ember [ˈembə], senseless [ˈsenslɪs], master [ˈmɑ:stə]
A slight sound ahead of them jumped his heart into his throat, and Conan's sword gleamed in the air. He lowered it when a dog, a great, gaunt, scarred beast, slunk out of the bushes and stood staring at them.
"That dog belonged to a settler who tried to build his cabin on the bank of the river a few miles south of the fort," grunted Conan. "The Picts slipped over and killed him, of course, and burned his cabin. We found him dead among the embers, and the dog lying senseless among three Picts he'd killed. He was almost cut to pieces. We took him to the fort and dressed his wounds, but after he recovered he took to the woods and turned wild. — What now, Slasher, are you hunting the men who killed your master?"
The massive head swung from side to side and the eyes glowed greenly (массивная голова закачалась из стороны в сторону, а глаза пылали зеленоватым). He did not growl or bark (он не рычал и не лаял). Silently as a phantom he slid in behind them (молча, как фантом, он скользнул за них).
"Let him come," muttered Conan (пусть идет /с нами/: «позволь ему идти», — пробормотал Конан; to come — приходить, идти вместе). "He can smell the devils before we can see them (он может учуять демонов раньше, чем мы можем увидеть их = чем мы увидим их)."
The massive head swung from side to side and the eyes glowed greenly. He did not growl or bark. Silently as a phantom he slid in behind them.
"Let him come," muttered Conan. "He can smell the devils before we can see them."
Balthus smiled and laid his hand caressingly on the dog's head (Балтус улыбнулся и положил /свою/ руку ласково на голову собаки). The lips involuntarily writhed back to display the gleaming fangs (губы невольно оттянулись, /чтобы/ показать сверкающие клыки); then the great beast bent his head sheepishly (потом огромный зверь наклонил /свою/ голову застенчиво / глуповато; sheep — овца), and his tail moved with jerky uncertainty (а его хвост задвигался с двигающейся толчками неуверенностью = задергался неуверенно толчками), as if the owner had almost forgotten the emotions of friendliness (как будто владелец /хвоста/ почти забыл чувства дружбы; to forget — забывать). Balthus mentally compared the great gaunt hard body with the fat sleek hounds (Балтус мысленно сравнил огромное сухопарое крепкое тело с толстыми гладкими охотничьими собаками) tumbling vociferously over one another in his father's kennel yard (кувыркающимися шумно друг через друга во дворе псарни его отца; kennel — собачья конура; псарня; yard — двор). He sighed (он вздохнул). The frontier was no less hard for beasts than for men (граница была не менее тяжелой для зверей, чем для людей). This dog had almost forgotten the meaning of kindness and friendliness (этот пес почти забыл значение доброты и дружелюбия).
involuntarily [ɪnˈvɔləntərəlɪ], vociferously [vəuˈsɪferəslɪ], sigh [saɪ]
Balthus smiled and laid his hand caressingly on the dog's head. The lips involuntarily writhed back to display the gleaming fangs; then the great beast bent his head sheepishly, and his tail moved with jerky uncertainty, as if the owner had almost forgotten the emotions of friendliness. Balthus mentally compared the great gaunt hard body with the fat sleek hounds tumbling vociferously over one another in his father's kennel yard. He sighed. The frontier was no less hard for beasts than for men. This dog had almost forgotten the meaning of kindness and friendliness.
Slasher glided ahead, and Conan let him take the lead (Задира проскользнул вперед, и Конан позволил ему возглавлять шествие). The last tinge of dusk faded into stark darkness (последний оттенок сумерек растворился в полнейшей тьме). The miles fell away under their steady feet (мили исчезали под их крепкими ногами). Slasher seemed voiceless (Задира казался немым).
Suddenly he halted, tense, ears lifted (вдруг он остановился, напряженный, уши подняты = торчком). An instant later the men heard it — a demoniac yelling up the river ahead of them, faint as a whisper (мгновение спустя люди услышали это — демонические крики вверх по реке впереди них, слабые, как шорох).
