emu ne ulybalos'. Vozmozhno, emu uzhe dovodilos' videt', kak provinivshihsya tashchat za kormoj na buksire. K tomu zhe voda byla holodna, kak led, a kok ne mog pohvalit'sya krepkim zdorov'em. As usual, the watches below and the hunters turned out for what promised sport. Mugridge seemed to be in rabid fear of the water, and he exhibited a nimbleness and speed we did not dream he possessed. Cornered in the right-angle of the poop and galley, he sprang like a cat to the top of the cabin and ran aft. But his pursuers forestalling him, he doubled back across the cabin, passed over the galley, and gained the deck by means of the steerage- scuttle. Straight forward he raced, the boat-puller Harrison at his heels and gaining on him. But Mugridge, leaping suddenly, caught the jib-boom-lift. It happened in an instant. Holding his weight by his arms, and in mid-air doubling his body at the hips, he let fly with both feet. The oncoming Harrison caught the kick squarely in the pit of the stomach, groaned involuntarily, and doubled up and sank backward to the deck. Kak vsegda v takih sluchayah, podvahtennye i ohotniki vysypali na palubu, predvkushaya potehu. Magridzh, dolzhno byt', smertel'no boyalsya vody i proyavil takuyu yurkost' i provorstvo, kakih nikto ot nego ne ozhidal. Zagnannyj v ugol mezhdu kambuzom i yutom, on, kak koshka, vskochil na palubu rubki i pobezhal k korme. Matrosy brosilis' emu napererez, no on povernul, promchalsya po kryshe rubki, pereskochil na kambuz i sprygnul na palubu. Tut on ponessya na bak, presleduemyj po pyatam grebcom Garrisonom. Tot uzhe pochti nastig ego, kak vdrug Magridzh podprygnul, uhvatilsya za snasti, povis na nih i, vybrosiv vpered obe nogi, ugodil podbezhavshemu Garrisonu v zhivot. Matros gluho ohnul, sognulsya popolam i povalilsya na palubu. Hand-clapping and roars of laughter from the hunters greeted the exploit, while Mugridge, eluding half of his pursuers at the foremast, ran aft and through the remainder like a runner on the football field. Straight aft he held, to the poop and along the poop to the stern. So great was his speed that as he curved past the corner of the cabin he slipped and fell. Nilson was standing at the wheel, and the Cockney's hurtling body struck his legs. Both went down together, but Mugridge alone arose. By some freak of pressures, his frail body had snapped the strong man's leg like a pipe-stem. Ohotniki privetstvovali podvig koka aplodismentami i vzryvom hohota, a Magridzh, uvernuvshis' u fok-machty ot dobroj poloviny svoih presledovatelej, opyat' pobezhal k korme, proskal'zyvaya mezhdu ostal'nymi matrosami, kak napadayushchij mezhdu igrokami na futbol'nom pole. Kok stremitel'no mchalsya po yutu k korme. On udiral s takoj pospeshnost'yu, chto, zavorachivaya za ugol rubki, poskol'znulsya i upal. U shturvala stoyal Nilson, i kok, padaya, sshib ego s nog. Oba pokatilis' po palube, no vstal odin Magridzh. Po strannoj igre sluchaya, ego tshchedushnoe telo ne postradalo, a zdorovennyj matros pri etom stolknovenii slomal sebe nogu. Parsons took the wheel, and the pursuit continued. Round and round the decks they went, Mugridge sick with fear, the sailors hallooing and shouting directions to one another, and the hunters bellowing encouragement and laughter. Mugridge went down on the fore-hatch under three men; but he emerged from the mass like an eel, bleeding at the mouth, the offending shirt ripped into tatters, and sprang for the main-rigging. Up he went, clear up, beyond the ratlines, to the very masthead. K shturvalu stal Parsons, i presledovanie prodolzhalos'. Magridzh, obezumev ot straha, nosilsya po vsemu sudnu -- s nosa na kormu i obratno. Matrosy s krikami, s ulyulyukan'em gonyalis' za nim, a ohotniki gogotali i podbadrivali koka. U nosovogo lyuka na Magridzha navalilis' bylo troe matrosov, no on tut zhe, kak ugor', vyskol'znul iz-pod etoj kuchi tel i s okrovavlennoj guboj i razodrannoj v kloch'ya rubahoj -- vinovnicej vseh ego bed -- prygnul na grot-vanty. On karabkalsya vse vyshe i vyshe, na samuyu verhushku machty. Half-a-dozen sailors swarmed to the crosstrees after him, where they clustered and waited while two of their number, Oofty-Oofty and Black (who was Latimer's boat-steerer), continued up the thin steel stays, lifting their bodies higher and higher by means of their arms. CHelovek shest' matrosov presledovali ego do salinga, gde chast' ih i ostalas', vyzhidaya, a dal'she, po tonkim stal'nym shtagam, polezli, podtyagivayas' na rukah, tol'ko dvoe -- Ufti-Ufti i Blek, grebec Letimera. It was a perilous undertaking, for, at a height of over a hundred feet from the deck, holding on by their hands, they were not in the best of positions to protect themselves from Mugridge's feet. And Mugridge kicked savagely, till the Kanaka, hanging on with one hand, seized the Cockney's foot with the other. Black duplicated the performance a moment later with the other foot. Then the three writhed