His hollow cheeks betrayed themselves through the scraggly beard, and his eyes seemed to have retired into deep caverns where they burned with cold fires. His hands were grained from exposure and hard work, and the nails were rimmed with tight-packed dirt and coal dust. He spoke vaguely of eggs and ice-packs, winds and tides; but when they declined to let him have more than a second thousand, his talk became incoherent, concerning itself chiefly with the price of dogs and dog-food, and such things as snowshoes and moccasins and winter trails. They let him have fifteen hundred, which was more than the cottage warranted, and breathed easier when he scrawled his signature and passed out the door.
Two weeks later he went over Chilkoot with three dog sleds of five dogs each (две недели спустя он перевалил через Чилкут на трех санях, /запряженных/ собаками, пятью собаками каждая = на трех собачьих упряжках, по пять собак в каждой). One team he drove (одной упряжкой правил он), the two Indians with him driving the others (а два индейца, /которые были/ с ним правили остальными). At Lake Marsh they broke out the cache and loaded up (у озера Марш они раскрыли тайник и загрузились; to break out — раскрывать, распечатывать). But there was no trail (но не оказалось тропы). He was the first in over the ice (он первым ступил на лед), and to him fell the task of packing the snow and hammering away through the rough river jams (и на него легла задача утрамбовывать снег и пробиваться через ухабистые речные заторы; to hammer away — бить, ударять; долбить). Behind him he often observed a camp-fire smoke trickling thinly up through the quiet air (позади себя он часто наблюдал дым от лагерного костра, поднимавшийся тонкой струйкой в неподвижном воздухе; to trickle — течь тонкой струйкой, сочиться), and he wondered why the people did not overtake him (и удивлялся, почему люди не обгоняют его). For he was a stranger to the land and did not understand (ибо он был чужаком в этих краях и не понимал). Nor could he understand his Indians (не мог он понять и своих индейцев) when they tried to explain (когда они пытались объяснить). This they conceived to be a hardship (это они считали трудностями = тяжелым трудом), but when they balked and refused to break camp of mornings (но когда они артачились и отказывались сворачивать стоянку по утрам; to balk — артачиться; упираться), he drove them to their work at pistol point (он подталкивал их к работе = заставлял их работать под дулом пистолета; at pistol point — под дулом пистолета, под угрозой пистолета).
Two weeks later he went over Chilkoot with three dog sleds of five dogs each. One team he drove, the two Indians with him driving the others. At Lake Marsh they broke out the cache and loaded up. But there was no trail. He was the first in over the ice, and to him fell the task of packing the snow and hammering away through the rough river jams. Behind him he often observed a camp-fire smoke trickling thinly up through the quiet air, and he wondered why the people did not overtake him. For he was a stranger to the land and did not understand. Nor could he understand his Indians when they tried to explain. This they conceived to be a hardship, but when they balked and refused to break camp of mornings, he drove them to their work at pistol point.
When he slipped through an ice bridge near the White Horse and froze his foot (когда он проскользнул = провалился сквозь ледяную перемычку возле Белой Лошади и отморозил ступню; to freeze — замораживать), tender yet and oversensitive from the previous freezing (еще болезненную и сверхчувствительную от прошлого обморожения), the Indians looked for him to lie up (индейцы ожидали, что он будет отлеживаться; to look for — искать; ожидать, надеяться; to lie up — лежать, не выходить /из-за болезни/). But he sacrificed a blanket (но он пожертвовал одеялом), and, with his foot incased in an enormous moccasin, big as a water-bucket (и, вставив ногу в огромный мокасин, величиной с ведро для воды), continued to take his regular turn with the front sled (продолжал идти, как обычно, с передними нартами; to take a turn — прогуляться). Here was the cruelest work (вот это был тягчайший труд; cruel — жестокий; тяжелый, тяжкий), and they respected him (и они зауважали его), though on the side they rapped their foreheads with their knuckles and significantly shook their heads (хотя в стороне они постукивали костяшками пальцев себе по лбу и со значением качали головами). One night they tried to run away (однажды ночью они попытались убежать), but the zip-zip of his bullets in the snow brought them back (но свист пуль в снегу вернул их), snarling but convinced (сердито ворчащих, но убежденных /его аргументами/). Whereupon, being only savage Chilkat men (после чего, будучи лишь дикими чилкатами), they put their heads together to kill him (они сговорились убить его; to put together — соединять; сопоставлять; to put one’s heads together — сговориться); but he slept like a cat (но он спал /чутко/, как кот), and, waking or sleeping (и бодрствовал он или спал), the chance never came (шанс никогда = так и не представился). Often they tried to tell him the import of the smoke wreath in the rear (часто они пытались рассказать ему о значение клубов дыма позади), but he could not comprehend and grew suspicious of them (но он не мог понять и стал к ним подозрительным). And when they sulked or shirked (и когда они сердились или отлынивали /от работы/; to sulk — дуться; быть сердитым, мрачным, угрюмым), he was quick to let drive at them between the eyes (он быстро целился им между глаз; to let drive at — метить, направлять удар в), and quick to cool their heated souls with sight of his ready revolver (и быстро охлаждал их разгоряченные души видом своего готового /к действию/ револьвера).
When he slipped through an ice bridge near the White Horse and froze his foot, tender yet and oversensitive from the previous freezing, the Indians looked for him to lie up. But he sacrificed a blanket, and, with his foot incased in an enormous moccasin, big as a water-bucket, continued to take his regular turn with the front sled. Here was the cruelest work, and they respected him, though on the side they rapped their foreheads with their knuckles and significantly shook their heads. One night they tried to run away, but the zip-zip of his bullets in the snow brought them back, snarling but convinced. Whereupon, being only savage Chilkat men, they put their heads together to kill him; but he slept like a cat, and, waking or sleeping, the chance never came. Often they tried to tell him the import of the smoke wreath in the rear, but he could not comprehend and grew suspicious of them. And when they sulked or shirked, he was quick to let drive at them between the eyes, and quick to cool their heated souls with sight of his ready revolver.
And so it went (и так оно шло) — with mutinous men, wild dogs, and a trail that broke the heart (несмотря на бунтующих людей, диких собак и тропу, которая сильно огорчала; mutiny — мятеж, бунт; to break smb.’s heart — разбить чье-то сердце, сильно огорчить, расстроить). He fought the men to stay with him (он воевал с людьми, чтобы они остались с ним), fought the dogs to keep them away from the eggs (сражался с собаками, чтобы не подпустить их близко к яйцам), fought the ice, the cold, and the pain of his foot (боролся со льдом, холодом и болью в ноге), which would not heal (которая не заживала). As fast as the young tissue renewed (с той же скоростью, как молодая ткань восстанавливалась), it was bitten and seared by the frost (ее щипал и обжигал мороз; to bite — щипать /о морозе/; разъедать), so that a running sore developed (поэтому распространялась гноящаяся рана; running sore — открытая рана, гноящаяся рана; to develop — распространяться, развиваться /о болезни, эпидемии и т.п./), into which he could almost shove his fist (в которую он почти мог впихнуть кулак). In the mornings, when he first put his weight upon it (по утрам, когда он впервые переносил свой вес на нее), his head went dizzy (у него кружилась голова), and he was near to fainting from the pain (и он чуть не терял сознание от боли); but later on in the day it usually grew numb (но позже днем она обычно немела), to recommence when he crawled into his blankets and tried to sleep (чтобы опять начать /мучить/, когда он заползал в одеяла и пытался
