sir - " Ona sdelala mne glubokij, ceremonnyj reverans i nachala, v svoyu ochered': -- CHto kasaetsya vas, ser... And yet, through the five minutes of banter which followed, there was a serious something underneath the fun which I could not but relate to the strange and fleeting expression I had caught in her eyes. What was it? Could it be that our eyes were speaking beyond the will of our speech? My eyes had spoken, I knew, until I had found the culprits out and silenced them. This had occurred several times. But had she seen the clamour in them and understood? And had her eyes so spoken to me? What else could that expression have meant - that dancing, tremulous light, and a something more which words could not describe. And yet it could not be. It was impossible. Besides, I was not skilled in the speech of eyes. I was only Humphrey Van Weyden, a bookish fellow who loved. And to love, and to wait and win love, that surely was glorious enough for me. And thus I thought, even as we chaffed each other's appearance, until we arrived ashore and there were other things to think about. Minut pyat' my poddraznivali drug druga, no pod etimi shutkami chuvstvovalos' chto-to drugoe, ser'eznoe, i ya nevol'no svyazyval eto s novym vyrazheniem, promel'knuvshim v glazah Mod. CHto eto bylo? Neuzheli nashi glaza govorili pomimo voli? YA znal, chto moi glaza uzhe vydavali menya ne raz, hotya ya i prikazyval im molchat'. Neuzheli Mod vse zhe prochla v nih prizyv? I neuzheli ee glaza otozvalis' na nego? CHto znachil etot teplyj mercayushchij ogonek i to neulovimoe, chto ya pochuvstvoval v nih i chto nel'zya opredelit' Slovami? No net, eto bylo nevozmozhno! etogo ne moglo byt'! YA ved' ne byl iskushen v tolkovanii krasnorechivyh vzglyadov, ya -- Hemfri Van-Vejden, knigochej i zatvornik, vlyubivshijsya nezhdanno-negadanno. I dlya menya lyubit' i zhdat', starat'sya zasluzhit' lyubov' bylo uzhe blazhenstvom. My soshli na bereg, prodolzhaya podshuchivat' drug nad drugom, a ya vse dumal svoyu dumu, poka ocherednye dela ne otvlekli menya. "It's a shame, after working hard all day, that we cannot have an uninterrupted night's sleep," I complained, after supper. -- Kakaya, pravo, dosadaRabotaesh' celyj den' ne pokladaya ruk, a potom nel'zya dazhe spokojno pospat' noch'yu! -- posetoval ya posle uzhina. "But there can be no danger now? from a blind man?" she queried. -- No ved' on zhe slep. Kakaya opasnost' mozhet nam grozit'? "I shall never be able to trust him," I averred, "and far less now that he is blind. The liability is that his part helplessness will make him more malignant than ever. I know what I shall do to- morrow, the first thing - run out a light anchor and kedge the schooner off the beach. And each night when we come ashore in the boat, Mr. Wolf Larsen will be left a prisoner on board. So this will be the last night we have to stand watch, and because of that it will go the easier." -- YA boyus' ego i ne veryu emu. A teper', kogda on oslep, -- i podavno. Bespomoshchnost' tol'ko sil'nee ozloblyaet ego. Vprochem, ya znayu, chto nado delat', zavtra s utra zavezu nebol'shoj yakor' i styanu shhunu s berega. Vecherom my budem vozvrashchat'sya na shlyupke domoj, a mistera Larsena ostavlyat' plennikom na shhune. Segodnya uzh otdezhurim eshche odnu noch' -- v poslednij raz vsegda kak-to legche. We were awake early and just finishing breakfast as daylight came. Nautro my podnyalis' spozaranok, i, kogda rassvelo, nash zavtrak uzh podhodil k koncu. "Oh, Humphrey!" I heard Maud cry in dismay and suddenly stop. -- Oj, Hemfri! -- s otchayaniem voskliknula vdrug Mod. I looked at her. She was gazing at the Ghost. I followed her gaze, but could see nothing unusual. She looked at me, and I looked inquiry back. YA vzglyanul na nee. Ona smotrela na "Prizrak". Poglyadev tuda zhe, ya ne zametil nichego neobychnogo. Mod perevela glaza na menya, i ya otvetil ej nedoumevayushchim vzglyadom. "The shears," she said, and her voice trembled. -- Strela!.. -- drozhashchim golosom progovorila Mod. I had forgotten their existence. I looked again, but could not see them. O strele-to ya i pozabyl! YA vzglyanul snova -- i ne uvidel ee na prezhnem meste. "If he has - " I muttered savagely. -- Esli tol'ko on... -- svirepo probormotal ya. She put her hand sympathetically on mine, and said, "You will have to begin over again." Ona uspokaivayushche kosnulas' moej ruki. -- Vam pridetsya nachat' syznova. "Oh, believe me, my anger means nothing; I could not hurt a fly," I smiled back bitterly. "And the worst of it is, he knows it. You are right. If he has destroyed the shears, I shall do nothing except begin over again." -- O, ne bespokojtes', ya, konechno, beshus' ponaprasnuYA ved' i muhi ne obizhu, -- s gorech'yu ulybnulsya ya. -- I huzhe vsego to, chto on eto znaet. Vy pravy, esli on unichtozhil strelu, ya nichego emu ne sdelayu i nachnu vse syznova. "But I'll stand my watch on board hereafter," I blurted out a moment later. "And