Conan swore like a madman (Конан ругался как сумасшедший).[43] to swear like a trooper. Да и пьют у нас, как сапожник, а у них — как рыба: to drink like a fish.
"They've attacked the fort (они напали на форт)! We're too late (мы опоздали: «мы слишком поздно»)! Come on (давай / вперед)!"
demoniac [dɪˈməunɪæk], swore [swɔ: ], steady [stedɪ]
Slasher glided ahead, and Conan let him take the lead. The last tinge of dusk faded into stark darkness. The miles fell away under their steady feet. Slasher seemed voiceless. Suddenly he halted, tense, ears lifted. An instant later the men heard it — a demoniac yelling up the river ahead of them, faint as a whisper. Conan swore like a madman.
"They've attacked the fort! We're too late! Come on!"
He increased his pace, trusting to the dog to smell out ambushes ahead (он ускорил шаг, доверяя собаке разнюхивать засады впереди). In a flood of tense excitement Balthus forgot his hunger and weariness (в потоке напряженного волнения Балтус забыл про голод и усталость). The yells grew louder as they advanced (крики стали громче, когда они продвинулись вперед), and above the devilish screaming they could hear the deep shouts of the soldiers (и над адскими воплями, они могли слышать низкие крики солдат; deep — глубокий). Just as Balthus began to fear they would run into the savages who seemed to be howling just ahead of them (как раз когда Балтус начал опасаться, /что/ они наткнутся на дикарей, которые, казалось, воют прямо перед ними), Conan swung away from the river in a wide semicircle that carried them to a low rise (Конан свернул от реки широким полукругом, который вел их к невысокой возвышенности) from which they could look over the forest (с которой они могли заглянуть за лес). They saw the fort, lighted with torches thrust over the parapets on long poles (они увидели форт, освещенный факелами, воткнутыми за парапетами на длинных шестах). These cast a flickering, uncertain light over the clearing (они отбрасывали мерцающий неясный свет через росчисть), and in that light they saw throngs of naked, painted figures along the fringe of the clearing (и в этом свете они увидели толпы голых раскрашенных фигур вдоль бахромы росчисти). The river swarmed with canoes (река кишела каноэ). The Picts had the fort completely surrounded (пикты полностью окружили форт).
flood [flʌd], weariness [ˈwɪərɪnɪs], fringe [frɪnʤ]
He increased his pace, trusting to the dog to smell out ambushes ahead. In a flood of tense excitement Balthus forgot his hunger and weariness. The yells grew louder as they advanced, and above the devilish screaming they could hear the deep shouts of the soldiers. Just as Balthus began to fear they would run into the savages who seemed to be howling just ahead of them, Conan swung away from the river in a wide semicircle that carried them to a low rise from which they could look over the forest. They saw the fort, lighted with torches thrust over the parapets on long poles. These cast a flickering, uncertain light over the clearing, and in that light they saw throngs of naked, painted figures along the fringe of the clearing. The river swarmed with canoes. The Picts had the fort completely surrounded.
An incessant hail of arrows rained against the stockade from the woods and the river (непрерывный град стрел обрушился на укрепление из леса и с реки). The deep twanging of the bowstrings rose above the howling (низкое треньканье тетивы луков поднялось над воем). Yelling like wolves (завывая как волки), several hundred naked warriors with axes in their hands (несколько сотен голых воинов с топорами в /их/ руках) ran from under the trees and raced toward the eastern gate (выбежали из-под деревьев и бросились к восточным воротам). They were within a hundred and fifty yards of their objective (они были в пределах ста пятидесяти ярдов от своей цели) when a withering blast of arrows from the wall littered the ground with corpses (когда смертоносный поток стрел со стены усеял землю трупами) and sent the survivors fleeing back to the trees (и отправил выживших /убегающими/ назад к деревьям). The men in the canoes rushed their boats toward the river-wall (люди в каноэ бросили свои лодки к стене, выходящей на реку,), and were met by another shower of clothyard shafts (и были встречены еще одним градом стрел) and a volley from the small ballistae mounted on towers on that side of the stockade (и залпом из небольших баллист, установленных на башнях по ту сторону частокола). Stones and logs whirled through the air and splintered and sank half a dozen canoes (камни и бревна пронеслись в воздухе и раздробили и потопили полдюжины каноэ), killing their occupants, and the other boats drew back out of range (убивая их пассажиров, а остальные лодки отошли за пределы досягаемости; out of range — вне досягаемости). A deep roar of triumph rose from the walls of the fort, answered by bestial howling from all quarters (низкий триумфальный рев поднялся со стен форта, /на который/ ответил звериный вой со всех сторон).
