vengeance ['vendZ(@)ns], carriage ['k&rIdZ], access ['& [email protected]]
"The moment for which I had waited so long had at last come. I had my enemies within my power. Together they could protect each other, but singly they were at my mercy. I did not act, however, with undue precipitation. My plans were already formed. There is no satisfaction in vengeance unless the offender has time to realize who it is that strikes him, and why retribution has come upon him. I had my plans arranged by which I should have the opportunity of making the man who had wronged me understand that his old sin had found him out. It chanced that some days before a gentleman who had been engaged in looking over some houses in the Brixton Road had dropped the key of one of them in my carriage. It was claimed that same evening, and returned; but in the interval I had taken a moulding of it, and had a duplicate constructed. By means of this I had access to at least one spot in this great city where I could rely upon being free from interruption. How to get Drebber to that house was the difficult problem which I had now to solve.
"He walked down the road and went into one or two liquor shops (он пошел вниз по улице и зашел в один или парочку винных магазинчиков; liquor — спиртной напиток; liquor shop — винный магазин), staying for nearly half-an-hour in the last of them (задержавшись почти на полчаса в последнем из них). When he came out he staggered in his walk (вышел он оттуда, покачиваясь: «когда он вышел, он покачивался при ходьбе»), and was evidently pretty well on (очевидно, изрядно навеселе). There was a hansom just in front of me, and he hailed it (как раз передо мной стоял экипаж, и он его подозвал; to hail — приветствовать; звать, окликать). I followed it so close that the nose of my horse was within a yard of his driver the whole way (я поехал за ним, держась так близко, что всю дорогу нос моей лошади был всего в ярде от кучера его кеба[21]). We rattled across Waterloo Bridge and through miles of streets (мы прогрохотали по мосту Ватерлоо и проехали несколько миль по улицам), until, to my astonishment, we found ourselves back in the Terrace in which he had boarded (когда, к моему удивлению, мы оказались опять на Террес, где он жил; to board — жить и питаться у кого-либо за плату). I could not imagine what his intention was in returning there (я и вообразить не мог, с какой целью он туда вернулся; intention — намерение, цель); but I went on and pulled up my cab a hundred yards or so from the house (я проехал немного дальше и остановил свой кеб примерно в ста ярдах от его дома). He entered it, and his hansom drove away (он вошел внутрь, а экипаж уехал). Give me a glass of water, if you please (дайте мне стакан воды, пожалуйста). My mouth gets dry with the talking (у меня пересыхает во рту, когда я говорю)."
I handed him the glass, and he drank it down (я протянул ему стакан, и он его осушил; to drink down — выпивать до дна).
liquor [' [email protected]], pretty ['prItI], mouth [mauT]
"He walked down the road and went into one or two liquor shops, staying for nearly half-an-hour in the last of them. When he came out he staggered in his walk, and was evidently pretty well on. There was a hansom just in front of me, and he hailed it. I followed it so close that the nose of my horse was within a yard of his driver the whole way. We rattled across Waterloo Bridge and through miles of streets, until, to my astonishment, we found ourselves back in the Terrace in which he had boarded. I could not imagine what his intention was in returning there; but I went on and pulled up my cab a hundred yards or so from the house. He entered it, and his hansom drove away. Give me a glass of water, if you please. My mouth gets dry with the talking."
I handed him the glass, and he drank it down.
"That's better (так лучше)," he said. "Well, I waited for a quarter of an hour, or more (ну, я прождал с четверть часа или больше), when suddenly there came a noise like people struggling inside the house (как вдруг послышался шум, словно в доме кто-то дрался). Next moment the door was flung open and two men appeared (в следующее мгновение дверь распахнулась, и появились двое), one of whom was Drebber (один из которых был Дреббер), and the other was a young chap whom I had never seen before (а второй — молодой парень, которого я никогда раньше не видел). This fellow had Drebber by the collar (парень держал Дреббера за воротник), and when they came to the head of the steps (и когда он подтащил его к ступенькам: «когда они вышли на верхнюю площадку лестницы») he gave him a shove and a kick which sent him half across the road (он толкнул его и дал ему пинка, от которого тот пролетел до середины дороги: «который послал его наполовину через дорогу»). ‘You hound,’ he cried, shaking his stick at him (ты, собака, — вскричал он, угрожая ему тростью; to shake — трясти); ‘I'll teach you to insult an honest girl (я научу тебя, как оскорблять честную девушку)!’ He was so hot that I think he would have thrashed Drebber with his cudgel (он был так разозлен, что, я думаю, он бы отмочалил Дреббера своей дубинкой; hot — возбужденный, разгоряченный, раздраженный; to thrash — бить, стегать, хлестать), only that the cur staggered away down the road as fast as his legs would carry him (если бы мерзавец не умчался, пошатываясь, вниз по улице так быстро, как его могли унести ноги; cur — трус, малодушный человек; грубиян, хам; to stagger — шататься; идти шатаясь). He ran as far as the corner (он добежал до угла), and then, seeing my cab, he hailed me and jumped in (а там, увидев мой кеб, он подозвал меня и заскочил внутрь). ‘Drive me to Halliday's Private Hotel (отвезите меня к частной гостинице «Холидей»),’ said he.