if he interferes - " -- No teper' uzh ya budu dezhurit' na shhune, -- vyrvalos' u menya minutu spustya, -- i esli tol'ko on eshche raz popytaetsya chto-nibud' sdelat'... "But I dare not stay ashore all night alone," Maud was saying when I came back to myself. "It would be so much nicer if he would be friendly with us and help us. We could all live comfortably aboard." -- No ya boyus' osvavt'sya odna noch'yu na beregu! -- ochnuvshis' ot svoih bezradostnyh myslej, uslyshal ya golos Mod. -- Esli b mozhno bylo ugovorit' ego pomoch' nam... My mogli by togda tozhe zhit' na shhune -- ved' eto kuda udobnee. "We will," I asserted, still savagely, for the destruction of my beloved shears had hit me hard. "That is, you and I will live aboard, friendly or not with Wolf Larsen." -- Tak ono i budet, -- dovol'no svirepo zayavil ya, vne sebya ot togo, chto moya dragocennaya strela unichtozhena. -- YA hochu skazat', chto my s vami budem zhit' na shhune, a ponravitsya eto Larsenu ili net, mne vse ravno. "It's childish," I laughed later, "for him to do such things, and for me to grow angry over them, for that matter." Uspokoivshis', ya rassmeyalsya: -- Ved' eto zhe sushchee rebyachestvo s ego storony. I glupo, konechno, chto ya zlyus'. But my heart smote me when we climbed aboard and looked at the havoc he had done. The shears were gone altogether. The guys had been slashed right and left. The throat-halyards which I had rigged were cut across through every part. And he knew I could not splice. A thought struck me. I ran to the windlass. It would not work. He had broken it. We looked at each other in consternation. Then I ran to the side. The masts, booms, and gaffs I had cleared were gone. He had found the lines which held them, and cast them adrift. No, kogda my vzobralis' na bort shhuny i uvideli uchinennyj Volkom Larsenom razgrom, serdce u menya zanylo. Strela ischezla bessledno. Pravaya i levaya ottyazhki byli pererubleny, gafel'-gardeli razrezany na kuski. Larsen znal, chto ya ne umeyu splesnivat' koncy. Nedobroe predchuvstvie ohvatilo menya. YA brosilsya k brashpilyu. Da, on byl vyveden iz stroya. Volk Larsen slomal ego. My s Mod obmenyalis' unylym vzglyadom. Potom ya podbezhal k bortu. Osvobozhdennye mnoyu ot obryvkov snastej machty, giki i gafeli ischezli. Larsen nashchupal uderzhivavshie ih trosy i otvyazal ih, chtoby techenie uneslo ves' rangout v more. Tears were in Maud's eyes, and I do believe they were for me. I could have wept myself. Where now was our project of remasting the Ghost? He had done his work well. I sat down on the hatch-combing and rested my chin on my hands in black despair. Slezy stoyali na glazah u Mod, i ya ponyal, chto ona plachet ot ogorcheniya za menya. YA i sam gotov byl zaplakat'. Proshchaj mechta ob osnashchenii "Prizraka"Volk Larsen potrudilsya na slavu! YA sel na komings lyuka i, podperev golovu rukami, predalsya chernoj melanholii. "He deserves to die," I cried out; "and God forgive me, I am not man enough to be his executioner." -- On zasluzhivaet smerti! -- voskliknul ya. -- No, da prostit mne bog, u menya ne hvatit muzhestva stat' ego palachom! But Maud was by my side, passing her hand soothingly through my hair as though I were a child, and saying, "There, there; it will all come right. We are in the right, and it must come right." Mod podoshla ko mne i, pogladiv menya po golove, slovno rebenka, skazala: -- Uspokojtes', uspokojtes'Vse budet horosho. My vzyalis' za pravoe delo i svoego dob'emsya. I remembered Michelet and leaned my head against her; and truly I became strong again. The blessed woman was an unfailing fount of power to me. What did it matter? Only a set-back, a delay. The tide could not have carried the masts far to seaward, and there had been no wind. It meant merely more work to find them and tow them back. And besides, it was a lesson. I knew what to expect. He might have waited and destroyed our work more effectually when we had more accomplished. YA vspomnil Mishle i prizhalsya k Mod golovoj. I v samom dele, cherez minutu sily vernulis' ko mne. |ta zhenshchina byla dlya menya neissyakaemym istochnikom sily. V konce koncov stoit li pridavat' znachenie tomu, chto proizoshlo? Prostaya zaderzhka, otsrochka. Otliv ne mog unesti machty daleko, a vetra ne bylo. Pridetsya tol'ko eshche povozit'sya, chtoby najti ih i otbuksirovat' obratno. No eto bylo dlya nas urokom. Teper' ya znal, chego ozhidat' ot Volka Larsena. A ved' on mog nanesti nam eshche bol'shij uron, unichtozhiv nashu rabotu, kogda ona byla by blizhe k koncu. "Here he comes now," she whispered. -- Von on idet! -- shepnula mne Mod. I glanced up. He was strolling leisurely along the poop on the port side. YA podnyal golovu. Volk Larsen medlenno shel po yutu vdol' levogo borta. "Take no notice of him," I whispered. "He's coming to see how we take it. Don't let him know that we know. We can deny him that satisfaction. Take off your shoes - that's right - and carry