Harrigan — Page 2
His beat is quiet. Shall I tell him to come with us?"
Sa ronde est calme. Dois-je lui dire de venir avec nous ?"
"No," grinned the sergeant, and then looked up and watched the broad shoulders of the red-haired man, who advanced through the crowd as the prow of a ship lunges through the waves.
« Non », ricana le sergent, puis il leva les yeux et observa les larges épaules de l'homme aux cheveux roux, qui avançait à travers la foule comme la proue d'un navire fend les vagues.
"Go get Morley," he said abruptly.
« Allez chercher Morley », dit-il abruptement.
But Harrigan went on his way without misgivings, not that he forgot the policeman, but he was accustomed to stand under the suspicious eye of the law.
Mais Harrigan poursuivit son chemin sans appréhension, non pas qu'il eût oublié le policier, mais il avait l'habitude d'être sous l'œil soupçonneux de la loi.
In all the course of his wanderings it had been upon him.
Tout au long de ses pérégrinations, elle avait pesé sur lui.
His coming was to the men in uniform like the sound of the battle trumpet to the cavalry horse.
Son arrivée était pour les hommes en uniforme ce que le son du clairon de bataille est au cheval de cavalerie.
This, however, was Harrigan's first night in Honolulu, and there was much to see, much to do.
C'était cependant la première nuit d'Harrigan à Honolulu, et il y avait beaucoup à voir, beaucoup à faire.
He had rambled through the streets; now he was headed for the Ivilei district.
Il avait déambulé dans les rues ; à présent il se dirigeait vers le quartier d'Ivilei.
Instinct brought him there, the still, small voice which had guided him from trouble to trouble all his life.
L'instinct l'y avait conduit, cette voix douce et ténue qui l'avait guidé de mésaventure en mésaventure tout au long de sa vie.
At a corner he stopped to watch a group of Kanakas who passed him, wreathed with leis and thrumming their ukuleles.
À un coin de rue, il s'arrêta pour observer un groupe de Kanakas qui le dépassèrent, couronnés de leis et grattant leurs ukulélés.
They sang in their soft, many-voweled language and the sound was to Harrigan like the rush and lapse of water on a beach, infinitely soothing and as lazy as the atmosphere of Honolulu.
Ils chantaient dans leur langue douce et riche en voyelles, et ce son évoquait pour Harrigan le déferlement et le retrait de l'eau sur une plage, infiniment apaisant et aussi nonchalant que l'atmosphère d'Honolulu.
All things are subdued in the strange city where East and West meet in the middle of the Pacific.
Tout est assourdi dans cette étrange cité où l'Orient et l'Occident se rencontrent au milieu du Pacifique.
Vocabulary
- Sa
- His, her, its (feminine possessive adjective)
- ronde
- Patrol or beat walked by a guard or officer
- est
- Is (third person singular of être)
- calme
- Calm, quiet, peaceful
- Dois
- Must, should (first person singular of devoir)
- je
- I (first person singular pronoun)
- lui
- Him, her, to him, to her (pronoun)
- dire
- To say, to tell
- de
- Of, from, to (preposition)
- venir
- To come
- avec
- With (preposition)
- nous
- We, us (first person plural pronoun)
- Non
- No (negation)
- ricana
- Sneered, sniggered (past tense of ricaner)
- le
- The (masculine definite article)
- sergent
- Sergeant (military or police rank)
- puis
- Then, next (adverb of sequence)
- il
- He, it (third person masculine pronoun)
- leva
- Raised, lifted (past tense of lever)
- les
- The (plural definite article)
- yeux
- Eyes (plural of œil)
- et
- And (conjunction)
- observa
- Observed, watched (past tense of observer)
- larges
- Wide, broad (plural adjective)
- épaules
- Shoulders (plural noun)
- homme
- Man (noun)
- aux
- To the, with the (contraction of à + les)
- cheveux
- Hair (plural noun)
- roux
- Red-haired, auburn (adjective)
- qui
- Who, which (relative or interrogative pronoun)
- avançait
- Was advancing, moving forward (imperfect of avancer)
- à
- To, at, in (preposition)
- travers
- Through, across (used in à travers)
- foule
- Crowd, throng of people
- comme
- Like, as (conjunction or preposition)
- proue
- Prow, bow of a ship
- un
- A, an, one (masculine indefinite article)
- navire
- Ship, vessel
- fend
- Cuts through, cleaves (third person singular of fendre)
- vagues
- Waves (of water); also vague (adjective)
- Allez
- Go! (imperative of aller, second person plural)
- chercher
- To look for, to fetch, to seek
- dit
- Said (past tense of dire)
- abruptement
- Abruptly, curtly, bluntly
