There was a long silence. The men looked in one another's faces, and Keesh went on eating.
"And… and… and wilt thou tell us, O Keesh (и ты расскажешь нам, о Киш)?" Klosh‑Kwan finally asked in a tremulous voice (Клош‑Кван наконец спросил дрожащим голосом).
"Yea, I will tell thee (да, я расскажу тебе)." Keesh finished sucking a marrow‑bone (Киш закончил высасывание мозговой кости) and rose to his feet (и поднялся на ноги). "It is quite simple (это довольно просто). Behold (смотри)!"
tremulous ['tremjulqs], behold [bI'hquld], marrow ['mxrqu]
"And… and… and wilt thou tell us, O Keesh?" Klosh‑Kwan finally asked in a tremulous voice.
"Yea, I will tell thee." Keesh finished sucking a marrow‑bone and rose to his feet. "It is quite simple. Behold!"
He picked up a thin strip of whalebone (он поднял тонкую полоску китового уса) and showed it to them (и показал ее всем). The ends were sharp as needle‑points (концы были острыми, как иглы). The strip he coiled carefully (эту полоску он скатал осторожно), till it disappeared in his hand (пока она не исчезла в его руке). Then, suddenly releasing it (затем внезапно освободил ее), it sprang straight again (она сразу распрямилась). He picked up a piece of blubber (он подобрал кусок тюленьего жира).
whalebone ['weIlbqun], carefully ['keqflI], releasing [rI'lJsIN], straight [streIt]
He picked up a thin strip of whalebone and showed it to them. The ends were sharp as needle‑points. The strip he coiled carefully, till it disappeared in his hand. Then, suddenly releasing it, it sprang straight again. He picked up a piece of blubber.
"So," he said, "one takes a small chunk of blubber (вот так, – он сказал, – нужно взять маленький кусочек тюленьего жира), thus, and thus makes it hollow (так и так делается в нем ямка; hollow – полый). Then into the hollow goes the whalebone (потом в эту ямку кладется китовый ус), so, tightly coiled (вот так, хорошенько свернутый), and another piece of blubber is fitted over the whalebone (и другой кусочек жира пристраивается сверху на этот китовый ус). After that it is put outside (после этого он выставляется наружу /на мороз/) where it freezes into a little round ball (где он замерзает в маленький круглый шарик). The bear swallows the little round ball (медведь глотает этот маленький круглый шарик), the blubber melts (жир плавится), the whalebone with its sharp ends stands out straight (китовый ус с его острыми концами распрямляется: «становится наружу прямо»), the bear gets sick (медведь становится больным), and when the bear is very sick (и когда медведь очень болен), why, you kill him with a spear (почему бы тебе и не убить его копьем). It is quite simple."
chunk [CANk], hollow ['hOlqu], spear ['spIq]
"So," he said, "one takes a small chunk of blubber, thus, and thus makes it hollow. Then into the hollow goes the whalebone, so, tightly coiled, and another piece of blubber is fitted over the whalebone. After that it is put outside where it freezes into a little round ball. The bear swallows the little round ball, the blubber melts, the whalebone with its sharp ends stands out straight, the bear gets sick, and when the bear is very sick, why, you kill him with a spear. It is quite simple."
And Ugh‑Gluk said "Oh!" and Klosh‑Kwan said "Ah!" And each said something after his own manner, and all understood (и каждый сказал что‑то по‑своему, и все поняли; to understand).
And this is the story of Keesh (и это сказание о Кише), who lived long ago on the rim of the polar sea (который жил давно на краю полярного моря). Because he exercised headcraft (и потому, что он применял смекалку) and not witchcraft (а не колдовство), he rose from the meanest igloo to be head man of his village (он поднялся из самой жалкой иглу до вождя своей деревни), and through all the years that he lived (и в течение всех лет, что он прожил), it is related, his tribe was prosperous (как рассказывают, его племя было процветающим), and neither widow nor weak one cried aloud in the night because there was no meat (и ни вдова, ни слабый /человек/ не плакали громко ночью, потому что не было мяса = из‑за нехватки мяса).
exercise ['eksqsaIz], through [TrH], prosperous ['prOsp(q)rqs]
And Ugh‑Gluk said "Oh!" and Klosh‑Kwan said "Ah!" And each said something after his own manner, and all understood.
And this is the story of Keesh, who lived long ago on the rim of the polar sea. Because he exercised headcraft and not witchcraft, he rose from the meanest igloo to be head man of his village, and through all the years that he lived, it is related, his tribe was prosperous, and neither widow nor weak one cried aloud in the night because there was no meat.