them in your hand." -- Ne obrashchajte na nego vnimaniya! -- shepnul ya. -- On vyshel posmotret', kak vse eto na nas podejstvovalo. Delajte vid, budto nichego ne proizoshlo. Otkazhem emu hot' v etom udovol'stviiSnimite tufli i voz'mite ih v ruki. And then we played hide-and-seek with the blind man. As he came up the port side we slipped past on the starboard; and from the poop we watched him turn and start aft on our track. I vot u nas nachalas' igra v zhmurki so slepym. Kogda on poshel k nam vdol' levogo borta, my proskol'znuli u pravogo i stali nablyudat' za nim s yuta: on povernul i poshel sledom za nami na kormu. He must have known, somehow, that we were on board, for he said "Good-morning" very confidently, and waited, for the greeting to be returned. Then he strolled aft, and we slipped forward. No on vse zhe obnaruzhil nashe prisutstvie, potomu chto uverenno proiznes: "Dobroe utro!" -- i stal zhdat' otveta. Zatem on napravilsya na kormu, a my perebralis' na nos. "Oh, I know you're aboard," he called out, and I could see him listen intently after he had spoken. -- Da ved' ya zhe znayu, chto vy na bortu! -- kriknul on, i ya videl, kak on napryazhenno prislushivaetsya. It reminded me of the great hoot-owl, listening, after its booming cry, for the stir of its frightened prey. But we did not fir, and we moved only when he moved. And so we dodged about the deck, hand in hand, like a couple of children chased by a wicked ogre, till Wolf Larsen, evidently in disgust, left the deck for the cabin. There was glee in our eyes, and suppressed titters in our mouths, as we put on our shoes and clambered over the side into the boat. And as I looked into Maud's clear brown eyes I forgot the evil he had done, and I knew only that I loved her, and that because of her the strength was mine to win our way back to the world. On napominal mne ogromnogo filina, kotoryj, ispustiv svoj zloveshchij krik, slushaet, ne zashevelitsya li vspugnutaya dobycha. No my ne shevelilis' i dvigalis' tol'ko togda, kogda dvigalsya on. Tak my i begali po palube, vzyavshis' za ruki, -- slovno dvoe detej, za kotorymi gonitsya velikan-lyudoed, -- poka Volk Larsen, yavno razdosadovannyj, ne skrylsya u sebya v kayute. My davilis' so smehu i veselo pereglyadyvalis', obuvayas' i perelezaya cherez bort v shlyupku. I, glyadya v yasnye karie glaza Mod, ya zabyl vse prichinennoe nam zlo i znal odno: chto ya lyublyu ee i chto s neyu najdu v sebe sily probit'sya obratno v mir. CHAPTER XXXVI GLAVA XXXVI For two days Maud and I ranged the sea and explored the beaches in search of the missing masts. But it was not till the third day that we found them, all of them, the shears included, and, of all perilous places, in the pounding surf of the grim south-western promontory. And how we worked! At the dark end of the first day we returned, exhausted, to our little cove, towing the mainmast behind us. And we had been compelled to row, in a dead calm, practically every inch of the way. Dva dnya my s Mod borozdili na shlyupke more, ob®ezzhaya ostrov v poiskah propavshego rangouta. Tol'ko na tretij den' my nashli ego -- ves' celikom i dazhe nashu strelu. No, uvy, v samom opasnom meste -- tam, gde volny s beshenym revom razbivalis' o surovyj yugo-zapadnyj mys. I kak zhe my rabotaliUzhe smerkalos', kogda my, sovershenno obessilennye, prichalili k nashej buhtochke, tashcha na buksire grotmachtu. Stoyal mertvyj shtil', i nam prishlos' gresti ves' dolgij put'. Another day of heart-breaking and dangerous toil saw us in camp with the two topmasts to the good. The day following I was desperate, and I rafted together the foremast, the fore and main booms, and the fore and main gaffs. The wind was favourable, and I had thought to tow them back under sail, but the wind baffled, then died away, and our progress with the oars was a snail's pace. And it was such dispiriting effort. To throw one's whole strength and weight on the oars and to feel the boat checked in its forward lunge by the heavy drag behind, was not exactly exhilarating. Eshche den' iznuritel'noj i opasnoj raboty -- i k grot-machte pribavilis' obe sten'gi. Na tretij den' ya, dovedennyj do otchayaniya takoj provolochkoj, svyazal vmeste fok-machtu, oba gika i oba gafelya napodobie plota. Veter byl poputnyj, i ya nadeyalsya otbuksirovat' gruz pod parusom. No vskore veter povernul, a zatem i vovse stih, i my shli na veslah so skorost'yu cherepahi. Ponevole mozhno bylo past' duhom: ya chto bylo mochi nalegal na vesla, no shlyupka pochti ne dvigalas' s mesta iz-za tyazhelogo gruza za kormoj. Night began to fall, and to make matters worse, the wind sprang up ahead. Not only did all forward motion cease, but we began to drift back and out to sea. I struggled at the oars till I was played out. Poor Maud, whom I could never prevent from working to the limit of her strength, lay weakly back in the stern-sheets. I could row no more. My bruised and swollen hands could no longer close