“I cannot keep her head for the stockade, sir (я не могу править ее /лодку/ на частокол, сэр),” said I to the captain (сказал я капитану). I was steering, while he and Redruth, two fresh men, were at the oars (я правил рулем, пока он и Редрут, два бодрых человека, были на веслах = гребли). “The tide keeps washing her down (течение продолжает сносить лодку; tide — прилив, отлив, течение, поток). Could you pull a little stronger (вы можете грести немного сильнее)?”

“Not without swamping the boat (не без затопления лодки = если приналяжем, лодку зальет),” said he. “you must bear up, sir, if you please (вы должны держаться прямо против течения, сэр, будьте добры = вы уж постарайтесь; to bear up — спускаться под ветер) — bear up until you see you’re gaining (держите против ветра, пока не ляжем на нужный курс; to gain — добиться, достичь).”

current [`kArqnt] seaward [`sJwqd] craft [krRft] swamping [`swOmpIN]

In the second place, the ebb was now making-a strong rippling current running westward through the basin, and then south’ard and seaward down the straits by which we had entered in the morning. Even the ripples were a danger to our overloaded craft; but the worst of it was that we were swept out of our true course, and away from our proper landing-place behind the point. If we let the current have its way we should come ashore beside the gigs, where the pirates might appear at any moment.

“I cannot keep her head for the stockade, sir,” said I to the captain. I was steering, while he and Redruth, two fresh men, were at the oars. “The tide keeps washing her down. Could you pull a little stronger?”

“Not without swamping the boat,” said he. “you must bear up, sir, if you please — bear up until you see you’re gaining.”

I tried, and found by experiment (я попробовал и обнаружил опытным путем) that the tide kept sweeping us westward (что течение продолжало сносить к западу) until I had laid her head due east (пока я не положил = направил ее нос прямо на восток), or just about right angles to the way we ought to go (почти под прямым углом к тому пути, по которому нам следовало двигаться).

“We’ll never get ashore at this rate (мы никогда не доберемся до берега таким темпом),” said I.

“If it’s the only course that we can lie, sir, we must even lie it (если это единственный курс, на который мы можем лечь, сэр, то мы должны придерживаться хотя бы его),” returned the captain (ответил капитан). “We must keep up-stream (мы должны идти вверх по течению). You see, sir (видите ли, сэр),” he went on (продолжал он), “if once we dropped to leeward of the landing-place (если нас только снесет в подветренную сторону от места высадки; to drop to — спадать, снижаться до), it’s hard to say where we should get ashore besides the chance of being boarded by the gigs (трудно сказать = неизвестно, где мы высадимся, это помимо возможности быть взятыми на абордаж /пиратскими/ гичками); whereas, the way we go the current must slacken (а между тем, /на/ том пути, /которым/ мы идем, течение должно ослабнуть), and then we can dodge back along the shore (и затем мы сможем маневрировать у берега; to dodge — уклоняться, увиливать).”

“The current’s less a’ready, sir (течение уже слабее, сэр),” said the man Gray, who was sitting in the fore-sheets (сказал матрос Грей, который сидел на носовой опалубке); “you can ease her off a bit (вы можете повернуть ее немного /к берегу/; to ease off — ослабить, сбавить ход).”

due [djH] whereas [weq`rxz] slacken [`slxkqn] dodge [dOG]

I tried, and found by experiment that the tide kept sweeping us westward until I had laid her head due east, or just about right angles to the way we ought to go.

“We’ll never get ashore at this rate,” said I.

“If it’s the only course that we can lie, sir, we must even lie it,” returned the captain. “We must keep up-stream. You see, sir,” he went on, “if once we dropped to leeward of the landing-place, it’s hard to say where we should get ashore besides the chance of being boarded by the gigs; whereas, the way we go the current must slacken, and then we can dodge back along the shore.”

“The current’s less a’ready, sir,” said the man Gray, who was sitting in the fore-sheets; “you can ease her off a bit.”

“Thank you, my man (спасибо, любезнейший: «мой человек»),” said I, quite as if nothing had happened (сказал я, совершенно как если бы ничего не произошло); for we had all quietly made up our minds to treat him like one of ourselves (так как мы все тихо = по молчаливому согласию решили обращаться с ним как с одним из нас).

Suddenly the captain spoke up again (вдруг капитан заговорил снова), and I thought his voice was a little changed (и я подумал, его голос немного изменился).