together in a swaying tangle, struggling, sliding, and falling into the arms of their mates on the crosstrees. |to bylo riskovannoe predpriyatie: oni viseli v vozduhe v sta futah nad paluboj, i v takom polozhenii im trudno bylo zashchishchat'sya ot nog Magridzha. A tot lyagalsya, i ves'ma svirepo. Nakonec Ufti-Ufti, derzhas' odnoj rukoj, izlovchilsya i shvatil koka za nogu; pochti totchas Blek shvatil ego za druguyu nogu, i vse troe, spletyas' v odin kachayushchijsya klubok i prodolzhaya borot'sya, nachali skol'zit' vniz, poka ne svalilis' pryamo na ruki podzhidavshih ih na salinge tovarishchej. The aerial battle was over, and Thomas Mugridge, whining and gibbering, his mouth flecked with bloody foam, was brought down to deck. Wolf Larsen rove a bowline in a piece of rope and slipped it under his shoulders. Then he was carried aft and flung into the sea. Forty, - fifty, - sixty feet of line ran out, when Wolf Larsen cried "Belay!" Bor'ba v vozduhe okonchilas', i Tomasa Magridzha spustili na palubu. On vizzhal i vykrikival chto-to nevnyatnoe, na gubah u nego vystupila krovavaya pena. Volk Larsen zavyazal petlyu na konce trosa i prodel ee pod myshki koku. Zatem Magridzha potashchili na kormu i shvyrnuli za bort. Tros nachali travit': sorok, pyat'desyat, shest'desyat futov, -- i tol'ko togda Volk Larsen kriknul: -- Dovol'no! Oofty-Oofty took a turn on a bitt, the rope tautened, and the Ghost, lunging onward, jerked the cook to the surface. Ufti-Ufti zakrepil tros. "Prizrak" kachnulo nosom vniz, tros natyanulsya i vytashchil koka na poverhnost'. It was a pitiful spectacle. Though he could not drown, and was nine-lived in addition, he was suffering all the agonies of half- drowning. The Ghost was going very slowly, and when her stern lifted on a wave and she slipped forward she pulled the wretch to the surface and gave him a moment in which to breathe; but between each lift the stern fell, and while the bow lazily climbed the next wave the line slacked and he sank beneath. Nel'zya bylo ne pozhalet' bednyagu. Pust' on i ne mog utonut', pust' dazhe u nego, kak u koshki, bylo "devyat' zhiznej", no on ispytyval vse muki utopayushchego. "Prizrak" shel medlenno; kogda volna podnimala kormu i sudno skol'zilo nosom vniz, tros vytaskival neschastnogo na poverhnost' i on mog nemnogo otdyshat'sya; no zatem sudno nachinalo lenivo vzbirat'sya na druguyu volnu, korma opuskalas', tros oslabeval, i kok snova pogruzhalsya v vodu. I had forgotten the existence of Maud Brewster, and I remembered her with a start as she stepped lightly beside me. It was her first time on deck since she had come aboard. A dead silence greeted her appearance. YA sovsem zabyl o sushchestvovanii Mod Bruster i vspomnil o nej lish' v tu minutu, kogda ona vnezapno poyavilas' ryadom so mnoj. Ona podoshla tak neslyshno, chto ya vzdrognul ot neozhidannosti, uvidev ee. Ona vpervye pokazyvalas' na palube, i komanda vstretila ee grobovym molchaniem. "What is the cause of the merriment?" she asked. -- CHto tut za vesel'e? -- sprosila ona. "Ask Captain Larsen," I answered composedly and coldly, though inwardly my blood was boiling at the thought that she should be witness to such brutality. -- Sprosite kapitana Larsena, -- holodno otvetil ya, starayas' sohranit' samoobladanie, hotya vsya krov' vo mne zakipela pri mysli, chto zhenshchine predstoit stat' svidetel'nicej etoj zhestokoj potehi. She took my advice and was turning to put it into execution, when her eyes lighted on Oofty-Oofty, immediately before her, his body instinct with alertness and grace as he held the turn of the rope. Mod Bruster povernulas', chtoby posledovat' moemu sovetu, i vzglyad ee upal na Ufti-Ufti. On stoyal v dvuh shagah ot nee, derzha v ruke konec trosa, vsya ego podobrannaya, nastorozhennaya figura dyshala prirodnym izyashchestvom. "Are you fishing?" she asked him. -- Vy lovite rybu? -- sprosila ona matrosa. He made no reply. His eyes, fixed intently on the sea astern, suddenly flashed. On ne otvechal. Glaza ego, vnimatel'no oglyadyvavshie more za kormoj, vnezapno rasshirilis'. "Shark ho, sir!" he cried. -- Akula, ser! -- kriknul on. "Heave in! Lively! All hands tail on!" Wolf Larsen shouted, springing himself to the rope in advance of the quickest. -- Tashchi! ZHivoBeris' vse razom! -- skomandoval Volk Larsen i sam, operediv drugih, podskochil k trosu. Mugridge had heard the Kanaka's warning cry and was screaming madly. I could see a black fin cutting the water and making for him with greater swiftness than he was being pulled aboard. It was an even toss whether the shark or we would get him, and it was a matter of moments. When Mugridge was directly beneath us, the stern descended the slope of a passing wave, thus giving the advantage to the shark. The fin disappeared. The belly flashed white in swift upward rush. Almost equally swift, but not quite, was Wolf Larsen. He threw his strength into one tremendous jerk. The Cockney's