on the oar handles. My wrists and arms ached intolerably, and though I had eaten heartily of a twelve-o'clock lunch, I had worked so hard that I was faint from hunger. Spuskalas' noch', i, v dovershenie vseh bed, podul veter s berega. My uzhe ne tol'ko ne prodvigalis' vpered, no nas stalo snosit' v otkrytoe more. YA greb iz poslednih sil, poka ne vydohsya. Bednyazhka Mod, kotoraya tozhe vybivalas' iz sil, starayas' mne pomoch' i ne slushaya moih ugovorov, v iznemozhenii prilegla na kormu. YA bol'she ne mog gresti. Natruzhennye, raspuhshie ruki uzhe ne derzhali vesla. Plechi lomilo, i, hotya v polden' ya osnovatel'no poel, posle takoj raboty u menya golova kruzhilas' ot goloda. I pulled in the oars and bent forward to the line which held the tow. But Maud's hand leaped out restrainingly to mine. YA ubral vesla i nagnulsya nad buksirnym trosom. No Mod shvatila menya za ruku. "What are you going to do?" she asked in a strained, tense voice. -- CHto vy zadumali? -- sprosila ona s trevogoj. "Cast it off," I answered, slipping a turn of the rope. -- Otdat' buksir, -- otvetil ya, otvyazyvaya tros. But her fingers closed on mine. Ee pal'cy szhali moyu ruku. "Please don't," she begged. -- Net, net, ne nado! -- voskliknula ona. "It is useless," I answered. "Here is night and the wind blowing us off the land." -- Da ved' my vse ravno nichego ne mozhem sdelat'! -- skazal ya. -- Uzhe noch', i nas otnosit ot berega. "But think, Humphrey. If we cannot sail away on the Ghost, we may remain for years on the island - for life even. If it has never been discovered all these years, it may never be discovered." -- No podumajte, Hemfri! Esli my ne uplyvem na "Prizrake", nam na dolgie gody, byt' mozhet, na vsyu zhizn', pridetsya ostat'sya na etom ostrove. Raz ego do sih por ne otkryli, znachit, mozhet byt', nikogda i ne otkroyut. "You forget the boat we found on the beach," I reminded her. -- Vy zabyli o lodke, kotoruyu my nashli na beregu, -- napomnil ya. "It was a seal-hunting boat," she replied, "and you know perfectly well that if the men had escaped they would have been back to make their fortunes from the rookery. You know they never escaped." -- |to promyslovaya shlyupka, -- otvechala ona, -- i vy, konechno, ponimaete, Hemfri, chto esli b lyudi s nee spaslis', oni vernulis' by, chtoby sostavit' sebe sostoyanie na etom lezhbishche. Oni pogibli, vy sami eto znaete. I remained silent, undecided. YA molchal, vse eshche koleblyas'. "Besides," she added haltingly, "it's your idea, and I want to see you succeed." -- A krome togo, -- zapinayas', dobavila ona, -- eto byl vash plan, i ya hochu, chtoby vam udalos' ego osushchestvit'. Now I could harden my heart. As soon as she put it on a flattering personal basis, generosity compelled me to deny her. |to pridalo mne reshimosti. To, chto ona skazala, bylo ochen' lestno dlya menya, no iz velikodushiya ya vse eshche upryamilsya. "Better years on the island than to die to-night, or to-morrow, or the next day, in the open boat. We are not prepared to brave the sea. We have no food, no water, no blankets, nothing. Why, you'd not survive the night without blankets: I know how strong you are. You are shivering now." -- Luchshe uzh prozhit' neskol'ko let na etom ostrove, chem pogibnut' v okeane etoj noch'yu ili zavtra, -- skazal ya. -- My ne podgotovleny k plavaniyu v otkrytom more. U nas net ni pishchi, ni vody, ni odeyal -- nichego! Da vy i odnoj nochi ne vyderzhite bez odeyala. YA znayu vashi sily. Vy i tak uzhe drozhite. "It is only nervousness," she answered. "I am afraid you will cast off the masts in spite of me." -- |to nervy, -- otvetila ona. -- YA boyus', chto vy ne poslushaetes' menya i otvyazhete machty. "Oh, please, please, Humphrey, don't!" she burst out, a moment later. -- O, pozhalujsta, proshu vas, Hemfri, ne nado! -- vzmolilas' ona cherez minutu. And so it ended, with the phrase she knew had all power over me. We shivered miserably throughout the night. Now and again I fitfully slept, but the pain of the cold always aroused me. How Maud could stand it was beyond me. I was too tired to thrash my arms about and warm myself, but I found strength time and again to chafe her hands and feet to restore the circulation. And still she pleaded with me not to cast off the masts. About three in the morning she was caught by a cold cramp, and after I had rubbed her out of that she became quite numb. I was frightened. I got out the oars and made her row, though she was so weak I thought she would faint at every stroke. |to reshilo delo. Ona znala, kakuyu vlast' imeyut nado mnoj eti slova. My muchitel'no drogli vsyu noch'. Poroj ya nachinal dremat', no holod byl tak zhestok, chto ya tut zhe prosypalsya. Kak Mod mogla eto vynesti, bylo vyshe moego ponimaniya. YA tak ustal, chto u menya uzhe ne hvatalo sil dvigat'sya, chtoby hot' nemnogo sogret'sya, no vse zhe vremya ot vremeni ya rastiral Mod ruki i nogi, starayas' vosstanovit' v nih krovoobrashchenie. Pod