Conan felt the skin crawl between his shoulders. He had bolted that door securely. How could it be opening now, save by supernatural agency? And how could a human being possess a head like that outlined against the stars? All the tales he had heard in the Zuagir tents of devils and goblins came back to bead his flesh with clammy sweat. Now the monster slid noiselessly into the room, with a crouching posture and a shambling gait; and a familiar scent assailed the Cimmerian's nostrils, but did not reassure him, since Zuagir legendry represented demons as smelling like that.
Noiselessly Conan coiled his long legs under him (бесшумно Конан подобрал свои длинные ноги под себя); his naked sword was in his right hand (его обнаженный меч был в его правой руке), and when he struck it was as suddenly and murderously as a tiger lunging out of the dark (и когда он ударил, это было так внезапно и смертельно, как тигр, набрасывающийся из темноты). Not even a demon could have avoided that catapulting charge (даже демон /не/ мог бы избежать этой катапультирующей =
clove [kluv], beyond [b'jnd], empty ['empt]
Noiselessly Conan coiled his long legs under him; his naked sword was in his right hand, and when he struck it was as suddenly and murderously as a tiger lunging out of the dark. Not even a demon could have avoided that catapulting charge. His sword met and clove through flesh and bone, and something went heavily to the floor with a strangling cry. Conan crouched in the dark above it, sword dripping in his hand. Devil or beast or man, the thing was dead there on the floor. He sensed death as any wild thing senses it. He glared through the half-open door into the starlit court beyond. The gate stood open, but the court was empty.
Conan shut the door but did not bolt it (Конан запер дверь, но не закрыл ее на засов). Groping in the darkness he found the lamp and lighted it (пошарив в темноте, он нашел лампу и зажег ее). There was enough oil in it to burn for a minute or so (в ней было достаточно масла /чтобы гореть/ на минуту или около того). An instant later he was bending over the figure that sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood (мгновение спустя он склонялся над фигурой, которая растянулась на полу в луже крови).
minute ['mnt], figure ['f], blood [bld]
Conan shut the door but did not bolt it. Groping in the darkness he found the lamp and lighted it. There was enough oil in it to burn for a minute or so. An instant later he was bending over the figure that sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood.
It was a gigantic black man, naked but for a loin cloth (это был гигантский чернокожий, обнаженный за исключением набедренной повязки). One hand still grasped a knotty-headed bludgeon (одна рука все еще сжимала сучковатую дубинку). The fellow's kinky wool was built up into hornlike spindles with twigs and dried mud (курчавые волосы парня были выстроены в роговидные стержни с =
bludgeon ['bln], appearance ['prns], clue [klu:]
It was a gigantic black man, naked but for a loin cloth. One hand still grasped a knotty-headed bludgeon. The fellow's kinky wool was built up into hornlike spindles with twigs and dried mud. This barbaric coiffure had given the head its misshapen appearance in the starlight. Provided with a clue to the riddle, Conan pushed back the thick red lips and grunted as he stared down at teeth filed to points.