The expression on his face was one of complete comprehension. But before I could guess what he had comprehended, he had dropped the trap-door into place, closing the lazarette. Then I understood. He thought he had me inside. Also, he was blind, blind as a bat. I watched him, breathing carefully so that he should not hear me. He stepped quickly to his state-room. I saw his hand miss the door-knob by an inch, quickly fumble for it, and find it. This was my chance. I tiptoed across the cabin and to the top of the stairs. He came back, dragging a heavy sea-chest, which he deposited on top of the trap. Not content with this he fetched a second chest and placed it on top of the first. Then he gathered up the marmalade and underclothes and put them on the table. When he started up the companion-way, I retreated, silently rolling over on top of the cabin. YA uvidel po ego licu, chto on vse ponyal. No prezhde, chem ya uspel chto-nibud' soobrazit', on uzhe nadvinul na lyuk kryshku. Tut nakonec ponyal vse i ya. On dumal, chto pojmal menya v kladovoj. On byl slep -- slep, -- kak letuchaya mysh'! YA sledil za nim, zataiv dyhanie, strashas', kak by on ne uslyshal menya. On bystro podoshel k svoej kayute. YA videl, chto on ne srazu nashchupal dvernuyu ruchku. Nado bylo pol'zovat'sya sluchaem, i ya bystro, na cypochkah, proskol'znul cherez kayutkompaniyu i podnyalsya po trapu. Larsen vernulsya, tashcha za soboj tyazhelyj morskoj sunduk, i nadvinul ego na kryshku lyuka. Ne udovol'stvovavshis' etim, on privolok vtoroj sunduk i vzgromozdil ego na pervyj. Zatem podobral s pola moj dzhem i bel'e i polozhil na stol. Kogda on napravilsya k trapu, ya otstupil v storonu i tihon'ko perekatilsya cherez palubu rubki. He shoved the slide part way back and rested his arms on it, his body still in the companion-way. His attitude was of one looking forward the length of the schooner, or staring, rather, for his eyes were fixed and unblinking. I was only five feet away and directly in what should have been his line of vision. It was uncanny. I felt myself a ghost, what of my invisibility. I waved my hand back and forth, of course without effect; but when the moving shadow fell across his face I saw at once that he was susceptible to the impression. His face became more expectant and tense as he tried to analyze and identify the impression. He knew that he had responded to something from without, that his sensibility had been touched by a changing something in his environment; but what it was he could not discover. I ceased waving my hand, so that the shadow remained stationary. He slowly moved his head back and forth under it and turned from side to side, now in the sunshine, now in the shade, feeling the shadow, as it were, testing it by sensation. Larsen ostanovilsya na trape, opirayas' rukami o razdvizhnuyu dvercu. On stoyal nepodvizhno i pristal'no, ne migaya, smotrel kuda-to v odnu tochku. YA nahodilsya pryamo pered nim, futah v pyati, ne bol'she. Mne stalo zhutko. YA chuvstvoval sebya kakim-to prizrakomnevidimkoj. YA pomahal rukoj, no ne privlek ego vnimaniya. Odnako, kogda ten' ot moej ruki upala na ego lico, ya srazu zametil, chto on eto pochuvstvoval. Lico ego napryaglos'; on yavno pytalsya ponyat' i proanalizirovat' neozhidanno voznikshee oshchushchenie. On ponimal, chto eto kakoe-to vozdejstvie izvne, kakoe-to izmenenie v okruzhayushchej srede, vosprinyatoe ego chuvstvami. YA zamer s podnyatoj rukoj; ten' ostanovilas'. Larsen nachal medlenno povorachivat' golovu to v odnu storonu, to v druguyu, naklonyat' i podnimat' ee, zastavlyaya ten' dvigat'sya po ego licu i proveryaya svoi oshchushcheniya. I, too, was busy, trying to reason out how he was aware of the existence of so intangible a thing as a shadow. If it were his eyeballs only that were affected, or if his optic nerve were not wholly destroyed, the explanation was simple. If otherwise, then the only conclusion I could reach was that the sensitive skin recognized the difference of temperature between shade and sunshine. Or, perhaps, - who can tell? - it was that fabled sixth sense which conveyed to him the loom and feel of an object close at hand. YA sledil za nim i byl, v svoyu ochered', pogloshchen zhelaniem vyyasnit', kakim obrazom udaetsya emu oshchutit' takuyu nevesomuyu veshch', kak ten'. Esli b u nego byli povrezhdeny tol'ko glaznye yabloki ili esli b ego zritel'nye nervy byli porazheny ne polnost'yu, vse ob®yasnyalos' by prosto. No on yavno byl slep. Znachit, on oshchushchal raznicu v temperature, kogda ten' padala na ego lico. Ili -- pochem znat' -- eto bylo preslovutoe shestoe chuvstvo, soobshchavshee emu o prisutstvii postoronnego predmeta? Giving over his attempt to determine the shadow, he stepped on deck and started forward, walking with a swiftness and confidence which surprised me. And still there was that hint of the feebleness of the blind in his walk. I knew it now for what it was. Otkazavshis', kak