Человек, который смеется / The Man Who Laughs. Уровень 4

”

“Then,” said the chief, “we must make for land[20 - make for land – плыть к берегу].”

“Where is the land?”

“I don’t know.”

“Nor I.”

“But it must be somewhere.”

“True enough.”

“Let some one steer for it.”

“We have no pilot.”

“Stand to the tiller yourself.”

“We have lost the tiller.”

“Let’s make one. Nails – a hammer – quick – some tools.”

“The carpenter’s box is overboard, we have no tools.”

“We’ll steer all the same, no matter where.

“The rudder is lost.”

“We’ll row the wreck.”

“We have lost the oars.”

“We’ll sail.”

“We have lost the sails and the mast.”

“We’ll make one.”

“There is no wind.”

The wind, indeed, had left them, the storm had fled; and its departure, which they had believed to mean safety, meant, in fact, destruction. The swiftness of the storm might enable them to reach land; but no more wind, no more hope. They were going to die because the hurricane was over.

The chief said,

“Let us lighten the wreck.”

They took the luggage, and threw it over the gunwale. Thus they emptied the cabin. The lantern, the cap, the barrels, the sacks, the bales, and the water-butts, the pot of soup, all went over into the waves.

The wreck was lightened, it was sinking more slowly, but none the less surely.

“Is there anything else we can throw overboard?”

“Yes”, said the old man.

“What?” asked the chief.

“Our Crime. Let us throw our crimes into the sea, they weigh us down; it is they that are sinking the ship. Our last crime, above all, the crime which we committed.”

The old man put down the pen and inkhorn on the hood of the companion, unfolded the parchment, and said, -

“Listen.”

The doomed men bowed their heads around him. What he read was written in English. The wreck was sinking more and more.

“Come, and sign.”

The Basque woman approached, took the pen, and signed herself. She handed the pen to the Irish woman, who, not knowing how to write, made a cross. Then she handed the pen to the chief of the band. The chief signed. The Genoese signed himself under the chief’s name. The others signed, too.

Then they folded the parchment and put it into the flask.