a im; po telu ego probezhala drozh'. Svoimi rassuzhdeniyami on dovel sebya do pristupa handry, i mozhno bylo zhdat', chto chasa cherez dva ona najdet sebe razryadku v kakoj-nibud' d'yavol'skoj vyhodke. Mne vspomnilsya CHarli Feraset, i ya podumal, chto eta toska -- kara, kotoraya postigaet kazhdogo materialista. CHAPTER XXV GLAVA XXV "You've been on deck, Mr. Van Weyden," Wolf Larsen said, the following morning at the breakfast-table, "How do things look?" Utrom vo vremya zavtraka Volk Larsen obratilsya ko mne s voprosom: uzhe podnimalis' na palubu, mister VanVejden? Kakaya segodnya pogoda? "Clear enough," I answered, glancing at the sunshine which streamed down the open companion-way. "Fair westerly breeze, with a promise of stiffening, if Louis predicts correctly." -- Dovol'no yasno, -- otvetil ya, brosaya vzglyad na solnechnyj luch, igrayushchij na stupen'ke trapa. -- Veter zapadnyj, svezhij i, kazhetsya, budet eshche krepchat', esli verit' prognozu Luisa. He nodded his head in a pleased way. "Any signs of fog?" Kapitan kivnul s dovol'nym vidom. -- Tuman ne predviditsya? "Thick banks in the north and north-west." -- Na severe i na severo-zapade gustaya pelena. He nodded his head again, evincing even greater satisfaction than before. On snova kivnul i, kazalos', ostalsya eshche bolee dovolen, uslyshav eto. "What of the Macedonia?" -- A chto "Makedoniya"? "Not sighted," I answered. -- Ee nigde ne vidno, -- otvechal ya. I could have sworn his face fell at the intelligence, but why he should be disappointed I could not conceive. YA jog by poklyast'sya, chto pri etom soobshchenii lico u nego vytyanulos', no pochemu eto tak ego razocharovalo, bylo mne neponyatno. I was soon to learn. "Smoke ho!" came the hail from on deck, and his face brightened. Vskore vse raz®yasnilos'. -- Dym vperedi! -- doneslos' s paluby, i lico Larsena snova ozhivilos'. "Good!" he exclaimed, and left the table at once to go on deck and into the steerage, where the hunters were taking the first breakfast of their exile. -- Prevoshodno! -- voskliknul on. Vskochiv iz-za stola, on podnyalsya na palubu i napravilsya k izgnannym iz kayut-kompanii ohotnikam, kotorye vkushali svoj pervyj zavtrak u sebya v kubrike. Maud Brewster and I scarcely touched the food before us, gazing, instead, in silent anxiety at each other, and listening to Wolf Larsen's voice, which easily penetrated the cabin through the intervening bulkhead. He spoke at length, and his conclusion was greeted with a wild roar of cheers. The bulkhead was too thick for us to hear what he said; but whatever it was it affected the hunters strongly, for the cheering was followed by loud exclamations and shouts of joy. Ni Mod Bruster, ni ya pochti ne pritronulis' k ede. My pereglyanulis' trevozhno, v polnom molchanii prislushivayas' k golosu kapitana, donosivshemusya skvoz' pereborku. Govoril on dolgo, i konec ego rechi byl vstrechen odobritel'nym revom. Pereborka byla tolstaya, i my ne mogli razobrat' slov, no oni yavno proizveli bol'shoe vpechatlenie na ohotnikov. Rev stih i pereshel v ozhivlennyj govor i veselye vozglasy. From the sounds on deck I knew that the sailors had been routed out and were preparing to lower the boats. Maud Brewster accompanied me on deck, but I left her at the break of the poop, where she might watch the scene and not be in it. The sailors must have learned whatever project was on hand, and the vim and snap they put into their work attested their enthusiasm. The hunters came trooping on deck with shot-guns and ammunition-boxes, and, most unusual, their rifles. The latter were rarely taken in the boats, for a seal shot at long range with a rifle invariably sank before a boat could reach it. But each hunter this day had his rifle and a large supply of cartridges. I noticed they grinned with satisfaction whenever they looked at the Macedonia's smoke, which was rising higher and higher as she approached from the west. Vskore na palube podnyalis' shum i voznya, i ya ponyal, chto matrosy vyzvany naverh i gotovyatsya spuskat' shlyupki. Mod Bruster vyshla vmeste so mnoj na palubu, i ya pokinul ee u kraya yuta, otkuda ona mogla videt' vse i v to zhe vremya ostavat'sya v storone. Matrosy, dolzhno byt', tozhe byli posvyashcheny v zamysly kapitana, tak kak rabotali s neobyknovennym rveniem. Ohotniki, prihvativ droboviki, yashchiki s patronami i -- chto bylo sovsem neobychno -- vintovki, vysypali na palubu. Oni pochti nikogda ne brali s soboj vintovok, tak kak kotiki, ubitye pulej s dal'nego rasstoyaniya, neizmenno tonuli, prezhde chem podospeet shlyupka. No segodnya kazhdyj ohotnik vzyal s soboj vintovku i bol'shoj zapas patronov. YA zametil, kak oni dovol'no uhmylyalis', poglyadyvaya na dymok "Makedonii", kotoryj podnimalsya vse vyshe i vyshe, po mere togo kak parohod priblizhalsya k nam s zapada. The five boats went over the side with a rush, spread out like the ribs of a fan, and set a northerly