pen'kam  vniz. SHiroko  rasstaviv ruki  v
poiskah opory, on,  shatayas', poshel po  palube  i ostanovilsya, pokachivayas' iz
storony v storonu, u lyuka kubrika ohotnikov.  Potom nogi u nego podkosilis',
i on ruhnul na palubu.


     "One of his attacks," I whispered to Maud.

     -- Pripadok! -- shepnul ya Mod.


     She nodded her head; and I could see sympathy warm in eyes.

     Ona kivnula mne, i ya snova prochel sostradanie v ee vzglyade.


     We went  up to him, but he seemed unconscious, breathing spasmodically.
She took charge of him, lifting his  head to  keep  the blood  out of it and
despatching  me to the cabin for a  pillow. I  also brought blankets, and we
made him comfortable. I took his pulse. It beat steadily and strong, and was
quite normal. This puzzled me. I became suspicious.

     My podoshli  k  Volku  Larsenu.  On, kazalos',  byl  bez  pamyati i dyshal
sudorozhno,  preryvisto. Mod  sejchas  zhe  vzyalas' za delo  --  pripodnyala emu
golovu,  chtoby  predotvratit' priliv  krovi,  i  poslala  menya  v  kayutu  za
podushkoj.  YA  prihvatil  i  odeyala,  i   my  postaralis'  ustroit'  bol'nogo
poudobnee.  YA nashchupal  ego pul's. On  bilsya rovno -- ne  chasto  i ne slishkom
slabo,  slovom, sovershenno  normal'no.  |to  udivilo  menya i pokazalos'  mne
podozritel'nym.


     "What if he should be feigning this?" I asked, still holding his wrist.

     -- A chto, esli on pritvoryaetsya? -- sprosil ya, ne vypuskaya ego ruki.


     Maud shook her head, and there was  reproof in her  eyes. But just then
the wrist I held leaped from my hand, and the hand clasped like a steel trap
about my  wrist. I cried aloud in awful fear, a wild inarticulate cry; and I
caught one glimpse of  his face, malignant and triumphant, as his other hand
compassed my body and I was drawn down to him in a terrible grip.

     Mod pokachala golovoj i posmotrela na menya s uprekom. I v tu  zhe sekundu
ruka  Volka Larsena vyskol'znula iz-pod moih  pal'cev  i slovno  v  stal'nyh
tiskah sdavila moe zapyast'e.  YA diko  vskriknul  ot  neozhidannosti i ispuga.
Zloradnaya grimasa  iskazila  ego lico,  i bol'she ya  uzhe nichego ne videl,  --
drugoj rukoj on obhvatil menya i prityanul k sebe.


     My wrist was released, but  his other arm, passed around my back,  held
both my arms so that I could not move.  His free hand went to my throat, and
in that moment I knew  the bitterest foretaste of death earned  by one's own
idiocy.  Why had I  trusted myself  within reach of  those terrible  arms? I
could feel other hands at my throat. They were Maud's hands, striving vainly
to tear loose  the hand that  was throttling me. She gave it up, and I heard
her scream in a  way that cut me to the soul, for it was a woman's scream of
fear and heart-breaking despair. I had  heard it  before, during the sinking
of the Martinez.

     On  otpustil  moe zapyast'e, no  pri etom  tak sdavil menya, obhvativ  za
spinu, chto ya ne  mog shevel'nut'sya. Svobodnoj rukoj on shvatil menya za gorlo,
i v eto mgnovenie ya ispytal ves' uzhas i vsyu gorech' ozhidaniya smerti -- smerti
po sobstvennoj  vine. Kak mog ya podojti tak  blizko k  ego strashnym ruchishcham?
Vdrug  ya  oshchutil prikosnovenie drugih ruk -- Mod tshchetno pytalas' otorvat' ot
moego  gorla dushivshuyu  menya  lapu.  Ponyav,  chto eto bespolezno, ona otchayanno
zakrichala, i u menya  poholodelo serdce.  Mne byl znakom etot dusherazdirayushchij
vopl',  polnyj  uzhasa i  otchayaniya.  Tak krichali  zhenshchiny,  kogda shel  ko dnu
"Martines".


     My face was  against his chest and  I could not  see, but  I heard Maud
turn and run swiftly away along  the deck. Everything was happening quickly.
I  had not  yet  had a glimmering  of unconsciousness, and it seemed that an
interminable period of time was lapsing before I heard her feet flying back.
And just then I felt the whole man sink under me. The breath was leaving his
lungs  and his chest was  collapsing under  my weight. Whether it was merely
the expelled breath, or his consciousness of his growing impotence,  I  know
not, but his  throat  vibrated  with a  deep groan.  The hand  at  my throat
relaxed.  I  breathed.  It  fluttered and  tightened  again.  But  even  his
tremendous  will  could not overcome the dissolution that assailed it.  That
will of his was breaking down. He was fainting.

     Lico moe bylo prizhato k grudi Volka Larsena, i  ya nichego ne mog videt',
no slyshal, kak Mod pobezhala  kuda-to po palube. Vse proizoshlo s molnienosnoj
bystrotoj, no  mne pokazalos',  chto  protekla vechnost'. Soznanie moe eshche  ne
uspelo pomerknut', kogda ya uslyshal, chto Mod begom vozvrashchaetsya obratno, i  v
to zhe mgnovenie  pochuvstvoval,  kak telo  Volka  Larsena  podalos'  nazad  i
obmyaklo. Dyhanie s shumom vyryvalos' iz ego grudi, na kotoruyu  ya nalegal vsej
svoej  tyazhest'yu. Razdalsya  sdavlennyj ston; byl li to vozglas  bessiliya, ili
ego  prosto istorglo udush'e --  ne znayu,  no  pal'cy ego,  vcepivshiesya mne v
gorlo,  razzhalis'. YA  glotnul vozduh.  Pal'cy drognuli  i snova  sdavili mne
gorlo. No dazhe ego chudovishchnaya sila voli uzhe ne mogla preodolet' upadka  sil.
Volya sdavala. Larsen teryal soznanie.