utro u nee nachalis' sudorogi ot holoda. YA snova prinyalsya rastirat' ej ruki i nogi; sudorogi proshli, no ya uvidel, chto ona sovsem okochenela. YA ispugalsya. Posadiv ee na vesla, ya zastavil ee gresti, no ona tak oslabela, chto posle kazhdogo vzmaha veslami edva ne teryala soznanie. Morning broke, and we looked long in the growing light for our island. At last it showed, small and black, on the horizon, fully fifteen miles away. I scanned the sea with my glasses. Far away in the south-west I could see a dark line on the water, which grew even as I looked at it. Zabrezzhilo, i v predrassvetnoj dymke my dolgo iskali glazami nash ostrov. Nakonec, my uvideli ego -- kroshechnoe temnoe pyatnyshko, milyah v pyatnadcati ot nas, na samom gorizonte. YA osmotrel more v binokl'. Vdali, na yugo-zapade, ya zametil na vode temnuyu polosu, ona yavno pridvigalas' k nam. "Fair wind!" I cried in a husky voice I did not recognize as my own. -- Poputnyj veter! -- zakrichal ya hriplo, i moj golos pokazalsya mne chuzhim. Maud tried to reply, but could not speak. Her lips were blue with cold, and she was hollow-eyed - but oh, how bravely her brown eyes looked at me! How piteously brave! Mod hotela chto-to skazat' i ne mogla vymolvit' ni slova. Guby ee posineli ot holoda, glaza vvalilis', no kak muzhestvenno smotreli na menya eti yasnye karie glaza! Kak zhalobno i vse zhe muzhestvenno! Again I fell to chafing her hands and to moving her arms up and down and about until she could thrash them herself. Then I compelled her to stand up, and though she would have fallen had I not supported her, I forced her to walk back and forth the several steps between the thwart and the stern-sheets, and finally to spring up and down. Snova prinyalsya ya rastirat' ej ruki, podnimat' i opuskat' ih, poka ona ne pochuvstvovala, chto mozhet dvigat' imi. Potom ya zastavil ee vstat' i sdelat' neskol'ko shagov mezhdu srednej bankoj i kormoj, hotya ona, verno, upala by, esli by ya ne podderzhival ee. YA zastavil ee dazhe poprygat'. "Oh, you brave, brave woman," I said, when I saw the life coming back into her face. "Did you know that you were brave?" -- Ah vy, hrabraya malen'kaya zhenshchina! -- skazal ya, uvidev, chto lico ee snova ozhivaet. -- Znaete li vy, kakaya vy hrabraya? "I never used to be," she answered. "I was never brave till I knew you. It is you who have made me brave." -- Nikogda ya ne byla hrabroj, -- promolvila ona, -- poka ne uznala vas. |to vy sdelali menya hrabroj! "Nor I, until I knew you," I answered. -- Nu, i ya ne byl hrabr, poka ne uznal vas, -- skazal ya. She gave me a quick look, and again I caught that dancing, tremulous light and something more in her eyes. But it was only for the moment. Then she smiled. Ona brosila na menya bystryj "vzglyad, i ya snova ulovil etot teplyj trepetnyj ogonek B ee glazah... i eshche chto-to. No eto dlilos' vsego odno mgnovenie. Mod ulybnulas'. "It must have been the conditions," she said; but I knew she was wrong, and I wondered if she likewise knew. Then the wind came, fair and fresh, and the boat was soon labouring through a heavy sea toward the island. At half-past three in the afternoon we passed the south-western promontory. Not only were we hungry, but we were now suffering from thirst. Our lips were dry and cracked, nor could we longer moisten them with our tongues. Then the wind slowly died down. By night it was dead calm and I was toiling once more at the oars - but weakly, most weakly. At two in the morning the boat's bow touched the beach of our own inner cove and I staggered out to make the painter fast. Maud could not stand, nor had I strength to carry her. I fell in the sand with her, and, when I had recovered, contented myself with putting my hands under her shoulders and dragging her up the beach to the hut. -- Vas-to prosto obstoyatel'stva izmenili, -- skazala ona. No ya znal, chto eto ne tak, i, byt' mozhet, ona sama eto ponimala. Tut naletel veter, poputnyj i svezhij, i skoro shlyupka uzhe prokladyvala sebe dorogu po vysokoj volne pryamo k ostrovu. Posle poludnya my minovali yugo-zapadnyj mys. Teper' uzhe ne tol'ko golod muchil nas -- my iznemogali ot zhazhdy. Guby u nas peresohli i potreskalis', i my tshchetno pytalis' smochit' ih yazykom. A zatem veter nachal spadat' i k nochi stih sovsem. YA snova sel na vesla, no edva mog gresti. V dva chasa utra nos shlyupki vrezalsya v pribrezhnyj pesok nashej malen'koj buhtochki, i ya, shatayas', vybralsya na bereg i privyazal shlyupku. Mod ne stoyala na nogah ot ustalosti. YA hotel ponesti ee, no u menya ne hvatilo sil. YA upal vmeste s neyu na pesok, a kogda otdyshalsya, vzyal ee pod myshki i volokom potashchil k hizhine. The next day we did no work. In fact, we slept till three in the afternoon, or at least I did, for I awoke to find Maud cooking dinner. Her power of recuperation was wonderful. There was something tenacious about that lily-frail body of hers, a clutch on existence which