- Mais
- But (coordinating conjunction)
- poursuivit
- Continued, pursued (past tense of poursuivre)
- son
- His, her, its (masculine possessive adjective)
- chemin
- Path, way, road
- sans
- Without (preposition)
- appréhension
- Apprehension, anxiety, fearful anticipation
- non
- No, not (negation or adverb)
- pas
- Not (negation particle); step (noun)
- eût
- Had (past subjunctive of avoir)
- oublié
- Forgotten (past participle of oublier)
- policier
- Police officer; relating to the police
- mais
- But (coordinating conjunction)
- avait
- Had (imperfect of avoir)
- habitude
- Habit, custom, usual practice
- être
- To be (infinitive)
- sous
- Under, beneath (preposition)
- œil
- Eye (singular noun)
- soupçonneux
- Suspicious, distrustful (adjective)
- loi
- Law (noun)
- Tout
- All, every, whole (adjective or adverb)
- au
- To the, at the (contraction of à + le)
- long
- Long; along (adjective or noun)
- ses
- His, her, its (plural possessive adjective)
- pérégrinations
- Wanderings, travels, peregrinations
- elle
- She, it (third person feminine pronoun)
- pesé
- Weighed, bore down (past participle of peser)
- Sur
- On, upon, over (preposition)
- arrivée
- Arrival (noun)
- était
- Was (imperfect of être)
- pour
- For, in order to (preposition)
- hommes
- Men (plural of homme)
- en
- In, on, as (preposition or pronoun)
- uniforme
- Uniform (clothing worn by officials or soldiers)
- ce
- This, that (demonstrative pronoun or adjective)
- que
- That, which, what (conjunction or pronoun)
- du
- Of the, some (contraction of de + le)
- clairon
- Bugle, bugle call (military instrument)
- bataille
- Battle, fight
- cheval
- Horse
- cavalerie
- Cavalry (military horse troops)
- cependant
- However, yet, nevertheless
- première
- First (feminine ordinal adjective)
- nuit
- Night
- y
- There; it (adverbial pronoun)
- beaucoup
- A lot, much, many
- voir
- To see
- faire
- To do, to make
- Il
- He, it (third person masculine subject pronoun)
- déambulé
- Strolled, wandered (past participle of déambuler)
- dans
- In, inside (preposition)
- rues
- Streets (plural of rue)
- présent
- Present, now; at present (noun or adjective)
- se
- Himself, herself, itself (reflexive pronoun)
- dirigeait
- Was heading, directing (imperfect of diriger)
- vers
- Towards, around (preposition)
- quartier
- Neighborhood, district, quarter of a city
- instinct
- Instinct, innate impulse
- conduit
- Led, guided (past participle of conduire)
- cette
- This, that (feminine demonstrative adjective)
- voix
- Voice
- douce
- Soft, gentle, sweet (feminine adjective)
- ténue
- Faint, tenuous, very slight (feminine adjective)
- guidé
- Guided, led (past participle of guider)
- mésaventure
- Misadventure, mishap, unfortunate experience
- tout
- All, every, quite (adjective or adverb)
- vie
- Life
- À
- At, to, in (preposition)
- coin
- Corner, nook
- rue
- Street
- arrêta
- Stopped (past tense of arrêter)
- observer
- To observe, to watch, to look at
- groupe
- Group, cluster of people
- dépassèrent
- Passed by, overtook (past tense of dépasser)
- couronnés
- Crowned, adorned (past participle of couronner)
- grattant
- Strumming, scratching (present participle of gratter)
- leurs
- Their (plural possessive adjective)
- Ils
- They (third person masculine plural pronoun)
- chantaient
- Were singing (imperfect of chanter)
- leur
- Their, to them (possessive or indirect pronoun)
- langue
- Language; tongue
- riche
- Rich, abundant, full (adjective)
- voyelles
- Vowels (in phonetics or linguistics)
- évoquait
- Evoked, called to mind (imperfect of évoquer)
- déferlement
- Breaking of waves, surging (noun)
- retrait
- Withdrawal, retreat, receding (noun)
- eau
- Water
- une
- A, an, one (feminine indefinite article)
- plage
- Beach, shore
- infiniment
- Infinitely, endlessly, immensely
- apaisant
- Soothing, calming (present participle of apaiser)
- aussi
- Also, too, as well
- nonchalant
- Nonchalant, casual, unhurried (adjective)
- atmosphère
- Atmosphere, ambiance, mood
- assourdi
- Muffled, deadened, subdued (past participle of assourdir)
- étrange
- Strange, unusual, odd (adjective)
- cité
- City, urban settlement (noun)
- où
- Where, in which (relative adverb)
- Orient
- The East, Orient (noun)
- Occident
- The West, Occident (noun)
- rencontrent
- Meet, encounter (third person plural of rencontrer)
- milieu
- Middle, center, environment
- Pacifique
- Pacific (ocean or adjective meaning peaceful)
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