course, as on the preceding afternoon, for us to follow. I watched for some time, curiously, but there seemed nothing extraordinary about their behaviour. They lowered sails, shot seals, and hoisted sails again, and continued on their way as I had always seen them do. The Macedonia repeated her performance of yesterday, "hogging" the sea by dropping her line of boats in advance of ours and across our course. Fourteen boats require a considerable spread of ocean for comfortable hunting, and when she had completely lapped our line she continued steaming into the north-east, dropping more boats as she went. Vse pyat' shlyupok byli bystro spushcheny na vodu. Kak i nakanune, oni razoshlis' veerom v severnom napravlenii. My sledovali poodal'. YA s lyubopytstvom nablyudal za nimi, no vse shlo, kak obychno. Ohotniki spuskali parusa, bili zverya, snova stavili parusa i prodolzhali svoj put', kak delalos' eto izo dnya v den'. "Makedoniya" povtorila svoj vcherashnij manevr -- nachala spuskat' svoi shlyupki vperedi, poperek nashego kurka, s cel'yu "podmesti" more. CHetyrnadcat' shlyupok "Makedonii" dlya uspeshnoj ohoty dolzhny byli rasseyat'sya na dovol'no obshirnom prostranstve, i parohod, pererezav nam put', prodolzhal dvigat'sya na severo-vostok, spuskaya shlyupki. "What's up?" I asked Wolf Larsen, unable longer to keep my curiosity in check. -- CHto vy budete delat'? -- sprosil ya Volka Larsena, snedaemyj lyubopytstvom. "Never mind what's up," he answered gruffly. "You won't be a thousand years in finding out, and in the meantime just pray for plenty of wind." -- Vas eto ne kasaetsya, -- grubo otvetil on. -- Uznaete v svoe vremya. A poka chto molites' o horoshem vetre. "Oh, well, I don't mind telling you," he said the next moment. "I'm going to give that brother of mine a taste of his own medicine. In short, I'm going to play the hog myself, and not for one day, but for the rest of the season, - if we're in luck." -- Vprochem, mogu skazat', -- dobavil on, pomolchav. -- YA nameren ugostit' bratca po ego zhe receptu. Koroche govorya, "podmetat'" more teper' budu ya, i ne odin den', a do konca sezona, esli nam povezet. "And if we're not?" I queried. -- A esli net? "Not to be considered," he laughed. "We simply must be in luck, or it's all up with us." -- |to isklyuchaetsya, -- rassmeyalsya on. -- Nam dolzhno povezti, inache my propali. He had the wheel at the time, and I went forward to my hospital in the forecastle, where lay the two crippled men, Nilson and Thomas Mugridge. Nilson was as cheerful as could be expected, for his broken leg was knitting nicely; but the Cockney was desperately melancholy, and I was aware of a great sympathy for the unfortunate creature. And the marvel of it was that still he lived and clung to life. The brutal years had reduced his meagre body to splintered wreckage, and yet the spark of life within burned brightly as ever. On stoyal na rule, a ya poshel v matrosskij kubrik provedat' svoih pacientov -- Nilsona i Magridzha. U Nilsona perelomannaya noga horosho srastalas', i on byl dovol'no bodr i vesel, no kok prebyval v chernoj melanholii, i mne nevol'no stalo iskrenne zhal' etogo goremyku. Kazalos' porazitel'nym, chto posle vsego perenesennogo on vse eshche zhiv i prodolzhaet ceplyat'sya za zhizn'. Sud'ba ne shchadila bednyagu: kalecha ego iz goda v god, ona prevratila ego tshchedushnoe telo v kakoj-to oblomok korablekrusheniya, no iskorka zhizni upryamo tlela v nem. "With an artificial foot - and they make excellent ones - you will be stumping ships' galleys to the end of time," I assured him jovially. -- S horoshim protezom, kakie teper' delayut, ty smozhesh' toptat'sya v kambuzah do skonchaniya veka, -- podbodril ya ego. But his answer was serious, nay, solemn. "I don't know about wot you s'y, Mr. Van W'yden, but I do know I'll never rest 'appy till I see that 'ell-'ound bloody well dead. 'E cawn't live as long as me. 'E's got no right to live, an' as the Good Word puts it, ''E shall shorely die,' an' I s'y, 'Amen, an' damn soon at that.'" On otvetil mne ochen' ser'ezno, dazhe torzhestvenno: -- Ne znayu, o kakih vy tam protezah tolkuete, mister Van-Vejden, tol'ko ya ne umru spokojno, poka ne uvizhu, chto eta skotina izdohla, bud' on proklyat! Emu ne perezhit' menya, net! On ne imeet prava zhit' i, kak skazano v svyashchennom pisanii: "I okonchit dni svoi v mukah". A ya dobavlyu: amin', i chtob on sdoh poskorej! When I returned on deck I found Wolf Larsen steering mainly with one hand, while with the other hand he held the marine glasses and studied the situation of the boats, paying particular attention to the position of the Macedonia. The only change noticeable in our boats was that they had hauled close on the wind and were heading several points west of north. Still, I could not see the expediency of the manoeuvre, for the free sea was still intercepted by the Macedonia's five weather boats, which, in turn, had