incessant [ɪnˈsesnt], survivor [səˈvaɪvə], triumph [ˈtraɪəmf]
An incessant hail of arrows rained against the stockade from the woods and the river. The deep twanging of the bowstrings rose above the howling. Yelling like wolves, several hundred naked warriors with axes in their hands ran from under the trees and raced toward the eastern gate. They were within a hundred and fifty yards of their objective when a withering blast of arrows from the wall littered the ground with corpses and sent the survivors fleeing back to the trees. The men in the canoes rushed their boats toward the river-wall, and were met by another shower of clothyard shafts and a volley from the small ballistae mounted on towers on that side of the stockade. Stones and logs whirled through the air and splintered and sank half a dozen canoes, killing their occupants, and the other boats drew back out of range. A deep roar of triumph rose from the walls of the fort, answered by bestial howling from all quarters.
"Shall we try to break through?" asked Balthus, trembling with eagerness (мы попробуем прорваться? — спросил Балтус, дрожа с = от нетерпения).
Conan shook his head (Конан покачал /своей/ головой). He stood with his arms folded, his head slightly bent (он стоял, скрестив руки на груди, слегка склонив голову: «с его руками скрещенными, его голова слегка склоненная»), a somber and brooding figure (мрачная и погруженная в размышления фигура). "The fort's doomed (форт обречен; to doom — обрекать, приговаривать).[44] The Picts are blood-mad, and won't stop until they're all killed (пикты кровожадны, и не остановятся, пока /они/ все /не/ будут убиты). And there are too many of them for the men in the fort to kill (а их слишком много: «там есть слишком много из них» для людей в форте, /чтобы/ убить). We couldn't break through, and if we did, we could do nothing but die with Valannus (мы не смогли бы прорваться, а если бы /мы/ /и/ сделали = прорвались, /то мы не/ смогли бы сделать ничего, кроме /как/ умереть с Валаннусом)."
eagerness [ˈi: ɡənɪs], figure [ˈfɪɡə], with [wɪð]
"Shall we try to break through?" asked Balthus, trembling with eagerness. Conan shook his head. He stood with his arms folded, his head slightly bent, a somber and brooding figure.
"The fort's doomed. The Picts are blood-mad, and won't stop until they're all killed. And there are too many of them for the men in the fort to kill. We couldn't break through, and if we did, we could do nothing but die with Valannus."
"There's nothing we can do but save our own hides, then (значит, мы ничего не можем сделать: «там есть ничего мы можем сделать», кроме как спасти наши собственные шкуры)?"
"Yes. We've got to warn the settlers (да = нет, можем. Мы должны предупредить поселенцев; to warn — предостеречь). Do you know why the Picts are not trying to burn the fort with fire-arrows (/ты/ знаешь, почему пикты не пытаются поджечь форт горящими стрелами)? Because they don't want a flame that might warn the people to the east (потому что они не хотят пламени = им не нужен огонь, который мог бы предупредить людей на востоке). They plan to stamp out the fort, and then sweep east before anyone knows of its fall (они планируют уничтожить форт, а потом обрушиться на восток, пока никто /не/ знает о его падении). They may cross Thunder River and take Velitrium before the people know what's happened (они могут пересечь Громовую реку и взять Велитриум, прежде чем люди узнают = поймут, что случилось). At least they'll destroy every living thing between the fort and Thunder River (по меньшей мере, они уничтожат все живое: «каждую живую вещь» между фортом и Громовой рекой).