A DAY'S LODGING
(Однодневная стоянка)
It was the gosh‑dangdest stampede (это была сумасшедшая гонка = бегство; by gosh! – черт возьми /выражение изумления, досады/, dang it! – черт побери, stampede – паническое бегство) I ever seen (/которую/ я когда‑либо видел). A thousand dog‑teams hittin' the ice (тысяча собачьих упряжек двигалась с большой скоростью = мчалась по льду; to hit – бить). You couldn't see 'm fer smoke (вы не могли видеть их из‑за пара; smoke – туман, дымка; `m = them; fer = for). Two white men an' a Swede froze to death that night (два белых человека и швед замерзли насмерть той ночью; to freeze), an' there was a dozen busted their lungs (и дюжина: «там была дюжина» испортила /себе/ легкие; to bust – сломать, разрушить). But didn't I see with my own eyes the bottom of the water‑hole (но разве я не видел своими собственными глазами дно проруби)? It was yellow with gold like a mustard‑plaster (оно было желтое от золота, как горчичник). That's why I staked the Yukon for a minin' claim (вот почему я застолбил /участок/ на Юконе для заявки на открытие рудника; stake – кол, столб; рисковать; to stake out a claim – отмечать границы участка, заявлять права; mining – горный, рудный). That's what made the stampede (вот что послужило причиной гонки). An' then there was nothin' to it (а потом там ничего не оказалось: «было ничто»). That's what I said – NOTHIN' to it (вот что я сказал – ничего). An' I ain't got over guessin' yet (я так до сих пор и не знаю, чем это объяснить: «не перестал гадать об этом»; ain't – have not; to get over – преодолевать что‑либо, покончить с чем‑либо; guess – угадать, догадываться). – NARRATIVE OF SHORTY (рассказ Шорти).
stampede [stxm'pi: d], bust [bAst], guess [gqs]
It was the gosh‑dangdest stampede I ever seen. A thousand dog‑teams hittin' the ice. You couldn't see 'm fer smoke. Two white men an' a Swede froze to death that night, an' there was a dozen busted their lungs. But didn't I see with my own eyes the bottom of the water‑hole? It was yellow with gold like a mustard‑plaster. That's why I staked the Yukon for a minin' claim. That's what made the stampede. An' then there was nothin' to it. That's what I said – NOTHIN' to it. An' I ain't got over guessin' yet. – NARRATIVE OF SHORTY.
JOHN MESSNER clung with mittened hand to the bucking gee‑pole (Джон Месснер держался /одной/ рукой, /которая была/ в рукавице, за поворотный шест; to cling – цеплять/ся/, прилипать; buck – самец животного, gee – межд. но! пошел!) and held the sled in the trail (и направлял нарты по следу; to hold – держать; sled = sledge – сани, нарты; trail – след, тропа, тащить/ся/). With the other mittened hand he rubbed his cheeks and nose (другой рукой в рукавице он тер свои щеки и нос). He rubbed his cheeks and nose every little while (он тер свои щеки и нос то и дело: «каждый малый промежуток времени»). In point of fact, he rarely ceased from rubbing them (по сути дела, он редко переставал/прекращал тереть их), and sometimes, as their numbness increased, he rubbed fiercely (а иногда, когда их окоченение/онемение усиливалось, он тер неистово). His forehead was covered by the visor of his fur cap (его лоб был покрыт козырьком его меховой шапки), the flaps of which went over his ears (свешивающиеся концы которой закрывали его уши; to go over). The rest of his face was protected by a thick beard, golden‑brown under its coating of frost (остальное лицо: «остаток его лица» было защищено густой бородой, золотисто‑коричневой под покрывающим ее инеем).
mitten [mItn], rub [rAb], cease [sI: s], numbness ['nAmnIs], increase [In'krI: s]
JOHN MESSNER clung with mittened hand to the bucking gee‑pole and held the sled in the trail. With the other mittened hand he rubbed his cheeks and nose. He rubbed his cheeks and nose every little while. In point of fact, he rarely ceased from rubbing them, and sometimes, as their numbness increased, he rubbed fiercely. His forehead was covered by the visor of his fur cap, the flaps of which went over his ears. The rest of his face was protected by a thick beard, golden‑brown under its coating of frost.
