal, naskol'ko dikij, dolzhno byt', u menya vid -- i u menya i u vseh okruzhayushchih. But she divined the mockery in Wolf Larsen's words, and again favoured me with a sympathetic glance. But there was a look of bewilderment also in her eyes. That it was mockery made the situation more puzzling to her. Ona pochuvstvovala nasmeshku v slovah Volka Larsena i snova brosila mne sochuvstvennyj vzglyad. No ya zametil, chto ona smushchena. Ironicheskoe otnoshenie ko mne Volka Larsena zastavilo ee eshche bol'she vstrevozhit'sya za svoyu sud'bu. "I may be taken off by some passing vessel, perhaps," she suggested. -- Byt' mozhet, menya voz'met na bort kakoe-nibud' vstrechnoe sudno? -- promolvila ona. "There will be no passing vessels, except other sealing-schooners," Wolf Larsen made answer. -- Nikakih sudov, krome ohotnich'ih shhun, vy zdes' ne vstretite, -- vozrazil Volk Larsen. "I have no clothes, nothing," she objected. "You hardly realize, sir, that I am not a man, or that I am unaccustomed to the vagrant, careless life which you and your men seem to lead." -- No u menya net odezhdy, net nichego neobhodimogo, -- skazala ona. -- Vy, verno, zabyvaete, ser, chto ya ne muzhchina i ne privykla k toj kochevoj zhizni, kotoruyu, po-vidimomu, vedete vy i vashi lyudi. "The sooner you get accustomed to it, the better," he said. "I'll furnish you with cloth, needles, and thread," he added. "I hope it will not be too dreadful a hardship for you to make yourself a dress or two." -- CHem skoree vy privyknete k nej, tem luchshe, -- otvechal Volk Larsen. -- YA dam vam materiyu, igolku i nitki, -- pomolchav, dobavil on. -- Nadeyus', dlya vas ne sostavit slishkom bol'shogo truda sshit' sebe odno-dva plat'ya. She made a wry pucker with her mouth, as though to advertise her ignorance of dressmaking. That she was frightened and bewildered, and that she was bravely striving to hide it, was quite plain to me. Ona krivo usmehnulas', davaya ponyat', chto ne iskushena v shvejnom iskusstve. Mne bylo yasno, chto ona ispugana i sbita s tolku, no otchayanno staraetsya ne podat' vidu. "I suppose you're like Mr. Van Weyden there, accustomed to having things done for you. Well, I think doing a few things for yourself will hardly dislocate any joints. By the way, what do you do for a living?" -- Nado polagat', vy, vrode nashego mistera VanVejdena, privykli, chtoby za vas vse delali drugie. Dumayu vse zhe, chto vashe zdorov'e ne postradaet, esli vy budete koe-chto delat' dlya sebya sami. Kstati, chem vy zarabatyvaete na zhizn'? She regarded him with amazement unconcealed. Ona poglyadela na nego s neskryvaemym izumleniem. "I mean no offence, believe me. People eat, therefore they must procure the wherewithal. These men here shoot seals in order to live; for the same reason I sail this schooner; and Mr. Van Weyden, for the present at any rate, earns his salty grub by assisting me. Now what do you do?" -- Ne v obidu vam bud' skazano, no lyudyam ved' nado est' i oni dolzhny kak-to dobyvat' sebe propitanie. |ti vot b'yut kotikov, tem i zhivut, ya upravlyayu svoej shhunoj, a mister Van-Vejden, po krajnej mere sejchas, dobyvaet svoj harch, pomogaya mne. A vy chem zanimaetes'? She shrugged her shoulders. Ona pozhala plechami. "Do you feed yourself? Or does some one else feed you?" -- Vy sami kormite sebya? Ili eto delaet za vas kto-to drugoj? "I'm afraid some one else has fed me most of my life," she laughed, trying bravely to enter into the spirit of his quizzing, though I could see a terror dawning and growing in her eyes as she watched Wolf Larsen. -- Boyus', chto bol'shuyu chast' zhizni menya kormili drugie, -- zasmeyalas' ona, muzhestvenno starayas' popast' emu v ton, no ya videl, kak v ee glazah, kotorye ona ne svodila s nego, rastet strah. "And I suppose some one else makes your bed for