     Maud's footsteps were very near as his hand fluttered for the last time
and my throat  was released. I  rolled off and over to the deck on  my back,
gasping and blinking  in the sunshine. Maud was pale but composed, - my eyes
had gone instantly to her  face, -  and she was looking at  me with  mingled
alarm and relief. A heavy seal-club in her hand caught  my eyes, and at that
moment she followed my gaze  down to it. The club  dropped from  her hand as
though it  had suddenly  stung her, and at the  same moment my heart  surged
with a great  joy. Truly she was my  woman, my mate-woman, fighting with  me
and for me as the mate of a caveman would  have fought, all the primitive in
her aroused, forgetful of her culture, hard under the softening civilization
of the only life she had ever known.

     SHagi Mod zvuchali u menya nad  samym uhom. Pal'cy Larsena v poslednij raz
stisnuli moe gorlo i razzhalis' sovsem. YA otkatilsya v storonu. Lezha na spine,
ya hvatal vozduh rtom i morgal ot solnechnogo sveta, bivshego mne pryamo v lico.
YA otyskal glazami  Mod; ona byla  bledna,  no vneshne  spokojna i smotrela na
menya so smeshannym vyrazheniem trevogi i oblegcheniya.  YA  uvidel u  nee  v ruke
tyazheluyu  ohotnich'yu dubinku. Zametiv moj vzglyad. Mod vyronila dubinku, slovno
ona zhgla ej ruku, u menya zhe serdce  ispolnilos'  likovaniem. Vot ona --  moya
podruga,  gotovaya bit'sya vmeste so mnoj i  za menya,  kak bilis' bok o bok so
svoimi muzhchinami zhenshchiny kamennogo veka! Uslovnosti, kotorym ona podchinyalas'
vsyu  zhizn',  byli  zabyty,  i  golos  instinkta,  ne  zaglushennyj  do  konca
iznezhivayushchim vliyaniem civilizacii, vlastno zagovoril v nej.


     "Dear woman!" I cried, scrambling to my feet.

     -- Rodnaya moya! -- voskliknul ya, s trudom podnimayas' na nogi.


     The next moment she was in my arms, weeping convulsively on my shoulder
while I clasped her close. I  looked down at the brown  glory of  her  hair,
glinting  gems in the  sunshine  far more precious  to me than those  in the
treasure-chests  of kings. And I bent my head and kissed her hair softly, so
softly that she did not know.

     V sleduyushchuyu sekundu ona byla v  moih ob®yatiyah i sudorozhno  vshlipyvala,
pripav k moemu plechu. Prizhimaya ee  k sebe, ya smotrel na ee pyshnye kashtanovye
volosy; oni sverkali na solnce, slovno dragocennye kamni, i zatmevali v moih
glazah vse  sokrovishcha zemnyh carej. YA  nagnulsya  i nezhno poceloval  ih,  tak
nezhno, chto ona i ne zametila.


     Then sober thought  came to me. After all, she was only a woman, crying
her relief, now that the danger was past, in the arms of her protector or of
the one who had been endangered. Had I been father or brother, the situation
would have been in nowise different. Besides, time and place were not  meet,
and I wished  to  earn a  better right to declare  my love. So  once again I
softly kissed her hair as I felt her receding from my clasp.

     No  ya tut zhe zastavil sebya trezvo  vzglyanut' na  veshchi. Estestvenno, chto
Mod, kak istaya zhenshchina, posle perezhitoj opasnosti prolivala slezy oblegcheniya
v ob®yatiyah svoego zashchitnika, ch'ya  zhizn',  v svoyu  ochered', byla pod ugrozoj.
Bud'  ya ej otcom ili bratom,  polozhenie nichut' by ne  izmenilos'. K tomu  zhe
sejchas bylo ne vremya i ne  mesto  dlya lyubovnyh priznanij,  i ya hotel  prezhde
zasluzhit' pravo govorit'  ej o svoej lyubvi. Poetomu ya tol'ko nezhno poceloval
eshche raz ee volosy, chuvstvuya, chto ona vysvobozhdaetsya iz moih ob®yatij.


     "It was a real attack this time," I said: "another  shock like the  one
that made him blind. He feigned at first, and in doing so brought it on."

     -- Vot  teper' pripadok nepritvornyj,  --  skazal ya. -- Posle odnogo iz
takih pripadkov on i poteryal zrenie. Segodnya on sperva pritvoryalsya  i,  byt'
mozhet, etim i vyzval pristup.


     Maud was already rearranging his pillow.

     Mod uzhe nachala popravlyat' emu podushku.


     "No," I said, "not yet. Now that I have him helpless, helpless he shall
remain.  From this day we live in  the cabin. Wolf Larsen shall  live in the
steerage."

     -- Postojte, -- skazal ya.  -- Sejchas on  bespomoshchen  -- i  takim dolzhen
ostavat'sya  i  vpred'.  Teper'  my  zajmem  kayut-kompaniyu,  a  Volka Larsena
pomestim v kubrike ohotnikov.


     I caught him under the shoulders and dragged him to the companion- way.
At my direction Maud  fetched a rope.  Placing this  under his  shoulders, I
balanced  him across the threshold and lowered  him down  the  steps to  the
floor. I could not lift  him directly into a bunk, but with  Maud's  help  I
lifted first his shoulders and head, then his body, balanced  him across the
edge, and rolled him into a lower bunk.

     YA vzyal ego pod myshki i potashchil k trapu, a Mod po  moej pros'be prinesla
verevku.  Obvyazav ego  verevkoj pod myshkami, ya spustil ego  po stupen'kam  v
kubrik. U menya ne hvatalo sil polozhit'  ego  na kojku, no s pomoshch'yu Mod  mne
udalos' sperva pripodnyat'  verhnyuyu chast' ego tulovishcha, a potom  ya zakinul na
kojku i ego nogi.


