We found the truant for them half a mile further down, held by some rushes, and we brought it back to them. I bet they did not give that boat another chance for a week.

I shall never forget the picture of those two men walking up and down the bank with a tow-line, looking for their boat.

One sees a good many funny incidents up the river in connection with towing. One of the most common is the sight of a couple of towers, walking briskly along, deep in an animated discussion, while the man in the boat, a hundred yards behind them, is vainly shrieking to them to stop, and making frantic signs of distress with a scull. Something has gone wrong; the rudder has come off, or the boat-hook has slipped overboard, or his hat has dropped into the water and is floating rapidly down stream.

He calls to them to stop, quite gently and politely at first (он просит их остановиться, сначала довольно кротко и вежливо).

"Hi! stop a minute, will you (эй, постойте минутку)?" he shouts cheerily (кричит он весело). "I've dropped my hat over-board (я уронил шляпу за борт)."

Then (потом): "Hi! Tom — Dick! can't you hear (не слышите)?" not quite so affably this time (не совсем любезно на этот раз).

Then: "Hi! Confound you, you dunder-headed idiots (черт вас возьми, пустоголовые идиоты; to confound — мешать; запутывать; проклинать: confound it! — к черту! будь оно проклято!; dunderhead — глупая башка, болван)! Hi! stop! Oh you — (ах вы…)!"

After that he springs up, and dances about (затем он вскакивает и прыгает по лодке; to dance — плясать, танцевать; скакать, прыгать), and roars himself red in the face (и орет до покраснения лица), and curses everything he knows (и ругает все и вся: «все, что знает»). And the small boys on the bank stop and jeer at him (и маленькие мальчики на берегу останавливаются и насмехаются над ним), and pitch stones at him as he is pulled along past them (и бросают в него камнями, когда его тянут /на лодке/ мимо них), at the rate of four miles an hour, and can't get out (со скоростью четырех миль в час, и /он/ не может выйти).

affably ['aefbl] confound [kn'faund]

He calls to them to stop, quite gently and politely at first.

"Hi! stop a minute, will you?" he shouts cheerily. "I've dropped my hat over-board."

Then: "Hi! Tom — Dick! can't you hear?" not quite so affably this time.

Then: "Hi! Confound you, you dunder-headed idiots! Hi! stop! Oh you — !"

After that he springs up, and dances about, and roars himself red in the face, and curses everything he knows. And the small boys on the bank stop and jeer at him, and pitch stones at him as he is pulled along past them, at the rate of four miles an hour, and can't get out.