you?" -- Verno, i postel' vam stlali drugie? "I HAVE made beds," she replied. -- Mne sluchalos' i samoj delat' eto. "Very often?" -- CHasto? She shook her head with mock ruefulness. Ona pokachala golovoj s shutlivym raskayaniem. "Do you know what they do to poor men in the States, who, like you, do not work for their living?" -- A vy znaete, kak postupayut v Soedinennyh SHtatah s bednyakami, kotorye, podobno vam, ne zarabatyvayut sebe na hleb? "I am very ignorant," she pleaded. "What do they do to the poor men who are like me?" -- YA ochen' nevezhestvennaya, -- zhalobno progovorila ona. -- CHto zhe tam delayut s takimi, kak ya? "They send them to jail. The crime of not earning a living, in their case, is called vagrancy. If I were Mr. Van Weyden, who harps eternally on questions of right and wrong, I'd ask, by what right do you live when you do nothing to deserve living?" -- Sazhayut v tyur'mu. Ih prestuplenie zaklyuchaetsya v tom, chto oni ne zarabatyvayut na propitanie, i eto nazyvaetsya brodyazhnichestvom. Bud' ya misterom VanVejdenom, kotoryj vechno rassuzhdaet o tom, chto spravedlivo i chto net, ya by sprosil vas: po kakomu pravu vy zhivete na svete, esli vy ne delaete nichego, chtoby opravdat' svoe sushchestvovanie? "But as you are not Mr. Van Weyden, I don't have to answer, do I?" -- No vy ne mister Van-Vejden, i ya ne obyazana otvechat' vam, ne tak li? She beamed upon him through her terror-filled eyes, and the pathos of it cut me to the heart. I must in some way break in and lead the conversation into other channels. Ona nasmeshlivo ulybnulas', hotya v glazah u nee po-prezhnemu stoyal strah, i u menya szhalos' serdce -- tak eto bylo trogatel'no. YA chuvstvoval, chto dolzhen vmeshat'sya i napravit' razgovor v drugoe ruslo. "Have you ever earned a dollar by your own labour?" he demanded, certain of her answer, a triumphant vindictiveness in his voice. -- Zarabotali vy hot' dollar sobstvennym trudom? -- tonom torzhestvuyushchego oblichitelya sprosil kapitan, zaranee uverennyj v ee otvete. "Yes, I have," she answered slowly, and I could have laughed aloud at his crestfallen visage. "I remember my father giving me a dollar once, when I was a little girl, for remaining absolutely quiet for five minutes." -- Da, zarabotala, -- otvechala ona ne spesha, i ya chut' ne rashohotalsya, uvidev, kak vytyanulos' lico Volka Larsena. -- Pomnitsya, kogda ya byla sovsem malen'koj, otec dal mne dollar za to, chto ya celyh pyat' minut prosidela smirno. He smiled indulgently. On snishoditel'no ulybnulsya. "But that was long ago," she continued. "And you would scarcely demand a little girl of nine to earn her own living." -- No eto bylo davno, -- prodolzhala ona, -- i navryad li vy stanete trebovat', chtoby devyatiletnyaya devochka zarabatyvala sebe na hleb. "At present, however," she said, after another slight pause, "I earn about eighteen hundred dollars a year." I, nemnogo pomedliv, ona dobavila: -- A sejchas ya zarabatyvayu okolo tysyachi vos'misot dollarov v god. With one accord, all eyes left the plates and settled on her. A woman who earned eighteen hundred dollars a year was worth looking at. Wolf Larsen was undisguised in his admiration. Vse, kak po komande, otorvali glaza ot tarelok i ustavilis' na nee. Na zhenshchinu, zarabatyvayushchuyu tysyachu vosem'sot dollarov v god, stoilo posmotret'Volk Larsen ne skryval svoego voshishcheniya. "Salary, or piece-work?" he asked. -- |to zhalovan'e ili sdel'no? -- sprosil on. "Piece-work," she answered promptly. -- Sdel'no, -- totchas otvetila ona. "Eighteen hundred," he calculated. "That's a hundred and fifty dollars a month. Well, Miss Brewster, there is nothing small about the Ghost. Consider yourself on salary during the time you remain with us." -- Tysyacha vosem'sot. Poltorasta dollarov v mesyac, -- podschital