     But this  was  not  to be  all.  I  recollected the  handcuffs  in  his
state-room, which he preferred to use on sailors instead  of the ancient and
clumsy ship irons. So,  when  we left him, he lay handcuffed hand  and foot.
For the first time in many days I breathed freely. I felt strangely light as
I came on deck, as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I felt,
also, that  Maud and I had drawn more  closely together.  And I  wondered if
she, too, felt it, as we walked  along the  deck side  by side  to where the
stalled foremast hung in the shears.

     No  etim  nel'zya bylo ogranichit'sya. YA vspomnil, chto u Volka  Larsena  v
kayute hranyatsya naruchniki, kotorymi  on pol'zovalsya vmesto  starinnyh tyazhelyh
sudovyh kandalov, kogda  emu nuzhno  bylo zakovat' provinivshegosya matrosa. My
razyskali eti  naruchniki i skovali Larsena  po  rukam  i nogam. Posle etogo,
vpervye za mnogo  dnej,  ya vzdohnul svobodno.  Vyjdya  na  palubu,  ya ispytal
chuvstvo neobychajnogo oblegcheniya  -- u menya slovno  gora s  plech svalilas'. YA
chuvstvoval takzhe,  chto vse perezhitoe nami nynche eshche bol'she  sblizilo menya  s
Mod, i, napravlyayas' vmeste  s nej  k  strele, na  kotoroj  teper' uzhe visela
fok-machta, myslenno sprashival sebya, oshchushchaet li Mod etu blizost' tak, kak ya.


        CHAPTER XXXVII

        GLAVA XXXVII


     At  once we moved  aboard the Ghost, occupying our  old state-rooms and
cooking in  the  galley. The imprisonment of Wolf  Larsen  had happened most
opportunely, for what must have been the Indian summer of this high latitude
was gone and drizzling stormy weather had set in. We were  very comfortable,
and  the inadequate  shears, with the  foremast suspended  from them, gave a
business-like air to the schooner and a promise of departure.

     My tut  zhe perebralis' na shhunu i  zanyali  svoi prezhnie  kayuty. Pishchu my
teper' gotovili  sebe v kambuze.  Volk Larsen popal  v zatochenie kak  nel'zya
bolee vovremya. Poslednie dni v etih shirotah stoyalo, kak vidno, bab'e leto, i
teper' ono vnezapno prishlo  k koncu, smenivshis'  dozhdlivoj i burnoj pogodoj.
No  my na shhune chuvstvovali sebya vpolne  uyutno, a strela s podveshennoj k nej
fok-machtoj pridavala vsemu delovoj vid i okrylyala nas nadezhdoj na otplytie.


     And now that we had Wolf Larsen in irons,  how little did  we  need it!
Like  his  first  attack,  his  second  had  been  accompanied   by  serious
disablement.  Maud made the discovery in the  afternoon while trying to give
him nourishment. He had shown signs of consciousness, and she had  spoken to
him, eliciting no  response.  He was lying on his left side at the time, and
in evident  pain.  With a restless  movement  he  rolled  his  head  around,
clearing his left ear from the pillow against which it had  been pressed. At
once he heard and answered her, and at once she came to me.

     Teper', kogda  nam  udalos'  zakovat'  Volka  Larsena v  naruchniki, eto
okazalos' uzhe  nenuzhnym. Vtoroj pripadok, podobno  pervomu, vyzval ser'eznoe
narushenie zhiznennyh funkcij. Mod obratila  na  eto vnimanie, kogda poshla pod
vecher nakormit' nashego plennika. On byl v soznanii, i  ona zagovorila s nim,
no ne dobilas' otveta. On lezhal na levom boku i, kazalos', ochen' stradal  ot
boli. Levoe uho ego  bylo prizhato k  podushke. Potom bespokojnym dvizheniem on
povernul golovu  vpravo, i  levoe uho  ego otkrylos'.  Tol'ko tut on uslyshal
slova Mod,  chto-to  otvetil ej, a ona brosilas'  ko mne  rasskazat'  o svoem
nablyudenii.


     Pressing the pillow against his left ear, I  asked him if he heard  me,
but  he gave no sign. Removing  the  pillow and, repeating  the  question he
answered promptly that he did.

     Prizhav, podushku k levomu uhu Larsena, ya sprosil ego, slyshit li on menya,
no otveta  ne poluchil.  Ubrav  podushku, ya povtoril  svoj vopros, i on totchas
otvetil.


     "Do you know you are deaf in the right ear?" I asked.

     -- A vy znaete, chto vy oglohli na pravoe uho? -- sprosil ya.


     "Yes," he answered in  a low, strong  voice, "and worse  than that.  My
whole right side is affected. It seems asleep. I cannot move arm or leg."

     -- Da, -- otvechal on tiho, no tverdo. -- Huzhe togo, u menya porazhena vsya
pravaya storona  tela. Ona slovno  usnula.  Ne mogu  poshevelit' ni rukoj,  ni
nogoj.


     "Feigning again?" I demanded angrily.

     -- Opyat' pritvoryaetes'? -- serdito sprosil ya.


     He  shook  his head, his stern  mouth  shaping  the strangest,  twisted
smile. It  was indeed a twisted smile, for it was on the left side only, the
facial muscles of the right side moving not at all.

     On  otricatel'no pokachal golovoj, i strannaya, krivaya usmeshka perekosila
ego rot. Usmeshka byla krivoj potomu, chto dvigalas' tol'ko levaya storona rta,
-- pravaya ostavalas' sovershenno nepodvizhnoj.


     "That was the last play of the Wolf," he said. "I am paralysed. I shall
never walk again. Oh, only on the  other side," he added, as though divining
the suspicious glance I flung at  his left  leg, the knee of which had  just
then drawn up, and elevated the blankets.

     --  |to byl  poslednij  vyhod Volka na ohotu, --  skazav on. --  U menya
paralich, ya bol'she ne vstanu na nogi... O, porazhena  tol'ko ta noga,  ne obe,
-- dobavil on, slovno dogadavshis', chto ya brosil podozritel'nyj vzglyad na ego
levuyu nogu, kotoruyu on v etu minutu sognul v kolene, pripodnyav odeyalo.


