Howkan had fallen among the mission folk and been taught by them to read and write. In his hands he held the many fine sheets from which the man had read aloud, and which had been taken down by a clerk when Imber first made confession, through the mouth of Jimmy, to Captain Alexander. Howkan began to read. Imber listened for a space, when a wonderment rose up in his face and he broke in abruptly.
"That be my talk, Howkan (это мой рассказ, Хаукан). Yet from thy lips it comes (однако он слетает с твоих губ) when thy ears have not heard (хотя твои уши не слышали;
Howkan smirked with self-appreciation (Хаукан самодовольно ухмыльнулся;
"Thus it comes (так это получается)? It be there in the paper (это там на бумаге)?" Imber's voice sank in whisperful awe (голос Имбера понизился до благоговейного шепота) as he crackled the sheets 'twixt[7]
thumb and finger and stared at the charactery scrawled thereon (когда он похрустел листами между большим пальцем и указательным и вгляделся в символы, наспех написанные на нем;appreciation [q" prJSI'eISqn], thumb [TAm], charactery ['kxrqktqrI]
"That be my talk, Howkan. Yet from thy lips it comes when thy ears have not heard."
Howkan smirked with self-appreciation. His hair was parted in the middle. "Nay, from the paper it comes, O Imber. Never have my ears heard. From the paper it comes, through my eyes, into my head, and out of my mouth to thee. Thus it comes."
"Thus it comes? It be there in the paper?" Imber's voice sank in whisperful awe as he crackled the sheets 'twixt thumb and finger and stared at the charactery scrawled thereon. "It be a great medicine, Howkan, and thou art a worker of wonders."
"It be nothing, it be nothing (это пустяки, мелочь;
"It be true (это правда)," Imber interrupted breathlessly (задыхаясь, перебил Имбер). "He made much noise and would not die for a long time (он сильно шумел и долго не хотел умирать). But how dost thou know, Howkan (но откуда ты знаешь, Хаукан)? The chief man of the white men told thee, mayhap (может, тебе рассказал начальник белых людей)? No one beheld me (никто не видел меня;
hazard ['hxzqd], document ['dOkjumqnt], dost [dAst]
"It be nothing, it be nothing," the young man responded carelessly and pridefully. He read at hazard from the document: