Английский язык с Шерлоком Холмсом. Знак четырех (ASCII-IPA)

OUR captive sat in the cabin opposite to the iron box which he had done so much and waited so long to gain. He was a sunburned, reckless-eyed fellow, with a net-work of lines and wrinkles all over his mahogany features, which told of a hard, open-air life. There was a singular prominence about his bearded chin which marked a man who was not to be easily turned from his purpose. His age may have been fifty or thereabouts, for his black, curly hair was thickly shot with gray. His face in repose was not an unpleasing one, though his heavy brows and aggressive chin gave him, as I had lately seen, a terrible expression when moved to anger. He sat now with his handcuffed hands upon his lap, and his head sunk upon his breast, while he looked with his keen, twinkling eyes at the box which had been the cause of his ill-doings. It seemed to me that there was more sorrow than anger in his rigid and contained countenance. Once he looked up at me with a gleam of something like humour in his eyes.

"Well, Jonathan Small," said Holmes, lighting a cigar (ну, Джонатан Смолл, — сказал Холмс, прикуривая сигару), "I am sorry that it has come to this (мне жаль, что дошло до этого)."

"And so am I, sir," he answered, frankly (и мне, сэр, — честно ответил он). "I don't believe that I can swing over the job (я не верю, что я могу попасть на виселицу за это дело; to swing — качать; раскачивать; быть повешенным на виселице). I give you my word on the book that I never raised hand against Mr. Sholto (даю вам слово, положа руку на Библию, что я никогда не поднимал руки на мистера Шолто). It was that little hell-hound Tonga who shot one of his cursed darts into him (Тонга, это маленькое исчадие ада, выстрелил в него одной из своих отравленных стрел; hell — ад; hound — охотничья собака; гончая; cursed — окаянный, проклятый). I had no part in it, sir (я тут ни при чем, сэр; part — доля, часть; участие, роль). I was as grieved as if it had been my blood-relation (я переживал не меньше, чем если бы это был мой кровный родственник; to grieve — огорчать, глубоко опечаливать). I welted the little devil with the slack end of the rope for it (я всыпал за это маленькому дьяволу свободным концом веревки; to welt — бить, пороть, стегать; slack — вялый, неактивный; провисающий, ненатянутый), but it was done, and I could not undo it again (но что сделано, то сделано, и исправить этого я не мог)."

"Have a cigar," said Holmes (берите сигару, — сказал Холмс); "and you had best take a pull out of my flask, for you are very wet (и вам лучше сделать глоток из моей фляжки, так как вы насквозь промокли; pull — тяга, рывок; глоток; wet — мокрый, влажный). How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow (как могли вы ожидать, что такой маленький и слабый человек, как этот черный парень) to overpower Mr. Sholto and hold him while you were climbing the rope (одолеет мистера Шолто и будет удерживать его, пока вы взбирались по веревке; to overpower — побеждать, пересиливать)?"

hound [haund], cursed ['k@:sId], grieve [gri:v]

"Well, Jonathan Small," said Holmes, lighting a cigar, "I am sorry that it has come to this."

"And so am I, sir," he answered, frankly. "I don't believe that I can swing over the job. I give you my word on the book that I never raised hand against Mr. Sholto. It was that little hell-hound Tonga who shot one of his cursed darts into him. I had no part in it, sir. I was as grieved as if it had been my blood-relation. I welted the little devil with the slack end of the rope for it, but it was done, and I could not undo it again."

"Have a cigar," said Holmes; "and you had best take a pull out of my flask, for you are very wet. How could you expect so small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr. Sholto and hold him while you were climbing the rope?"