Conajohara No More

(Конаджохары больше нет)

There had been fighting on Thunder River; fierce fighting before the walls of Velitrium (на Громовой реке была битва, жестокая битва перед стенами Велитриума); ax and torch had been plied up and down the bank (топор и факел поработали выше и ниже по берегу), and many a settler's cabin lay in ashes before the painted horde was rolled back (и много хижин поселенцев лежали в пепле, прежде чем раскрашенная орда откатилась назад).

A strange quiet followed the storm, in which people gathered and talked in hushed voices (необычная тишина последовала за бурей, в которой люди собирались и беседовали приглушенными голосами), and men with red-stained bandages drank their ale silently in the taverns along the river bank (а люди в повязках с красными пятнами пили молча свой эль в тавернах вдоль берега реки).

cabin ['kxbIn], horde [hO:d], bandage ['bxndIG]

There had been fighting on Thunder River; fierce fighting before the walls of Velitrium; ax and torch had been plied up and down the bank, and many a settler's cabin lay in ashes before the painted horde was rolled back.

A strange quiet followed the storm, in which people gathered and talked in hushed voices, and men with red-stained bandages drank their ale silently in the taverns along the river bank.

There, to Conan the Cimmerian, moodily quaffing from a great wine-glass (там, к Конану-киммерийцу, угрюмо пьющего из большого бокала), came a gaunt forester with a bandage about his head and his arm in a sling (подошел сухопарый лесник с повязкой на /его/ голове и /его/ рукой на перевязи). He was the one survivor of Fort Tuscelan (он был единственным уцелевшим из Форта Тусцелан).

"You went with the soldiers to the ruins of the fort (ты ходил с солдатами к руинам форта; to go — ходить, идти)?"

Conan nodded (Конан кивнул).

"I wasn't able," murmured the other (я не смог, — пробормотал другой). "There was no fighting (не было боя)?"

moodily ['mu:dIlI], quaff [kwRf], murmur ['mq:mq]

There, to Conan the Cimmerian, moodily quaffing from a great wine-glass, came a gaunt forester with a bandage about his head and his arm in a sling. He was the one survivor of Fort Tuscelan.

"You went with the soldiers to the ruins of the fort?"

Conan nodded.

"I wasn't able," murmured the other. "There was no fighting?"

"The Picts had fallen back across Black River (пикты отступили за Черную реку). Something must have broken their nerve, though only the devil who made them knows what (что-то, должно быть, подорвало их уверенность, хотя только дьявол, который создал их, знает что)."

The woodsman glanced at his bandaged arm and sighed (лесной житель посмотрел на /его/ перевязанную руку и вздохнул).

"They say there were no bodies worth disposing of (/они/ говорят, /там/ не было тел, стоящих убирания = которые можно было убрать = захоронить; to dispose of — завершать, избавляться, убирать, удалять, уничтожать)."

Conan shook his head (Конан покачал /своей/ головой = кивнул [51]). "Ashes (пепел). The Picts had piled them in the fort and set fire to the fort before they crossed the river (пикты сложили их в кучу в форте и подожгли форт, перед тем как /они/ пересекли реку; to pile — складывать в кучу). Their own dead and the men of Valannus (своих собственных мертвецов и людей Валаннуса)."

fallen [fO:ln], worth [wq:T], shook [SVk]

"The Picts had fallen back across Black River. Something must have broken their nerve, though only the devil who made them knows what."

The woodsman glanced at his bandaged arm and sighed.

"They say there were no bodies worth disposing of."

Conan shook his head. "Ashes. The Picts had piled them in the fort and set fire to the fort before they crossed the river. Their own dead and the men of Valannus."

"Valannus was killed among the last — in the hand-to-hand fighting when they broke the barriers (Валаннус был убит среди последних — в рукопашном бою, когда они сломали ограждения). They tried to take him alive, but he made them kill him (они попытались взять его живым, но он заставил их убить его). They took ten of the rest of us prisoners when we were so weak from fighting we could fight no more (они взяли десять из нас оставшихся в плен, когда мы были так слабы от боя, /что/ мы больше не могли сражаться). They butchered nine of us then and there (они забили девятерых из нас тогда и там). It was when Zogar Sag died that I got my chance to break free and run for it (это /было/, когда умер Зогар Саг, /что/ я получил свой шанс освободиться = на свободу и помчался изо всех сил; to break free — вырваться на свободу, освободиться; to run for it — бежать изо всех сил, удирать со всех ног)."

"Zogar Sag's dead?" ejaculated Conan (Зогар Саг мертв? — воскликнул Конан).

among [q'mAN], weak [wi:k], ejaculate [I'GxkjuleIt]

"Valannus was killed among the last — in the hand-to-hand fighting when they broke the barriers. They tried to take him alive, but he made them kill him. They took ten of the rest of us prisoners when we were so weak from fighting we could fight no more. They butchered nine of us then and there. It was when Zogar Sag died that I got my chance to break free and run for it."