body left the water; so did part of the shark's. He drew up his legs, and the man-eater seemed no more than barely to touch one foot, sinking back into the water with a splash. But at the moment of contact Thomas Mugridge cried out. Then he came in like a fresh-caught fish on a line, clearing the rail generously and striking the deck in a heap, on hands and knees, and rolling over. Magridzh uslyhal predosteregayushchij krik UftiUfti i diko zaoral. YA uzhe mog razglyadet' chernyj plavnik, rassekavshij vodu i nastigavshij koka bystree, chem my uspevali podtaskivat' ego k shhune. U nas i u akuly shansy byli ravny -- vopros reshali doli sekundy. Kogda Magridzh byl uzhe pod samoj kormoj, nos shhuny vzmyl na greben' volny. Korma opustilas', i eto dalo preimushchestvo akule. Plavnik skrylsya, v vode mel'knulo beloe bryuho. Volk Larsen dejstvoval pochti stol' zhe stremitel'no. Vsyu svoyu silu on vlozhil v odin moguchij ryvok. Telo koka vzvilos' nad vodoj, a za nim vysunulas' golova hishchnika. Magridzh podzhal nogi. Akula, kazalos', edva kosnulas' odnoj iz nih i tut zhe s vspleskom ushla pod vodu. No v etot mig Tomas Magridzh izdal pronzitel'nyj vopl'. V sleduyushchuyu sekundu on, kak pojmannaya na udochku ryba, pereletel cherez bort, upal na chetveren'ki i perekuvyrnulsya raza dva. But a fountain of blood was gushing forth. The right foot was missing, amputated neatly at the ankle. I looked instantly to Maud Brewster. Her face was white, her eyes dilated with horror. She was gazing, not at Thomas Mugridge, but at Wolf Larsen. And he was aware of it, for he said, with one of his short laughs: Na palubu bryznul fontan krovi. Pravoj stupni Magridzha kak ne byvalo: akula othvatila ee po samuyu shchikolotku. YA vzglyanul na Mod Bruster. Ee lico pobelelo, glaza rasshirilis' ot uzhasa. No ona smotrela ne na Tomasa Magridzha, a na Volka Larsena. On zametil eto i skazal s obychnym korotkim smeshkom: "Man-play, Miss Brewster. Somewhat rougher, I warrant, than what you have been used to, but still-man-play. The shark was not in the reckoning. It - " -- U muzhchin svoi razvlecheniya, miss Bruster. Mozhet, oni grubee, chem te, k kotorym vy privykli, no eto nashi, muzhskie razvlecheniya. Akula ne vhodila v raschet. Ona... But at this juncture, Mugridge, who had lifted his head and ascertained the extent of his loss, floundered over on the deck and buried his teeth in Wolf Larsen's leg. Wolf Larsen stooped, coolly, to the Cockney, and pressed with thumb and finger at the rear of the jaws and below the ears. The jaws opened with reluctance, and Wolf Larsen stepped free. V etot mig Magridzh pripodnyal golovu i, oceniv razmery svoej poteri, perepolz po palube i so vsej mochi vpilsya zubami v nogu kapitana. Larsen spokojno nagnulsya i bol'shim i ukazatel'nym pal'cami sdavil emu sheyu chut' ponizhe ushej. CHelyusti koka medlenno razzhalis', i Larsen vysvobodil nogu. "As I was saying," he went on, as though nothing unwonted had happened, "the shark was not in the reckoning. It was - ahem - shall we say Providence?" -- Kak ya uzhe skazal, -- prodolzhal on, budto nichego ne proizoshlo, -- akula ne vhodila v raschet. To byla... nu, skazhem, volya provideniya! She gave no sign that she had heard, though the expression of her eyes changed to one of inexpressible loathing as she started to turn away. She no more than started, for she swayed and tottered, and reached her hand weakly out to mine. I caught her in time to save her from falling, and helped her to a seat on the cabin. I thought she might faint outright, but she controlled herself. Mod Bruster slovno ne slyshala ego slov, no v glazah u nee poyavilos' novoe vyrazhenie -- gneva i otvrashcheniya. Ona hotela ujti, sdelala shaga dva, poshatnulas' i protyanula ko mne ruku. YA podhvatil ee i usadil na palubu rubki. YA boyalsya, chto ona lishitsya chuvstv, no ona ovladela soboj. "Will you get a tourniquet, Mr. Van Weyden," Wolf Larsen called to me. -- Prinesite turniket, mister Van-Vejden! -- kriknul Volk Larsen. I hesitated. Her lips moved, and though they formed no words, she commanded me with her eyes, plainly as speech, to go to the help of the unfortunate man. YA kolebalsya. Guby miss Bruster zashevelilis', i, hotya ona ne mogla vymolvit' ni slova, ee glaza yasno prikazyvali mne prijti na pomoshch' postradavshemu. "Please," she managed to whisper, and I could but obey. -- Proshu vas! -- sobravshis' s silami, probormotala ona, i ya ne mog oslushat'sya. By now I had developed such skill at surgery that Wolf Larsen, with a few words of advice, left me to my task with a couple of sailors for assistants. For his task he elected a vengeance on the shark. A heavy swivel-hook, baited with fat salt-pork, was dropped overside; and by the time I had compressed the severed veins and arteries, the sailors were singing and heaving in the offending monster. I did not see it myself, but my assistants, first one and then the other, deserted me for