     "It's  unfortunate," he continued.  "I'd  liked  to  have done for  you
first, Hump. And I thought I had that much left in me."

     -- Da, ne povezlo mne! -- prodolzhal on. -- YA hotel sperva razdelat'sya s
vami, Hemp. Dumal, chto na eto u menya eshche hvatit porohu.


     "But why?" I asked; partly in horror, partly out of curiosity.

     -- No pochemu? -- sprosil ya, ohvachennyj uzhasom i lyubopytstvom.


     Again his stern mouth framed the twisted smile, as he said:

     Ego zhestkij rot opyat' pokrivilsya v usmeshke, i on skazal:


     "Oh, just to be alive, to be living and doing, to be the biggest bit of
the ferment to the end, to eat you. But to die this way."

     -- Da prosto, chtoby chuvstvovat', chto ya zhivu i dejstvuyu, chtoby  do konca
byt' samym bol'shim kuskom zakvaski i sozhrat' vas!.. No umeret' tak...


     He shrugged his  shoulders, or attempted to shrug them, rather, for the
left shoulder alone moved. Like the smile, the shrug was twisted.

     On  pozhal plechami, vernee hotel eto sdelat', -- i  dvinul  odnim tol'ko
levym plechom. Kak i ego usmeshka, eto dvizhenie poluchilos' stranno odnobokim.


     "But how can you account for it?" I  asked. "Where is the seat  of your
trouble?"

     -- No chem zhe vy sami ob®yasnyaete to, chto sluchilos' s vami? Gde gnezditsya
bolezn'?


     "The brain," he said at once. "It was those cursed headaches brought it
on."

     -- V mozgu, -- totchas otvetil on. -- |to vse ot moih proklyatyh golovnyh
bolej.


     "Symptoms," I said.

     -- Oni byli tol'ko simptomom bolezni, -- skazal ya.


     He nodded his head. "There is no accounting for it. I was never sick in
my  life.  Something's gone  wrong with my  brain.  A cancer,  a  tumour, or
something  of  that  nature,  - a  thing  that  devours and  destroys.  It's
attacking my nerve-centres, eating them up, bit  by bit, cell by cell - from
the pain."

     On kivnul.
     -- Vse eto neponyatno. YA ni razu v zhizni ne bolel. No vot kakaya-to dryan'
zavelas' v  mozgu. Rak ili drugaya  kakaya-nibud'  opuhol', no ona  pozhiraet i
razrushaet  vse, porazhaet nervnye centry i poedaet ih -- kletku za kletkoj...
sudya po boli, kotoruyu ya terplyu.


     "The motor-centres, too," I suggested.

     -- I dvigatel'nye centry porazheny tozhe, -- zametil ya.


     "So it would seem;  and  the  curse  of it  is  that I must  lie  here,
conscious,  mentally  unimpaired, knowing that  the  lines  are  going down,
breaking bit by bit communication with the  world. I cannot see, hearing and
feeling are  leaving  me, at this  rate I shall soon cease to speak; yet all
the time I shall be here, alive, active, and powerless."

     -- Po-vidimomu. I vse proklyat'e v tom, chto  ya obrechen lezhat' vot tak, v
polnom soznanii, s  nepovrezhdennym umom, i  otdavat'  koncy  odin za drugim,
postepenno  poryvaya  vsyakuyu svyaz' s mirom.  YA  uzhe  poteryal  zrenie;  sluh i
osyazanie pokidayut menya, i esli tak pojdet dal'she, skoro ya lishus' rechi. I vse
ravno budu prebyvat' zdes', na etoj zemle,  zhivoj, polnyj zhazhdy dejstviya, no
bessil'nyj.


     "When you say YOU are here, I'd suggest the likelihood  of the soul," I
said.

     --  Kogda vy govorite, chto budete prebyvat'  zdes', to  podrazumevaete,
nado polagat', vashu dushu, -- skazal ya.


     "Bosh!" was his retort. "It simply means that in the attack on my brain
the higher psychical centres are untouched. I can  remember, I can think and
reason. When that goes, I go. I am not. The soul?"

     -- CHush'! -- vozmutilsya on. -- YA podrazumevayu tol'ko, chto vysshie nervnye
centry eshche ne porazheny bolezn'yu. U menya sohranilas' pamyat', ya mogu myslit' i
rassuzhdat'. Kogda eto ischeznet, ischeznu i ya. Menya ne budet. Dusha?


     He  broke out  in mocking  laughter, then  turned his left ear  to  the
pillow as a sign that he wished no further conversation.

     On nasmeshlivo rassmeyalsya i leg levym uhom na podushku, davaya ponyat', chto
ne zhelaet prodolzhat' razgovor.


     Maud  and I went about our work oppressed by the fearful fate which had
overtaken  him, - how fearful we were  yet fully to  realize. There was  the
awfulness of retribution about it. Our thoughts were deep and solemn, and we
spoke to each other scarcely above whispers.

     My s Mod prinyalis' za  rabotu, podavlennye  strashnoj sud'boj, postigshej
etogo cheloveka. Naskol'ko tyazhkoj byla ego uchast',  nam eshche predstoyalo vskore
ubedit'sya. Kazalos',  eto  bylo  groznym vozmezdiem  za  ego  dela. My  byli
nastroeny  torzhestvenno  i   ser'ezno  i  peregovarivalis'   drug  s  drugom
vpolgolosa.


     "You  might remove the handcuffs," he  said that night,  as we stood in
consultation over him. "It's dead safe. I'm a  paralytic now. The next thing
to watch out for is bed sores."

     -- Mozhete snyat' naruchniki, -- skazal nam  Volk Larsen vecherom, kogda my
stoyali  u  ego  kojki,  obsuzhdaya, kak nam  s  nim byt'.  --  |to  sovershenno
bezopasno -- ya ved' paralitik. Teper' ostaetsya tol'ko zhdat' prolezhnej.