vidno, ot popytok opredelit', otkuda padaet ten', on podnyalsya na palubu i poshel na bak porazitel'no uverenno i bystro. I vse zhe bylo zametno, chto idet slepoj. Teper'-to ya eto yasno videl. To my amused chagrin, he discovered my shoes on the forecastle head and brought them back with him into the galley. I watched him build the fire and set about cooking food for himself; then I stole into the cabin for my marmalade and underclothes, slipped back past the galley, and climbed down to the beach to deliver my barefoot report. On nashel na palube moi bashmaki i unes ih s soboyu v kambuz: mne bylo i smeshno i dosadno. YA eshche ostalsya posmotret', kak on razvodit ogon' i varit sebe pishchu. Potom snova prokralsya v kayut-kompaniyu, zabral dzhem i bel'e, proskol'znul mimo kambuza, spustilsya na bereg i bosikom otpravilsya k Mod -- dat' otchet o svoej vylazke. CHAPTER XXXIV GLAVA XXXIV "It's too bad the Ghost has lost her masts. Why we could sail away in her. Don't you think we could, Humphrey?" Takoe neschast'e, chto "Prizrak" poteryal machty. A to my mogli by uplyt' na nem otsyuda. Kak vy dumaete, Hemfri? I sprang excitedly to my feet. YA vzvolnovanno vskochil na nogi. "I wonder, I wonder," I repeated, pacing up and down. -- Nado podumat', nado podumat'! -- vskrichal ya i zashagal vzad i vpered. Maud's eyes were shining with anticipation as they followed me. She had such faith in me! And the thought of it was so much added power. I remembered Michelet's "To man, woman is as the earth was to her legendary son; he has but to fall down and kiss her breast and he is strong again." For the first time I knew the wonderful truth of his words. Why, I was living them. Maud was all this to me, an unfailing, source of strength and courage. I had but to look at her, or think of her, and be strong again. Glaza Mod rasshirilis', ona s nadezhdoj sledila za mnoj. Ona tak verila v menya! Mysl' ob etom pridavala mne sily. YA vspomnil slova Mishle: "Dlya muzhchiny zhenshchina to zhe, chem byla Zemlya dlya svoego legendarnogo syna: stoilo emu past' nic i prikosnut'sya gubami k ee grudi, kak sily vozvrashchalis' k nemu". Tol'ko teper' po-nastoyashchemu ponyal ya glubokij smysl etih slov. Net, malo skazat' "ponyal" -- ya oshchutil eto vsem svoim sushchestvomMod dlya menya byla tem, o chem govoril Mishle: neischerpaemym istochnikom sily i muzhestva. Vzglyanut' na nee, podumat' o nej bylo dlya menya dostatochno, chtoby pochuvstvovat' novyj priliv sil. "It can be done, it can be done," I was thinking and asserting aloud. "What men have done, I can do; and if they have never done this before, still I can do it." -- Nado popytat'sya, nado popytat'sya, -- rassuzhdal ya vsluh. -- To, chto delali drugie, mogu sdelat' i ya. A esli dazhe nikto etogo ran'she ne delal, vse ravno ya sdelayu. "What? for goodness' sake," Maud demanded. "Do be merciful. What is it you can do?" -- CHto imenno? Radi boga, ne tomite menya, -- potrebovala ob®yasneniya Mod. -- CHto vy mozhete sdelat'? "We can do it," I amended. "Why, nothing else than put the masts back into the Ghost and sail away." -- Ne ya, a my, -- popravilsya ya. -- Kak chto? YAsno -- ustanovit' na "Prizrake" machty i uplyt' otsyuda. "Humphrey!" she exclaimed. -- Hemfri! -- voskliknula ona. And I felt as proud of my conception as if it were already a fact accomplished. YA byl tak gord svoim zamyslom, slovno uzhe privel ego v ispolnenie. "But how is it possible to be done?" she asked. -- No kak zhe eto osushchestvit'? -- sprosila ona. "I don't know," was my answer. "I know only that I am capable of doing anything these days." -- Poka ne znayu, -- skazal ya. -- Znayu tol'ko odno -- ya sejchas sposoben sovershit' vse, chto zahochu. I smiled proudly at her - too proudly, for she dropped her eyes and was for the moment silent. YA gordelivo ulybnulsya ej, chrezmerno gordelivo, dolzhno byt', potomu chto ona opustila glaza i nekotoroe vremya molchala. "But there is Captain Larsen," she objected. -- No vy zabyvaete, chto sushchestvuet eshche kapitan Larsen, -- skazala ona. "Blind and helpless," I answered promptly, waving him aside as a straw. -- Slepoj i bespomoshchnyj! -- ne zadumyvayas', otvechal ya, otmetaya ego v storonu, kak nechto sovsem nesushchestvennoe. "But those terrible hands of his! You know how he leaped across the opening of the lazarette." -- A ego strashnye ruki! A kak on prygnul cherez lyuk -- vy zhe sami rasskazyvali! "And you know also how I crept about and avoided him," I contended gaily. -- No ya rasskazyval eshche i o tom, kak mne udalos' vybrat'sya iz kayut-kompanii i udrat' ot nego, -- veselo vozrazil ya. "And lost your shoes." -- Bosikom, bez bashmakov! "You'd hardly expect them to avoid Wolf Larsen without my feet inside of them." -- Nu da, bashmakam ne udalos' udrat' ot nego bez pomoshchi moih nog! We both laughed, and then went seriously to work constructing the plan whereby we were to step the masts of