hauled close on the wind. Thus they slowly diverged toward the west, drawing farther away from the remainder of the boats in their line. Our boats were rowing as well as sailing. Even the hunters were pulling, and with three pairs of oars in the water they rapidly overhauled what I may appropriately term the enemy. Vernuvshis' na palubu, ya uvidel, chto Volk Larsen odnoj rukoj vertit shturval, a v drugoj derzhit morskoj binokl', izuchaya raspolozhenie shlyupok i vnimatel'no?" sledya za dvizheniem "Makedonii". YA zametil, chto nashi a shlyupki privalilis' k vetru i vzyali kurs na severo-zapad, no smysl etogo manevra byl mne ne yasen, tak kak: vperedi ih nahodilos' pyat' shlyupok "Makedonii", kotorye, v svoyu ochered', tozhe vzyali kruche k vetru. Takim obrazom, oni vse bolee uklonyalis' na zapad, postepenno udalyayas' ot ostal'nyh shlyupok. Nashi shlyupki shli i pod parusami i na veslah. Podgonyaemaya kazhdaya tremya parami vesel -- dazhe ohotniki grebli, -- oni bystro dogonyali "nepriyatelya". Dym parohoda tayal vdali, prevrashchayas' v edva razlichimoe pyatnyshko na severo-vostoke. Samogo sudna uzhe ne bylo vidno. The smoke of the Macedonia had dwindled to a dim blot on the north- eastern horizon. Of the steamer herself nothing was to be seen. We had been loafing along, till now, our sails shaking half the time and spilling the wind; and twice, for short periods, we had been hove to. But there was no more loafing. Sheets were trimmed, and Wolf Larsen proceeded to put the Ghost through her paces. We ran past our line of boats and bore down upon the first weather boat of the other line. Do sih por my ele-ele prodvigalis' vpered, i parusa pochti vse vremya poloskalis' na vetru; raza dva my dazhe nenadolgo lozhilis' v drejf. No teper' vse izmenilos'. SHkoty byli vybrany, i Volk Larsen povel "Prizrak" polnym hodom. My promchalis' mimo nashih shlyupok i stali priblizhat'sya k blizhajshej shlyupke s "Makedonii". "Down that flying jib, Mr. Van Weyden," Wolf Larsen commanded. "And stand by to back over the jibs." -- Otdajte bom-kliver, mister Van-Vejden, -- skomandoval Volk Larsen, -- i prigotov'tes' vybrat' kliver i staksel'! I ran forward and had the downhaul of the flying jib all in and fast as we slipped by the boat a hundred feet to leeward. The three men in it gazed at us suspiciously. They had been hogging the sea, and they knew Wolf Larsen, by reputation at any rate. I noted that the hunter, a huge Scandinavian sitting in the bow, held his rifle, ready to hand, across his knees. It should have been in its proper place in the rack. When they came opposite our stern, Wolf Larsen greeted them with a wave of the hand, and cried: "Come on board and have a 'gam'!" YA pobezhal ispolnyat' komandu, i kogda my medlenno skol'zili mimo shlyupki v kakih-nibud' sta futah ot nee s podvetrennoj storony, niral blom-klivera byl uzhe vybran i zakreplen. Troe lyudej na shlyupke podozritel'no poglyadyvali v nashu storonu. Oni ne mogli ne znat' Volka Larsena, hotya by ponaslyshke, a ved' oni tol'ko chto "podmetali" more pered nashimi shlyupkami. YA obratil vnimanie na to, chto ohotnik -- zdorovennyj malyj skandinavskogo tipa, sidevshij na nosu, -- derzhit na kolenyah vintovku, chto, kazalos', bylo sejchas sovsem ni k chemu, -- vintovka mogla by lezhat' na meste. Kogda my poravnyalis' s nimi. Volk Larsen pomahal im rukoj i kriknul: -- Podnimajtes' k nam "podrejfovat'"! "To gam," among the sealing-schooners, is a substitute for the verbs "to visit," "to gossip." It expresses the garrulity of the sea, and is a pleasant break in the monotony of the life. Slovo "podrejfovat'" na yazyke promyslovyh shhun zamenyaet srazu dva glagola: "navestit'" i "poboltat'".Ono otrazhaet obshchitel'nost' moryakov i sulit priyatnoe raznoobrazie v ih monotonnoj zhizni. The Ghost swung around into the wind, and I finished my work forward in time to run aft and lend a hand with the mainsheet. "Prizrak" privelsya k vetru, i ya, zakonchiv svoyu rabotu na bake, pobezhal na kormu pomoch' matrosam upravit'sya s grotom. "You will please stay on deck, Miss Brewster," Wolf Larsen said, as he started forward to meet his guest. "And you too, Mr. Van Weyden." -- Proshu vas ostavat'sya na palube, miss Bruster, -- skazal Volk Larsen, napravlyayas' vstrechat' gostej. -- I vas tozhe, mister Van-Vejden. The boat had lowered its sail and run alongside. The hunter, golden bearded like a sea-king, came over the rail and dropped on deck. But his hugeness could not quite overcome his apprehensiveness. Doubt and distrust showed strongly in his face. It was a transparent face, for all of its hairy shield, and advertised instant relief when he glanced from Wolf Larsen to me, noted that there was only the pair of us, and then glanced over his own two men who had joined him. Surely he had little reason to be afraid. He towered like a Goliath above Wolf Larsen. He must have measured six feet eight or nine inches