"Aye, aye!" they all cried. "We would stand by you to the end (мы будем
помогать тебе до конца), for we should then owe our lives (будем тогда обязаны
жизнью), to you (вам)."
"Well, then," said the captain, "I will see what I can do. I will go and talk with the
governor."
The matter was soon arranged (вопрос был скоро улажен).
The captain was to choose (должен был выбрать) five of those he thought would
be most faithful (которым можно было больше всех доверять). These were to help him
retake the ship. But the rest were to stay in prison as hostages (как заложники).
If the five behaved themselves well, then all were to be set free (должны быть
отпущены на волю). If they did not behave, then all were to be put to death (обречены
на смерть, казнены).
These were the governor's orders (приказы губернатора).
It was then agreed (было соглашено = договорились) that the captain, with all
the men he could trust (со всеми людьми, которым он мог доверять), should go out to
the ship. I and my man Friday were to stay on shore to watch the prisoners (следить за
пленниками).
The hole in the bottom of the long boat was soon mended (дырка в днище
длинной лодки была скоро заделана). Four men, with the passenger as their leader,
went out in this (вышли в ней). The captain, with five men, went out in the other boat.
It was after midnight when they reached the ship (после полуночи достигли
корабля).
The men on board were taken by surprise (были застигнуты врасплох), for they
thought that these were their friends who were but just then returning to the ship (так как
думали, что это были друзья, которые как раз только возвращались на корабль).
Мультиязыковой проект Ильи Франка www
. f ranklang . r u
243
They even threw a rope (кинули веревку) to them and helped them on board,
never suspecting that anything was wrong (вовсе не подозревая, что что-то было не
так; wrong — неправильный).
The whole business was managed well (все это было проделано отлично). The
second mate and the carpenter (плотник), who were among the leaders in the plot (в
заговоре), were soon overpowered (пересилены = их одолели).
The rebel captain (мятежный капитан), the worst of the crew (самый худший из
команды), was asleep in his berth (спал на койке). He sprang up and showed fight
(«показал бой» = оказал сопротивление). He shot three times at the captain's party,
wounding the mate but touching no one else (ранив помощника, но не коснувшись
никого больше).
The mate, wounded as he was, raised his musket and fired (поднял мушкет и
выстрелил). The rebel captain fell to the deck with a bullet through his head (упал на
палубу с пулей /прошедшей/ через голову).
The rest, seeing that they were without leaders, fell upon their knees and begged
for their lives (упали на колени и просили сохранить им жизнь).
Thus the captain became again the master of his own ship (хозяином корабля).
boatswain [bausn] yield [ji:ld]
I AM CALLED GOVERNOR
BY my orders, Friday and the captain's mate hurried through the woods to the
little river where I had landed so long ago with my rafts.
When they had reached the place, they shouted as loudly as they could. The men
who were just getting into the boat heard them. They answered, and ran along the shore
toward the little river.
The three who had been left in the boat also rowed around toward the same place.
Near the mouth of the river, however, they came to land again, and one of them ran along
the bank of the stream to meet his fellows.
Мультиязыковой проект Ильи Франка www
. f ranklang . r u
244
At this moment I rushed forward with the captain, and seized the boat before the
two fellows who were in it could save themselves.
It was now almost dark, and we had nothing to do but wait till the seamen came
back to the shore to look for their boat.
Soon Friday and the captain's mate rejoined us, and I stood at the head of my little
army, listening to the seamen as they made their way through the bushes.
We could hear them calling to one another. We could hear them telling how lame
and tired they were. We could hear them saying that they were in an enchanted island
where there were witches and other kinds of uncanny things. All this pleased us very
much.
By and by they came to the shore, quite close to where we were standing.
One of the men whom they had left in the boat was standing with us. He was one
of the honest men whom the captain had pointed out, and he had joined us very gladly.
By my orders he now cried out, "Tom Smith! Tom Smith!" For that was the name
of the leader of the company.
Tom Smith answered at once, "Is that you, Robinson?" for he knew the voice.
"Yes," the other answered, "and for God's sake, Tom Smith, throw down your
arms and yield, or you will all be dead men the next minute."
"To whom must we yield?" cried Tom Smith. "Where are they?"
"Here they are," was the answer. "Here's our captain at the head of a whole army
of fighting men. The boatswain is dead, and Bill Fry is dead, and all the rest of us are
prisoners. If you don't yield, you are lost."
"If they'll give us quarters, we'll yield," said Smith.
Then the captain himself spoke up. "You, Smith," he said, "you know my voice. If
you lay down your arms at once, you shall have your lives — all but Will Atkins."
Upon this, Will Atkins cried out: "For God's sake, Captain, give me quarter! What
have I done? I have been no worse than the rest."
Now this was not true. For it was Will Atkins who had first laid hold of the
captain, and it was he who had tied the captain's hands.
"Nay, Will Atkins," said the captain. "You know what you have done, and I can
promise you nothing. You must lay down your arms and trust to the governor's mercy."
Мультиязыковой проект Ильи Франка www
. f ranklang . r u
245
By "the governor" he meant me, Robinson Crusoe — for they called me governor.
The upshot of the whole matter was that they all laid down their arms and begged
for their lives.
Then I sent three of my men to bind them with strong cords, which they did,
much to my joy.
After that I sent my great army of fifty men — which, after all, were only five
besides the three who already had them in charge — to lead them to prison.
I told the captain that it would be better to put some of our prisoners in one place
and some in another, as then they would be less likely to try to escape.