the Ghost and return to the world. I remembered hazily the physics of my school days, while the last few months had given me practical experience with mechanical purchases. I must say, though, when we walked down to the Ghost to inspect more closely the task before us, that the sight of the great masts lying in the water almost disheartened me. Where were we to begin? If there had been one mast standing, something high up to which to fasten blocks and tackles! But there was nothing. It reminded me of the problem of lifting oneself by one's boot-straps. I understood the mechanics of levers; but where was I to get a fulcrum? My rassmeyalis', a potom stali uzhe vser'ez obsuzhdat' plan ustanovki macht na "Prizrake" i vozvrashcheniya v civilizovannyj mir. U menya eshche so shkol'noj skam'i sohranilis' koe-kakie, pravda, dovol'no smutnye, poznaniya po chasti fiziki, a za poslednie mesyacy ya priobrel nekotoryj prakticheskij opyt v ispol'zovanii mehanicheskih prisposoblenij dlya pod®ema tyazhestej. Odnako kogda my podoshli k "Prizraku", chtoby osnovatel'no osmotret' ego, to odin vid etih ogromnyh macht, pokachivavshihsya na volnah, priznayus', chut' ne poverg menya v otchayanie. S chego nachat'? Esli by derzhalas' hot' odna machta, chtoby my mogli prikrepit' k nej blokiTak ved' netU menya bylo takoe oshchushchenie, slovno ya zadumal podnyat' sam sebya za volosy. YA ponimal zakony rychagov, no gde zhe bylo vzyat' tochku opory? There was the mainmast, fifteen inches in diameter at what was now the butt, still sixty-five feet in length, and weighing, I roughly calculated, at least three thousand pounds. And then came the foremast, larger in diameter, and weighing surely thirty-five hundred pounds. Where was I to begin? Maud stood silently by my side, while I evolved in my mind the contrivance known among sailors as "shears." But, though known to sailors, I invented it there on Endeavour Island. By crossing and lashing the ends of two spars, and then elevating them in the air like an inverted "V," I could get a point above the deck to which to make fast my hoisting tackle. To this hoisting tackle I could, if necessary, attach a second hoisting tackle. And then there was the windlass! Grot-machta byla dlinoj futov v shest'desyat -- shest'desyat pyat' i u osnovaniya, tam, gde ona oblomilas', imela pyatnadcat' dyujmov v diametre. Vesila ona, po moim primernym podschetam, nikak ne menee treh tysyach funtov. Fok-machta byla eshche tolshche i vesila vernyh tri s polovinoj tysyachi funtov. Kak zhe podstupit'sya k etomu delu? Mod bezmolvno stoyala vozle menya, a ya uzhe razrabatyval v ume prisposoblenie, kotoroe moryaki nazyvayut "vremennoj streloj". No hotya strela davno izvestna moryakam, ya izobrel ee zanovo na Ostrove Usilij. Svyazav koncy dvuh sten'g, podnyav i ukrepiv ih na palube napodobie perevernutoj bukvy "V" i privyazav k nim blok, ya mog poluchit' neobhodimuyu mne tochku opory. A k pervomu bloku mozhno budet, esli potrebuetsya, prisoedinit' i vtoroj. Krome togo, v nashem rasporyazhenii byl eshche brashpil'! Maud saw that I had achieved a solution, and her eyes warmed sympathetically. Mod videla, chto ya uzhe nashel reshenie, i s goryachim odobreniem vzglyanula na menya. "What are you going to do?" she asked. -- CHto vy sobiraetes' delat'? -- sprosila ona. "Clear that raffle," I answered, pointing to the tangled wreckage overside. -- Obrubat' snasti! -- otvetil ya, ukazyvaya na pereputavshiesya snasti, visevshie za bortom. Ah, the decisiveness, the very sound of the words, was good in my ears. "Clear that raffle!" Imagine so salty a phrase on the lips of the Humphrey Van Weyden of a few months gone! Mne samomu ponravilis' eti slova -- takie zvuchnye i reshitel'nye. "Obrubat' snasti!" Nu kto by mog eshche polgoda nazad uslyshat' takuyu podlinno matrosskuyu frazu iz ust Hemfri Van-Vejdena! There must have been a touch of the melodramatic in my pose and voice, for Maud smiled. Her appreciation of the ridiculous was keen, and in all things she unerringly saw and felt, where it existed, the touch of sham, the overshading, the overtone. It was this which had given poise and penetration to her own work and made her of worth to the world. The serious critic, with the sense of humour and the power of expression, must inevitably command the world's ear. And so it was that she had commanded. Her sense of humour was really the artist's instinct for proportion. Veroyatno, i v golose moem i v poze bylo nechto melodramaticheskoe, tak kak Mod ulybnulas'. Ona mgnovenno podmechala vse nelepoe i smeshnoe, bezoshibochno ulavlivala malejshij ottenok fal'shi, preuvelicheniya ili bahval'stva. |to nahodilo otrazhenie i v ee tvorchestve i pridavalo emu osobuyu cennost'. Ser'eznyj kritik, obladayushchij chuvstvom yumora i siloj vyrazheniya, vsegda zastavit sebya slushat'. I ona umela eto delat'. Ee sposobnost' podmechat' smeshnoe byla ne chem inym, kak svojstvennym vsyakomu