a few moments to run amidships and look at what was going on. The shark, a sixteen-footer, was hoisted up against the main-rigging. Its jaws were pried apart to their greatest extension, and a stout stake, sharpened at both ends, was so inserted that when the pries were removed the spread jaws were fixed upon it. This accomplished, the hook was cut out. The shark dropped back into the sea, helpless, yet with its full strength, doomed - to lingering starvation - a living death less meet for it than for the man who devised the punishment. YA uzhe priobrel nekotoryj navyk v hirurgii, i Volk Larsen, dav mne v pomoshch' dvoih matrosov i sdelav neskol'ko ukazanij, tut zhe zanyalsya drugim delom -- on рeshil otomstit' akule. Za bort brosili na trose massivnyj kryuk, nasadiv na nego v kachestve primanki zhirnyj kusok soloniny. YA edva uspel zazhat' Magridzhu vse povrezhdennye veny i arterii, kak matrosy, pomogaya sebe pesnej, uzhe vytaskivali provinivshegosya hishchnika iz vody. YA ne videl, chto proishodilo u grot-machty, no moi "assistenty" poocheredno begali tuda poglyadet'. SHestnadcatifutovuyu akulu podtyanuli k grot-vantam. Rychagami ej do predela razdvinuli chelyusti, vstavili v past' zaostrennyj s oboih koncov krepkij kol, i chelyusti uzhe ne mogli somknut'sya. Posle etogo, vytashchiv iz pasti zasevshij tam kryuk, akulu brosili v more. Vse eshche polnaya sil, no sovershenno bespomoshchnaya, ona byla obrechena na medlennuyu golodnuyu smert', kotoroj zasluzhivala kuda men'she, chem chelovek, pridumavshij dlya nee etu karu. CHAPTER XXII GLAVA XXII I knew what it was as she came toward me. For ten minutes I had watched her talking earnestly with the engineer, and now, with a sign for silence, I drew her out of earshot of the helmsman. Her face was white and set; her large eyes, larger than usual what of the purpose in them, looked penetratingly into mine. I felt rather timid and apprehensive, for she had come to search Humphrey Van Weyden's soul, and Humphrey Van Weyden had nothing of which to be particularly proud since his advent on the Ghost. Kogda Mod Bruster napravilas' ko mne, ya uzhe znal, o chem pojdet rech'. Minut desyat' ya nablyudal, kak ona tolkuet o chem-to s mehanikom, i teper' molcha pomanil ee v storonu, podal'she ot rulevogo. Lico ee bylo bledno i reshitel'no, glaza, rasshirivshiesya ot volneniya, kazalis' osobenno bol'shimi i smotreli na menya ispytuyushche. YA pochuvstvoval kakuyu-to robost' i dazhe strah, tak kak znal, chto ona hochet zaglyanut' v dushu Hemfri Van-Vejdena, a Hemfri Van-Vejden edva li mog osobenno gordit'sya soboj, s teh por kak stupil na bort "Prizraka". We walked to the break of the poop, where she turned and faced me. I glanced around to see that no one was within hearing distance. My podoshli k krayu yuta, i devushka povernulas' i vzglyanula na menya v upor. YA osmotrelsya: ne podslushivayut li nas. "What is it?" I asked gently; but the expression of determination on her face did not relax. -- V chem delo? -- uchastlivo sprosil ya, no lico ee ostavalos' vse takim zhe reshitel'nym i surovym. "I can readily understand," she began, "that this morning's affair was largely an accident; but I have been talking with Mr. Haskins. He tells me that the day we were rescued, even while I was in the cabin, two men were drowned, deliberately drowned - murdered." -- YA gotova dopustit', -- nachala ona, -- chto utrennee proisshestvie bylo prosto neschastnym sluchaem. No ya tol'ko chto govorila s misterom Heskinsom. On rasskazal mne, chto v tot den', kogda nas spasli, v to samoe vremya, kogda ya spala v kayute, dvuh chelovek utopili, prednamerenno utopili, poprostu govorya -- ubili. There was a query in her voice, and she faced me accusingly, as though I were guilty of the deed, or at least a party to it. V golose ee zvuchal vopros, i ona vse tak zhe smotrela na menya v upor, slovno obvinyaya v etom prestuplenii ili po krajnej mere v souchastii v nem. "The information is quite correct," I answered. "The two men were murdered." -- Vam skazali pravdu, -- otvetil ya. -- Ih dejstvitel'no ubili. "And you permitted it!" she cried. -- I vy dopustili eto! -- voskliknula ona. "I was unable to prevent it, is a better way of phrasing it," I replied, still gently. -- Vy hotite skazat', chto ya ne mog etogo predotvratit'? -- myagko vozrazil ya. "But you tried to prevent it?" There was an emphasis on the "tried," and a pleading little note in her voice. -- No vy pytalis'? -- Ona sdelala udarenie na "pytalis'"; v golose ee zvuchala nadezhda. -- "Oh, but you didn't," she hurried on, divining my answer. "But why didn't you?" Da net, vy i ne pytalis'! -- tut zhe dobavila ona, predvoshitiv moj otvet. -- No pochemu zhe? I shrugged my shoulders. "You must remember, Miss Brewster, that you are a new inhabitant of this little world, and that you do not yet understand the laws which operate within it. You bring with you certain fine conceptions of