in stature, and I subsequently learned his weight - 240 pounds. And there was no fat about him. It was all bone and muscle. Matrosy na shlyupke, spustiv parus, podveli ee k bortu shhuny. Ohotnik, pohozhij na zolotoborodogo vikinga, perelez cherez planshir i sprygnul na palubu. YA zametil, chto etot bogatyr' derzhitsya nastorozhenno. Somnenie i nedoverie byli yasno napisany na ego lice. |to bylo otkrytoe lico, hotya gustaya boroda i pridavala emu neskol'ko svirepyj vid. Odnako, kogda ohotnik perevel vzglyad s kapitana na menya i uvidel, chto nas tol'ko dvoe, a potom poglyadel na svoih dvuh matrosov, kotorye podnyalis' na bort sledom za nim, lico ego prosvetlelo. Boyat'sya ne bylo prichiny. On, kak Goliaf, vozvyshalsya nad Volkom Larsenom. Rostom on byl nikak ne men'she shesti futov i vos'mi dyujmov, a vesil -- eto ya uznal vposledstvii -- dvesti sorok funtov. I pritom ni kapli zhira, tol'ko kosti i myshcy. A return of apprehension was apparent when, at the top of the companion-way, Wolf Larsen invited him below. But he reassured himself with a glance down at his host - a big man himself but dwarfed by the propinquity of the giant. So all hesitancy vanished, and the pair descended into the cabin. In the meantime, his two men, as was the wont of visiting sailors, had gone forward into the forecastle to do some visiting themselves. No trevoga snova promel'knula v ego glazah, kogda Volk Larsen, ostanovivshis' u trapa, priglasil ego spustit'sya v kayut-kompaniyu. Vprochem, on tut zhe priobodrilsya, eshche raz okinuv vzglyadom kapitana: Volk Larsen byl krupnyj muzhchina, no ryadom s nim kazalsya karlikom. |to polozhilo konec kolebaniyam gostya, i on nachal spuskat'sya po trapu. Larsen posledoval za nim. Tem vremenem oba grebca napravilis', soglasno obychayu, na bak -- v gosti k matrosam. Suddenly, from the cabin came a great, choking bellow, followed by all the sounds of a furious struggle. It was the leopard and the lion, and the lion made all the noise. Wolf Larsen was the leopard. Vnezapno iz kayut-kompanii doneslis' strashnye zvuki, podobnye rychaniyu l'va, i shum yarostnoj shvatki. |to scepilis' lev s leopardom. Volk Larsen -- leopard -- napal na l'va, i lev rychal. "You see the sacredness of our hospitality," I said bitterly to Maud Brewster. -- Vot vam svyatost' nashego gostepriimstva! -- s gorech'yu obratilsya ya k Mod Bruster. She nodded her head that she heard, and I noted in her face the signs of the same sickness at sight or sound of violent struggle from which I had suffered so severely during my first weeks on the Ghost. Ona utverditel'no kivnula; muchitel'noe otvrashchenie iskazilo ee lico, i ya vspomnil, kak ya sam stradal pri vide fizicheskogo nasiliya, kogda vpervye popal na "Prizrak". "Wouldn't it be better if you went forward, say by the steerage companion-way, until it is over?" I suggested. -- Ne luchshe li vam ujti podal'she, nu hotya by na bak, poka vse eto ne konchitsya? -- predlozhil ya. She shook her head and gazed at me pitifully. She was not frightened, but appalled, rather, at the human animality of it. No ona otricatel'no pokachala golovoj, glyadya na menya zhalobnymi glazami. I v nih ne bylo straha, hotya ya videl, chto ona potryasena etim novym proyavleniem zverstva. "You will understand," I took advantage of the opportunity to say, "whatever part I take in what is going on and what is to come, that I am compelled to take it - if you and I are ever to get out of this scrape with our lives." "It is not nice - for me," I added. -- Proshu vas, pojmite, -- skazal ya, vospol'zovavshis' sluchaem, -- kakuyu by rol' ni prihodilos' mne igrat' v tom, chto zdes' proishodit ili mozhet eshche proizojti, ya ne mogu postupat' inache... esli tol'ko my hotim vybrat'sya otsyuda zhivymi. Mne tozhe nelegko, -- dobavil ya. "I understand," she said, in a weak, far-away voice, and her eyes showed me that she did understand. -- YA ponimayu, -- otozvalas' ona. Golos ee zvuchal slabo, slovno donosilsya izdaleka, no vzglyad podtverdil, chto ona ponimaet menya. The sounds from below soon died away. Then Wolf Larsen came alone on deck. There was a slight flush under his bronze, but otherwise he bore no signs of the battle. Vnizu vse stihlo, i Volk Larsen podnyalsya na palubu. Lico ego pod bronzovym zagarom slegka pokrasnelo, no drugih sledov bor'by ne bylo zametno. "Send those two men aft, Mr. Van Weyden," he said. -- Prishlite syuda teh dvoih, mister VanVejden! -- skazal on. I obeyed, and a minute or two later they stood before him. "Hoist in your boat," he said to them. "Your hunter's decided to stay aboard awhile and doesn't want it pounding alongside." "Hoist in your boat, I said," he repeated, this time in sharper tones as they hesitated to do his bidding. "Who knows? you may have to sail with me for a time," he said, quite softly, with a silken threat that belied the softness, as they moved slowly to comply, "and we might as well