on. -- Nu chto zh, miss Bruster, u nas zdes' na "Prizrake" shirokij razmah. Schitajte sebya na zhalovan'e vse vremya, poka vy ostaetes' s nami. She made no acknowledgment. She was too unused as yet to the whims of the man to accept them with equanimity. Ona nichego ne otvetila. Neozhidannye vyverty etogo cheloveka byli dlya nee eshche vnove, i ona ne znala, kak k nim otnestis'. "I forgot to inquire," he went on suavely, "as to the nature of your occupation. What commodities do you turn out? What tools and materials do you require?" -- YA zabyl sprosit' o vashej professii, -- vkradchivo prodolzhal on. -- Kakie predmety vy izgotovlyaete? Kakie vam potrebuyutsya materialy i instrumenty? "Paper and ink," she laughed. "And, oh! also a typewriter." -- Bumaga i chernila, -- rassmeyalas' ona. -- Nu i, razumeetsya, pishushchaya mashinka! "You are Maud Brewster," I said slowly and with certainty, almost as though I were charging her with a crime. -- Tak vy -- Mod Bruster! -- medlenno i uverenno progovoril ya, slovno obvinyaya ee v prestuplenii. Her eyes lifted curiously to mine. Ona s lyubopytstvom vzglyanula na menya. "How do you know?" -- Pochemu vy tak dumaete? "Aren't you?" I demanded. -- Ved' ya ne oshibsya? -- nastaival ya. She acknowledged her identity with a nod. It was Wolf Larsen's turn to be puzzled. The name and its magic signified nothing to him. I was proud that it did mean something to me, and for the first time in a weary while I was convincingly conscious of a superiority over him. Ona kivnula. Teper' uzhe Volk Larsen byl ozadachen. |to magicheskoe imya nichego ne govorilo emu. YA zhe gordilsya tem, chto mne ono govorilo ochen' mnogo, i vpervye za vremya etoj tomitel'noj besedy pochuvstvoval svoe prevoshodstvo. "I remember writing a review of a thin little volume - " I had begun carelessly, when she interrupted me. -- Pomnitsya, mne kak-to prishlos' pisat' recenziyu na malen'kij tomik... -- nachal ya nebrezhno, no ona perebila menya. "You!" she cried. "You are - " -- Vy? -- voskliknula ona. -- Tak vy... She was now staring at me in wide-eyed wonder. Ona smotrela na menya vo vse glaza. I nodded my identity, in turn. YA kivkom podtverdil ee dogadku. "Humphrey Van Weyden," she concluded; then added with a sigh of relief, and unaware that she had glanced that relief at Wolf Larsen, "I am so glad." -- Hemfri Van-Vejden! -- zakonchila ona so vzdohom oblegcheniya i, brosiv nevol'nyj vzglyad v storonu Volka Larsena, voskliknula: -- Kak ya rada!.. "I remember the review," she went on hastily, becoming aware of the awkwardness of her remark; "that too, too flattering review." Oshchutiv nekotoruyu nelovkost', kogda eti slova sorvalis' u nee s gub, ona pospeshila dobavit': -- YA pomnyu etu chereschur lestnuyu dlya menya recenziyu... "Not at all," I denied valiantly. "You impeach my sober judgment and make my canons of little worth. Besides, all my brother critics were with me. Didn't Lang include your 'Kiss Endured' among the four supreme sonnets by women in the English language?" -- Vy ne pravy, -- galantno vozrazil ya. -- Govorya tak, vy svodite na net moyu bespristrastnuyu ocenku i stavite pod somnenie moi kriterii. A ved' vse nashi kritiki byli soglasny so mnoj. Razve Leng ne otnes vash "Vynuzhdennyj poceluj" k chislu cheтyreh luchshih anglijskih sonetov, vyshedshih iz-pod pera zhenshchiny? "But you called me the American Mrs. Meynell!" -- No vy sami pri etom nazvali menya amerikanskoj missis Mejnell! [12] "Was it not true?" I demanded. -- A razve eto neverno? "No, not that," she answered. "I was hurt." -- Ne v tom delo, -- otvetila ona. -- Prosto mne bylo obidno. "We can measure the unknown only by the known," I replied, in my finest academic manner. "As a critic I was compelled to place you. You have now become a yardstick yourself. Seven of