"It's Harry's hand (это рука Гарри)." He read it through (он прочитал ее до конца; through — сквозь). "I don't see anything wrong (я не вижу чего-либо плохого)."
"No, but now read this note from Harbin to Kurtz (но теперь прочтите эту записку от Харбина к Куртцу)—which we dictated (которую мы продиктовали). Look at the date (посмотрите на дату). This is the result (это результат)."
He read them both through twice (он прочитал их обе дважды). "You see what I mean (вы видите, что я имею в виду)?" If one watched a world come to an end (если человек бы смотрел, как мир приходит к концу), a plane dive from its course (как самолет падает со своего курса), I don't suppose one would chatter (я не предполагаю, он бы болтал), and a world for Martins had certainly come to an end (а мир для Мартинса определенно пришел к концу), a world of easy friendship (мир легкой дружбы), hero-worship (преклонения перед героем), confidence (доверия) that had begun twenty years before (которые начались двадцать лет прежде; to begin — начинать/ся/) ... in a school corridor (в школьном коридоре). Every memory (каждое воспоминание)—afternoons in the long grass (дни в длинной траве), the illegitimate shoots on Brickworth Common (недозволенные выстрелы на Брикуорт Коммон), the dreams, the walks (мечты, прогулки), every shared experience was simultaneously tainted (каждый разделенный опыт был одновременно заражен; taint — пятно; to taint — окрашивать, влиять, придавать оттенок чего-л.; заражать/ся/; портить/ся/), like the soil of an atomised town (словно почва города, испытавшего ядерный удар: «атомизированного города»). One could not walk there with safety for a long while (человек не мог ходить там в безопасности в течение долгого времени). While he sat there (пока он сидел там), looking at his hands and saying nothing (глядя на свои руки и ничего не говоря), I fetched a precious bottle of whisky out of a cupboard (я принес драгоценную бутылку виски из шкафа; cupboard — буфет, сервант, горка, шкаф /часто расположенный в углу комнаты или в нише, с полками, для хранения посуды, книг и т. п./) and poured out two large doubles (и налил два больших двойных). "Go on (давайте)," I said, "drink that (выпейте это)," and he obeyed me as though I were his doctor (и он послушался меня, словно я был его доктором). I poured him out another (я налил ему еще один: «другой»).
distinguish [dIs'tINwIS], position [pq'zIS(q)n], agent ['eIG(q)nt], bother ['bODq], similar ['sImIlq], secret ['si:krIt], screw [skru:], connection [kq'nekS(q)n], relief [rI'lIf], experience [Ik'spIqrIqns], simultaneous ["sIm(q)l'teInIqs], cupboard ['kAbqd], pour [pO:], double [dAbl], obey [q'beI]
"Just wait," I said. For some reason Harry Lime had grown careless: he may have realised that we suspected him and got rattled. He held a quite distinguished position and a man like that is the more easily rattled. We put one of our agents as an orderly in the British Military Hospital: we knew by this time the name of our go-between, but we had never succeeded in getting the line right back to the source. Anyway I am not going to bother the reader now, as I bothered Martins then, with all the stages—the long tussle to win the confidence of the go-between—a man called Harbin. At last we had the screws on Harbin, and we twisted them until he squealed. This kind of police work is very similar to secret service work: you look for a double agent whom you can really control, and Harbin was the man for us. But even he only led us as far as Kurtz.
"Kurtz," Martins exclaimed. "But why haven't you pulled him in?"
"Zero hour is almost here," I said.
Kurtz was a great step forward, for Kurtz was in direct communication with Lime—he had a small outside job in connection with relief work. With Kurtz, Lime sometimes put things on paper—if he was pressed. I showed Martins the Photostat of a note. "Can you identify that?"
"It's Harry's hand." He read it through. "I don't see anything wrong."
"No, but now read this note from Harbin to Kurtz —which we dictated. Look at the date. This is the result."