Behind him churned a heavily loaded Yukon sled (позади него, раскачиваясь, скользили тяжело нагруженные юконские нарты; to churn – взбалтывать, вспенивать; сбивать масло) and before him toiled a string of five dogs (перед ним тащилась упряжка = вереница из пяти собак; to toil – с трудом идти, усиленно трудиться; string – веревка; струна). The rope by which they dragged the sled rubbed against the side of Messner's leg (веревка = постромка, которой они тянули нарты, терлась о ногу Месснера: «о сторону ноги Месснера»). When the dogs swung on a bend in the trail, he stepped over the rope (когда собаки поворачивали на изгибе дороги, он переступал через веревку; to swing – качать/ся/, вертеть/ся/). There were many bends, and he was compelled to step over it often (поворотов: «изгибов» было много, и он был вынужден переступать через нее часто). Sometimes he tripped on the rope, or stumbled (иногда он цеплялся за веревку или спотыкался), and at all times he was awkward (и всегда он был неуклюжим/неловким), betraying a weariness so great that the sled now and again ran upon his heels (/его движения/ выдавали огромную усталость: «выдавая усталость настолько большую», что нарты снова и снова наезжали ему на пятки = ноги; to run upon – натолкнуться, наскочить на что‑либо).
churn [tSq: n], compel [kqm'pql], stumble [stAmbl], awkward ['O: kwqd], weariness ['wIqrInIs]
Behind him churned a heavily loaded Yukon sled, and before him toiled a string of five dogs. The rope by which they dragged the sled rubbed against the side of Messner's leg. When the dogs swung on a bend in the trail, he stepped over the rope. There were many bends, and he was compelled to step over it often. Sometimes he tripped on the rope, or stumbled, and at all times he was awkward, betraying a weariness so great that the sled now and again ran upon his heels.
When he came to a straight piece of trail (когда он выехал на прямой участок: «кусок» дороги), where the sled could get along for a moment without guidance (где нарты могли продвигаться вперед некоторое время без управления), he let go the gee‑pole and batted his right hand sharply upon the hard wood (он отпустил шест и ударил свою правую руку резко по крепкому/твердому дереву; to let – позволять, разрешать). He found it difficult to keep up the circulation in that hand (он находил это трудным = было трудно поддерживать кровообращение в этой руке; to find; to keep – хранить, держать). But while he pounded the one hand (но пока/в то время как он колотил одну руку), he never ceased from rubbing his nose and cheeks with the other (он вовсе /не/ переставал/прекращал тереть свой нос и щеки другой / рукой/).
"It's too cold to travel, anyway (во всяком случае, слишком холодно, /чтобы/ разъезжать/передвигаться)," he said (сказал он). He spoke aloud, after the manner of men who are much by themselves (он говорил громко, как люди, привыкшие к одиночеству). "Only a fool would travel at such a temperature (только глупец/дурак будет разъезжать при такой температуре). If it isn't eighty below, it's because it's seventy‑nine (если /сейчас/ не восемьдесят /градусов/ ниже нуля, это потому, что семьдесят девять)."
guidance ['gQId(q)ns], circulation ["sq: kju'lqIS(q)n], pound [pQund]
When he came to a straight piece of trail, where the sled could get along for a moment without guidance, he let go the gee‑pole and batted his right hand sharply upon the hard wood. He found it difficult to keep up the circulation in that hand. But while he pounded the one hand, he never ceased from rubbing his nose and cheeks with the other.
"It's too cold to travel, anyway," he said. He spoke aloud, after the manner of men who are much by themselves. "Only a fool would travel at such a temperature. If it isn't eighty below, it's because it's seventy‑nine."
He pulled out his watch (он вытащил/достал свои часы; to pull – тянуть, тащить), and after some fumbling got it back into the breast pocket of his thick woollen jacket (и после того, как повертел их в руках, положил их обратно в нагрудный карман своей толстой шерстяной куртки). Then he surveyed the heavens (затем/потом он осмотрел/обозрел = посмотрел на небеса/небо) and ran his eye along the white sky‑line to the south (и пробежал своим глазом вдоль белой линии горизонта к югу /от него/; to run).
"Twelve o'clock (двенадцать часов)," he mumbled (пробормотал он), "A clear sky, and no sun (небо чистое, и нет солнца)."
He plodded on silently for ten minutes (он брел молча минут десять; plod – тяжелая походка, тяжелый путь; to plod on – тащиться, идти тяжело без остановок), and then, as though there had been no lapse in his speech, he added (а затем, как будто не было паузы в его речи, он добавил; lapse – промежуток времени; упущение):
"And no ground covered, and it's too cold to travel (и не продвинулся вперед: «и нет расстояния покрытого», и слишком холодно, /чтобы/ разъезжать)".