start with a friendly understanding. Lively now! Death Larsen makes you jump better than that, and you know it!" YA povinovalsya, i cherez minutu oni stoyali pered nim. -- Podnimite shlyupku, -- obratilsya on k matrosam. -- Vash ohotnik reshil nemnogo zaderzhat'sya i ne hochet, chtob ee zrya kolotilo o bort. Podnyat' shlyupku, govoryu ya! -- povtoril on bolee rezko, zametiv, chto oni koleblyutsya. -- Pochem znat', mozhet, vam pridetsya nekotoroe vremya poplavat' so mnoj, -- prodolzhal on, v to vremya kak matrosy nereshitel'no prinyalis' vypolnyat' prikazanie. On govoril, ne povyshaya golosa, no v tone ego slyshalas' ugroza. -- Tak chto luchshe uzh nachnem po-horoshemu. A nu zhivej! U Smerti Larsena, nebos', provornee povorachivalis', sami znaete! Their movements perceptibly quickened under his coaching, and as the boat swung inboard I was sent forward to let go the jibs. Wolf Larsen, at the wheel, directed the Ghost after the Macedonia's second weather boat. Ego okrik zastavil matrosov potoropit'sya. V to vremya, kak shlyupku zavalivali na palubu, ya poluchil prikazanie otdat' klivera. Stav k shturvalu, Volk Larsen napravil "Prizrak" ko vtoroj s navetrennoj storony shlyupke "Makedonii". Under way, and with nothing for the time being to do, I turned my attention to the situation of the boats. The Macedonia's third weather boat was being attacked by two of ours, the fourth by our remaining three; and the fifth, turn about, was taking a hand in the defence of its nearest mate. The fight had opened at long distance, and the rifles were cracking steadily. A quick, snappy sea was being kicked up by the wind, a condition which prevented fine shooting; and now and again, as we drew closer, we could see the bullets zip-zipping from wave to wave. Pokonchiv s parusami, ya stal vysmatrivat' shlyupki. Tret'ya shlyupka byla atakovana dvumya nashimi, chetvertaya -- ostal'nymi tremya, a pyataya, povernuv, shla na vyruchku sosednej. Perestrelka zavyazalas' s dal'nego rasstoyaniya, i do nas donosilas' bespreryvnaya treskotnya vintovok. Poryvistyj veter, podnyavshij korotkuyu volnu, meshal tochnomu pricelivaniyu, i, podojdya blizhe, My uvideli, kak puli to tut, to tam prygayut rikoshetom s volny na volnu. The boat we were pursuing had squared away and was running before the wind to escape us, and, in the course of its flight, to take part in repulsing our general boat attack. -- SHlyupka, za kotoroj my gnalis', spustilas' pod veter i sdelala popytku uskol'znut' ot nas i prijti na Pomoshch' svoim. Attending to sheets and tacks now left me little time to see what was taking place, but I happened to be on the poop when Wolf Larsen ordered the two strange sailors forward and into the forecastle. They went sullenly, but they went. He next ordered Miss Brewster below, and smiled at the instant horror that leapt into her eyes. YA ne mog sledit' za tem, chto proishodilo dal'she, poka vozilsya s parusami, a vernuvshis' na yut, uslyshal, kak Larsen prikazyvaet matrosam "Makedonii" otpravit'sya v kubrik na bake. Oni ugryumo podchinilis'. Zatem kapitan predlozhil miss Bruster spustit'sya v kayut-kompaniyu i ulybnulsya, zametiv promel'knuvshij v ee glazah uzhas. "You'll find nothing gruesome down there," he said, "only an unhurt man securely made fast to the ring-bolts. Bullets are liable to come aboard, and I don't want you killed, you know." -- Nichego strashnogo tam net, -- skazal on. -- CHelovek etot cel i nevredim i svyazan po rukam i nogam. Syuda zhe mogut zaletet' puli, a mne sovsem ne hochetsya poteryat' vas. Even as he spoke, a bullet was deflected by a brass-capped spoke of the wheel between his hands and screeched off through the air to windward. I pochti v tu zhe minutu shal'naya pulya carapnula mednuyu ruchku shturvala, kotoruyu derzhal Larsen, i rikoshetom otskochila v storonu. "You see," he said to her; and then to me, "Mr. Van Weyden, will you take the wheel?" -- Vot vidite, -- skazal on i povernulsya ko mne: -- Mister Van-Vejden, stan'te-ka na rul'. Maud Brewster had stepped inside the companion-way so that only her head was exposed. Wolf Larsen had procured a rifle and was throwing a cartridge into the barrel. I begged her with my eyes to go below, but she smiled and said: Mod Bruster spustilas' po trapu vsego na neskol'ko stupenek. Volk Larsen vzyal vintovku i doslal patron v stvol. YA glazami molil miss Bruster ujti, no ona tol'ko ulybnulas' i skazala: "We may be feeble land-creatures without legs, but we can show Captain Larsen that we are at least as brave as he." -- Mozhet, my i ne umeem stoyat' na nogah, no my pokazhem kapitanu Larsenu, chto hilye suhoputnye lyudishki ne truslivee ego. He gave her a quick look of admiration. Larsen brosil na nee voshishchennyj vzglyad. "I like you a hundred per cent. better for that," he said. "Books, and brains, and bravery. You are well-rounded, a blue-stocking fit to be the wife of a pirate chief. Ahem, we'll