humanity, manhood, conduct, and such things; but here you will find them misconceptions. I have found it so," I added, with an involuntary sigh. YA pozhal plechami. -- Ne zabyvajte, miss Bruster, chto vy eshche sovsem nedavno popali syuda i ne znaete, kakie tut caryat zakony. Vy prinesli s soboj nekie vysokie ponyatiya o tumannosti, chesti, blagorodstve i tomu podobnyh veshchah. No vy skoro ubedites', chto zdes' im net mesta. -- I, pomolchav, ya dobavil s nevol'nym vzdohom: -- Mne uzhe prishlos' ubedit'sya v etom. She shook her head incredulously. Ona nedoverchivo pokachala golovoj. "What would you advise, then?" I asked. "That I should take a knife, or a gun, or an axe, and kill this man?" -- CHego zhe vy hotite? -- sprosil ya. -- CHtoby ya vzyal nozh, ruzh'e ili topor i ubil etogo cheloveka? She half started back. Ona ispuganno otshatnulas'. "No, not that!" -- Net, tol'ko ne eto! "Then what should I do? Kill myself?" -- Tak chto zhe? Ubit' sebya? "You speak in purely materialistic terms," she objected. "There is such a thing as moral courage, and moral courage is never without effect." -- Pochemu vy vse govorite tol'ko o fizicheskom vozdejstvii? -- vozrazila ona. -- Ved' sushchestvuet eshche duhovnoe muzhestvo, i ono vsegda okazyvalo svoe vliyanie. "Ah," I smiled, "you advise me to kill neither him nor myself, but to let him kill me." I held up my hand as she was about to speak. "For moral courage is a worthless asset on this little floating world. Leach, one of the men who were murdered, had moral courage to an unusual degree. So had the other man, Johnson. Not only did it not stand them in good stead, but it destroyed them. And so with me if I should exercise what little moral courage I may possess. -- Tak, -- ulybnulsya ya. -- Vy ne hotite, chtoby ya ubival ego ili sebya, no hotite, chtoby ya pozvolil emu ubit' menya. I, ne dav ej vozrazit', ya prodolzhal: -- Duhovnoe muzhestvo -- bespoleznaya dobrodetel' v etom krohotnom plavuchem mirke, kuda my s vami popali. U odnogo iz ubityh, Licha, eto muzhestvo bylo razvito neobychajno sil'no. Da i u vtorogo, u Dzhonsona, -- tozhe. I eto ne prineslo im dobra -- naoborot, pogubilo ih. Takaya zhe sud'ba zhdet i menya, esli ya vzdumayu proyavit' to nebol'shoe muzhestvo, kotoroe eshche vo mne ostalos'. "You must understand, Miss Brewster, and understand clearly, that this man is a monster. He is without conscience. Nothing is sacred to him, nothing is too terrible for him to do. It was due to his whim that I was detained aboard in the first place. It is due to his whim that I am still alive. I do nothing, can do nothing, because I am a slave to this monster, as you are now a slave to him; because I desire to live, as you will desire to live; because I cannot fight and overcome him, just as you will not be able to fight and overcome him." Vy dolzhny ponyat', miss Bruster, ponyat' raz i navsegda, chto Larsen -- eto ne chelovek, a chudovishche. On lishen sovesti. Dlya nego net nichego svyatogo. On ne ostanavlivaetsya ni pered chem. Po ego prihoti menya nasil'no zaderzhali na etoj shhune, i tol'ko po ego prihoti ya poka eshche cel. YA nichego ne predprinimayu i ne mogu predprinyat', potomu chto ya rab etogo chudovishcha, kak i vy teper' ego rabynya, potom, chto ya hochu zhit', kak i vy hotite zhit' i eshche potomu, chto ya ne v sostoyanii borot'sya i pobedit' ego, kak i vy etogo ne mozhete. She waited for me to go on. Ona molchala, ozhidaya, chto ya skazhu eshche. "What remains? Mine is the role of the weak. I remain silent and suffer ignominy, as you will remain silent and suffer ignominy. And it is well. It is the best we can do if we wish to live. The battle is not always to the strong. We have not the strength with which to fight this man; we must dissimulate, and win, if win we can, by craft. If you will be advised by me, this is what you will do. I know my position is perilous, and I may say frankly that yours is even more perilous. We must stand together, without appearing to do so, in secret alliance. I shall not be able to side with you openly, and, no matter what indignities may be put upon me, you are to remain likewise silent. We must provoke no scenes with this man, nor cross his will. And we must keep smiling faces and be friendly with him no matter how repulsive it may be." -- CHto zhe ostaetsya? YA v polozhenii slabogo. YA molchu i terplyu unizheniya, kak i vam pridetsya molchat' i terpet'. I eto razumno. |to luchshee, chto my mozhem sdelat', esli hotim zhit'. Pobeda ne vsegda dostaetsya sil'nomu. U nas ne hvatit sil, chtoby otkryto borot'sya s nim. Znachit, my dolzhny dejstvovat' inache i postarat'sya pobedit' ego hitrost'yu. I vy, esli zahotite posledovat' moemu sovetu, dolzhny budete postupat' tak. YA znayu, chto moe polozhenie opasno, no vashe, skazhu vam otkrovenno, -- eshche opasnee. I my dolzhny stoyat' drug za druga i dejstvovat' soobshcha, no hranit' nash soyuz v tajne. Mozhet sluchit'sya, chto ya