hudozhniku chuvstvom mery. "I'm sure I've heard it before, somewhere, in books," she murmured gleefully. -- YA pripominayu eto vyrazhenie, ono popadalos' mne v knigah, -- s ulybkoj obronila ona. I had an instinct for proportion myself, and I collapsed forthwith, descending from the dominant pose of a master of matter to a state of humble confusion which was, to say the least, very miserable. No chuvstvo mery dostatochno razvito i u menya, i ya skonfuzilsya. U gordelivogo povelitelya stihij vid v etu minutu byl, veroyatno, samyj zhalkij. Her hand leapt out at once to mine. Mod s zhivost'yu protyanula mne ruku. "I'm so sorry," she said. -- Ne obizhajtes'! -- skazala ona. "No need to be," I gulped. "It does me good. There's too much of the schoolboy in me. All of which is neither here nor there. What we've got to do is actually and literally to clear that raffle. If you'll come with me in the boat, we'll get to work and straighten things out." -- Net, vy pravy, -- ne bez usiliya promolvil ya. -- |to horoshij urok. Slishkom mnogo vo mne mal'chisheskogo. No eto vse pustyaki. A tol'ko nam pridetsya vse zhe obrubat' snasti. Esli vy syadete vmeste so mnoj v shlyupku, my podojdem k shhune i popytaemsya rasputat' etot klubok. "'When the topmen clear the raffle with their clasp-knives in their teeth,'" she quoted at me; and for the rest of the afternoon we made merry over our labour. -- "V zuby nozh -- i marsovye lezut snasti obrubat'", -- procitirovala Mod, i do konca dnya my veselo trudilis'. Her task was to hold the boat in position while I worked at the tangle. And such a tangle - halyards, sheets, guys, down-hauls, shrouds, stays, all washed about and back and forth and through, and twined and knotted by the sea. I cut no more than was necessary, and what with passing the long ropes under and around the booms and masts, of unreeving the halyards and sheets, of coiling down in the boat and uncoiling in order to pass through another knot in the bight, I was soon wet to the skin. Ee zadacha zaklyuchalas' v tom, chtoby uderzhivat' shlyupku na meste, poka ya vozilsya s pereputavshimisya snastyami. I chto tam tvorilos'Faly, vanty, shkoty, niraly, leera, shtagi -- vse eto poloskalos' v vode, i volny vse bol'she i bol'she perepletali i pereputyvali ih. YA staralsya obrubat' ne bol'she, chem bylo neobhodimo, i mne prihodilos' to protaskivat' dlinnye koncy mezhdu gikami i machtami, to otvyazyvat' faly i vanty i ukladyvat' ih buhtoj na dne lodki, to, naoborot, razmatyvat' ih, chtoby propustit' skvoz' obnaruzhivshijsya uzel. Ot etoj raboty ya skoro promok do nitki. The sails did require some cutting, and the canvas, heavy with water, tried my strength severely; but I succeeded before nightfall in getting it all spread out on the beach to dry. We were both very tired when we knocked off for supper, and we had done good work, too, though to the eye it appeared insignificant. Parusa tozhe prishlos' koe-gde razrezat'; ya s velikim trudom spravlyalsya s tyazheloj namokshej parusinoj, no vse zhe do nastupleniya nochi sumel vytashchit' vse parusa iz vody i razlozhit' ih na beregu dlya prosushki. Kogda prishlo vremya konchat' rabotu i idti uzhinat', my s Mod uzhe sovershenno vybilis' iz sil, no uspeli sdelat' nemalo, hotya s vidu eto i ne bylo zametno. Next morning, with Maud as able assistant, I went into the hold of the Ghost to clear the steps of the mast-butts. We had no more than begun work when the sound of my knocking and hammering brought Wolf Larsen. Na sleduyushchee utro my spustilis' v tryum shhuny, chtoby ochistit' stepsy ot shporov macht. Mod ochen' lovko prinyalas' pomogat' mne. No lish' tol'ko vzyalis' my za delo, kak na stuk moego topora otozvalsya Volk Larsen. "Hello below!" he cried down the open hatch. -- |j tam, v tryume! -- doletelo k nam s paluby cherez otkrytyj lyuk. The sound of his voice made Maud quickly draw close to me, as for protection, and she rested one hand on my arm while we parleyed. Pri zvuke etogo golosa Mod instinktivno pridvinulas' ko mne, kak by ishcha zashchity, i, poka my s Larsenom peregovarivalis', ona stoyala ryadom, derzha Menya za ruku. "Hello on deck," I replied. "Good-morning to you." -- |j tam, na palube! -- kriknul ya v otvet. -- Dobroe utro! "What are you doing down there?" he demanded. "Trying to scuttle my ship for me?" -- CHto vy delaete v tryume? -- sprosil Volk Larsen. -- Hotite zatopit' moyu shhunu? "Quite the opposite; I'm repairing her," was my answer. -- Naprotiv, hochu privesti ee v poryadok, -- otvechal ya. "But what in thunder are you repairing?" There was puzzlement in his voice. -- Kakogo d'yavola vy tam privodite v poryadok? -- ozadachenno sprosil on. "Why, I'm getting everything ready for re-stepping the masts," I replied easily, as though it were the simplest project imaginable. -- Podgotavlivayu koe-chto dlya ustanovki macht, -- poyasnil ya kak ni v chem ne byvalo, slovno postavit' machty bylo dlya menya