discuss that later," he smiled, as a bullet struck solidly into the cabin wall. -- Vy nravites' mne vse bol'she, -- skazal on. -- Um, talant, otvagaNeplohoe sochetanieTakoj sinij chulok, kak vy, mog by stat' zhenoj predvoditelya piratov... No pridetsya nam prodolzhit' razgovor v drugoj raz, -- usmehnulsya on, kogda eshche odna pulya vonzilas' v stenku rubki. I saw his eyes flash golden as he spoke, and I saw the terror mount in her own. I ya snova uvidel zolotistye iskorki v ego glazah i uzhas v glazah Mod Bruster. "We are braver," I hastened to say. "At least, speaking for myself, I know I am braver than Captain Larsen." -- My dazhe hrabree ego, -- pospeshno progovoril ya. -- Po krajnej mere pro sebya mogu skazat', chto ya hrabree kapitana Larsena. It was I who was now favoured by a quick look. He was wondering if I were making fun of him. I put three or four spokes over to counteract a sheer toward the wind on the part of the Ghost, and then steadied her. Wolf Larsen was still waiting an explanation, and I pointed down to my knees. Tot rezko obernulsya ko mne -- uzh ne smeyus' li ya nad nim? YA nemnogo perelozhil shturval, chtoby ne dat' shhune privestis' k vetru, a zatem snova leg na kurs, i, vidya, chto Volk Larsen vse eshche zhdet ob®yasneniya, pokazal na svoi koleni. "You will observe there," I said, "a slight trembling. It is because I am afraid, the flesh is afraid; and I am afraid in my mind because I do not wish to die. But my spirit masters the trembling flesh and the qualms of the mind. I am more than brave. I am courageous. Your flesh is not afraid. You are not afraid. On the one hand, it costs you nothing to encounter danger; on the other hand, it even gives you delight. You enjoy it. You may be unafraid, Mr. Larsen, but you must grant that the bravery is mine." -- Vglyadites'-ka, -- skazal ya, -- i vy zametite legkuyu drozh'. |to znachit, chto ya boyus', plot' moya boitsya. YA boyus' razumom, potomu chto ne hochu umirat'. No duh moj odolevaet drozhashchuyu plot' i napugannoe soznanie. |to bol'she, chem hrabrost'. |to muzhestvo. Vasha zhe plot' nichego ne boitsya, i vy nichego ne boites'. Znachit, vam i netrudno vstrechat'sya s opasnost'yu licom k licu. Vam eto dazhe dostavlyaet udovol'stvie, vy upivaetes' opasnost'yu. Vy mozhete byt' besstrashny, mister Larsen, no soglasites', chto iz nas dvoih po-nastoyashchemu hrabr -- ya. "You're right," he acknowledged at once. "I never thought of it in that way before. But is the opposite true? If you are braver than I, am I more cowardly than you?" -- Vy pravy, -- srazu priznal on. -- V takom svete mne eto eshche ne predstavlyalos'. No togda verno i obratnoe Esli vy hrabree menya, znachit, ya truslivee vas? We both laughed at the absurdity, and he dropped down to the deck and rested his rifle across the rail. The bullets we had received had travelled nearly a mile, but by now we had cut that distance in half. He fired three careful shots. The first struck fifty feet to windward of the boat, the second alongside; and at the third the boat-steerer let loose his steering-oar and crumpled up in the bottom of the boat. My oba rassmeyalis' nad etim strannym vyvodom, i Larsen, opustivshis' na odno koleno, oper stvol vintovki o planshir. V nachale perestrelki my nahodilis' ot shlyupok primerno v odnoj mile, no sejchas eto rasstoyanie uzhe sokratilos' vdvoe. Larsen vystrelil tri raza, tshchatel'no pricelivayas'. Pervaya pulya proletela v pyati -- desyati futah ot shlyupki, vtoraya -- u samogo borta, tret'ya ugodila v rulevogo, i on, vypustiv iz ruk kormovoe veslo, svalilsya na dno shlyupki. "I guess that'll fix them," Wolf Larsen said, rising to his feet. "I couldn't afford to let the hunter have it, and there is a chance the boat-puller doesn't know how to steer. In which case, the hunter cannot steer and shoot at the same time" -- Hvatit s nih, -- skazal Volk Larsen, podnimayas' na nogi. -- Ohotnikom pozhertvovat' nel'zya, da on nikak и ne smozhet odnovremenno i pravit' i strelyat', a grebec, nadeyus', pravit' ne umeet. His reasoning was justified, for the boat rushed at once into the wind and the hunter sprang aft to take the boat-steerer's place. There was no more shooting, though the rifles were still cracking merrily from the other boats. Ego raschet polnost'yu opravdalsya. SHlyupku zavertelo na volnah, i ohotnik brosilsya na kormu smenit' rulevogo. S etoj shlyupki bol'she ne strelyali, no na ostal'nyh vintovki prodolzhali treshchat'. The hunter had managed to get the boat before the wind again, but we ran down upon it, going at least two feet to its one. A hundred yards away, I saw the boat-puller pass a rifle to the hunter. Wolf Larsen went amidships and took the coil of the throat-halyards from its pin. Then he peered over the rail with levelled rifle. Twice I saw the hunter let go the steering-oar with one hand, reach for his rifle, and hesitate. We were now alongside and foaming