Suddenly he yelled "Whoa!" at the dogs, and stopped (внезапно он закричал на собак: «Хо‑о!» и остановился). He seemed in a wild panic over his right hand (ему показалось в диком ужасе: «панике», что его правая рука слишком /онемела/), and proceeded to hammer it furiously against the gee‑pole (и /он/ продолжил/возобновил стучать ею неистово о шест).
fumble [fAmbl], survey [sq:'vqI], lapse [lxps], proceed [prq'si: d]
He pulled out his watch, and after some fumbling got it back into the breast pocket of his thick woollen jacket. Then he surveyed the heavens and ran his eye along the white sky‑line to the south.
"Twelve o'clock," he mumbled, "A clear sky, and no sun."
He plodded on silently for ten minutes, and then, as though there had been no lapse in his speech, he added:
"And no ground covered, and it's too cold to travel."
Suddenly he yelled "Whoa!" at the dogs, and stopped. He seemed in a wild panic over his right hand, and proceeded to hammer it furiously against the gee‑pole.
"You – poor – devils (вы – бедные черти = бедняги)!" he addressed the dogs, which had dropped down heavily on the ice to rest (он обратился к собакам, которые упали тяжело на лед отдохнуть). This was a broken, jerky utterance, caused by the violence with which he hammered his numb hand upon the wood (это было прерывистое, резкое высказывание, вызванное усилием, с которым он колотил свою окоченевшую руку по дереву). "What have you done anyway (так или иначе, что вы сделали = чем вы провинились) that a two‑legged other animal should come along (что двуногие другие животные должны идти/сопровождать /вместе с вами/), break you to harness (приучать вас к упряжи; to break to), curb all your natural proclivities (обуздывать/сдерживать все ваши природные склонности = инстинкты), and make slave‑beasts out of you (и делать рабов‑животных из вас)?"
poor [puq], utterance ['Atqrqns], curb [kq: b], beast [bI: st]
"You – poor – devils!" he addressed the dogs, which had dropped down heavily on the ice to rest. His was a broken, jerky utterance, caused by the violence with which he hammered his numb hand upon the wood. "What have you done anyway that a two‑legged other animal should come along, break you to harness, curb all your natural proclivities, and make slave‑beasts out of you?"
He rubbed his nose (он тер свой нос), not reflectively, but savagely (не задумчиво, а свирепо/остервенело), in order to drive the blood into it (для того чтобы нагнать = вызвать прилив крови в него; to drive – гнать), and urged the dogs to their work again (и побудил = заставил собак к их работе снова). He travelled on the frozen surface of a great river (он передвигался/перемещался по замерзшей поверхности большой реки). Behind him it stretched away in a mighty curve of many miles (позади него она простиралась, /делая/ громадные изгибы = повороты, на много миль), losing itself in a fantastic jumble of mountains, snow‑covered and silent (теряясь в причудливой путанице гор, покрытых снегом и молчаливых/безмолвных; to lose; jumble – беспорядочная смесь, куча, беспорядок; смешивать/ся/). Ahead of him the river split into many channels (впереди него река делилась на множество рукавов; to split; channel – пролив, канал, русло) to accommodate the freight of islands it carried on its breast (/чтобы/ приспособиться к грузу островов, /которые/ она несла на своей груди; to accommodate – приспосабливать, давать пристанище; примирять; согласовывать). These islands were silent and white (эти острова были безмолвные и белые). No animals nor humming insects broke the silence (тишину /не/ нарушали ни звери, ни жужжащие насекомые; to break – ломать, прерывать /молчание/). No birds flew in the chill air (ни одна птица не пролетала в прохладном/неприятно холодном воздухе; to fly). There was no sound of man, no mark of the handiwork of man (там не было ни звука = голоса человека, ни следа ручной работы человека = человеческой деятельности). The world slept, and it was like the sleep of death (мир спал, и это было подобно сну смерти; to sleep).
savagely ['sxvIGlI], blood [blAd], surface ['sq: fIs], jumble [GAmbl], accommodate [q'kOmqdqIt]
He rubbed his nose, not reflectively, but savagely, in order to drive the blood into it, and urged the dogs to their work again. He travelled on the frozen surface of a great river. Behind him it stretched away in a mighty curve of many miles, losing itself in a fantastic jumble of mountains, snow‑covered and silent. Ahead of him the river split into many channels to accommodate the freight of islands it carried on its breast. These islands were silent and white. No animals nor humming insects broke the silence. No birds flew in the chill air. There was no sound of man, no mark of the handiwork of man. The world slept, and it was like the sleep of death.