sushchim pustyakom. "It seems as though you're standing on your own legs at last, Hump," we heard him say; and then for some time he was silent. -- Pohozhe, chto vy i vpryam' tverdo stali na nogi, Hemp! -- uslyshali my ego golos, posle chego on nekotoroe vremya molchal. "But I say, Hump," he called down. "You can't do it." -- No poslushajte, Hemp, -- okliknul on menya snova. -- Vy ne mozhete etogo sdelat'. "Oh, yes, I can," I retorted. "I'm doing it now." -- Pochemu zhe ne mogu? -- vozrazil ya. -- Ne tol'ko mogu, no uzhe delayu. "But this is my vessel, my particular property. What if I forbid you?" -- No eto moya shhuna, moya chastnaya sobstvennost'. CHto, esli ya ne razreshu vam? "You forget," I replied. "You are no longer the biggest bit of the ferment. You were, once, and able to eat me, as you were pleased to phrase it; but there has been a diminishing, and I am now able to eat you. The yeast has grown stale." -- Vy zabyvaete, -- vozrazil ya, -- chto vy teper' uzhe ne samyj bol'shoj kusok zakvaski. |to bylo ran'she, togda vy mogli, po vashemu vyrazheniyu, sozhrat' menya. No za poslednee vremya vy sokratilis' v razmerah, i sejchas ya mogu sozhrat' vas. Zakvaska perestoyalas'. He gave a short, disagreeable laugh. "I see you're working my philosophy back on me for all it is worth. But don't make the mistake of under-estimating me. For your own good I warn you." On rassmeyalsya rezkim, nepriyatnym smehom. -- Lovko vy obratili protiv menya moyu filosofiyuNo smotrite, ne oshibites', nedooceniv menya. Preduprezhdayu vas dlya vashego zhe blaga! "Since when have you become a philanthropist?" I queried. "Confess, now, in warning me for my own good, that you are very consistent." -- S kakih eto por vy stali filantropom? -- osvedomilsya ya. -- Soglasites', chto, preduprezhdaya menya dlya moego zhe blaga, vy proyavlyaete neposledovatel'nost'. He ignored my sarcasm, saying, "Suppose I clap the hatch on, now? You won't fool me as you did in the lazarette." On budto i ne zametil moego sarkazma i skazal: -- A esli ya voz'mu da zahlopnu lyuk? Sejchas vy uzh menya ne provedete, kak v tot raz, v kladovoj. "Wolf Larsen," I said sternly, for the first time addressing him by this his most familiar name, "I am unable to shoot a helpless, unresisting man. You have proved that to my satisfaction as well as yours. But I warn you now, and not so much for your own good as for mine, that I shall shoot you the moment you attempt a hostile act. I can shoot you now, as I stand here; and if you are so minded, just go ahead and try to clap on the hatch." -- Volk Larsen, -- reshitel'no skazal ya, vpervye nazyvaya ego tak, kak privyk nazyvat' za glaza. -- YA ne sposoben zastrelit' cheloveka, esli on bespomoshchen i ne okazyvaet soprotivleniya. Vy sami ubedili menya v etom -- k nashemu vzaimnomu udovletvoreniyu. No preduprezhdayu vas, i ne stol'ko dlya vashego blaga, skol'ko dlya svoego sobstvennogo, chto pri pervoj vashej popytke chem-nibud' povredit' mne ya zastrelyu vas. YA i sejchas mogu sdelat' eto. A teper', esli vam tak hochetsya, mozhete poprobovat' zakryt' lyuk. "Nevertheless, I forbid you, I distinctly forbid your tampering with my ship." -- Tak ili inache, ya zapreshchayu vam, reshitel'no zapreshchayu hozyajnichat' na moej shhune! "But, man!" I expostulated, "you advance the fact that it is your ship as though it were a moral right. You have never considered moral rights in your dealings with others. You surely do not dream that I'll consider them in dealing with you?" -- Da chto s vami! -- ukoril ya ego. -- Vy vse tverdite, chto eto vash korabl', tak, slovno eto daet vam kakie-to moral'nye prava. Odnako vy nikogda ne schitalis' s pravami drugih. Pochemu zhe vy dumaete, chto ya budu schitat'sya s vashimi? I had stepped underneath the open hatchway so that I could see him. The lack of expression on his face, so different from when I had watched him unseen, was enhanced by the unblinking, staring eyes. It was not a pleasant face to look upon. YA podoshel k lyuku, chtoby uvidet' ego lico. |to bylo sovsem ne to lico, kotoroe ya videl v poslednij raz, kogda vtajne nablyudal za nim: sejchas ono bylo lisheno vsyakogo vyrazheniya, i vyzyvaemoe im nepriyatnoe oshchushchenie eshche usilivalos' ustremlennym v odnu tochku vzglyadom shiroko otkrytyh, nemigayushchih glaz. "And none so poor, not even Hump, to do him reverence," he sneered. The sneer was wholly in his voice. His face remained expressionless as ever. -- I dazhe zhalkij cherv', kak Hemp, ego korit s prezren'em!.. -- nasmeshlivo proiznes on, no lico ego ostavalos' besstrastnym. "How do you do, Miss Brewster," he said suddenly, after a pause. -- Kak pozhivaete, miss Bruster? -- pomolchav, neozhidanno progovoril on. I started. She had made no noise whatever, had not even moved. Could it be that some glimmer of vision remained to him? or that his vision was coming back? YA vzdrognul. Mod ne izdala ni zvuka, dazhe ne