KusachiySobak: переводы

→The Yeti’s hand was clenching and unclenching slowly, as if making an attempt to grab her. Before their horrified gaze, the hand, and part of the arm, began to wriggle out of the pile of rocks. The creature was alive, and struggling to free itself.

→‘Dinna be afraid,’ said Jamie reassuringly. ‘The thing’s dead right enough! Nothing could survive a ton of rock on its head.’

→Slipping the sphere into his pocket, Jamie grabbed Victoria’s hand and pulled her out of the cave, back towards the pile of rock. For a moment she hung back, afraid to go too near the buried Yeti.

→Dust filled the tunnel as the rock stopped falling at last. Coughing and spluttering, Jamie called, ‘Victoria! Where are you? Are you all right?’ To his vast relief he heard the sound of more coughing. Dimly he saw Victoria’s dust-covered form clambering over the rocks towards him. He grabbed her arm and led her into the little inner chamber. Victoria dusted herself down in an attempt to recover her composure.

→Jamie picked one up, and hefted it in his hand. ‘Feels like some kind of metal...’

→With Victoria on one side, and Jamie on the other, the great pile of falling rock landed neatly on the Yeti between them, burying the creature completely, except for one paw, which stuck out from under the pile.

→Jamie flung his arms round the base of the loose beam and pulled with all his might. It shifted! There was a steady rumble as more rubble trickled down. Victoria shrieked, ‘No, Jamie, don’t! We’ll be buried alive.’ But Jamie ignored her. With a final mighty heave he wrenched the supporting beam free. A cascade of rock began pouring down from the roof. ‘Back, Victoria, back!’ yelled Jamie.

→Jamie backed away before the advancing Yeti. ‘Stay back, Victoria!’ he yelled. ‘I canna stop it!’ Terrified of being separated from Jamie, Victoria edged along the wall of the tunnel. She was actually following behind the Yeti, which didn’t seem to have noticed her. Jamie retreated along the tunnel as far as the inner cave. Trying to run backwards, he crashed full into one of the pit-props supporting the tunnel. A trickle of rubble fell from the tunnel roof. The Yeti suddenly stopped, as if alarmed by the falling rock.

→Jamie considered. What was it that the Doctor was always on about? The exercise of logical thought. ‘Well, since we canna go back, and we dinna want to stay here —we’ll just have to go forward, or rather I will. There’s mebbe another exit.’

→Panting with exhaustion, Jamie abandoned his attempt to shift the boulder that blocked their exit. ‘Och, it’s no use. I canna shift it at all.’ Victoria shivered beside him in the darkness, wishing desperately that they’d never left the TARDIS.

→Reluctantly, Travers nodded. The Doctor rose to his modest height and spread out his hands. ‘Well, could I have done it? Could I? Just look at me!’ The Doctor could almost see the self-evident truth of this statement fighting to get through to Travers’ brain. All at once, a look of childish cunning came over Travers’ face. ‘Not going to discuss it any longer. I’ve got work to do. And as for you, while you’re safely locked up here, you won’t be able to steal my credit.’ Abruptly Travers’ face disappeared and the grille slammed shut. The Doctor sighed, stretched out on the hard, lumpy mattress, and prepared for a little doze.

→The Doctor tried another tack. ‘Whoever—whatever — attacked your camp and killed your poor friend must have had enormous strength. Isn’t that so?’

→‘Nonsense! The Yeti are timid, harmless creatures. Everyone knows that.’

→The Doctor nodded. ‘Yes, I rather thought they might be. But don’t you see, my dear fellow, that makes nonsense of your accusing me. Obviously, a Yeti attacked your camp.’

→‘You know what I’m talking about. They’re here, on this mountain. The Yeti—the Abominable Snowmen.’

→‘Found what?’

→‘Don’t you play the innocent with me. You all laughed at me, didn’t you? “Travers, the mad anthropologist!” And now that I’m close to success, you want to steal my glory. Just as I’ve found them at last.’

→There was a sharp note of hysteria in Travers’ reply.

→‘My dear chap, I don’t even know who you are.’

→The Doctor clambered down from his perch. ‘I didn’t really think there would be.’ He smiled placidly at Travers, who glared back at him, and asked fiercely, ‘How did you track me down?’