brain like worms. But these excursions out of the real were of brief duration, for ever the pangs of the hunger-bite called him back. He was jerked back abruptly once from such an excursion by a sight that caused him nearly to faint. He reeled and swayed, doddering like a drunken man to keep from falling. Before him stood a horse. A horse! He could not believe his eyes. A thick mist was in them, intershot with sparkling points of light. He rubbed his eyes savagely to clear his vision, and beheld, not a horse, but a great brown bear. The animal was studying him with bellicose curiosity.
The man had brought his gun halfway to his shoulder (человек донес ружье уже на полпути к плечу) before he realized (прежде чем осознал = чем до него дошло; to realize — понимать, осознавать). He lowered it and drew his hunting-knife from its beaded sheath at his hip (он опустил его и вытащил свой охотничий нож из ножен, украшенных бисером, на бедре). Before him was meat and life (перед ним было мясо и жизнь). He ran his thumb along the edge of his knife (он провел большим пальцем по лезвию ножа). It was sharp (оно было острым). The point was sharp (острие было острым). He would fling himself upon the bear and kill it (он набросится на медведя и убьет его). But his heart began its warning thump, thump, thump (но его сердце начало свое предупреждение — бух-бух-бух). Then followed the wild upward leap and tattoo of flutters (затем последовал дикий скачок вверх и барабанная дробь неровного биения сердца; flutter — дрожание, трепетание; пульсация; to flutter — неровно биться /о сердце/; пульсировать), the pressing as of an iron band about his forehead (сдавливание железным обручем его лба), the creeping of the dizziness into his brain (крадущееся проникновение головокружения в его мозг; to creep — красться, подкрадываться; creeping — подкрадывание, движение крадучись, ползание; проскальзывание).
The man had brought his gun halfway to his shoulder before he realized. He lowered it and drew his hunting-knife from its beaded sheath at his hip. Before him was meat and life. He ran his thumb along the edge of his knife. It was sharp. The point was sharp. He would fling himself upon the bear and kill it. But his heart began its warning thump, thump, thump. Then followed the wild upward leap and tattoo of flutters, the pressing as of an iron band about his forehead, the creeping of the dizziness into his brain.
His desperate courage was evicted by a great surge of fear (его отчаянная смелость была изгнана огромной волной страха; surge — большая волна; волны; подъем, рост; всплеск). In his weakness, what if the animal attacked him (при его-то слабости, а что если зверь нападет на него)? He drew himself up to his most imposing stature (он выпрямился в свой самый внушительный рост; to draw oneself up — выпрямляться, вытягиваться), gripping the knife and staring hard at the bear (сжав нож и враждебно уставившись на медведя; hard — твердый; упрямо, неуступчиво; резко, грубо; враждебно; неистово, яростно). The bear advanced clumsily a couple of steps (медведь неуклюже продвинулся на пару шагов вперед), reared up, and gave vent to a tentative growl (встал на дыбы и дал выход пробному рыку; to rear up — становиться на дыбы /например, о лошади/; to give vent to — дать выход чему-либо). If the man ran (если бы человек побежал), he would run after him (он бы побежал за ним); but the man did not run (но человек не побежал). He was animated now with the courage of fear (теперь он = человек был воодушевлен храбростью страха). He, too, growled, savagely, terribly (он тоже зарычал свирепо, ужасно), voicing the fear (выражая страх) that is to life germane (который тесно связан с жизнью; germane — уместный, подходящий, соответствующий; тесно связанный) and that lies twisted about life's deepest roots (и который лежит, свернувшись, у самых глубоких корней жизни; to twist — крутить, сплетать/ся/; обвивать, обхватывать).
His desperate courage was evicted by a great surge of fear. In his weakness, what if the animal attacked him? He drew himself up to his most imposing stature, gripping the knife and staring hard at the bear. The bear advanced clumsily a couple of steps, reared up, and gave vent to a tentative growl. If the man ran, he would run after him; but the man did not run. He was animated now with the courage of fear. He, too, growled, savagely, terribly, voicing the fear that is to life germane and that lies twisted about life's deepest roots.
The bear edged away to one side (медведь отошел бочком в сторону; to edge away — отходить осторожно, бочком), growling menacingly (угрожающе рыча; menace — угроза; опасность; to menace — грозить, запугивать), himself appalled by this mysterious creature (сам напуганный этим таинственным существом) that appeared upright and unafraid (которое оказалось прямоходящим и бесстрашным; upright — вертикальный, прямой; afraid — боящийся). But the man did not move (но человек не двигался). He stood like a statue till the danger was past (он стоял, как статуя, пока не миновала опасность; past — прошлый, минувший; былой, истекший, прошедший), when he yielded to a fit of trembling and sank down into the wet moss (когда он поддался приступу дрожи и опустился в сырой мох).
He pulled himself together and went on (он собрался с духом и продолжил путь), afraid now in a new way (теперь боясь по-новому). It was not the fear that he should die passively from lack of food (это был не страх, что он умрет пассивно от нехватки пищи), but that he should be destroyed violently (а что он будет убит насильственно = насильственным образом; to destroy — разрушать; истреблять, уничтожать; лишать жизни, убивать) before starvation had exhausted the last particle of the endeavor in him that made toward surviving (прежде чем голод израсходует последнюю частицу того стремления в нем, которое толкало его к выживанию; to survive — выжить). There were the wolves (/там/ были волки). Back and forth across the desolation drifted their howls (взад и вперед по пустоши проносились их завывания; to drift — сноситься, смещаться, сдвигаться по ветру, по течению, дрейфовать), weaving the very air into a fabric of menace (сплетая сам воздух в волокно угрозы = соткав из самого воздуха угрозу; to weave a fabric — ткать) that was so tangible that he found himself, arms in the air (которая была так осязаема, что он обнаружил, что /поднял/ руки в воздух), pressing it back from him as it might be the walls of a wind-blown tent (отталкивая ее назад от себя, словно это были стены обдуваемой ветром палатки).
The bear edged away to one side, growling menacingly, himself appalled by this mysterious creature that appeared upright and unafraid. But the man did not move. He stood like a statue till the danger was past, when he yielded to a fit of trembling and sank down into the wet moss.
He pulled himself together and went on, afraid now in a new way. It was not the fear that he should die passively from lack of food, but that he should be destroyed violently before starvation had exhausted the last particle of the endeavor in him that made toward surviving. There were the wolves. Back and forth across the desolation drifted their howls, weaving the very air into a fabric of menace that was so tangible that he found himself, arms in the air, pressing it back from him as it might be the walls of a wind-blown tent.
Now and again the wolves, in packs of two and three, crossed his path (время от времени волки, стаями из двух и трех, пересекали ему путь; path — тропа). But they sheered clear of him (но они обходили его; to sheer — отклоняться от курса; clear of — в стороне, на расстоянии). They were not in sufficient numbers (они были в недостаточных количествах = их было недостаточно), and besides they were hunting the caribou (и, кроме того, они охотились на карибу), which did not battle (которые не сражались), while this strange creature that walked erect might scratch and bite (тогда как это странное существо, которое ходит прямо, может царапаться и