shevel'nulas'. Neuzheli u nego eshche sohranilis' ostatki zreniya? Ili ono snova vozvrashchalos' k nemu? "How do you do, Captain Larsen," she answered. "Pray, how did you know I was here?" -- Zdravstvujte, kapitan Larsen, -- otvetila Mod. -- Kak vy uznali, chto ya zdes'? "Heard you breathing, of course. I say, Hump's improving, don't you think so?" -- Uslyshal vashe dyhanie. A Hemp delaet uspehi, kak vy schitaete? "I don't know," she answered, smiling at me. "I have never seen him otherwise." -- Ne mogu sudit', -- promolvila ona, ulybnuvshis' mne, -- ya nikogda ne znala ego drugim. "You should have seen him before, then." -- ZHal', chto vy ne vidali ego ran'she! "Wolf Larsen, in large doses," I murmured, "before and after taking." -- YA prinimal lekarstvo pod nazvaniem "Volk Larsen", i v dovol'no bol'shih dozah, -- probormotal ya. -- Do i posle edy. "I want to tell you again, Hump," he said threateningly, "that you'd better leave things alone." -- YA eshche raz povtoryayu, Hemp, -- ugrozhayushche progovoril on, -- ostav'te moyu shhunu v pokoe! "But don't you care to escape as well as we?" I asked incredulously. -- Da razve vam samomu ne hochetsya vybrat'sya otsyuda? -- udivlenno sprosil ya. "No," was his answer. "I intend dying here." -- Net, -- otvetil on, -- ya hochu umeret' zdes'. "Well, we don't," I concluded defiantly, beginning again my knocking and hammering. -- Nu, a my ne hotim! -- reshitel'no zayavil ya i snova zastuchal toporom. CHAPTER XXXV GLAVA XXXV Next day, the mast-steps clear and everything in readiness, we started to get the two topmasts aboard. The maintopmast was over thirty feet in length, the foretopmast nearly thirty, and it was of these that I intended making the shears. It was puzzling work. Fastening one end of a heavy tackle to the windlass, and with the other end fast to the butt of the foretopmast, I began to heave. Maud held the turn on the windlass and coiled down the slack. Na drugoj den', raschistiv stepsy i podgotoviv vse neobhodimoe, my prinyalis' vtaskivat' na bort obe sten'gi, iz kotoryh ya namerevalsya soorudit' vremennuyu strelu. Grot-sten'ga imela v dlinu bolee tridcati futov, for-sten'ga byla nemnogo koroche. Zadacha predstoyala nelegkaya. Vzyav hodovoj konec tyazhelyh talej na brashpil', a drugim koncom prikrepiv ih k osnovaniyu grot-sten'gi, ya nachal vrashchat' rukoyatku brashpilya. Mod sledila za tem, chtoby tros rovno lozhilsya na baraban, a shodyashchij konec ukladyvala v buhtu. We were astonished at the ease with which the spar was lifted. It was an improved crank windlass, and the purchase it gave was enormous. Of course, what it gave us in power we paid for in distance; as many times as it doubled my strength, that many times was doubled the length of rope I heaved in. The tackle dragged heavily across the rail, increasing its drag as the spar arose more and more out of the water, and the exertion on the windlass grew severe. Nas porazilo, s kakoj legkost'yu poshla vverh sten'ga. Brashpil' byl usovershenstvovannoj sistemy i daval ogromnyj vyigrysh v sile. No, razumeetsya, vyigryvaya v sile, my teryali v rasstoyanii. Vo skol'ko raz brashpil' uvelichival moi sily, vo stol'ko zhe raz uvelichivalas' i dlina trosa, kotoryj ya dolzhen byl vybrat'. Tali medlenno polzli cherez bort, i chem vyshe podnimalas' iz vody sten'ga, tem trudnee stanovilos' vertet' rukoyatku. But when the butt of the topmast was level with the rail, everything came to a standstill. No kogda shpor sten'gi poravnyalsya s planshirom, delo zastoporilos'. "I might have known it," I said impatiently. "Now we have to do it all over again." -- Kak ya ob etom ne podumal! -- vyrvalos' u menya. -- Teper' pridetsya nachinat' vse syznova. "Why not fasten the tackle part way down the mast?" Maud suggested. -- A pochemu ne prikrepit' tali poblizhe k seredine sten'gi? -- sprosila Mod. "It's what I should have done at first," I answered, hugely disgusted with myself. -- S etogo mne i sledovalo nachat'! -- skazal ya, krajne nedovol'nyj soboj. Slipping off a turn, I lowered the mast back into the water and fastened the tackle a third of the way down from the butt. In an hour, what of this and of rests between the heaving, I had hoisted it to the point where I could hoist no more. Eight feet of the butt was above the rail, and I was as far away as ever from getting the spar on board. I sat down and pondered the problem. It did not take long. I sprang jubilantly to my feet. Potraviv tali, ya spustil sten'gu obratno. Potom prikrepil tali primerno na rasstoyanii treti ee dliny ot shpora. Prorabotav chas, s nebol'shimi pereryvami na otdyh, ya snova podnyal sten'gu, no ona opyat' zastryala na poldoroge. SHpor sten'gi na vosem' futov torchal nad planshirom, no vytashchit' ee vsyu na bort po-prezhnemu bylo nevozmozhno. YA sel i stal razmyshlyat' nad etoj zadachej. Vprochem, dovol'no skoro ya s torzhestvuyushchim vidom vskochil na nogi. "Now I have it!" I