ne smogu otkryto podderzhat' vas; tochno tak zhe i vy dolzhny molchat' pri lyubyh oskorbleniyah, kotorye mogut vypast' na moyu dolyu. Nel'zya perechit' etomu cheloveku i razdrazhat' ego. Kak by eto nam ni pretilo, my dolzhny ulybat'sya i byt' lyubezny s nim. She brushed her hand across her forehead in a puzzled way, saying, "Still I do not understand." -- Vse zhe ya ne ponimayu... -- skazala ona i s rasteryannym vidom provela rukoj po lbu. "You must do as I say," I interrupted authoritatively, for I saw Wolf Larsen's gaze wandering toward us from where he paced up and down with Latimer amidships. "Do as I say, and ere long you will find I am right." -- Poslushajtes' menya, -- reshitel'no proiznes ya, zametiv, chto Volk Larsen, kotoryj rashazhival po palube, razgovarivaya s Letimerom, nachal poglyadyvat' v nashu storonu. -- Poslushajtes' menya, i vy ochen' skoro ubedites', naskol'ko ya prav. "What shall I do, then?" she asked, detecting the anxious glance I had shot at the object of our conversation, and impressed, I flatter myself, with the earnestness of my manner. -- Tak chto zhe mne vse-taki delat'? -- sprosila ona, zametiv trevozhnyj vzglyad, broshennyj mnoyu na Volka Larsena, i, po-vidimomu, poddavshis' sile moih ubezhdenij, chto ne moglo ne pol'stit' mne. "Dispense with all the moral courage you can," I said briskly. "Don't arouse this man's animosity. Be quite friendly with him, talk with him, discuss literature and art with him - he is fond of such things. You will find him an interested listener and no fool. And for your own sake try to avoid witnessing, as much as you can, the brutalities of the ship. It will make it easier for you to act your part." -- Prezhde vsego ostav'te mysl' o duhovnom muzhestve, -- pospeshno skazal ya. -- Ne vosstanavlivajte etogo zverya protiv sebya. Derzhites' s nim privetlivo, besedujte o literature i iskusstve -- takie temy on ochen' lyubit. Vy uvidite, chto on vnimatel'nyj slushatel' i otnyud' ne durak. I radi samoj sebya starajtes' ne prisutstvovat' pri vsevozmozhnyh zverstvah, kotorye chasten'ko povtoryayutsya na etom sudne. Togda vam legche budet igrat' svoyu rol'. "I am to lie," she said in steady, rebellious tones, "by speech and action to lie." -- Tak ya dolzhna lgat'? -- s vozmushcheniem proiznesla ona. -- Lgat' slovami i postupkami? Wolf Larsen had separated from Latimer and was coming toward us. I was desperate. Volk Larsen otoshel ot Letimera i napravlyalsya k nam. YA byl v otchayanii. "Please, please understand me," I said hurriedly, lowering my voice. "All your experience of men and things is worthless here. You must begin over again. I know, - I can see it - you have, among other ways, been used to managing people with your eyes, letting your moral courage speak out through them, as it were. You have already managed me with your eyes, commanded me with them. But don't try it on Wolf Larsen. You could as easily control a lion, while he would make a mock of you. He would - I have always been proud of the fact that I discovered him," I said, turning the conversation as Wolf Larsen stepped on the poop and joined us. "The editors were afraid of him and the publishers would have none of him. But I knew, and his genius and my judgment were vindicated when he made that magnificent hit with his 'Forge.'" -- Umolyayu vas, pojmite menya, -- toroplivo progovoril ya, poniziv golos. -- Ves' vash zhiznennyj opyt zdes' nichego ne stoit. Vy dolzhny vse nachinat' syznova. Da, ya znayu, ya vizhu, chto vy privykli vzglyadom podchinyat' sebe lyudej. YA chitayu v vashih glazah bol'shoe duhovnoe muzhestvo, i vy uzhe podchinyali sebe menya, povelevali mnoj. No ne pytajtes' vozdejstvovat' takim putem na Volka Larsena, -- on tol'ko posmeetsya nad vami. Skoree vam udalos' by ukrotit' l'va. On stanet... YA vsegda gordilsya tem, chto otkryl etot talant, -- pospeshno svernul ya razgovor na drugoe, zametiv, chto Larsen uzhe podnyalsya na yut i priblizhaetsya k nam. -- Redaktory pobaivalis' ego, izdateli slyshat' o nem ne hoteli. No ya ocenil ego srazu i ne oshibsya: ego genij pokazal sebya v polnom bleske, kogda on vystupil so svoej "Kuznicej". "And it was a newspaper poem," she said glibly. -- I podumat' tol'ko, chto eto gazetnye stihi! -- lovko podhvatila miss Bruster. "It did happen to see the light in a newspaper," I replied, "but not because the magazine editors had been denied a glimpse at it." -- Da, oni dejstvitel'no vpervye uvideli svet v gazete, -- podtverdil ya, -- no otnyud' ne potomu, chto redaktoram zhurnalov ne udalos' zaranee poznakomit'sya s nimi. "We were talking of Harris," I said to Wolf Larsen. -- My tolkovali o Garrise, -- poyasnil ya, obrashchayas' k Volku Larsenu. "Oh, yes," he acknowledged. "I remember the 'Forge.' Filled with pretty sentiments and an almighty faith in human illusions. By the way, Mr. Van Weyden, you'd better look in on Cooky. He's complaining and restless." -- A! -- proronil on. -- Pomnyu