     He smiled his twisted smile, and Maud, her  eyes wide with horror,  was
compelled to turn away her head.

     On  opyat' krivo usmehnulsya,  i glaza  Mod  rasshirilis'  ot  uzhasa;  ona
nevol'no otvernulas'.


     "Do you know that your smile is crooked?" I asked him; for I knew  that
she must attend him, and I wished to save her as much as possible.

     -- A vy znaete, chto ulybka u vas krivaya? -- sprosil ya ego, dumaya o tom,
chto ej pridetsya uhazhivat' za nim, i  zhelaya  izbavit' ee ot etogo nepriyatnogo
zrelishcha.


     "Then I shall smile no more," he said calmly.  "I thought something was
wrong. My right cheek has been numb all day. Yes,  and I've  had warnings of
this  for the last  three days; by spells, my  right  side  seemed  going to
sleep, sometimes arm or hand, sometimes leg or foot."

     -- V takom sluchae ya perestanu ulybat'sya, -- hladnokrovno  zayavil on. --
YA i sam  dumal segodnya, chto ne  vse ladno. Pravaya shcheka slovno okamenela. Da,
uzhe tri dnya, kak nachali poyavlyat'sya eti priznaki, -- pravaya storona vremenami
kak by zasypala -- to noga, to ruka.


     "So  my  smile  is crooked?"  he  queried a  short while  after. "Well,
consider henceforth that I smile internally, with my soul, if you please, my
soul. Consider that I am smiling now."

     -- Znachit, ulybka u menya krivaya? -- sprosil  on, pomolchav. -- Nu chto zh,
otnyne proshu schitat', chto ya ulybayus' vnutrenne, --  v dushe, esli vam ugodno,
v dushe! Uchtite, chto ya i sejchas ulybayus'.


     And for the space of several minutes he lay there, quiet, indulging his
grotesque fancy.

     I neskol'ko minut on lezhal molcha, dovol'nyj svoej mrachnoj vydumkoj.


     The man of him  was not changed.  It was the old, indomitable, terrible
Wolf  Larsen, imprisoned somewhere  within that flesh which had once been so
invincible and  splendid. Now it bound him  with insentient fetters, walling
his soul  in darkness and  silence, blocking it from  the world which to him
had  been a riot of action. No  more  would  he conjugate the verb "to do in
every mood and  tense." "To be" was all that  remained to him - to be, as he
had defined death, without movement; to will, but not  to execute;  to think
and reason and in the spirit of him to be as alive as ever, but in the flesh
to be dead, quite dead.

     Harakter ego  nichut'  ne izmenilsya. |to  byl  vse  tot zhe  neukrotimyj,
strashnyj Volk Larsen, zaklyuchennyj, kak v temnice, v svoej omertvevshej ploti,
kotoraya   byla  kogda-to  takoj  velikolepnoj  i  nesokrushimoj.  Teper'  ona
prevratilas' v okovy i zamknula ego dushu v molchanie i mrak, otgorodiv ego ot
mira, kotoryj byl dlya nego arenoj stol'  burnoj deyatel'nosti. Nikogda bol'she
ne pridetsya emu spryagat' na vse lady glagol "delat'". "Byt'" -- vot vse, chto
emu ostalos'. A  ved' imenno  tak on i opredelyal ponyatie "smerti" -- "byt'",
to est' sushchestvovat', no vne dvizheniya;  zamyshlyat', no  ne ispolnyat'; dumat',
rassuzhdat'  i  v  etom ostavat'sya takim  zhe zhivym,  kak vchera, no  plot'yu --
mertvym, beznadezhno mertvym.


     And yet,  though  I  even  removed the handcuffs,  we  could not adjust
ourselves to  his condition.  Our  minds  revolted.  To  us  he  was full of
potentiality.  We knew not what  to  expect of him next, what fearful thing,
rising above the flesh, he might break out and do. Our  experience warranted
this state of mind, and we went about our work with anxiety always upon us.

     A my s Mod, hot' ya i snyal s nego naruchniki, nikak ne mogli privyknut' k
ego  novomu sostoyaniyu. Nashe soznanie  otkazyvalos'  prinyat'  ego. Dlya nas on
ostavalsya polnym skrytyh vozmozhnostej. Nam  kazalos',  chto v lyubuyu minutu on
mozhet vyrvat'sya iz okov ploti, podnyat'sya nad neyu i sotvorit' chto-to uzhasnoe.
Stol'ko naterpelis' my ot etogo  cheloveka, chto  dazhe teper' ni na sekundu ne
mogli izbavit'sya ot vnutrennego bespokojstva.


     I had solved the problem which had arisen through the shortness  of the
shears.  By means of the watch-tackle (I had  made a new one),  I heaved the
butt of the foremast across the rail and then  lowered it to the deck. Next,
by means of the shears, I hoisted the main boom  on board. Its forty feet of
length would supply the height  necessary  properly to  swing  the  mast. By
means  of a secondary tackle I had attached  to the shears, I swung the boom
to a nearly  perpendicular position,  then  lowered  the  butt  to the deck,
where,  to  prevent slipping, I  spiked great  cleats around  it. The single
block of my original  shears-tackle  I had attached to the  end of the boom.
Thus, by carrying this tackle  to the windlass, I could  raise and lower the
end of the boom at will, the butt always remaining stationary, and, by means
of guys, I could swing the boom from side  to side. To the end of the boom I
had likewise  rigged a  hoisting tackle; and  when the whole arrangement was
completed I could not but be startled by the power and latitude it gave me.