He read them both through twice. "You see what I mean?" If one watched a world come to an end, a plane dive from its course, I don't suppose one would chatter, and a world for Martins had certainly come to an end, a world of easy friendship, hero-worship, confidence that had begun twenty years before ... in a school corridor. Every memory—afternoons in the long grass, the illegitimate shoots on Brickworth Common, the dreams, the walks, every shared experience was simultaneously tainted, like the soil of an atomised town. One could not walk there with safety for a long while. While he sat there, looking at his hands and saying nothing, I fetched a precious bottle of whisky out of a cupboard and poured out two large doubles. "Go on," I said, "drink that," and he obeyed me as though I were his doctor. I poured him out another.
He said slowly (он сказал медленно), "Are you certain (вы уверены) that he was the real boss (что он был настоящим боссом)?"
"It's as far back as we have got so far (это так далеко назад, как мы добрались пока что = насколько мы могли проследить, кто руководит)."
"You see he was always apt to jump before he looked (видите ли, он был всегда склонен прыгнуть прежде, чем он посмотрел)."
I didn't contradict him (я не возражал ему), though that wasn't the impression he had before given of Lime (хотя это не было тем впечатлением, которое ему до этого дали о Лайме). He was searching round for some comfort (он искал немного утешения; round — вокруг).
"Suppose (предположим)," he said, "someone had got a line on him (кто-то получил сведения о нем: «получил линию на него»), forced him into this racket (втянул: «принудил» его в эту аферу), as you forced Harbin to doublecross (как вы принудили Харбина к предательству своих; to doublecross — обмануть, перехитрить)..."
"It's possible (это возможно)."
"And they murdered him in case he talked when he was arrested (и они убили его, на случай если он заговорил бы, когда он был бы арестован)."
"It's not impossible (это не невозможно)."
"I'm glad they did (я рад, что они /это/ сделали)," he said. "I wouldn't have liked to hear Harry squeal (мне бы не понравилось услышать, как Гарри доносит: «услышать Гарри стучать»)." He made a curious little dusting movement with his hand on his knee (он сделал забавное маленькое стряхивающее движение своей рукой по своему колену) as much as to say (как бы говоря: «так много, как чтобы сказать»), "That's that (так-то вот; that's that — ничего не поделаешь; так-то вот)." He said, "I'll be getting back to England (я возвращаюсь назад в Англию)."
"I'd rather you didn't (я бы предпочел, чтобы вы не делали /этого/; ’d = would — бы; rather — скорее) just yet (именно в данный момент: «только/именно пока»). The Austrian police would make an issue (австрийская полиция заведет дело) if you tried to leave Vienna at the moment (если вы попытаетесь покинуть Вену в настоящий момент). You see (видите ли), Cooler's sense of duty (чувство долга Кулера) made him call them up too (заставило его позвонить им тоже)."
"I see (понятно)," he said hopelessly (сказал он безнадежно).
"When we've found the third man (когда мы найдем третьего человека)..." I said.
"I'd like to hear him squeal (хотел бы я услышать, как он пищит = как он расколется)," he said. "The bastard (ублюдок). The bloody bastard (проклятый ублюдок; bloody — окровавленный; кровавый; проклятый)."
doublecross ['dAbl'krOs], arrest [q'rest], curious ['kjuqrIqs], issue ['ISu:], contradict ["kOntrq'dIkt], ['], ['], ['], ['], ['], ['], ['], ['], ['], ['], ['], ['], ['], ['], ['], [']
He said slowly, "Are you certain that he was the real boss?"
"It's as far back as we have got so far."
"You see he was always apt to jump before he looked."
I didn't contradict him, though that wasn't the impression he had before given of Lime. He was searching round for some comfort.
"Suppose," he said, "someone had got a line on him, forced him into this racket, as you forced Harbin to doublecross ..."
"It's possible."
"And they murdered him in case he talked when he was arrested."
"It's not impossible."