your thin little volumes are on my shelves; and there are two thicker volumes, the essays, which, you will pardon my saying, and I know not which is flattered more, fully equal your verse. The time is not far distant when some unknown will arise in England and the critics will name her the English Maud Brewster." -- Neizvestnoe izmerimo tol'ko cherez izvestnoe, -- poyasnil ya v nailuchshej akademicheskoj manere. -- YA, kak kritik, obyazan byl togda opredelit' vashe mesto v literature. A teper' vy sami stali meroj veshchej. Sem' vashih tomikov stoyat u menya na polke, a ryadom s nimi dve knigi potolshche -- ocherki, o kotoryh ya, esli pozvolite, skazhu, chto oni ne ustupayut vashim stiham, prichem ya, pozhaluj, ne voz'mus' opredelit', dlya kakih vashih proizvedenij eto sopostavlenie bolee lestno. Nedaleko to vremya, kogda v Anglii poyavitsya nikomu ne izvestnaya poetessa i kritiki nazovut ee anglijskoj Mod Bruster. "You are very kind, I am sure," she murmured; and the very conventionality of her tones and words, with the host of associations it aroused of the old life on the other side of the world, gave me a quick thrill - rich with remembrance but stinging sharp with home-sickness. -- Vy, pravo, slishkom lyubezny, -- myagko progovorila ona, i sama uslovnost' etogo oborota i manera, s kotoroj ona proiznesla eti slova, probudili vo mne mnozhestvo associacij, svyazannyh s moej prezhnej zhizn'yu daleko, daleko otsyuda. YA byl gluboko vzvolnovan. I v etom volnenii byla ne tol'ko sladost' vospominanij, no i vnezapnaya ostraya toska po domu. "And you are Maud Brewster," I said solemnly, gazing across at her. -- Itak, vy -- Mod Bruster! -- torzhestvenno proiznes ya, glyadya na nee cherez stol. "And you are Humphrey Van Weyden," she said, gazing back at me with equal solemnity and awe. "How unusual! I don't understand. We surely are not to expect some wildly romantic sea-story from your sober pen." -- Itak, vy -- Hemfri Van-Vejden! -- otozvalas' ona, glyadya na menya stol' zhe torzhestvenno i s uvazheniem. -- Kak vse eto strannoNichego ne ponimayu. Mozhet byt', nado ozhidat', chto iz-pod vashego trezvogo pera vyjdet kakaya-nibud' bezuderzhno romanticheskaya morskaya istoriya? "No, I am not gathering material, I assure you," was my answer. "I have neither aptitude nor inclination for fiction." -- O net, uveryayu vas, ya zdes' ne zanimayus' sobiraniem materiala, -- otvechal ya. -- U menya net ni sposobnostej, ni sklonnosti k belletristike. "Tell me, why have you always buried yourself in California?" she next asked. "It has not been kind of you. We of the East have seen to very little of you - too little, indeed, of the Dean of American Letters, the Second." -- Skazhite, pochemu vy pogrebli sebya v Kalifornii? -- sprosila ona, pomolchav. -- |to, pravo, nelyubezno s vashej storony. Vas, nashego vtorogo "nastavnika amerikanskoj literatury", pochti ne bylo vidno u nas na Vostoke. I bowed to, and disclaimed, the compliment. YA otvetil na ee kompliment poklonom, no tut zhe vozrazil: "I nearly met you, once, in Philadelphia, some Browning affair or other - you were to lecture, you know. My train was four hours late." -- Tem ne menee ya odnazhdy chut' ne vstretilsya s vami v Filadel'fii. Tam otmechali kakoj-to yubilej Brauninga, i vy vystupali s dokladom. No moj poezd opozdal na chetyre chasa. And then we quite forgot where we were, leaving Wolf Larsen stranded and silent in the midst of our flood of gossip. The hunters left the table and went on deck, and still we talked. Wolf Larsen alone remained. Suddenly I became aware of him, leaning back from the table and listening curiously to our alien speech of a world he did not know. My tak uvleklis', chto sovsem zabyli okruzhayushchee, zabyli o Volke Larsene, bezmolvno vnimavshem nashej besede. Ohotniki podnyalis' iz-za