     Mne  udalos' razreshit'  zadachu,  vstavshuyu  peredo  mnoj,  kogda  strela
okazalas' slishkom korotkoj. Izgotoviv novye  hvat-tali,  ya  peretyanul nizhnij
konec fok-machty cherez  planshir, a  zatem opustil machtu na palubu, posle chego
pri  pomoshchi strely podnyal na bort grota-gik. On byl dlinoj v  sorok futov, i
etogo  okazalos' dostatochno, chtoby podnyat' i  ustanovit' machtu.  Pri  pomoshchi
vspomogatel'nyh talej,  kotorye ya prikrepil k strele, ya  podnyal gik pochti  v
vertikal'noe polozhenie, a potom uper ego pyatkoj v palubu i zakrepil tolstymi
kolodkami. Obyknovennyj  blok, kotoryj byl u  menya na strele, ya prikrepil  k
noku gika. Takim obrazom, vzyav  hodovoj konec talej  na brashpil',  ya mog  po
zhelaniyu  podnimat'  i  opuskat'  nok  gika,  prichem  pyatka  ego   ostavalas'
nepodvizhnoj, i pri pomoshchi ottyazhek pridavat'  emu naklon vpravo ili vlevo.  K
noku  gika ya  prikrepil takzhe i pod®emnye tali,  a kogda  vse prisposoblenie
bylo zakoncheno, porazilsya sam, kak mnogo ono mne dalo.


     Of course, two days' work was required for  the accomplishment of  this
part of  my task, and it was not till the  morning of  the third day  that I
swung the foremast from the deck and proceeded to square its butt to fit the
step. Here I was especially awkward. I sawed  and chopped and chiselled  the
weathered  wood  till  it had the appearance of  having been gnawed by  some
gigantic mouse. But it fitted.

     Dva dnya ushlo u menya na  to, chtoby spravit'sya s etim delom,  i tol'ko na
tretij  den'  utrom  ya  smog  pripodnyat' fok-machtu  nad  paluboj  i prinyalsya
obtesyvat' ee nizhnij konec, chtoby pridat' emu nuzhnuyu formu -- sootvetstvenno
stepsu v tryume. Plotnikom ya okazalsya i  vovse  nikudyshnym. YA pilil, rubil  i
obtesyval  nepodatlivoe derevo, poka v konce koncov ono  ne priobrelo  takoj
vid, slovno ego  obgryzla kakaya-to  gigantskaya krysa. No  togo, chto mne bylo
nuzhno, ya vse zhe dostig.


     "It will work, I know it will work," I cried.

     -- Goditsya, ya uveren, chto goditsya! -- voskliknul ya.


     "Do you know Dr. Jordan's final test of truth?" Maud asked.

     --  Vy  znaete,  chto doktor Dzhordan schitaet probnym  kamnem dlya  vsyakoj
istiny? -- sprosila Mod.


     I shook my head and paused in the act of dislodging the  shavings which
had drifted down my neck.

     YA pokachal golovoj i perestal izvlekat' zaletevshie mne za vorot struzhki.


     "Can we make it work? Can we trust our lives to it? is the test."

     -- Probnym kamnem  yavlyaetsya vopros: "Mozhem li  my zastavit' etu  istinu
sluzhit' nam? Mozhem li my doverit' ej svoyu zhizn'?"


     "He is a favourite of yours," I said.

     -- On vash lyubimec, -- zametil ya.


     "When I dismantled my old Pantheon and cast out Napoleon and Caesar and
their  fellows, I straightway erected a new Pantheon," she answered gravely,
"and the first I installed as Dr. Jordan."

     -- Kogda ya  razrushila svoj staryj panteon, vybrosila iz nego Napoleona,
Cezarya  i  eshche  koe-kogo  i  prinyalas'  sozdavat'  sebe novyj,  --  ser'ezno
promolvila ona, -- to pervoe mesto zanyal v nem doktor Dzhordan.


     "A modern hero."

     -- Geroj vpolne sovremennyj!


     "And a greater because  modern,"  she added.  "How  can  the Old  World
heroes compare with ours?"

     --  To,  chto  on prinadlezhit  sovremennosti, tol'ko  delaet  ego  bolee
velikim, --  skazala  ona.  -- Razve mogut geroi  starogo  mira sravnit'sya s
nashimi?


     I  shook my head. We were too  much alike in many  things for argument.
Our points of view and outlook on life at least were very alike.

     YA  kivnul. U nas  s Mod bylo tak  mnogo  obshchego, chto  mezhdu nami  redko
voznikali spory. My s nej  shodilis'  v  glavnom -- v nashem mirovozzrenii, v
otnoshenii k zhizni.


     "For a pair of critics we agree famously," I laughed.

     --  Dlya  dvuh  kritikov my porazitel'no  legko nahodim  obshchij yazyk,  --
rassmeyalsya ya.


     "And as shipwright and able assistant," she laughed back.

     -- Dlya korabel'nogo mastera i podmaster'ya -- tozhe, -- poshutila ona.


     But there was little time for laughter in those days, what of our heavy
work and of the awfulness of Wolf Larsen's living death.

     My ne  chasto  shutili i smeyalis' v te  dni -- slishkom byli  my pogloshcheny
nashim  tyazhelym, upornym  trudom i  prishibleny strashnym zrelishchem postepennogo
umiraniya Volka Larsena.


     He had received another stroke. He had lost his voice, or he was losing
it. He  had  only intermittent use of it.  As he phrased it, the wires  were
like  the stock market, now up, now down. Occasionally the wires were up and
he  spoke  as well  as  ever,  though slowly and heavily. Then  speech would
suddenly  desert him,  in the  middle of a sentence perhaps, and  for hours,
sometimes,  we would  wait  for  the  connection  to  be re-established.  He
complained  of great pain in his head, and it was during this period that he
arranged a system of communication against the time when speech should leave
him  altogether - one pressure of the hand  for "yes," two  for "no." It was
well that it  was arranged, for by  evening his voice had gone  from him. By
hand pressures, after that, he answered our questions, and when he wished to
speak he scrawled his thoughts with his left hand, quite legibly, on a sheet
of paper.

