were demolishing something with axes on the beach near the stockade; the
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poor jolly-boat, I afterwards discovered. Away, near the mouth of the river, a
great fire was glowing among the trees, and between that point and the ship
one of the gigs kept coming and going, the men, whom I had seen so gloomy,
shouting at the oars like children. But there was a sound in their voices which
suggested rum.
3. At length I thought I might return towards the stockade. I was pretty far
down on the low, sandy spit that encloses the anchorage to the east, and is
joined at half-water to Skeleton Island; and now, as I rose to my feet, I saw,
some distance further down the spit, and rising from among low bushes, an
isolated rock, pretty high, and peculiarly white in colour. It occurred to me
that this might be the white rock of which Ben Gunn had spoken, and that
some day or other a boat might be wanted, and I should know where to look
for one.
1. Then I skirted among the woods (затем я прошел по опушке леса;
rear, or shoreward side, of the stockade (пока не вернулся к задней, или
лежащей ближе к берегу, стороне частокола;
сердечно встречен /своей/ верной компанией).
2. I had soon told my story, and began to look about me (в скором времени я
рассказал /им/ свою историю = о своих приключениях и стал осматриваться
вокруг). The log-house was made of unsquared trunks of pine — roof, walls, and
floor (рубленый дом был построен из необработанных стволов сосны — /и/
крыша, /и/ стены, /и/ пол;
latter stood in several places as much as a foot or a foot and a half above the
surface of the sand (последний /из названных/ = пол в нескольких местах
возвышался на фут или полтора фута над поверхностью песка;
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крыльцо), and under this porch the little spring welled up into an artificial basin of
a rather odd kind (и под этим крыльцом маленький источник изливался в
искусственный бассейн весьма странного вида) — no other than a great ship's
kettle of iron (не что иное, как огромный корабельный чугунный котел;
bottom knocked out (с выбитым дном), and sunk 'to her bearings,' as the captain
said, among the sand (зарытый в песок «по /самую/ ватерлинию», как говорил
капитан;
3. Little had been left beside the framework of the house (мало /что/ было
оставлено, кроме корпуса дома = в доме было почти пусто); but in one corner
there was a stone slab laid down by way of hearth (в одном углу лежала
каменная плита, служившая очагом: «положенная в качестве очага»;
старая ржавая железная корзина, чтобы сдерживать/содержать огонь = в
качестве камина).
shoreward [`SLwqd] unsquared [An`skweqd] basin [`beIsn] hearth [hRT]
1. Then I skirted among the woods until I had regained the rear, or shoreward
side, of the stockade, and was soon warmly welcomed by the faithful party.