past. Ohotniku udalos' snova uvalit' shlyupku pod veter, no my shli v dva raza bystree i dogonyali ee. Kogda my byli ot nee primerno v sta yardah, ya uvidel, kak grebec peredal ohotniku vintovku. Volk Larsen otoshel na seredinu paluby i vzyal buhtu gafel'-gardeli. Potom, snova utverdiv vintovku na planshire, pricelilsya v shlyupku. Raza dva ohotnik hotel bylo brosit' kormovoe veslo i shvatit' vintovku, no vse ne reshalsya. My byli uzhe bort o bort so shlyupkoj i obgonyali ee. "Here, you!" Wolf Larsen cried suddenly to the boat-puller. "Take a turn!" -- |j, ty! -- neozhidanno kriknul Volk Larsen grebcu. -- Voz'mi konec za banku! At the same time he flung the coil of rope. It struck fairly, nearly knocking the man over, but he did not obey. Instead, he looked to his hunter for orders. The hunter, in turn, was in a quandary. His rifle was between his knees, but if he let go the steering-oar in order to shoot, the boat would sweep around and collide with the schooner. Also he saw Wolf Larsen's rifle bearing upon him and knew he would be shot ere he could get his rifle into play. I v tu zhe sekundu on brosil konec. On popal pryamo v matrosa, chut' ne sbiv ego s banki, no matros ne poslushalsya. On voprositel'no posmotrel na ohotnika, a tot, kak vidno, sam ne znal, chto delat'. Vintovka byla zazhata u nego mezhdu kolen, no stoilo emu vypustit' rul', i shlyupka, povernuvshis', mogla stolknut'sya so shhunoj. Krome togo, on videl napravlennuyu na nego vintovku Volka Larsena i ponimal, chto tot vystrelit ran'she, chem on uspeet pricelit'sya. "Take a turn," he said quietly to the man. -- Primi, -- tiho skazal on matrosu. The boat-puller obeyed, taking a turn around the little forward thwart and paying the line as it jerked taut. The boat sheered out with a rush, and the hunter steadied it to a parallel course some twenty feet from the side of the Ghost. Grebec povinovalsya i zahlestnul konec za perednyuyu banku, a kogda konec natyanulsya, stal ego travit'. SHlyupku bystro otvelo ot borta shhuny, posle chego ohotnik polozhil ee na kurs parallel'no "Prizraku", futah v dvadcati ot nego. "Now, get that sail down and come alongside!" Wolf Larsen ordered. -- Ubirajte parus i podhodite k bortu, -- skomandoval Volk Larsen. He never let go his rifle, even passing down the tackles with one hand. When they were fast, bow and stern, and the two uninjured men prepared to come aboard, the hunter picked up his rifle as if to place it in a secure position. Derzha odnoj rukoj vintovku, on nachal spuskat' shlyupochnye tali. Kogda tali byli zalozheny na nosu i na korme shlyupki i oba moryaka uzhe gotovilis' podnyat'sya na bort, ohotnik vzyal v ruku vintovku, kak by zhelaya polozhit' ee na stojku. "Drop it!" Wolf Larsen cried, and the hunter dropped it as though it were hot and had burned him. -- Bros'! -- kriknul Volk Larsen, i ohotnik vyronil vintovku, slovno ona obozhgla emu ruku. Once aboard, the two prisoners hoisted in the boat and under Wolf Larsen's direction carried the wounded boat-steerer down into the forecastle. Podnyavshis' na palubu vmeste so svoim ranenym tovarishchem, ohotnik i grebec, po prikazu Volka Larsena, vtashchili na bort shlyupku, a zatem otnesli rulevogo v matrosskij kubrik. "If our five boats do as well as you and I have done, we'll have a pretty full crew," Wolf Larsen said to me. -- Esli vse nashi pyat' shlyupok spravyatsya so svoim delom ne huzhe nas, ekipazh shhuny budet ukomplektovan polnost'yu, -- skazal mne Volk Larsen. "The man you shot - he is - I hope?" Maud Brewster quavered. -- A chelovek, v kotorogo vy strelyali... on... ya nadeyus'... -- Golos Mod Bruster drognul. "In the shoulder," he answered. "Nothing serious, Mr. Van Weyden will pull him around as good as ever in three or four weeks." "But he won't pull those chaps around, from the look of it," he added, pointing at the Macedonia's third boat, for which I had been steering and which was now nearly abreast of us. "That's Horner's and Smoke's work. I told them we wanted live men, not carcasses. But the joy of shooting to hit is a most compelling thing, when once you've learned how to shoot. Ever experienced it, Mr. Van Weyden?" -- Ranen v plecho, -- otvechal kapitan. -- Nichego ser'eznogo. Mister Van-Vejden privedet ego v poryadok v dve-tri nedeli. Vot dlya teh parnej emu navryad li udastsya chto-nibud' sdelat', -- dobavil on, ukazyvaya na tret'yu shlyupku "Makedonii", k kotoroj ya napravlyal v eto vremya shhunu. -- Tut porabotali Horner i Smok. Govoril ved' ya im, chto nam nuzhny zhivye lyudi, a ne trupy. No stoit cheloveku nauchit'sya strelyat', ego tak i tyanet bit' pryamo v cel'. Vy kogda-nibud' ispytyvali eto chuvstvo, mister Van-Vejden? I shook my head and regarded their work. It had indeed been bloody, for they had drawn off and joined our other three boats in the attack on the remaining two of the enemy. The deserted boat was in the trough of the sea, rolling drunkenly