We asked this heavenly messenger (as we discovered him afterwards to be) if he knew of any lonely house (мы спросили этого небесного посланника /каким он впоследствии и оказался: «как мы обнаружили позже, что он им и является»/, не знает ли он уединенного дома), whose occupants were few and feeble (чьи обитатели малочисленны и слабы) (old ladies or paralysed gentlemen preferred) (предпочтительно старые дамы или парализованные джентльмены), who could be easily frightened into giving up their beds for the night to three desperate men (которых можно было бы легко заставить отдать свои постели на ночь троим отчаявшимся мужчинам; to frighten into — страхом, запугиванием заставить сделать что-либо); or, if not this, could he recommend us to an empty pigstye (или, если не это = если этого нет, не мог ли бы он посоветовать нам какой-нибудь пустой свинарник/хлев), or a disused limekiln, or anything of that sort (или заброшенную печь для обжига извести, или что-нибудь в этом роде; limekiln: lime — известь; kiln — печь для обжига и сушки). He did not know of any such place — at least, not one handy (он не знал ни одного подобного места — по крайней мере, ни одного под рукой/поблизости); but he said that, if we liked to come with him (но он сказал, что, если мы хотим, то можем пойти с ним), his mother had a room to spare, and could put us up for the night (у его мамы есть свободная комната, и /она/ может приютить нас на ночь).

angel ['enl] disguise [ds'az] heavenly ['hevnl]

At that moment an angel came by in the disguise of a small boy (and I cannot think of any more effective disguise an angel could have assumed), with a can of beer in one hand, and in the other something at the end of a string, which he let down on to every flat stone he came across, and then pulled up again, this producing a peculiarly unattractive sound, suggestive of suffering.

We asked this heavenly messenger (as we discovered him afterwards to be) if he knew of any lonely house, whose occupants were few and feeble (old ladies or paralysed gentlemen preferred), who could be easily frightened into giving up their beds for the night to three desperate men; or, if not this, could he recommend us to an empty pigstye, or a disused limekiln, or anything of that sort. He did not know of any such place — at least, not one handy; but he said that, if we liked to come with him, his mother had a room to spare, and could put us up for the night.