"Zogar Sag's dead?" ejaculated Conan.

"Aye (да = ага). I saw him die (я видел, /как/ он умер). That's why the Picts didn't press the fight against Velitrium as fiercely as they did against the fort (поэтому пикты не наседали в битве против Велитриума так ожесточенно, как /они делали = сражались / против форта). It was strange (это было странно). He took no wounds in battle (он не получил ран в битве). He was dancing among the slain, waving an ax with which he'd just brained the last of my comrades (он плясал среди убитых, размахивая топором, которым он только что размозжил мозги последнему из моих товарищей). He came at me, howling like a wolf (он набросился на меня, завывая как волк) — and then he staggered and dropped the ax (и потом он споткнулся и уронил топор), and began to reel in a circle screaming as I never heard a man or beast scream before (и начал вертеться = завертелся по кругу, вопя так, как я никогда прежде не слышал, чтобы вопили человек или животное). He fell between me and the fire they'd built to roast me (он упал между мной и костром, /который/ они возвели, /чтобы/ поджарить меня), goggling and frothing at the mouth (выпучив глаза и с пеной: «пенясь» у рта), and all at once he went rigid and the Picts shouted that he was dead (и внезапно он окоченел, а пикты закричали, что он мертв; rigid — жесткий, негнущийся). It was during the confusion that I slipped my cords and ran for the woods (это было во время замешательства, что = именно во время замешательства я выскользнул из моих пут / развязал веревки и убежал в лес).

comrade ['kOmrId], roast [rqust], confusion [kqn'fju:Zn]

"Aye. I saw him die That's why the Picts didn't press the fight against Velitrium as fiercely as they did against the fort. It was strange. He took no wounds in battle. He was dancing among the slain, waving an ax with which he'd just brained the last of my comrades. He came at me, howling like a wolf — and then he staggered and dropped the ax, and began to reel in a circle screaming as I never heard a man or beast scream before. He fell between me and the fire they'd built to roast me, goggling and frothing at the mouth, and all at once he went rigid and the Picts shouted that he was dead. It was during the confusion that I slipped my cords and ran for the woods.

"I saw him lying in the firelight (я видел его, лежащим в свете костра). No weapon had touched him (ни одно оружие /не/ коснулось его). Yet there were red marks like the wounds of a sword in the groin, belly, and neck (однако были красные отметины, как раны от меча, в паху, животе и на шее) — the last as if his head had been almost severed from his body (последняя, как будто его голова была почти отрезана от тела). What do you make of that (что ты понимаешь из этого = что тебе понятно из этого)?"

"I saw him lying in the firelight. No weapon had touched him. Yet there were red marks like the wounds of a sword in the groin, belly, and neck — the last as if his head had been almost severed from his body. What do you make of that?"

Conan made no reply, and the forester, aware of the reticence of barbarians on certain matters, continued (Конан не сделал ответа = не ответил, а лесник, знающий о скрытности / немногословии варваров по некоторым вопросам, продолжал): "He lived by magic, and somehow, he died by magic (он жил магией, и каким-то образом он умер от магии). It was the mystery of his death that took the heart out of the Picts (это /была/ тайна его смерти, /которая/ отняла мужество у пиктов: «выхватила сердце из пиктов»). Not a man who saw it was in the fighting before Velitrium (ни один человек, который видел это, /не/ был в сражении перед Велитриумом). They hurried back across Black River (они поспешили назад через Черную реку). Those that struck Thunder River were warriors who had come on before Zogar Sag died (те, кто ударил по Громовой реке, были воинами, которые напали раньше, чем умер Зогар Саг). They were not enough to take the city by themselves (их было недостаточно, /чтобы/ взять город самим).

certain [sq:tn], continue [kqn'tinju:], enough [I'nAf]

Conan made no reply, and the forester, aware of the reticence of barbarians on certain matters, continued: "He lived by magic, and somehow, he died by magic. It was the mystery of his death that took the heart out of the Picts. Not a man who saw it was in the fighting before Velitrium. They hurried back across Black River. Those that struck Thunder River were warriors who had come on before Zogar Sag died. They were not enough to take the city by themselves.

"I came along the road, behind their main force, and I know none followed me from the fort (я пришел по дороге за их главными силами, и я знаю, /что/ никто /не/ следовал за мной от форта). I sneaked through their lines and got into the town (я прокрался сквозь их расположение и попал в город; line — оборонительный рубеж, линия фронта, строй, шеренга солдат, расположение). You brought the settlers through all right, but their women and children got into Velitrium just ahead of those painted devils (ты провел поселенцев как нужно, но их женщины и дети попали в Велитриум как раз перед этими раскрашенными демонами). If the youth Balthus and old Slasher hadn't held them up awhile, they'd have butchered every woman and child in Conajohara (если бы юноша Балтус и старый Задира не задержали их некоторое время, они бы вырезали каждую женщину и ребенка = всех женщин и детей в Конаджохаре). I passed the place where Balthus and the dog made their last stand (я проходил через то место, где Балтус и пес оказали /их/ последнее сопротивление). They were lying amid a heap of dead Picts — I counted seven, brained by his ax (он лежали среди кучи мертвых пиктов — я насчитал семь, с размозженными его топором головами), or disemboweled by the dog's fangs (или распотрошенными собачьими клыками), and there were others in the road with arrows sticking in them (и были другие на дороге со стрелами, торчащими в них; to brain — разможжить голову). Gods, what a fight that must have been (боги, что за битва это, наверное, была)!"