cried. "I ought to make the tackle fast at the point of balance. And what we learn of this will serve us with everything else we have to hoist aboard." -- Znayu teper', chto delat'! -- voskliknul ya. -- Nado bylo prikrepit' tali u centra tyazhesti. Nu nichego! |to posluzhit nam naukoj, kogda my budem podnimat' na bort vse ostal'noe. Once again I undid all my work by lowering the mast into the water. But I miscalculated the point of balance, so that when I heaved the top of the mast came up instead of the butt. Maud looked despair, but I laughed and said it would do just as well. Snova prishlos' spustit' sten'gu v vodu i nachat' vse snachala. No na etot raz ya nepravil'no rasschital polozhenie centra tyazhesti, i kogda stal tyanut' naverh, vmesto shpora sten'gi poshla ee verhushka. Mod byla v otchayanii, no ya zasmeyalsya i skazal, chto sojdet i tak. Instructing her how to hold the turn and be ready to slack away at command, I laid hold of the mast with my hands and tried to balance it inboard across the rail. When I thought I had it I cried to her to slack away; but the spar righted, despite my efforts, and dropped back toward the water. Again I heaved it up to its old position, for I had now another idea. I remembered the watch- tackle - a small double and single block affair - and fetched it. Pokazav ej, kak derzhat' rukoyatku i kak po komande potravit' tali, ya uhvatilsya obeimi rukami za sten'gu i popytalsya perevalit' ee cherez bort. Mne pokazalos', chto cel' uzhe dostignuta, i ya velel Mod travit', no tut sten'ga vdrug perevesilas' i -- kak ni staralsya ya ee uderzhat' -- svalilas' za bort. Togda ya snova vzyalsya za rukoyatku i vernul sten'gu v prezhnee polozhenie. U menya poyavilas' novaya mysl'. YA vspomnil o hvattalyah -- nebol'shom pod®emnom prisposoblenii s dvushkivnym i odnoshkivnym blokami. While I was rigging it between the top of the spar and the opposite rail, Wolf Larsen came on the scene. We exchanged nothing more than good-mornings, and, though he could not see, he sat on the rail out of the way and followed by the sound all that I did. V tu minutu, kogda ya uzhe naladil hvat-tali, na polube u protivopolozhnogo borta poyavilsya Volk Larsen. My pozdorovalis' i bol'she ne obmenyalis' ni slovom. On ne mog videt', chto my delaem, no, usevshis' v storone, na sluh sledil za hodom raboty. Again instructing Maud to slack away at the windlass when I gave the word, I proceeded to heave on the watch-tackle. Slowly the mast swung in until it balanced at right angles across the rail; and then I discovered to my amazement that there was no need for Maud to slack away. In fact, the very opposite was necessary. Making the watch-tackle fast, I hove on the windlass and brought in the mast, inch by inch, till its top tilted down to the deck and finally its whole length lay on the deck. Eshche raz napomniv Mod, chtoby ona potravila tros brashpilem, kak tol'ko ya podam komandu, ya vzyalsya za hvat-tali i prinyalsya tyanut'. Sten'ga nachala medlenno naklonyat'sya i skoro legla, pokachivayas', poperek planshira. I tut, k svoemu udivleniyu, ya obnaruzhil, chto travit' nezachem, v sushchnosti, trebovalos' sovershenno obratnoe. Zakrepiv hvat-tali, ya pereshel k brashpilyu i nachal vytyagivat' sten'gu dyujm za dyujmom, poka ona vsya ne perevalilas' cherez planshir i ne upala na palubu. I looked at my watch. It was twelve o'clock. My back was aching sorely, and I felt extremely tired and hungry. And there on the deck was a single stick of timber to show for a whole morning's work. For the first time I thoroughly realized the extent of the task before us. But I was learning, I was learning. The afternoon would show far more accomplished. And it did; for we returned at one o'clock, rested and strengthened by a hearty dinner. YA posmotrel na chasy. Byl uzhe polden'. U menya lomilo spinu, i ya chuvstvoval sebya smertel'no ustalym i golodnym. I za celoe utro nam udalos' podnyat' na palubu odnu tol'ko sten'gu. Tol'ko tut ya po-nastoyashchemu ponyal, kak ogromna predstoyavshaya nam rabota. Zato ya uzhe koe-chemu nauchilsya. Posle obeda delo budet luchshe sporit'sya, reshil ya. I ne oshibsya. V chas dnya, otdohnuv i osnovatel'no podkrepivshis', my vernulis' na shhunu. In less than an hour I had the maintopmast on deck and was constructing the shears. Lashing the two topmasts together, and making allowance for their unequal length, at the point of intersection I attached the double block of the main throat- halyards. This, with the single block and the throat-halyards themselves, gave me a hoisting tackle. To prevent the butts of the masts from slipping on the deck, I nailed down thick cleats. Everything in readiness, I made a line fast to the apex of the shears and carried it directly to the windlass. I was growing to have faith in that windlass, for it gave me power beyond all expectation. As usual, Maud held the turn while I heaved. The shears rose in the