"When I had him fairly inside my cab (когда я заполучил его к себе в кеб; fairly — должным образом; явно), my heart jumped so with joy (мое сердце так запрыгало от радости) that I feared lest at this last moment my aneurism might go wrong (что я испугался, как бы мой аневризм в этот решающий момент не сыграл бы со мной плохой шутки; last — последний; завершающий; to go wrong — выйти из строя; обернуться не так, как планировалось). I drove along slowly (я медленно ехал по улице), weighing in my own mind what it was best to do (взвешивая у себя в уме, как мне было лучше поступить). I might take him right out into the country (я мог бы вывезти его из города), and there in some deserted lane have my last interview with him (а там, в каком-нибудь пустынном переулке побеседовать с ним в последний раз; lane — узкая улочка, переулок). I had almost decided upon this (я почти склонился к этому; to decide — решать), when he solved the problem for me (когда он решил за меня мою проблему). The craze for drink had seized him again (жажда выпить снова охватила его), and he ordered me to pull up outside a gin palace (и он приказал мне остановиться возле сверкающей яркими огнями пивной; gin palace — уст., броское питейное заведение). He went in, leaving word that I should wait for him (он вошел внутрь, сказав мне: «оставив слово» подождать его). There he remained until closing time (там он оставался, пока они не закрылись: «до времени закрытия»), and when he came out he was so far gone that I knew the game was in my own hands (и когда он вышел, он настолько нагрузился, что я знал, что дичь сама идет мне в руки: «дичь была в моих собственных руках»; far gone — далеко зашедший, дошедший до крайней точки).
quarter ['kwO: [email protected]], shove [SVv], deserted [dI' [email protected]:tId]
"That's better," he said. "Well, I waited for a quarter of an hour, or more, when suddenly there came a noise like people struggling inside the house. Next moment the door was flung open and two men appeared, one of whom was Drebber, and the other was a young chap whom I had never seen before. This fellow had Drebber by the collar, and when they came to the head of the steps he gave him a shove and a kick which sent him half across the road. ‘You hound,’ he cried, shaking his stick at him; ‘I'll teach you to insult an honest girl!’ He was so hot that I think he would have thrashed Drebber with his cudgel, only that the cur staggered away down the road as fast as his legs would carry him. He ran as far as the corner, and then, seeing my cab, he hailed me and jumped in. ‘Drive me to Halliday's Private Hotel,’ said he.
"When I had him fairly inside my cab, my heart jumped so with joy that I feared lest at this last moment my aneurism might go wrong. I drove along slowly, weighing in my own mind what it was best to do. I might take him right out into the country, and there in some deserted lane have my last interview with him. I had almost decided upon this, when he solved the problem for me. The craze for drink had seized him again, and he ordered me to pull up outside a gin palace. He went in, leaving word that I should wait for him. There he remained until closing time, and when he came out he was so far gone that I knew the game was in my own hands.
"Don't imagine that I intended to kill him in cold blood (не подумайте, что я собирался хладнокровно его убить). It would only have been rigid justice if I had done so (если бы я так поступил, это было бы всего лишь чистое правосудие; rigid — строгий; непреклонный), but I could not bring myself to do it (но я не мог себя заставить так поступить). I had long determined that he should have a show for his life (я давно решил, что у него будет шанс выжить; show — возможность проявить себя; шанс) if he chose to take advantage of it (если он пожелает воспользоваться им; to choose — выбирать, избирать; to take advantage — воспользоваться, использовать в своих интересах). Among the many billets which I have filled in America during my wandering life (среди многих занятий, что я перепробовал в Америке за время своей бродячей жизни; billet — должность, место; to fill — занимать), I was once janitor and sweeper out of the laboratory at York College (мне случилось однажды быть уборщиком при лаборатории в колледже в Йорке). One day the professor was lecturing on poisons (однажды профессор давал лекцию по ядам), and he showed his students some alkaloid, as he called it (и он показал своим студентам один алкалоид, как он его назвал), which he had extracted from some South American arrow poison (который он добыл из яда, которым в Южной Америке смазывают наконечники стрел: «из южноамериканского яда для стрел»; to extract — извлекать, экстрагировать), and which was so powerful that the least grain meant instant death (и который был таким сильным, что мельчайшая его крупица означала мгновенную смерть). I spotted the bottle in which this preparation was kept (я запомнил склянку, в которой хранился этот препарат; preparation — препарат), and when they were all gone, I helped myself to a little of it (и когда они все ушли, я немного себе оттуда отлил; to help oneself — брать без разрешения). I was a fairly good dispenser (я неплохо знал аптекарское дело; to dispense — готовить лекарства; dispenser — фармацевт), so I worked this alkaloid into small, soluble pills (так что я изготовил маленькие растворимые пилюли с этим алкалоидом; to work — производить, изготовлять), and each pill I put in a box with a similar pill made without the poison (и каждую пилюлю я положил в коробочку с подобной пилюлей, но не содержащей яда: «сделанной без яда»). I determined at the time that when I had my chance (я тогда решил, что когда мне выпадет мой шанс), my gentlemen should each have a draw out of one of these boxes (мои господам придется каждому вытянуть по пилюле: «вытянуть свой жребий» из одной из этих коробочек; draw — жребий), while I ate the pill that remained (а я проглочу: «съем» ту, что останется). It would be quite as deadly, and a good deal less noisy than firing across a handkerchief (это будет столь же смертоносно, как стрелять через носовой платок, но куда менее шумно). From that day I had always my pill boxes about with me (с того дня я всегда носил с собой эти коробочки с пилюлями), and the time had now come when I was to use them (и теперь пришло время использовать их).