one could not reconcile with its patent weakness. Na sleduyushchij den' my ne rabotali. My prospali do treh chasov dnya, po krajnej mere ya. Kogda ya prosnulsya, Mod uzhe stryapala obed. Ee sposobnost' bystro vosstanavlivat' sily byla porazitel'na. |to hrupkoe, kak stebelek cvetka, telo obladalo izumitel'noj vynoslivost'yu. Kak ni malo bylo u nee sil, ona cepko derzhalas' za zhizn'. "You know I was travelling to Japan for my health," she said, as we lingered at the fire after dinner and delighted in the movelessness of loafing. "I was not very strong. I never was. The doctors recommended a sea voyage, and I chose the longest." -- Vy ved' znaete, chto ya predprinyala puteshestvie v YAponiyu dlya ukrepleniya zdorov'ya, -- skazala ona, kogda my, poobedav, sideli u kostra, naslazhdayas' pokoem. -- YA nikogda ne otlichalas' krepkim zdorov'em. Vrachi rekomendovali mne puteshestvie po moryu, nu ya i vybrala samoe prodolzhitel'noe. "You little knew what you were choosing," I laughed. -- Ne znali vy, chto vybirali! -- rassmeyalsya ya. "But I shall be a different women for the experience, as well as a stronger woman," she answered; "and, I hope a better woman. At least I shall understand a great deal more life." -- CHto zh, eto ochen' izmenilo menya i, nadeyus', -- k luchshemu, -- zametila ona. -- YA teper' stala krepche, sil'nee. I, vo vsyakom sluchae, bol'she znayu zhizn'. Then, as the short day waned, we fell to discussing Wolf Larsen's blindness. It was inexplicable. And that it was grave, I instanced his statement that he intended to stay and die on Endeavour Island. When he, strong man that he was, loving life as he did, accepted his death, it was plain that he was troubled by something more than mere blindness. There had been his terrific headaches, and we were agreed that it was some sort of brain break- down, and that in his attacks he endured pain beyond our comprehension. Korotkij osennij den' bystro shel na ubyl'. My razgovorilis' o strashnoj, neob®yasnimoj slepote, porazivshej Volka Larsena. YA skazal, chto, vidimo, delo ego ploho, esli on zayavil, chto hochet ostat'sya i umeret' na Ostrove Usilij. Kogda takoj sil'nyj, tak lyubyashchij zhizn' chelovek gotovitsya k smerti, yasno, chto tut kroetsya nechto bol'shee, chem slepota. A eti uzhasnye golovnye boliPotolkovav, my reshili, chto on, ochevidno, stradaet kakoj-to bolezn'yu mozgovyh sosudov i vo vremya pristupov ispytyvaet nechelovecheskuyu bol'. I noticed as we talked over his condition, that Maud's sympathy went out to him more and more; yet I could not but love her for it, so sweetly womanly was it. Besides, there was no false sentiment about her feeling. She was agreed that the most rigorous treatment was necessary if we were to escape, though she recoiled at the suggestion that I might some time be compelled to take his life to save my own - "our own," she put it. YA zametil, chto, chem bol'she govorili my o tyazhelom sostoyanii Volka Larsena, tem sil'nee proryvalos' u Mod sostradanie k nemu, no eto bylo tak trogatel'no i tak po-zhenski, chto lish' sil'nee privlekalo menya k nej. K tomu zhe vsyakaya fal'shivaya sentimental'nost' byla ej sovershenno chuzhda. Mod vpolne soglashalas' so mnoj, chto nam neobhodimo primenit' k Volku Larsenu samye surovye mery, esli my hotim uplyt' s etogo ostrova, i tol'ko mysl' o tom, chto ya mogu okazat'sya vynuzhdennym lishit' ego zhizni, chtoby spasti svoyu (ona skazala "nashu") zhizn', pugala ee. In the morning we had breakfast and were at work by daylight. I found a light kedge anchor in the fore-hold, where such things were kept; and with a deal of exertion got it on deck and into the boat. With a long running-line coiled down in the stem, I rowed well out into our little cove and dropped the anchor into the water. There was no wind, the tide was high, and the schooner floated. Casting off the shore-lines, I kedged her out by main strength (the windlass being broken), till she rode nearly up and down to the small anchor - too small to hold her in any breeze. So I lowered the big starboard anchor, giving plenty of slack; and by afternoon I was at work on the windlass. Na sleduyushchij den' my pozavtrakali na rassvete i srazu zhe prinyalis' za rabotu. V nosovom tryume, gde hranilsya sudovoj inventar', ya nashel verp i cenoj bol'shih usilij vytashchil ego na palubu i spustil v shlyupku. Slozhiv buhtoj na korme shlyupki dlinnyj tros, ya zavez yakor' podal'she ot berega i brosil ego. Vetra ne bylo, stoyal vysokij priliv, i shhuna byla na plavu. Otdav shvartovy, ya nachal verpovat' vruchnuyu, tak kak brashpil' byl isporchen. Skoro shhuna podoshla pochti k samomu verpu. On, konechno, byl slishkom mal, chtoby uderzhat' sudno dazhe pri legkom brize, poetomu ya otdal bol'shoj yakor' pravogo borta, dav pobol'she slabiny. Posle obeda ya vzyalsya vosstanavlivat' brashpil'. Three days I worked on that windlass. Least of all things was I a mechanic, and in that time I accomplished what