     U  nego povtorilsya udar.  On  poteryal rech',  vernee, nachal  teryat'  ee.
Teper' on vladel eyu lish' po vremenam. Po ego sobstvennomu vyrazheniyu, u nego,
kak na fondovoj birzhe, "telegrafnyj apparat" byl  to  vklyuchen, to  vyklyuchen.
Kogda "apparat" byl vklyuchen, Larsen razgovarival, kak  obychno, tol'ko  bolee
medlenno i kak-to zatrudnenno. A potom  rech' vnezapno pokidala ego, -- poroj
prezhde, chem on uspeval zakonchit' frazu,  -- i  emu chasami prihodilos' zhdat',
poka prervannyj  kontakt  ne vosstanovitsya. On zhalovalsya na sil'nuyu golovnuyu
bol' i  zaranee  pridumal  osobuyu formu  svyazi  na sluchaj,  esli  sovershenno
lishitsya rechi: odin nazhim pal'cev  oboznachal  "da", a dva nazhima --  "net". I
skazal on nam ob etom kak raz vovremya, tak kak v tot  zhe vecher  okonchatel'no
poteryal rech'. S teh por  na nashi voprosy on otvechal nazhimom pal'cev, a kogda
emu samomu  hotelos'  chtonibud' skazat',  dovol'no razborchivo  carapal levoj
rukoj na listke bumagi.


     The fierce winter had now descended upon us. Gale  followed gale,  with
snow and sleet and  rain.  The seals  had  started on their  great  southern
migration, and the rookery was practically deserted. I worked feverishly. In
spite  of the bad weather, and of the  wind which especially hindered  me, I
was on deck from daylight till dark and making substantial progress.

     Nastupila  zhestokaya  zima. SHtorm sledoval za  shtormom  -- so snegom,  s
dozhdem, s ledyanoj krupoj. Kotiki otpravilis' v  svoe dal'nee puteshestvie  na
yug,  i  lezhbishche  opustelo.  YA  rabotal  ne pokladaya  ruk.  V lyubuyu nepogodu,
nevziraya  na veter,  kotoryj osobenno meshal rabote, ya ostavalsya na  palube s
rassveta i dotemna, i delo zametno shlo na lad.


     I  profited  by my lesson  learned through raising  the shears and then
climbing them to attach the guys. To the top of the foremast, which was just
lifted  conveniently from the deck, I attached the rigging, stays and throat
and peak halyards. As usual, I had underrated the amount of work involved in
this portion  of the  task, and two long days were necessary to complete it.
And  there was so  much yet to  be done  - the sails,  for  instance,  which
practically had to be made over.

     V svoe vremya ya dopustil oshibku, kogda ustanovil strelu, ne prikrepiv  k
nej ottyazhki, i  togda  mne prishlos' vzbirat'sya  na nee. Teper'  ya  izvlek iz
etogo urok i zaranee prikrepil snasti -- shtagi, gafel'gardel' i dirik-fal --
k verhushke  fok-machty.  No,  kak vsegda,  ya  potratil  na etu rabotu  bol'she
vremeni, chem  predpolagal, --  u menya ushlo  na nee celyh dva dnya. A ved' eshche
stol'ko  dela  bylo  vperediParusa,  naprimer, v  sushchnosti, neobhodimo  bylo
izgotovit' zanovo.


     While I toiled  at  rigging the  foremast,  Maud sewed on canvas, ready
always to drop everything and come to my assistance when more hands than two
were required. The canvas was heavy and hard, and she sewed with the regular
sailor's  palm and three-cornered  sail- needle. Her hands  were soon  sadly
blistered, but she struggled bravely  on, and in  addition doing the cooking
and taking care of the sick man.

     Poka ya  trudilsya nad osnastkoj fok-machty. Mod sshivala parusa, prichem  v
lyubuyu minutu s  gotovnost'yu  brosala svoe zanyatie  i speshila mne  na pomoshch',
esli  ya  ne mog  spravit'sya  odin. Parusina  byla tverdaya i tyazhelaya,  i  Mod
pol'zovalas'  nastoyashchim matrosskim gardamanom i trehgrannoj parusnoj  igloj.
Ruki  u nee ochen' skoro pokrylis' voldyryami,  no ona  stojko prodolzhala svoyu
rabotu, a ved' ej prihodilos' eshche stryapat' i uhazhivat' za bol'nym!


     "A  fig for superstition," I said on Friday morning. "That mast goes in
to-day.'

     -- Doloj sueveriya! -- skazal ya v  pyatnicu utrom. -- Budem stavit' machtu
segodnya!


     Everything was ready  for the attempt. Carrying the boom-tackle  to the
windlass, I hoisted  the mast nearly  clear of the deck. Making  this tackle
fast, I took to the windlass the shears-tackle (which was connected with the
end of the boom), and with a few turns had the mast perpendicular and clear.

     Vse podgotovitel'nye raboty byli zakoncheny. Vzyav tali gika na brashpil',
ya podnyal machtu tak, chto ona otdelilas' ot  paluby. Zatem, zakrepiv eti tali,
ya vzyal  na brashpil' tali  strely, prikreplennye k  noku gika,  i neskol'kimi
povorotami rukoyatki privel machtu v vertikal'noe polozhenie nad paluboj.


     Maud  clapped her hands the  instant she was  relieved from holding the
turn, crying:

     Mod --  kak  tol'ko  ya  osvobodil ee  ot obyazannosti derzhat' shodyashchij s
barabana konec -- zahlopala v ladoshi i zakrichala:


     "It works! It works! We'll trust our lives to it!"

     -- GoditsyaGoditsya! My doverim ej svoyu zhizn'!


     Then she assumed a rueful expression.

     No lico ee tut zhe omrachilos'.


     "It's not over the hole," she add. "Will you have to begin all over?"

     --  A  ved'  machta ne nad otverstiem,  -- skazala  ona. --  Neuzheli vam
pridetsya opyat' nachinat' vse syznova?