ya etu "Kuznicu". Vsyakie krasivye chuvstva i nesokrushimaya vera v illyuzii. Kstati, mister Van-Vejden, zaglyanuli by vy k nashemu koku. On voet ot boli i mechetsya na kojke. Thus was I bluntly dismissed from the poop, only to find Mugridge sleeping soundly from the morphine I had given him. I made no haste to return on deck, and when I did I was gratified to see Miss Brewster in animated conversation with Wolf Larsen. As I say, the sight gratified me. She was following my advice. And yet I was conscious of a slight shock or hurt in that she was able to do the thing I had begged her to do and which she had notably disliked. Tak menya besceremonno sprovadili s yuta k Magridzhu; Magridzh lezhal, pogruzhennyj v krepkij son posle horoshej dozy morfiya, kotoruyu ya sam zhe emu dal. No ya ne stal toropit'sya obratno na palubu, a kogda podnyalsya, to pochuvstvoval nekotoroe udovletvorenie, uvidev, chto miss Bruster ozhivlenno beseduet s kapitanom. Znachit, ona vse-taki posledovala moemu sovetu. Povtoryayu, ya byl dovolen. I vmeste s tem neskol'ko ogorchen i uyazvlen: itak, ona okazalas' sposobnoj na to, o chem ya ee prosil i chto tak yavno pretilo ej! CHAPTER XXIII GLAVA XXIII Brave winds, blowing fair, swiftly drove the Ghost northward into the seal herd. We encountered it well up to the forty-fourth parallel, in a raw and stormy sea across which the wind harried the fog-banks in eternal flight. For days at a time we could never see the sun nor take an observation; then the wind would sweep the face of the ocean clean, the waves would ripple and flash, and we would learn where we were. A day of clear weather might follow, or three days or four, and then the fog would settle down upon us, seemingly thicker than ever. Krepkij poputnyj veter dul rovno i gnal "Prizrak" k severu, pryamo na stada kotikov. My vstretilis' s nimi pochti u samoj sorok chetvertoj paralleli, v burnyh holodnyh vodah, nad kotorymi veter vechno terzaet i rvet gustuyu pelenu tumana. Inogda my celymi dnyami ne videli solnca i ne mogli delat' nablyudenij. Potom veter razgonyal tuman, vokrug nas snova iskrilis' i sverkali volny, i my mogli opredelyat' svoi koordinaty. No posle dvuh-treh dnej yasnoj pogody tuman opyat' stlalsya nad morem i, kazalos', eshche bolee gustoj, chem prezhde. The hunting was perilous; yet the boats, lowered day after day, were swallowed up in the grey obscurity, and were seen no more till nightfall, and often not till long after, when they would creep in like sea-wraiths, one by one, out of the grey. Wainwright - the hunter whom Wolf Larsen had stolen with boat and men - took advantage of the veiled sea and escaped. He disappeared one morning in the encircling fog with his two men, and we never saw them again, though it was not many days when we learned that they had passed from schooner to schooner until they finally regained their own. Ohota byla opasnoj. No kazhdoe utro shlyupki spuskalis' na vodu, tuman tut zhe pogloshchal ih, i my uzhe ne videli ih do samogo vechera, a to i do nochi, kogda oni, odna za drugoj, poyavlyalis' nakonec iz seroj mgly, slovno verenica morskih prizrakov. Uejnrajt -- ohotnik, zahvachennyj Volkom Larsenom vmeste so shlyupkoj i dvumya matrosami, -- vospol'zovalsya tumanom i bezhal. Kak-to utrom on skrylsya za plotnoj pelenoj tumana vmeste so svoimi lyud'mi, i bol'she my ih ne videli. Vskore my uznali, chto oni, perehodya so shhuny na shhunu, blagopoluchno dobralis' do svoego sudna. This was the thing I had set my mind upon doing, but the opportunity never offered. It was not in the mate's province to go out in the boats, and though I manoeuvred cunningly for it, Wolf Larsen never granted me the privilege. Had he done so, I should have managed somehow to carry Miss Brewster away with me. As it was, the situation was approaching a stage which I was afraid to consider. I involuntarily shunned the thought of it, and yet the thought continually arose in my mind like a haunting spectre. YA tverdo reshil posledovat' ih primeru, no udobnogo sluchaya vse ne predstavlyalos'. Pomoshchniku kapitana ne polozheno vyhodit' na shlyupke, i, hotya ya vsyacheski pytalsya obojti eto pravilo. Volk Larsen ne izmenil zavedennogo poryadka. Esli by etot plan mne udalsya, ya tak ili inache sumel by uvezti s soboj i miss Bruster. Ee polozhenie na shhune vse bolee uslozhnyalos', i ya so strahom dumal o tom, k chemu eto mozhet privesti. Kak ni staralsya ya gnat' ot sebya eti mysli, oni neotstupno presledovali menya. I had read sea-romances in my time, wherein figured, as a matter of course, the lone woman in the midst of a shipload of men; but I learned, now, that I had never comprehended the deeper significance of such a situation - the thing the writers harped upon and exploited so thoroughly. And here it was, now, and I was face to face with it. That it should be as vital as possible, it required no more than that the woman should be Maud Brewster, who now charmed