an ordinary machinist would have done in as many hours. I had to learn my tools to begin with, and every simple mechanical principle which such a man would have at his finger ends I had likewise to learn. And at the end of three days I had a windlass which worked clumsily. It never gave the satisfaction the old windlass had given, but it worked and made my work possible. Celyh tri dnya provozilsya ya s etim brashpilem, hotya lyuboj mehanik, veroyatno, ispravil by ego za tri chasa. No ya v etom rovno nichego ne smyslil, i mne prihodilos' ovladevat' znaniyami, kotorye yavlyayutsya azbukoj dlya specialista; da k tomu zhe ya dolzhen byl eshche uchit'sya pol'zovat'sya instrumentami. Odnako k koncu tret'ego dnya brashpil' s grehom popolam nachal dejstvovat'. On rabotal daleko ne tak horosho, kak do polomki, no vse zhe delal svoe delo, bez nego moya zadacha byla by nevypolnima. In half a day I got the two topmasts aboard and the shears rigged and guyed as before. And that night I slept on board and on deck beside my work. Maud, who refused to stay alone ashore, slept in the forecastle. Wolf Larsen had sat about, listening to my repairing the windlass and talking with Maud and me upon indifferent subjects. No reference was made on either side to the destruction of the shears; nor did he say anything further about my leaving his ship alone. But still I had feared him, blind and helpless and listening, always listening, and I never let his strong arms get within reach of me while I worked. Poldnya ushlo u menya na to, chtoby podnyat' na bort obe sten'gi, postavit' strelu i zakrepit' ee ottyazhkami, kak i v pervyj raz. V etu noch' ya ulegsya spat' pryamo na palube okolo strely. Mod otkazalas' nochevat' odna na beregu i ustroilas' v matrosskom kubrike. Dnem Volk Larsen opyat' sidel na palube, prislushivayas' k tomu, chto my delaem, i besedoval s nami na postoronnie temy. Nikto iz nas ni slovom ne obmolvilsya o proizvedennyh im razrusheniyah, i on bol'she ne treboval, chtoby ya ostavil ego shhunu v pokoe. No ya po-prezhnemu boyalsya ego -- slepogo, bespomoshchnogo i vse vremya nastorozhenno prislushivayushchegosya. Rabotaya, ya staralsya derzhat'sya podal'she, chtoby on ne mog vcepit'sya v menya svoej mertvoj hvatkoj. On this night, sleeping under my beloved shears, I was aroused by his footsteps on the deck. It was a starlight night, and I could see the bulk of him dimly as he moved about. I rolled out of my blankets and crept noiselessly after him in my stocking feet. He had armed himself with a draw-knife from the tool-locker, and with this he prepared to cut across the throat-halyards I had again rigged to the shears. He felt the halyards with his hands and discovered that I had not made them fast. This would not do for a draw-knife, so he laid hold of the running part, hove taut, and made fast. Then he prepared to saw across with the draw-knife. V etu noch', zasnuv vozle nashej dragocennoj strely, ya ochnulsya ot zvuka shagov. Byla zvezdnaya noch', i ya uvidel temnuyu figuru Volka Larsena, dvizhushchuyusya po palube. YA vylez iz-pod odeyala i neslyshno podkralsya k nemu. Vooruzhivshis' plotnich'im skobelem, vzyatym iz yashchika s instrumentami, on sobiralsya pererezat' im gafel'gardeli, kotorymi ya snova osnastil strelu. Nashchupav verevki, on ubedilsya, chto ya ostavil ih nenatyanutymi. Tut skobelem nichego nel'zya bylo sdelat', i on natyanul gafel'-gardeli i zakrepil ih. On uzhe gotov byl perepilit' ih skobelem, kogda ya proiznes negromko: "I wouldn't, if I were you," I said quietly. -- Na vashem meste ya by ne stal etogo delat'. He heard the click of my pistol and laughed. On uslyshal, kak ya vzvel kurok revol'vera, i zasmeyalsya. "Hello, Hump," he said. "I knew you were here all the time. You can't fool my ears." -- Hello, Hemp! -- skazal on. -- YA ved' vse vremya znal, chto vy zdes'. Moih ushej vy ne obmanete. "That's a lie, Wolf Larsen," I said, just as quietly as before. "However, I am aching for a chance to kill you, so go ahead and cut." -- Lzhete, Volk Larsen, -- skazal ya, ne povyshaya golosa. -- No u menya ruki cheshutsya pristrelit' vas, tak chto delajte svoe delo, rezh'te. "You have the chance always," he sneered. -- U vas vsegda est' eta vozmozhnost', -- nasmeshlivo skazal on. "Go ahead and cut," I threatened ominously. -- Delajte svoe delo! -- ugrozhayushche povtoril ya. "I'd rather disappoint you," he laughed, and turned on his heel and went aft. -- Predpochitayu dostavit' vam razocharovanie, -- so smehom probormotal on, povernulsya na kablukah i ushel na kormu. "Something must be done, Humphrey," Maud said, next morning, when I had told her of the night's occurrence. "If he has liberty, he may do anything. He may sink the vessel, or set fire to it. There is no telling what he may do. We must make him a prisoner." Nautro ya rasskazal Mod ob etom nochnom proisshestvii, i ona zayavila: -- CHto-to nuzhno predprinyat', HemfriOstavayas' na svobode, on mozhet