Герберт Уэллс - The Invisible Man

You must picture Mr. Thomas Marvel as a person of copious, flexible visage, a nose of cylindrical protrusion, a liquorish, ample, fluctuating mouth, and a beard of bristling eccentricity. His figure inclined to embonpoint , [1] 9.1 embonpoint [α:n´bɔ:ŋwæŋ] ( фр. ) — полнота his short limbs accentuated this inclination. He wore a furry silk hat, [2] 9.2 furry silk hat — мохнатый цилиндр and the frequent substitution of twine and shoelaces for buttons, [3] 9.3 the frequent substitution of twine and shoe-laces for buttons — замена во многих местах пуговиц бечёвкой и шнурками от ботинок apparent at critical points of his costume, marked a man essentially bachelor.

Mr. Thomas Marvel was sitting with his feet in a ditch by the roadside over the down towards Adderdean, about a mile and a half out of Iping. His feet, save for socks of irregular open-work, [4] 9.4 open-work — ажурная строчка ( зд. иронич. о дырах на носках) were bare, his big toes were broad, and pricked like the ears of a watchful dog. In a leisurely manner—he did everything in a leisurely manner—he was contemplating a pair of lace-up boots. They were the soundest boots he had come across for a long time, but too large for him, whereas those he had had were, in dry weather, a very comfortable fit, but too thin soled for damp. Mr. Thomas Marvel hated roomy boots, but then he hated damp. He had never properly thought out which he hated most, and it was a pleasant day, and there was nothing better to do. So he put the four boots in a graceful group on the turf, and looked at them. And seeing them there among the grass and springing agrimony, it suddenly occurred to him that both pairs were exceeding ugly to see. He was not at all startled by a voice behind him.

"They're boots, anyhow," said the Voice.

"They are—Charity Boots," said Mr. Thomas Marvel, with his head on one side regarding them distastefully; "and which is the ugliest pair in the whole blessed universe, I'm darned if I know!"

"H'm," said the Voice.

"I've worn worse—in fact, I've worn none. But none so owdacious ugly— [5] 9.5 owdacious (искажённое audaciously) ugly — ужасно безобразные ( букв. нагло безобразные) if you'll allow the expression. I've been cadging boots—in particular—for days, because I was sick of them . They're sound enough, of course. But a gentleman on tramp [6] 9.6 a gentleman on tramp — джентльмен, занимающийся бродяжничеством. Употребляя слово gentleman, Марвел как бы возвышает себя в собственных глазах. sees such a thundering [7] 9.7 thundering (вульг.) — «чертовски», «чертовский» lot of his boots. And if you'll believe me, I've raised nothing in the whole blessed county, try as I would, but them . Look at 'em! And a good county for boots, too, [8] 9.8 and good county for boots, too — да ещё и графство, в котором обычно достаёшь хорошие сапоги in a general way. But it's just my promiscuous luck. I've got my boots in this county ten years or more. And then they treat you like this."

"It's a beast of a county," said the Voice, "and pigs for people."

"Ain't it?" said Mr. Thomas Marvel. "Lord! But them boots! It beats it." [9] .9 It beats it (разг.) — Это будет «почище». См. также this beats ghosts «это будет пострашнее привидений». Ср. однако this fair beats me , где переносное разговорное значение to beat иное: «это выше моего понимания».

He turned his head over his shoulder to the right, to look at the boots of his interlocutor, with a view to comparisons, and lo! where the boots of his interlocutor should have been were neither legs nor boots. He turned his head over his shoulder to the left, and there also were neither legs nor boots. He was irradiated by the dawn of a great amazement. "Where are yer?" said Mr. Thomas Marvel over his shoulder, and coming on all fours. [10] 9.10 coming on all fours — становясь на четвереньки He saw a stretch of empty down, with the wind swaying the remote green-pointed furze bushes.

"Am I drunk?" said Mr. Marvel. "Have I had visions? Was I talking to myself? What the—"

"Don't be alarmed," said a Voice.

"None of your ventriloquising me ," said Mr. Thomas Marvel, rising sharply to his feet. "Where are yer? Alarmed, indeed!"

"Don't be alarmed," repeated the Voice.

" You'll be alarmed in a minute, you silly fool," said Mr. Thomas Marvel. "Where are yer? Lemme [11] 9.11 lemme — искажённое let me get my mark on yer…"

"Are yer buried ?" said Mr. Thomas Marvel after an interval.

There was no answer. Mr. Thomas Marvel stood bootless and amazed, his jacket nearly thrown off.

"Peewit," [12] 9.12 peewit — чибис. Звукоподражательное слово, обозначающее и птицу, и её крик said a peewit very remote.

"Peewit, indeed!" said Mr. Thomas Marvel. "This ain't no time for foolery." The down was desolate east and west, north and south; the road, with its shallow ditches and white bordering stakes, ran smooth and empty north and south, and, save for that peewit, the blue sky was empty too. "So help me," [13] 9.13 So help me. — восклицание удивления (сокращение фразы "so help me god") said Mr. Thomas Marvel, shuffling his coat on to his shoulders again. "It's the drink. I might ha' known."

"It's not the drink," said the Voice. "You keep your nerves steady."

"Ow!" said Mr. Marvel, and his face grew white amidst its patches. "It's the drink," his lips repeated noiselessly. He remained staring about him, rotating slowly backwards. "I could have swore I heard a voice," he whispered.

"Of course you did."

"It's there again," said Mr. Marvel, closing his eyes and clasping his hand on his brow with a tragic gesture. He was suddenly taken by the collar and shaken violently, and left more dazed than ever. "Don't be a fool!" said the Voice.

"I'm—off—my blooming—chump!" [14] 9.14 I'm off my blooming chump! ( вульг. ) — Я спятил. said Mr. Marvel.

"It's no good. It's fretting about them blarsted [15] 9.15 blarsted (или blasted) ( вульг. ) — чёртовы boots. I'm off my blessed, blooming chump. Or it's spirits!"

"Neither one thing nor the other," said the Voice. "Listen!"

"Chump!" said Mr. Marvel.

"One minute," said the Voice penetratingly, tremulous with self-control.

"Well?" said Mr. Thomas Marvel, with a strange feeling of having been dug in the chest by a finger.

"You think I'm just imagination—just imagination?"

"What else can you be?" said Mr. Thomas Marvel, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Very well," said the Voice in a tone of relief. "Then I'm going to throw flints at you till you think differently."

"But where are yer?"

The Voice made no answer. Whizz came a flint, [16] 9.16 whizz came a flint — (в воздухе) просвистел камень. Whizz — звукоподражательное слово для передачи звука летящего предмета. Особый характер употребления этого независимого члена предложения здесь (отсутствие запятой, которая отделяла бы его от всего предложения, и инверсия) приближает его к обстоятельственному слову. apparently out of the air, and missed Mr. Marvel's shoulder by a hair's breadth. Mr. Marvel, turning, saw a flint jerk up into the air, trace a complicated path, hang for a moment, and then fall at his feet with almost invisible rapidity. He was too amazed to dodge. Whizz it came, and ricocheted from a bare toe into the ditch. Mr. Thomas Marvel jumped a foot, and howled aloud. Then he started to run, tripped over an unseen obstacle, and came head over heels into a sitting position.