     I smiled  in superior  fashion, and, slacking off on one  of  the boom-
guys and taking in on  the  other, swung the mast perfectly in the centre of
the deck. Still it was not over  the hole. Again the  rueful expression came
on her  face, and again I smiled in  a  superior way.  Slacking away  on the
boom-tackle and  hoisting  an  equivalent  amount  on  the shears-tackle,  I
brought the butt of the  mast into position directly over  the  hole in  the
deck. Then I gave Maud careful instructions for lowering away and  went into
the hold to the step on the schooner's bottom.

     YA snishoditel'no ulybnulsya i, podpraviv odnu iz ottyazhek gika i podtyanuv
druguyu, podvel machtu k centru paluby. I vse-taki ona visela eshche ne tochno nad
otverstiem. Lico Mod opyat' vytyanulos', a ya snova snishoditel'no ulybnulsya i,
manevriruya talyami gika i strely, podtyanul  machtu pryamo k otverstiyu v palube.
Posle etogo  ya  podrobno ob®yasnil Mod, kak opuskat' machtu, a sam spustilsya v
tryum k stepsu, ustanovlennomu na dne shhuny.


     I  called  to her, and the  mast moved easily and accurately.  Straight
toward the square  hole  of the step the square  butt descended;  but as  it
descended it slowly twisted so  that square would not fit into square. But I
had not even  a  moment's  indecision. Calling to  Maud to cease lowering, I
went  on  deck  and  made the watch-tackle fast  to  the mast with a rolling
hitch. I left Maud  to  pull on  it  while I went below. By the light of the
lantern I saw the butt twist slowly around till its sides coincided with the
sides of the step. Maud made fast  and returned to the  windlass. Slowly the
butt  descended the  several  intervening inches, at the same  time slightly
twisting again. Again  Maud rectified the twist  with the  watch-tackle, and
again  she lowered  away from the  windlass. Square fitted  into square. The
mast was stepped.

     YA kriknul Mod,  chtoby  ona  nachinala travit'. Machta poshla vniz  legko i
tochno --  pryamo  k chetyrehugol'nomu otverstiyu stepsa. Odnako pri  spuske ona
nemnogo  povernulas' vokrug  svoej  osi, i  storony  chetyrehugol'nogo  shpora
perestali  sovpadat'  so storonami stepsa. No ya tut  zhe soobrazil, chto  nado
sdelat'. Kriknuv  Mod,  chtoby  ona perestala travit', ya podnyalsya na palubu i
stopornym uzlom prikrepil k machte  hvat-tali. Potom snova spustilsya v  tryum,
skazav Mod, chtoby  ona po moej komande tyanula hvat-tali. Pri svete fonarya  ya
uvidel,  kak  machta  medlenno  povorachivaetsya  i  storony  shpora  stanovyatsya
parallel'no storonam  stepsa.  Mod zakrepila  tali i vernulas'  k  brashpilyu.
Medlenno opuskayas', machta prohodila poslednie neskol'ko dyujmov, no tut snova
nachala   povorachivat'sya.  Odnako  Mod  opyat'  vypravila   ee  hvat-talyami  i
prodolzhala travit' brashpilem. Kvadraty sovpali, machta voshla v steps.


     I raised a  shout, and she ran down to see. In the yellow lantern light
we  peered at what we had  accomplished.  We looked at each other,  and  our
hands  felt their way  and clasped. The eyes of  both of  us, I think,  were
moist with the joy of success.

     YA  gromko zakrichal, i Mod brosilas' ko mne. Pri zheltom  svete fonarya my
zhadno lyubovalis' plodami svoih trudov. Potom vzglyanuli drug na druga, i ruki
nashi nevol'no splelis'. Boyus', chto na glazah u nas vystupili slezy radosti.


     "It was done so easily after all," I remarked. "All the work was in the
preparation."

     --  V  konce  koncov  eto bylo ne  tak uzh trudno, -- zametil ya. --  Vsya
trudnost' zaklyuchalas' v podgotovke.


     "And  all the wonder in the  completion,"  Maud added.  "I can scarcely
bring myself to realize that that great  mast is really up and in; that  you
have lifted it from  the  water, swung it through  the air, and deposited it
here where it belongs. It is a Titan's task."

     --  A  vse  chudo -- v osushchestvlenii, -- podhvatila Mod.  -- Mne dazhe ne
veritsya,  chto eta  ogromnaya machta  podnyata i stoit  na  svoem  meste, chto vy
vytyanuli ee iz vody, pronesli po vozduhu i opustili zdes', v ee gnezdo. Trud
titana!


     "And  they  made  themselves  many inventions," I  began merrily,  then
paused to sniff the air.

     -- "I mnogoe drugoe izobreli oni", -- veselo nachal ya, no tut zhe umolk i
vtyanul nosom vozduh.


     I looked hastily at the lantern. It was not smoking. Again I sniffed.

     YA brosil vzglyad na fonar'. Net, on ne koptil. YA snova ponyuhal vozduh.


     "Something is burning," Maud said, with sudden conviction.

     -- CHto-to gorit! -- uverenno skazala Mod.


     We sprang together for the ladder, but I raced past  her to the deck. A
dense volume of smoke was pouring out of the steerage companion-way.

     My oba brosilis' k trapu, no ya obognal ee i pervym  vyskochil na palubu.
Iz lyuka kubrika valil gustoj dym.


     "The Wolf  is not  yet dead," I muttered  to myself  as  I sprang  down
through the smoke.

     -- Volk eshche zhiv! -- probormotal ya i prygnul vniz.


     It was so thick in  the confined space that I was compelled to feel  my
way;  and  so potent was the spell of Wolf Larsen on  my  imagination, I was
quite prepared  for the helpless giant to grip my neck in a strangle hold. I
hesitated,  the  desire to race  back  and up the  steps  to the deck almost
overpowering me. Then  I recollected Maud.  The vision of her, as I had last
seen her, in the lantern light of the  schooner's  hold, her brown eyes warm
and moist with joy, flashed before me, and I knew that I could not go  back.
I was choking and suffocating by  the time  I  reached Wolf Larsen's bunk. I
reached my  hand  and  felt for  his.  He was lying  motionless,  but  moved
slightly at the touch of my