The moon dimmed suddenly as high-piled storm clouds again darkened her ageless face (луна потускнела вдруг, когда многоярусные грозовые тучи снова затемнили ее вечный лик). Distant thunder grumbled (загрохотал далекий гром), and Conan's searching gaze caught the sulphurous flicker of lightning among the boiling masses of cloud (и ищущий взгляд Конана уловил зеленовато-желтое мерцание света среди вскипающих масс туч). One of those quick, tempestuous thunderstorms of the savanna was about to break (одна из тех быстрых, бурных гроз саванны была готова разразиться;
sulphurous ['slfrs], quick [kwk], savanna [s'vaen]
The moon dimmed suddenly as high-piled storm clouds again darkened her ageless face. Distant thunder grumbled, and Conan's searching gaze caught the sulphurous flicker of lightning among the boiling masses of cloud. One of those quick, tempestuous thunderstorms of the savanna was about to break.
Conan hesitated (Конан заколебался). On the one hand, curiosity and a desire for shelter from the coming storm drew him to the crumbled stronghold (с одной стороны любопытство и желание убежища от приближающейся грозы тянуло его к разрушенной твердыне). On the other, his barbarian's mind held a deep- rooted aversion to the supernatural (с другой /стороны/ его варварский ум держал =
other ['d], aversion ['v: n], panic ['paenk]
Conan hesitated. On the one hand, curiosity and a desire for shelter from the coming storm drew him to the crumbled stronghold. On the other, his barbarian's mind held a deep-rooted aversion to the supernatural. Toward earthly, mortal dangers he was fearless to the point of rashness, but otherworldly perils could send the tendrils of panic quivering along his nerves. And something about this mysterious structure hinted at the supernatural. He could feel its menace in the deepest layers of his consciousness.
A louder rumble of thunder decided him (более громкий грохот грома заставил его решиться). Taking an iron grip on his nerves, he strode confidently into the dark portal (взявшись железной хваткой за =
thunder ['nd], grip [rp], steel [sti: l]
A louder rumble of thunder decided him. Taking an iron grip on his nerves, he strode confidently into the dark portal, naked steel in hand, and vanished within.
4. The Serpent Men
(Люди-змеи)
Conan prowled the length of the high-vaulted hall, finding nothing that lived (Конан проверил протяженность зала с высоким сводом, /не/ найдя ничего живого: «что жило»). Dust and dead leaves littered the black pave (пыль и мертвые листья засорили черную плитку). Moldering rubbish was heaped in the corners and around the bases of towering stone columns (тлеющий мусор накопился в углах и вокруг оснований возвышающихся каменных колонн;
hall [h: l], dust [dst], centuries ['sentrz]
Conan prowled the length of the high-vaulted hall, finding nothing that lived. Dust and dead leaves littered the black pave. Moldering rubbish was heaped in the corners and around the bases of towering stone columns. However old this pile of masonry was, evidently no living thing had dwelt therein for centuries.