John Messner seemed succumbing to the apathy of it all (Джон Месснер, казалось, поддался/уступил безразличию/апатии этого всего). The frost was benumbing his spirit (мороз сковывал его дух). He plodded on with bowed head (он тащился /вперед/ со склоненной головой), unobservant, mechanically rubbing nose and cheeks (невнимательный/ненаблюдательный, механически растирая нос и щеки), and batting his steering hand against the gee‑pole in the straight trail‑stretches (и колотя своей направляющей рукой по шесту на прямых пространствах = участках дороги; to steer – править рулем, управлять; следовать курсу; stretch – протяжение; вытягивание).
But the dogs were observant (но собаки были начеку: «внимательными»), and suddenly they stopped (и внезапно они остановились), turning their heads and looking back at their master out of eyes that were wistful and questioning (повернув их = свои головы и смотря назад на их хозяина глазами, которые были тоскливыми и вопрошающими). Their eyelashes were frosted white, as were their muzzles (их ресницы были белыми от мороза = выбелены морозом, как /и/ их морды), and they had all the seeming of decrepit old age, what of the frost‑rime and exhaustion (и они казались совсем дряхлыми из‑за морозного инея и изнеможения/истощения).
succumb [sq'kAm], benumb [bI'nAm], observant [qb'zq: vqnt], decrepit [dI'krqpIt], exhaustion [Ig'zO: stSqn]
John Messner seemed succumbing to the apathy of it all. The frost was benumbing his spirit. He plodded on with bowed head, unobservant, mechanically rubbing nose and cheeks, and batting his steering hand against the gee‑pole in the straight trail‑stretches.
But the dogs were observant, and suddenly they stopped, turning their heads and looking back at their master out of eyes that were wistful and questioning. Their eyelashes were frosted white, as were their muzzles, and they had all the seeming of decrepit old age, what of the frost‑rime and exhaustion.
The man was about to urge them on (человек собирался /было/ подстегнуть их), when he checked himself (когда он удержался), roused up with an effort (пробудился с усилием = собрался с силами), and looked around (и посмотрел вокруг). The dogs had stopped beside a water‑hole (собаки остановились около проруби), not a fissure, but a hole man‑made (не трещины, а отверстия, сделанного человеком), chopped laboriously with an axe through three and a half feet of ice (вырубленного старательно/тщательно топором сквозь три с половиной фута льда). A thick skin of new ice showed that it had not been used for some time (толстая корка нового льда показывала = свидетельствовала, что /прорубью/ не пользовались некоторое время). Messner glanced about him (Месснер мельком взглянул вокруг него = по сторонам). The dogs were already pointing the way (собаки уже указывали путь), each wistful and hoary muzzle turned toward the dim snow‑path (каждая тоскливая и седая = заиндевевшая морда /при этом/ повернулась по направлению к едва заметной снежной тропе) that left the main river trail and climbed the bank of the island (которая оставляла главный речной путь = ответвлялась от главного речного пути и взбиралась = подымалась вверх на берег острова; to leave).
"All right, you sore‑footed brutes (хорошо/ладно, вы, животные с больными лапами = бедняги)," he said. "I'll investigate (я разузнаю/исследую; I`ll = I shall). You're not a bit more anxious to quit than I am (вы ничуть /не/ более озабочены, /чтобы/ бросить/освободиться от /поездки/, чем я = я не менее вас хочу отдохнуть)."
fissure ['fISq], hoary ['hO: rI], muzzle [mAzl], laboriously [lq'bO: rIqslI]
The man was about to urge them on, when he checked himself, roused up with an effort, and looked around. The dogs had stopped beside a water‑hole, not a fissure, but a hole man‑made, chopped laboriously with an axe through three and a half feet of ice. A thick skin of new ice showed that it had not been used for some time. Messner glanced about him. The dogs were already pointing the way, each wistful and hoary muzzle turned toward the dim snow‑ path that left the main river trail and climbed the bank of the island.
"All right, you sore‑footed brutes," he said. "I'll investigate. You're not a bit more anxious to quit than I am."