"I'm glad they did," he said. "I wouldn't have liked to hear Harry squeal." He made a curious little dusting movement with his hand on his knee as much as to say, "That's that." He said, "I'll be getting back to England."
"I'd rather you didn't just yet. The Austrian police would make an issue if you tried to leave Vienna at the moment. You see, Cooler's sense of duty made him call them up too."
"I see," he said hopelessly.
"When we've found the third man ..." I said.
"I'd like to hear him squeal," he said. "The bastard. The bloody bastard."
11
AFTER HE left me (после того, как он покинул меня/ушел от меня), Martins went straight off (Мартинс пошел сразу же; straight off — сразу, не обдумав: «прямо прочь») to drink himself silly (чтобы напиться до одури: «чтобы пить себя глупым»). He chose the Oriental to do it in (он выбрал Ориенталь, чтобы сделать это), the dreary smoky little night club (унылый, дымный, маленький ночной клуб; dreary — унылый; тоскливый; безотрадный; скучный, неинтересный) that stands behind a sham Eastern façade (который стоит за фальшивым восточным фасадом). The same semi-nude photographs on the stairs (те же полуголые фотографии на лестнице), the same half-drunk Americans at the bar (те же полупьяные американцы в баре), the same bad wine and extraordinary gins (то же плохое вино и необычные джины = сорта джина)—he might have been (он мог бы быть) in any third rate night haunt (в любом третьеразрядном ночном заведении) in any other shabby capital of a shabby Europe (в любой другой потрепанной столице потрепанной Европы; shabby — поношенный; потрепанный, протертый /об одежде, мебели и т. п./; убогий, захудалый). At one point of the hopeless early hours (в один /определенный/ момент безнадежно ранних часов; point — точка) the International Patrol took a look at the scene (интернациональный патруль смотрел: «брал взгляд» на обстановку). Martins had drink after drink (Мартинс пил стакан за стаканом: «напиток после напитка»): he would probably have had a woman too (он бы, возможно, снял и /какую-нибудь/ женщину), but the cabaret performers had all gone home (но артистки кабаре все ушли домой), and there were practically no women left in the place (и не было практически никаких женщин, оставшихся в этом месте), except for one beautiful shrewd-looking French journalist (кроме одной красивой, проницательно выглядевшей французской журналистки) who made one remark to her companion (которая высказала одно замечание своему компаньону) and fell contemptuously asleep (и презрительно заснула; contempt — презрение; to fall asleep — засыпать).
Martins moved on (Мартинс двинулся дальше): at Maxim's a few couples were dancing rather gloomily (/в ресторане/ Максима танцевали довольно уныло несколько пар), and at a place called Chez Victor (а в месте под названием У Виктора /франц./) the heating had failed (отопление вышло из строя; to fail — недоставать, не хватать /о чем-л. необходимом или желательном/, иметь недостаток в чем-л; истощаться, вырабатываться, растрачиваться; перестать действовать, выйти из строя) and people sat in overcoats drinking cocktails (и люди сидели в пальто и пили коктейли). By this time (к этому времени) the spots were swimming in front of Martins' eyes (перед глазами Мартинса поплыли крапинки = все стало расплываться; spot — пятнышко; крапинка), and he was oppressed by a sense of loneliness (и он был подавлен чувством одиночества). His mind reverted to the girl in Dublin (его мысли возвращались к девушке в Дублине), and the one in Amsterdam (и девушке в Амстердаме). That was one thing that didn't fool you (это была единственная вещь, которая не дурачила тебя)—the straight drink (чистая: «прямая = неразбавленная» выпивка; straight — неизогнутый, прямой /без искривлений/; честный; чистый, неразбавленный /особ. об алкогольных напитках/), the simple physical act (простой физический акт): one didn't expect fidelity from a woman (ты не ждешь верности от женщины). His mind revolved in circles (его мысли вращались кругами)—from sentiment to lust (от сентиментальности к вожделению; sentiment — чувство; сентиментальность) and back again from belief to cynicism (и назад снова от веры к цинизму).