me in person as she had long charmed me through her work. V svoe vremya ya perechital nemalo morskih romanov, v kotoryh neizmenno figurirovala zhenshchina -- odna na korable sredi matrosov, -- no tol'ko teper' ya ponyal, chto nikogda, v sushchnosti, ne vdumyvalsya v etu situaciyu, hotya avtory i obygryvali ee so vseh storon. I vot ya sam stolknulsya s takim zhe polozheniem licom k licu i perezhival ego chrezvychajno ostro. Ved' geroinej byla Mod Bruster -- ta samaya Mod Bruster, ch'i knigi uzhe davno ocharovyvali menya, a teper' ya ispytyval na sebe i vsyu silu ee lichnogo obayaniya. No one more out of environment could be imagined. She was a delicate, ethereal creature, swaying and willowy, light and graceful of movement. It never seemed to me that she walked, or, at least, walked after the ordinary manner of mortals. Hers was an extreme lithesomeness, and she moved with a certain indefinable airiness, approaching one as down might float or as a bird on noiseless wings. Trudno bylo predstavit' sebe sushchestvo, bolee chuzhdoe etoj gruboj srede. |to bylo nezhnoe, efirnoe sozdanie. Tonen'kaya i gibkaya, kak trostinka, ona otlichalas' udivitel'noj legkost'yu i graciej dvizhenij. Mne chudilos', chto eta devushka sovsem ne stupaet po zemle, -- takoj ona kazalas' nevesomoj. Kogda Mod Bruster priblizhalas' ko mne, u menya vsyakij raz sozdavalos' vpechatlenie, chto ona ne idet, a skol'zit po vozduhu, kak pushinka, ili parit besshumno, kak ptica. She was like a bit of Dresden china, and I was continually impressed with what I may call her fragility. As at the time I caught her arm when helping her below, so at any time I was quite prepared, should stress or rough handling befall her, to see her crumble away. I have never seen body and spirit in such perfect accord. Describe her verse, as the critics have described it, as sublimated and spiritual, and you have described her body. It seemed to partake of her soul, to have analogous attributes, and to link it to life with the slenderest of chains. Indeed, she trod the earth lightly, and in her constitution there was little of the robust clay. Nezhnaya i hrupkaya, ona pohodila na drezdenskuyu farforovuyu statuetku, i bylo v etom chto-to neobychajno trogatel'noe. S toj minuty, kogda ya, podderzhivaya ee pod lokot', pomog ej spustit'sya v kayutu, mne postoyanno kazalos', chto odno gruboe prikosnovenie -- i ee ne stanet. Nikogda ya ne videl bolee polnoj garmonii tela i duha. Ee stihi nazyvali utonchennymi i oduhotvorennymi, no to zhe samoe mozhno bylo skazat' i o ee vneshnosti. Kazalos', ee telo perenyalo svojstva ee dushi, priobrelo te zhe kachestva i sluzhilo lish' tonchajshej nit'yu, svyazuyushchej ee s real'noj zhizn'yu. Voistinu legki byli ee shagi po zemle, i malo bylo v nej ot sosuda skudel'nogo. She was in striking contrast to Wolf Larsen. Each was nothing that the other was, everything that the other was not. I noted them walking the deck together one morning, and I likened them to the extreme ends of the human ladder of evolution - the one the culmination of all savagery, the other the finished product of the finest civilization. True, Wolf Larsen possessed intellect to an unusual degree, but it was directed solely to the exercise of his savage instincts and made him but the more formidable a savage. He was splendidly muscled, a heavy man, and though he strode with the certitude and directness of the physical man, there was nothing heavy about his stride. The jungle and the wilderness lurked in the uplift and downput of his feet. He was cat-footed, and lithe, and strong, always strong. I likened him to some great tiger, a beast of prowess and prey. He looked it, and the piercing glitter that arose at times in his eyes was the same piercing glitter I had observed in the eyes of caged leopards and other preying creatures of the wild. Ona yavlyala razitel'nyj kontrast Volku Larsenu. Mezhdu nimi ne tol'ko ne bylo nichego obshchego, no oni vo vsem byli rezko protivopolozhny drug drugu. Kak-to utrom, kogda oni gulyali vdvoem po palube, ya, glyadя na nih, podumal, chto oni stoyat na krajnih stupenyah evolyucii chelovecheskogo obshchestva. Larsen voploshchal v sebe pervobytnuyu dikost'. Mod Bruster -- vsyu utonchennost' sovremennoj civilizacii. Pravda, Larsen obladal neobychajno razvitym dlya dikarya intellektom, no etot intellekt byl celikom napravlen na udovletvorenie ego zverinyh instinktov i delal ego eshche bolee strashnym dikarem. U nego byla velikolepnaya muskulatura, moshchnoe telo, no, nesmotrya na ego gruznost', shagal on legko i uverenno. V tom, kak on podnimal i stavil nogu, bylo chto-to napominavshee hishchnika v dzhunglyah. Vse ego dvizheniya otlichalis' koshach'ej myagkost'yu i uprugost'yu, no prevyshe vsego v nem chuvstvovalas' sila. YA sravnival etogo cheloveka s ogromnym tigrom, besstrashnym i hishchnym zverem. Da, on, nesomnenno, pohodil na tigra, i v glazah u nego chasto vspyhivali takie zhe svire