He climbed the bank and disappeared (он поднялся/вскарабкался на берег и исчез). The dogs did not lie down (собаки не легли; to lie), but on their feet eagerly waited his return (но на своих лапах = стоя нетерпеливо ждали его возвращения). He came back to them (он вернулся к ним), took a hauling‑rope from the front of the sled (взял веревку/канат /для волочения/ с передка нарт; to haul – тянуть, тащить), and put it around his shoulders (и поместил ее вокруг своих плеч = накинул себе на плечи; to put – помещать, класть, ставить). Then he gee’d the dogs to the right (затем он повернул собак направо) and put them at the bank on the run (и у берега погнал их). It was a stiff pull (это было сильное напряжение; stiff – тугой; густой; непреклонный; сильный), but their weariness fell from them as they crouched low to the snow (но их усталость упала = оставила их, когда они припали низко к снегу; to fall), whining with eagerness and gladness as they struggled upward to the last ounce of effort in their bodies (скуля/воя = визжа от рвения/пыла и радости, в то время как они боролись до последней унции/капли усилия в их телах = до последнего). When a dog slipped or faltered (когда собака поскальзывалась или спотыкалась), the one behind nipped his hind quarters (другая сзади кусала ее за заднюю часть = за задние лапы; to nip – щипать; кусать). The man shouted encouragement and threats (человек выкрикивал ободрения и угрозы = своими криками то подбадривал собак, то угрожал им), and threw all his weight on the hauling‑rope (и налегал всем своим весом на веревку; to throw – бросать, кидать).
eagerly ['I: gqlI], crouch [krQutS], falter ['fO: ltq], threat [Trqt], encouragement [In'kArIGmqnt]
He climbed the bank and disappeared. The dogs did not lie down, but on their feet eagerly waited his return. He came back to them, took a hauling‑rope from the front of the sled, and put it around his shoulders. Then he gee’d the dogs to the right and put them at the bank on the run. It was a stiff pull, but their weariness fell from them as they crouched low to the snow, whining with eagerness and gladness as they struggled upward to the last ounce of effort in their bodies. When a dog slipped or faltered, the one behind nipped his hind quarters. The man shouted encouragement and threats, and threw all his weight on the hauling‑rope.
They cleared the bank with a rush (они проехали со стремлением = стремительно берег), swung to the left, and dashed up to a small log cabin (повернули налево и помчались/понеслись к маленькой бревенчатой хижине; to swing – качаться, размахивать). It was a deserted cabin of a single room, eight feet by ten on the inside (это была заброшенная хижина из одной комнаты площадью в восемь футов на десять). Messner unharnessed the animals, unloaded his sled and took possession (Месснер распряг животных = собак, разгрузил нарты и вступил во владение /жильем/; to take possession of – вступать во владение, овладевать). The last chance wayfarer had left a supply of firewood (последний случайный путник/странник оставил запас дров). Messner set up his light sheet‑iron stove and started a fire (Месснер установил = поставил свою легкую печку из тонкого листового железа и развел огонь; to set). He put five sun‑cured salmon into the oven to thaw out for the dogs (он положил пять вяленых на солнце семг/лососей в духовку, /чтобы/ оттаять/разморозить для собак), and from the water‑hole filled his coffee‑pot and cooking‑pail (и из проруби наполнил свой кофейник и кастрюлю; pail – ведро; бадья; кадка).
While waiting for the water to boil (ожидая, пока закипит вода), he held his face over the stove (он держал = склонил свое лицо над печкой; to hold). The moisture from his breath had collected on his beard and frozen into a great mass of ice (влага от его дыхания собралась на его бороде и замерзла в большую массу льда = кусок льда/сосульку), and this he proceeded to thaw out (и он принялся/продолжил оттаивать это = его). As it melted and dropped upon the stove (по мере того как он таял и падал на печь) it sizzled and rose about him in steam (он шипел и поднимался над ним паром; to rise). He helped the process with his fingers (он помогал процессу своими пальцами = помогал, отдирая сосульки), working loose small ice‑chunks (освобождая маленькие кусочки льда = сосульки) that fell rattling to the floor (которые падали стуча/гремя = со стуком на пол; to fall).
desert [dI'zq: t], possession [pq'zqS(q)n], thaw [TO: ], moisture ['mOIstSq], sizzle [sIzl]
They cleared the bank with a rush, swung to the left, and dashed up to a small log cabin. It was a deserted cabin of a single room, eight feet by ten on the inside. Messner unharnessed the animals, unloaded his sled and took possession. The last chance wayfarer had left a supply of firewood. Messner set up his light sheet‑iron stove and started a fire. He put five sun‑cured salmon into the oven to thaw out for the dogs, and from the water‑hole filled his coffee‑pot and cooking‑pail.