stola i ushli na palubu, a my vse sideli i razgovarivali. Odin Volk Larsen ostalsya s nami. Vnezapno ya snova oshchutil ego prisutstvie: otkinuvshis' na stule, on s lyubopytstvom prislushivalsya k chuzhomu yazyku nevedomogo emu mira. I broke short off in the middle of a sentence. The present, with all its perils and anxieties, rushed upon me with stunning force. It smote Miss Brewster likewise, a vague and nameless terror rushing into her eyes as she regarded Wolf Larsen. YA oborval nezakonchennuyu frazu na poluslove. Nastoyashchee, so vsemi ego opasnostyami i trevogami, grozno vstalo predo mnoj. Miss Bruster, vidimo, pochuvstvovala to zhe, chto i ya: ona vzglyanula na Volka Larsena, i ya snova prochel zataennyj uzhas v ee glazah. He rose to his feet and laughed awkwardly. The sound of it was metallic. Larsen vstal i delanno rassmeyalsya. Smeh ego zvuchal holodno i bezzhiznenno. "Oh, don't mind me," he said, with a self-depreciatory wave of his hand. "I don't count. Go on, go on, I pray you." -- O, ne obrashchajte na menya vnimaniya! -- skazal on, s pritvornym samounichizheniem mahnuv rukoj. -- YA v schet ne idu. Prodolzhajte, prodolzhajte, proshu vas! But the gates of speech were closed, and we, too, rose from the table and laughed awkwardly. No potok nashego krasnorechiya srazu issyak, i my tozhe natyanuto rassmeyalis' i vstali iz-za stola. CHAPTER XXI GLAVA XXI The chagrin Wolf Larsen felt from being ignored by Maud Brewster and me in the conversation at table had to express itself in some fashion, and it fell to Thomas Mugridge to be the victim. He had not mended his ways nor his shirt, though the latter he contended he had changed. The garment itself did not bear out the assertion, nor did the accumulations of grease on stove and pot and pan attest a general cleanliness. Volk Larsen byl chrezvychajno razdosadovan tem, chto my s Mod Bruster ne obrashchali na nego vnimaniya vo vremya nashej zastol'noj besedy, i emu nuzhno bylo sorvat' na kom-to zlobu. ZHertvoj ee pal Tomas Magridzh. Kok ne izmenil svoim privychkam, kak ne smenil on i svoej rubashki. Naschet rubashki on, vprochem, utverzhdal obratnoe, no vid ee oprovergal ego slova. Zasalennye zhe kastryuli i skovorodki i gryaznaya plita takzhe otnyud' ne svidetel'stvovali o tom, chto kambuz soderzhitsya v chistote. "I've given you warning, Cooky," Wolf Larsen said, "and now you've got to take your medicine." -- YA tebya preduprezhdal, -- skazal emu Volk Larsen. -- Teper' penyaj na sebya. Mugridge's face turned white under its sooty veneer, and when Wolf Larsen called for a rope and a couple of men, the miserable Cockney fled wildly out of the galley and dodged and ducked about the deck with the grinning crew in pursuit. Few things could have been more to their liking than to give him a tow over the side, for to the forecastle he had sent messes and concoctions of the vilest order. Conditions favoured the undertaking. The Ghost was slipping through the water at no more than three miles an hour, and the sea was fairly calm. But Mugridge had little stomach for a dip in it. Possibly he had seen men towed before. Besides, the water was frightfully cold, and his was anything but a rugged constitution. Lico Magridzha poblednelo pod sloem sazhi, a kogda Volk Larsen pozval dvuh matrosov i velel prinesti konec, zlopoluchnyj kok vyskochil, kak oshparennyj, iz kambuza i zametalsya po palube, uvilivaya ot matrosov, s hohotom pustivshihsya za nim v pogonyu. Vryad li chtonibud' moglo dostavit' im bol'shee udovol'stvie. U vseh chesalis' ruki vykupat' ego v more, ved' imenno v matrosskij kubrik posylal on samuyu omerzitel'nuyu svoyu stryapnyu. Pogoda blagopriyatstvovala zatee. "Prizrak" skol'zil po tihoj morskoj gladi so skorost'yu ne bolee treh mil' v chas. No Magridzh byl ne iz hrabrogo desyatka, i kupanie