across each comber, its loose spritsail out at right angles to it and fluttering and flapping in the wind. The hunter and boat-puller were both lying awkwardly in the bottom, but the boat-steerer lay across the gunwale, half in and half out, his arms trailing in the water and his head rolling from side to side. YA pokachal golovoj i posmotrel na "rabotu" nashih ohotnikov. Oni dejstvitel'no "bili v cel'" i teper', pokinuv zhertvy etoj krovavoj stychki, prisoedinilis' k ostal'nym nashim shlyupkam i uzhe atakovali poslednie dve shlyupki "Makedonii". Ostavlennaya shlyupka bespomoshchno kachalas' na volnah; nikem ne upravlyaemyj parus torchal vbok pod pryamym uglom i hlopal na vetru. Ohotnik i grebec lezhali v neestestvennyh pozah na dne lodki, a rulevoj -- poperek planshira, napolovinu svesivshis' za bort. Ruki ego borozdili vodu, a golova motalas' iz storony v storonu. "Don't look, Miss Brewster, please don't look," I had begged of her, and I was glad that she had minded me and been spared the sight. -- Ne glyadite tuda, miss Bruster, proshu vas, -- vzmolilsya ya; k moej radosti, ona poslushno otvernulas' i byla izbavlena ot etogo strashnogo zrelishcha. "Head right into the bunch, Mr. Van Weyden," was Wolf Larsen's command. -- Derzhite pryamo tuda, mister Van-Vejden, -- rasporyadilsya Volk Larsen, ukazyvaya na sbivshiesya v kuchu shlyupki. As we drew nearer, the firing ceased, and we saw that the fight was over. The remaining two boats had been captured by our five, and the seven were grouped together, waiting to be picked up. Kogda my priblizilis' k nim, strel'ba stihla. Boj byl okonchen. Poslednie dve shlyupki uzhe sdalis' nashim pyati, i teper' vse sem' shlyupok zhdali, chtoby ih vzyali na bort. "Look at that!" I cried involuntarily, pointing to the north-east. -- Posmotrite! -- nevol'no vskriknul ya, pokazyvaya na severo-vostok. The blot of smoke which indicated the Macedonia's position had reappeared. Na gorizonte snova poyavilos' temnoe pyatnyshko -- dymok "Makedonii". "Yes, I've been watching it," was Wolf Larsen's calm reply. He measured the distance away to the fog-bank, and for an instant paused to feel the weight of the wind on his cheek. "We'll make it, I think; but you can depend upon it that blessed brother of mine has twigged our little game and is just a-humping for us. Ah, look at that!" -- Da, ya slezhu za nej, -- hladnokrovno otozvalsya Volk Larsen. On izmeril vzglyadom rasstoyanie do peleny tumana, potom podstavil shcheku vetru, proveryaya ego silu. -- Dumayu, chto doberemsya vovremya. No mozhete ne somnevat'sya, chto moj dragocennyj bratec raskusil nashu igru i pret syuda vo ves' duh. Aga, chto ya vam govoril! The blot of smoke had suddenly grown larger, and it was very black. Pyatno dyma bystro roslo, stanovyas' gusto-chernym. "I'll beat you out, though, brother mine," he chuckled. "I'll beat you out, and I hope you no worse than that you rack your old engines into scrap." -- Vse ravno ya tebya obstavlyu, o brat moj! -- usmehnulsya Volk Larsen. -- Nepremenno obstavlyu! I nadeyus', chto tvoya staraya mashina razvalitsya na chasti!.. When we hove to, a hasty though orderly confusion reigned. The boats came aboard from every side at once. As fast as the prisoners came over the rail they were marshalled forward to the forecastle by our hunters, while our sailors hoisted in the boats, pell-mell, dropping them anywhere upon the deck and not stopping to lash them. We were already under way, all sails set and drawing, and the sheets being slacked off for a wind abeam, as the last boat lifted clear of the water and swung in the tackles. My legli v drejf, posle chego na shhune podnyalas' izryadnaya sumatoha, v kotoroj vmeste s tem byl svoj poryadok. SHlyupki podnimali odnovremenno s oboih bortov. Kak tol'ko plenniki stupali na palubu, nashi ohotniki otvodili ih na bak, a matrosy vtaskivali shlyupki na palubu i ostavlyali ih gde popalo, ne teryaya vremeni na to, chtoby prinajtovit'. Edva poslednyaya shlyupka otdelilas' ot vody i zakachalas' na talyah, kak my uzhe poneslis' vpered na vseh parusah s potravlennymi shkotami. There was need for haste. The Macedonia, belching the blackest of smoke from her funnel, was charging down upon us from out of the north-east. Neglecting the boats that remained to her, she had altered her course so as to anticipate ours. She was not running straight for us, but ahead of us. Our courses were converging like the sides of an angle, the vertex of which was at the edge of the fog-bank. It was there, or not at all, that the Macedonia could hope to catch us. The hope for the Ghost lay in that she should pass that point before the Macedonia arrived at it. Da, nam nado bylo speshit'. Izvergaya iz truby kluby chernogo dyma, "Makedoniya" mchalas' k nam s severovostoka. Ne obrashchaya vnimaniya na svoi ostavshiesya shlyupki, ona izmenila kurs, nadeyas' perehvatit' nas. Ona shla ne pryamo na nas, a tuda, gde na