air. Men'she chem cherez chas grotsten'ga uzhe lezhala na palube, i ya vzyalsya za sooruzhenie strely. Svyazav verhushki obeih sten'g tak, chto bolee dlinnaya vystupala neskol'ko dal'she, ya prikrepil v meste soedineniya dvushkivnyj blok gafel'-gardelya. V sochetanii s odnoshkivnym blokom i samim gafel'gardelem eto dalo mne pod®emnye tali. CHtoby shpory strely ne raz®ehalis' v storony, ya pribil k palube tolstye planki. Kogda vse bylo gotovo, ya privyazal k verhushke strely tros i vzyal ego na brashpil'. YA vse bol'she i bol'she pronikalsya veroj v etot brashpil' -- ved' blagodarya emu moi sily neizmerimo vozrastali. Kak uzhe povelos'. Mod sledila za trosom, a ya vertel rukoyatku. Strela podnyalas'. Then I discovered I had forgotten guy-ropes. This necessitated my climbing the shears, which I did twice, before I finished guying it fore and aft and to either side. Twilight had set in by the time this was accomplished. Wolf Larsen, who had sat about and listened all afternoon and never opened his mouth, had taken himself off to the galley and started his supper. I felt quite stiff across the small of the back, so much so that I straightened up with an effort and with pain. I looked proudly at my work. It was beginning to show. I was wild with desire, like a child with a new toy, to hoist something with my shears. No tut ya obnaruzhil, chto zabyl zakrepit' strelu ottyazhkami. Prishlos' vzbirat'sya na verhushku strely, chto ya i prodelal dvazhdy. Nakonec ottyazhki byli prikrepleny i strela raschalena k nosu, k korme i k bortam. Nachinalo smerkat'sya. Volk Larsen, kotoryj vse vremya sidel v otdalenii i v polnom molchanii prislushivalsya k nashej rabote, ushel v kambuz i zanyalsya prigotovleniem uzhina. U menya tak razlomilo poyasnicu, chto ya ne mog ni sognut'sya, ni razognut'sya, no zato s gordost'yu smotrel na delo svoih ruk. Rezul'taty byli nalico. Kak rebenok, poluchivshij novuyu igrushku, ya sgoral ot neterpeniya -- mne do smerti hotelos' podnyat' chto-nibud' svoej streloj. "I wish it weren't so late," I said. "I'd like to see how it works." -- ZHal', chto temneet, -- skazal ya. -- Uzh ochen' hochetsya poglyadet', kak ona budet dejstvovat'. "Don't be a glutton, Humphrey," Maud chided me. "Remember, to- morrow is coming, and you're so tired now that you can hardly stand." -- Ne bud'te takim nenasytnym, Hemfri! -- pozhurila menya Mod. -- Ne zabud'te, zavtra opyat' predstoit rabota. A ved' vy ele stoite na nogah. "And you?" I said, with sudden solicitude. "You must be very tired. You have worked hard and nobly. I am proud of you, Maud." -- A vy? -- s uchastiem pospeshil sprosit' ya. -- Vy, dolzhno byt', strashno ustali. ModKak vy rabotali! |to zhe poistine gerojstvo. YA gorzhus' vami. "Not half so proud as I am of you, nor with half the reason," she answered, looking me straight in the eyes for a moment with an expression in her own and a dancing, tremulous light which I had not seen before and which gave me a pang of quick delight, I know not why, for I did not understand it. Then she dropped her eyes, to lift them again, laughing. -- A ya vami i podavno. I s bol'shim osnovaniem, -- otozvalas' ona i posmotrela mne pryamo v glaza. Serdce u menya sladko zashchemilo -- ee glaza tak laskovo luchilis', i ya ulovil v nih kakoe-to novoe vyrazhenie. YA ne ponyal ego, no neob®yasnimyj vostorg ohvatil menya. Mod opustila glaza. A kogda ona snova podnyala ih -- oni smeyalis'. "If our friends could see us now," she said. "Look at us. Have you ever paused for a moment to consider our appearance?" -- Esli b tol'ko nashi znakomye mogli videt' nas sejchas! -- skazala ona. -- Posmotrite, na chto my stali pohozhi! Vy kogda-nibud' zadumyvalis' nad etim? "Yes, I have considered yours, frequently," I answered, puzzling over what I had seen in her eyes and puzzled by her sudden change of subject. -- O da, i ne raz, ya zhe vizhu vas pered soboj, -- otvechal ya, dumaya o tom, chto mog oznachat' etot ogonek v ee glazah i pochemu ona tak vnezapno perevela razgovor na druguyu temu. "Mercy!" she cried. "And what do I look like, pray?" -- Pomilujte! -- voskliknula ona. -- Na chto zh ya pohozha? "A scarecrow, I'm afraid," I replied. "Just glance at your draggled skirts, for instance. Look at those three-cornered tears. And such a waist! It would not require a Sherlock Holmes to deduce that you have been cooking over a camp-fire, to say nothing of trying out seal-blubber. And to cap it all, that cap! And all that is the woman who wrote 'A Kiss Endured.'" -- Boyus', chto na ogorodnoe pugalo, -- skazal ya. -- Posmotrite tol'ko na svoyu yubku: podol v gryazi, povsyudu dyry! A bluzka-to vsya v pyatnahNe nuzhno byt' SHerlokom Holmsom, chtoby skazat', chto vy gotovili pishchu nad kostrom i vytaplivali kotikovyj zhir. A golovnoj ubor odin chego stoit! I eto ta samaya zhenshchina, kotoraya napisala "Vynuzhdennyj poceluj"! She made me an elaborate and stately courtesy, and said, "As for you,