force [fO:s], last [lRst], stick [stIk]

"I came along the road, behind their main force, and I know none followed me from the fort. I sneaked through their lines and got into the town. You brought the settlers through all right, but their women and children got into Velitrium just ahead of those painted devils. If the youth Balthus and old Slasher hadn't held them up awhile, they'd have butchered every woman and child in Conajohara. I passed the place where Balthus and the dog made their last stand. They were lying amid a heap of dead Picts — I counted seven, brained by his ax, or disemboweled by the dog's fangs, and there were others in the road with arrows sticking in them. Gods, what a fight that must have been!"

"He was a man," said Conan (он был /настоящий/ мужчина, — сказал Конан). "I drink to his shade, and to the shade of the dog, who knew no fear (я пью за его духа и за духа пса, которые не ведали страха)." He quaffed part of the wine, then emptied the rest upon the floor, with a curious heathen gesture, and smashed the goblet (он выпил большим глотком часть вина, затем вылил остальное на пол с необычным языческим жестом и разбил вдребезги кубок). "The heads of ten Picts shall pay for his, and seven heads for the dog, who was a better warrior than many a man (головы десяти пиктов заплатят за его /голову/, и семь голов за пса, который был лучшим воином, чем многие мужчины)."

heathen [hi:Dn], gesture ['GesCq], goblet ['gOblIt]

"He was a man," said Conan. "I drink to his shade, and to the shade of the dog, who knew no fear." He quaffed part of the wine, then emptied the rest upon the floor, with a curious heathen gesture, and smashed the goblet. "The heads of ten Picts shall pay for his, and seven heads for the dog, who was a better warrior than many a man."

And the forester, staring into the moody, smoldering blue eyes, knew the barbaric oath would be kept (а лесник, пристально глядя в унылые, тлеющие синие глаза, знал, /что/ варварская клятва будет исполнена).

"They'll not rebuild the fort (/они/ не будут восстанавливать форт = форт не будут восстанавливать)?"

"No; Conajohara is lost to Aquilonia (нет, Конаджохара потеряна для Аквилонии). The frontier has been pushed back (граница отодвинулась назад). Thunder River will be the new border (Громовая река будет новым рубежом)."

forester ['fOrIstq], rebuild [ri: 'bIld], new [nju:]

And the forester, staring into the moody, smoldering blue eyes, knew the barbaric oath would be kept.

"They'll not rebuild the fort?"

"No; Conajohara is lost to Aquilonia. The frontier has been pushed back. Thunder River will be the new border."

The woodsman sighed and stared at his calloused hand, worn from contact with ax-haft and sword-hilt (лесовик вздохнул и уставился на свою мозолистую руку, потертую от контакта с ручкой топора и рукояткой меча). Conan reached his long arm for the wine-jug (Конан потянулся своей длинной рукой за кувшином с вином). The forester stared at him, comparing him with the men about them (лесной житель разглядывал его, сравнивая его с людьми, которые были вокруг них), the men who had died along the lost river (с людьми, которые умерли вдоль утраченной реки; to lose — терять; утрачивать), comparing him with those other wild men over that river (сравнивая его с теми другими дикими людьми за той рекой). Conan did not seem aware of his gaze (Конан, казалось, не замечает его взгляда).

callous ['kxlqs], worn [wO:n], compare [kqm'pFq]

The woodsman sighed and stared at his calloused hand, worn from contact with ax-haft and sword-hilt. Conan reached his long arm for the wine-jug. The forester stared at him, comparing him with the men about them, the men who had died along the lost river, comparing him with those other wild men over that river. Conan did not seem aware of his gaze.

"Barbarism is the natural state of mankind," the borderer said, still staring somberly at the Cimmerian (варварство /есть/ — естественное состояние человечества, — сказал пограничник, все еще хмуро уставясь на киммерийца). "Civilization is unnatural (цивилизация неестественна = противна природе). It is a whim of circumstance (это прихоть обстоятельств). And barbarism must always ultimately triumph (а варварство должно всегда одерживать окончательную победу = в конечном итоге варварство всегда победит; must — наверное, наверняка, должно быть — означает высокую степень вероятности)."

natural ['nxCrql], mankind [mxn'kaInd], circumstance ['sq:kqmstqns]

"Barbarism is the natural state of mankind," the borderer said, still staring somberly at the Cimmerian. "Civilization is unnatural. It is a whim of circumstance. And barbarism must always ultimately triumph."

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