The mist that had obscured the top of die pylon was gone. The rising half moon shone on and through an amorphous thing, which squatted obscenely on the summit of the column. It was like a huge lump of quivering, semi-translucent jelly — and it lived. Life — throbbing, bloated life — pulsed within it. The moonlight glistened wetly upon it as it beat like a huge, living heart.
As Conan, frozen with horror, watched, the dweller on the top of die monolith sent a trickle of jelly groping down the shaft toward him (когда Конан, застывший от ужаса, наблюдал, /как/ обитатель вершины монолита выпустил струйку желе, двигаясь ощупью вниз по столбу к нему). The slippery pseudopod slithered over the smooth surface of the stone (скользкий псевдопод/ложноножка скользнул через/по гладкой поверхности камня). Conan began to understand the source of the stains that discolored the face of the monolith (Конан начал понимать источник пятен, которые обесцветили лик монолита).
horror [hr], surface ['s: fs], source [s: s]
As Conan, frozen with horror, watched, the dweller on the top of die monolith sent a trickle of jelly groping down the shaft toward him. The slippery pseudopod slithered over the smooth surface of the stone. Conan began to understand the source of the stains that discolored the face of the monolith.
The wind had changed (ветер переменился), and a vagrant down-draft wafted a sickening stench to Conan’s nostrils (и движущийся нисходящий поток воздуха донес тошнотворное зловоние до ноздрей Конана). Now he knew why the bones at the base of the shaft bore that oddly eaten appearance (теперь он знал, почему кости у основания колонны носили /на себе/ тот странно изъеденный вид). With a dread that almost unmanned him, he understood that the jellylike thing exuded a digestive fluid (со страхом, который почти лишил его мужества, он понял, что желеобразное существо испускала пищеварительную жидкость), by means of which it consumed its prey (посредством которой оно поглощало свою добычу). He wondered how many men, in ages past, had stood in his place (он спрашивал себя, сколько людей в прошедшие времена стояло на его месте), bound helplessly to the pillar and awaiting the searing caress of the abomination now descending toward him (прикованные беспомощно к столбу и ожидая жгучей ласки мерзости, теперь спускавшейся к нему).
dread [dred], fluid ['flu: d], past [p: st]
The wind had changed, and a vagrant down-draft wafted a sickening stench to Conan’s nostrils. Now he knew why the bones at the base of the shaft bore that oddly eaten appearance. With a dread that almost unmanned him, he understood that the jellylike thing exuded a digestive fluid, by means of which it consumed its prey. He wondered how many men, in ages past, had stood in his place, bound helplessly to the pillar and awaiting the searing caress of the abomination now descending toward him.
Perhaps Feng’s weird piping summoned it, or perhaps the odor of living flesh called it to feast (вероятно причудливые звуки /флейты/ Фэна вызвали его, или, возможно, запах живой плоти позвал его на пир). Whatever the cause, it had begun a slow, inching progress down the side of the shaft toward his face (какой бы ни была причина, оно начало медленное, дюйм за дюймом движение вниз по стороне колонны к его лицу;
perhaps [p'haeps], odor ['ud], cause [k: z]
Perhaps Feng’s weird piping summoned it, or perhaps the odor of living flesh called it to feast. Whatever the cause, it had begun a slow, inching progress down the side of the shaft toward his face. The wet jelly sucked and slobbered as it slithered slowly toward him.
Despair gave new strength to his cramped, tired muscles (отчаяние придало новые силы его сведенным судорогой, усталым мускулам). He threw himself from side to side (он бросался из стороны в сторону), striving with every last ounce of strength to break the grip of the mysterious force (борясь каждой последней унцией =
ounce [auns], break [brek], surprise [s'praz]
Despair gave new strength to his cramped, tired muscles. He threw himself from side to side, striving with every last ounce of strength to break the grip of the mysterious force. To his surprise, he found that, in one of his lunges, he slid to one