Читаем Английский язык с Грэмом Грином. Третий человек полностью

"Oh, yes, you do." And it was obvious that he did. Martins left him abruptly. He wanted no more of that kindly tired humanitarian face.

It only remained then to bait the trap. After studying the map of the sewer system I came to the conclusion that a caf'e anywhere near the main entrance of the great Sewer which was placed in what Martins had mistakenly called a newspaper kiosk would be the most likely spot to tempt Lime. He had only to rise once again through the ground, walk fifty yards, bring Martins back with him, and sink again into the obscurity of the sewers. He had no idea that this method of evasion was known to us: he probably knew that one patrol of the sewer police ended before midnight, and the next did not start till two, and so at midnight Martins sat in the little cold caf'e in sight of the kiosk drinking coffee after coffee. I had lent him a revolver: I had men posted as close to the kiosk as I could, and the sewer police were ready when zero hour struck to close the manholes and start sweeping the sewers inwards from the edge of the city. But I intended if I could to catch him before he went underground again. It would save trouble—and risk to Martins. So there, as I say, in the caf'e Martins sat.

The wind had risen again, but it had brought no snow: it came icily off the Danube and in the little grassy square by the caf'e it whipped up the snow like the surf on top of a wave. There was no heating in the caf'e and Martins sat warming each hand in turn on a cup of ersatz coffee—innumerable cups. There was usually one of my men in the caf'e with him, but I changed them every twenty minutes or so irregularly. More than an hour passed: Martins had long given up hope and so had I, where I waited at the end of a phone several streets away, with a party of the sewer police ready to go down if it became necessary. We were luckier than Martins because we were warm in our great boots up to the thighs and our reefer jackets. One man had a small searchlight about half as big again as a car headlight strapped to his breast and another man carried a brace of Roman candles. The telephone rang. It was Martins. He said, "I'm perishing with cold. It's a quarter past one. Is there any point in going on with this?"

"You shouldn't telephone. You must stay in sight."

"I've drunk seven cups of this filthy coffee. My stomach won't stand much more."

"He can't delay much longer if he's coming. He won't want to run into the two o'clock patrol. Stick it another quarter of an hour, but keep away from the telephone."

Martins' voice said suddenly, "Christ, he's here. He's—" and then the telephone went dead. I said to my assistant: "Give the signal to guard all manholes," and to my sewer police: "We are going down."

What had happened was this (что /тогда/ случилось было это = затем случилось следующее). Martins was still on the telephone to me (Мартинс был все еще на проводе: «телефоне» со мной) when Harry Lime came into the caf'e (когда Гарри Лайм вошел в кафе). I don't know what he heard (я не знаю, что он слышал), if he heard anything (если он слышал что-либо). The mere sight of a man wanted by the police and without friends in Vienna (простой вид человека, искомого полицией и без друзей в Вене) speaking on the telephone (говорящего по телефону) would have been enough to warn him (был бы достаточен, чтобы предупредить его). He was out of the caf'e again (он вышел: «был» наружу из кафе снова) before Martins had put down the receiver (прежде чем Мартинс положил трубку; to receive — принимать). It was one of those rare moments (это был один из тех редких моментов) when none of my men was in the caf'e (когда ни одного из моих людей не было в кафе). One had just left (один только что ушел) and another was on the pavement about to come in (а другой был на тротуаре, собираясь зайти внутрь). Harry Lime brushed by him (Гарри Лайм проскользнул мимо него; brush — щетка; to brush — чистить щеткой; задевать; to brush by — прошмыгнуть мимо) and made for the kiosk (и направился к будке). Martins came out of the caf'e and saw my men (Мартинс вышел из кафе и увидел моих людей). If he had called out then (если он крикнул бы тогда) it would have been an easy shot (это был бы легкий выстрел), but it was not, I suppose, Lime, the penicillin racketeer who was escaping down the street (но это не был, я предполагаю, Лайм, пенициллиновый аферист, который убегал по улице); it was Harry (это был Гарри).

He hesitated just long enough for Lime to put the kiosk between them (он колебался как раз достаточно долго для Лайма, чтобы поставить будку между ними = чтобы Лайм успел зайти за будку): then he called out (тогда он выкрикнул) "That's him (это он)," but Lime had already gone to ground (но Лайм уже ушел в землю).

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