sdelat' vse chto ugodno. On sposoben zatopit' shhunu, podzhech' ee. Neizvestno, chto on vykinet. Egо nuzhno posadit' pod zamok. "But how?" I asked, with a helpless shrug. "I dare not come within reach of his arms, and he knows that so long as his resistance is passive I cannot shoot him." -- No kak? -- sprosil ya, bespomoshchno pozhav plechami. -- Podojti k nemu blizko ya ne reshayus' i v to zhe vremya ne mogu zastavit' sebya vystrelit' v nego, poka ego soprotivlenie ostaetsya passivnym. I on eto znaet. "There must be some way," she contended. "Let me think." -- Dolzhen zhe byt' kakoj-to sposob, -- vozrazila Mod. -- Dajte mne podumat'. "There is one way," I said grimly. -- Sposob est', -- mrachno zayavil ya. She waited. Ona s nadezhdoj poglyadela na menya. I picked up a seal-club. YA podnyal ohotnich'yu dubinku. "It won't kill him," I said. "And before he could recover I'd have him bound hard and fast." -- Ubit' ego ona ne ub'et, -- skazal ya, -- a prezhde chem on pridet v sebya, ya uspeyu svyazat' ego po rukam i nogam. She shook her head with a shudder. "No, not that. There must be some less brutal way. Let us wait." No Mod s sodroganiem pokachala golovoj. -- Net, tol'ko ne eto! Nuzhno najti kakoj-nibud' menee zverskij sposob. Podozhdem eshche. But we did not have to wait long, and the problem solved itself. In the morning, after several trials, I found the point of balance in the foremast and attached my hoisting tackle a few feet above it. Maud held the turn on the windlass and coiled down while I heaved. Had the windlass been in order it would not have been so difficult; as it was, I was compelled to apply all my weight and strength to every inch of the heaving. I had to rest frequently. In truth, my spells of resting were longer than those of working. Maud even contrived, at times when all my efforts could not budge the windlass, to hold the turn with one hand and with the other to throw the weight of her slim body to my assistance. ZHdat' nam prishlos' nedolgo -- delo reshilos' samo soboj. Utrom posle neskol'kih neudachnyh popytok ya nakonec opredelil centr tyazhesti fok-machty i zakrepil neskol'ko vyshe ego pod®emnye tali. Mod napravlyala tros na brashpile i skladyvala v buhtu sbegavshij konec. Bud' brashpil' v ispravnosti, nasha zadacha byla by neslozhnoj, a tak mne prihodilos' so vsej siloj nalegat' na rukoyatku, chtoby podnyat' machtu hotya by na odin dyujm. To i delo ya prisazhivalsya otdohnut'. Po pravde govorya, ya bol'she otdyhal, chem rabotal. Kogda, nevziraya na vse moi usiliya, rukoyatka ne podavalas', Mod, derzha konec odnoj rukoj, uhitryalas' eshche pomogat' mne, nalegaya na rukoyatku svoim hrupkim telom. At the end of an hour the single and double blocks came together at the top of the shears. I could hoist no more. And yet the mast was not swung entirely inboard. The butt rested against the outside of the port rail, while the top of the mast overhung the water far beyond the starboard rail. My shears were too short. All my work had been for nothing. But I no longer despaired in the old way. I was acquiring more confidence in myself and more confidence in the possibilities of windlasses, shears, and hoisting tackles. There was a way in which it could be done, and it remained for me to find that way. CHerez chas oba bloka soshlis' u vershiny strely. Dal'she podnimat' bylo nekuda, a machta vse eshche ne perevalilas' cherez bort. Osnovaniem svoim ona legla na planshir levogo borta, v to vremya kak verhushka ee navisala nad vodoj daleko za pravym bortom. Strela okazalas' korotka, i vsya moya rabota svelas' k nulyu. No ya uzhe ne prihodil v otchayanie, kak prezhde. YA nachinal obretat' vse bol'shuyu veru v sebya i v potencial'nuyu silu brashpilej, strel i pod®emnyh talej. Sposob podnyat' machtu, nesomnenno, sushchestvoval, i mne ostavalos' tol'ko najti ego. While I was considering the problem, Wolf Larsen came on deck. We noticed something strange about him at once. The indecisiveness, or feebleness, of his movements was more pronounced. His walk was actually tottery as he came down the port side of the cabin. At the break of the poop he reeled, raised one hand to his eyes with the familiar brushing gesture, and fell down the steps - still on his feet - to the main deck, across which he staggered, falling and flinging out his arms for support. He regained his balance by the steerage companion-way and stood there dizzily for a space, when he suddenly crumpled up and collapsed, his legs bending under him as he sank to the deck. Poka ya razmyshlyal nad etoj zadachej, na yut vyshel Volk Larsen. Nam srazu brosilos' v glaza, chto s nim tvoritsya chto-to neladnoe. Vo vseh ego dvizheniyah eshche sil'nee chuvstvovalas' kakaya-to nereshitel'nost', rasslablennost'. Prohodya vdol' rubki, on neskol'ko raz spotknulsya, a poravnyavshis' s kraem yuta, sil'no poshatnulsya, podnyal ruku uzhe znakomym mne zhestom, -- slovno smahivaya pautinu s lica, -- i vdrug zagremel po stu