Harrigan — Page 5
You can't get away with little tricks like that. You better be starting on. Move along."
On ne peut pas s'en tirer avec de petits tours comme ça. Vous feriez mieux de vous mettre en route. Circulez."
Harrigan glanced slowly from face to face.
Harrigan jeta un regard lent de visage en visage.
The three policemen drew closer together as if for mutual protection.
Les trois policiers se rapprochèrent les uns des autres comme pour se protéger mutuellement.
"Please--honey!" urged the whisper of the girl.
« S'il te plaît -- chéri ! » pressa le murmure de la jeune fille.
The hand of Harrigan resting on the window sill had gathered to a hard-bunched fist, white at the knuckles, but he nodded across the open space between the cottages.
La main de Harrigan posée sur le rebord de la fenêtre s'était serrée en un poing dur et compact, blanc aux articulations, mais il fit un signe de tête en direction de l'espace ouvert entre les maisonnettes.
"If you're looking for work," he said, "seems as though you'd find a handful over there."
« Si vous cherchez du travail, » dit-il, « il me semble que vous en trouveriez une bonne dose là-bas. »
A clatter of sharp, quick voices rose from a group of Negro soldiers gathering around a white man.
Un brouhaha de voix vives et rapides s'éleva d'un groupe de soldats noirs se rassemblant autour d'un homme blanc.
No one could tell the cause of the quarrel.
Personne ne pouvait dire la cause de la querelle.
It might have been anything from an oath to a blow.
Cela aurait pu être n'importe quoi, d'un juron à un coup.
"Watch him," said Harrigan. "He looks like a man." He added plaintively: "But looks are deceivin'."
« Regardez-le, » dit Harrigan. « Il a l'air d'un homme. » Il ajouta d'un ton plaintif : « Mais les apparences sont trompeuses. »
The center of the disturbance appeared to be a man indeed.
Le centre de la perturbation semblait être un homme en effet.
He was even taller than Harrigan and broader of shoulder, and, like the latter, there was a suggestion of strength in him which could not be defined by his size alone.
Il était encore plus grand qu'Harrigan et plus large d'épaules, et, comme ce dernier, il y avait en lui une impression de force qui ne pouvait pas être définie par sa seule stature.
At the distance they could guess his smile as he faced the clamoring mob.
À cette distance, ils pouvaient deviner son sourire alors qu'il faisait face à la foule vociférante.
"Break in there!" ordered the sergeant to his companions, and started toward the angry circle.
« Intervenez là-dedans ! » ordonna le sergent à ses compagnons, et il se dirigea vers le cercle en colère.
As he spoke, they heard one of the Negroes curse and the fist of the tall man darted at the face of a soldier and drove him toppling back among his comrades.
Tandis qu'il parlait, ils entendirent l'un des Noirs jurer et le poing du grand homme fusa vers le visage d'un soldat et le fit basculer en arrière parmi ses camarades.
Vocabulary
- On
- Indefinite pronoun meaning 'one' or 'we'
- ne
- Negative particle used with 'pas' to negate verbs
- peut
- Third-person singular of 'pouvoir'; can, is able to
- pas
- Negative particle; also means 'step'
- s'
- Reflexive pronoun 'se' before a vowel
- en
- Preposition or pronoun meaning 'in', 'on', or 'of it'
- tirer
- To pull, shoot, or get out of a situation
- avec
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'some'
- petits
- Plural adjective meaning 'small' or 'little'
- tours
- Tricks, turns, or tours
- comme
- Conjunction or preposition meaning 'like', 'as'
- ça
- Informal pronoun meaning 'that' or 'this'
- Vous
- Second-person plural or formal pronoun 'you'
- feriez
- Conditional form of 'faire'; you would do
- mieux
- Adverb meaning 'better'
- vous
- Reflexive or object form of 'vous'; yourself
- mettre
- To put, place, or set something
- route
- Road or route; 'se mettre en route' means to set off
- Circulez
- Imperative: 'move along', said by police
- jeta
- Past tense of 'jeter'; threw or cast
- un
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'
- regard
- A look or glance at someone or something
- lent
- Adjective meaning 'slow'
- visage
- Noun meaning 'face'
- Les
- Definite article 'the' for plural nouns
- trois
- The number three
- policiers
- Plural noun meaning 'police officers'
- se
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'themselves' or 'each other'
- rapprochèrent
- Past tense of 'se rapprocher'; drew closer together
- les
- Definite plural article or object pronoun 'them'
- uns
- Pronoun 'ones'; used in 'les uns des autres' meaning each other
- des
- Partitive or plural indefinite article meaning 'of the' or 'some'
- autres
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'others'
- pour
- Preposition meaning 'for' or 'in order to'
- protéger
- To protect or defend someone or something
- mutuellement
- Adverb meaning 'mutually' or 'each other'
- il
- Third-person singular masculine pronoun 'he' or 'it'
- te
- Second-person singular object pronoun 'you' or 'yourself'
- plaît
- From 'plaire'; 's'il te plaît' means 'please'
- chéri
- Term of endearment meaning 'darling' or 'dear'
- pressa
- Past tense of 'presser'; urged or pressed
- le
- Definite masculine article 'the' or pronoun 'him/it'
- murmure
- A murmur or whisper
- la
- Definite feminine article 'the' or pronoun 'her/it'
- jeune
- Adjective meaning 'young'
- fille
- Noun meaning 'girl' or 'daughter'
- main
- Noun meaning 'hand'
- posée
- Past participle of 'poser'; placed or resting on
- sur
- Preposition meaning 'on' or 'upon'
- rebord
- Edge or ledge of a surface
- fenêtre
- Noun meaning 'window'
- était
- Imperfect tense of 'être'; was
- serrée
- Past participle of 'serrer'; clenched or tightly gripped
- poing
- Noun meaning 'fist'
- dur
- Adjective meaning 'hard' or 'tough'
- et
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- compact
- Adjective meaning 'compact', dense, or solid
- blanc
- Adjective meaning 'white'
- aux
- Contraction of 'à les' meaning 'at the' or 'to the'
- articulations
- Plural noun meaning 'knuckles' or 'joints'
- mais
- Conjunction meaning 'but'
- fit
- Past tense of 'faire'; made or did
- signe
- Noun meaning 'sign' or 'gesture'; 'faire signe' to signal
- tête
- Noun meaning 'head'
- direction
- Noun meaning 'direction' or 'management'
- espace
- Noun meaning 'space' or 'area'
- ouvert
- Adjective meaning 'open'
- entre
- Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among'
- maisonnettes
- Plural noun meaning 'small houses' or 'cottages'
- Si
- Conjunction meaning 'if'; also 'yes' in response to negative
- cherchez
- Second-person plural of 'chercher'; you look for
- du
- Contraction of 'de le'; some, of the
- travail
- Noun meaning 'work' or 'job'
- dit-il
- Inverted form of 'il dit'; he said
- me
- First-person singular object pronoun 'me' or 'to me'
- semble
- Third-person singular of 'sembler'; seems
- que
- Conjunction 'that'; also relative pronoun 'which/whom'
- trouveriez
- Conditional of 'trouver'; you would find
- une
- Feminine indefinite article 'a' or 'one'
- bonne
- Feminine adjective meaning 'good'
- dose
- Noun meaning 'dose' or 'amount' of something
- là-bas
- Adverb meaning 'over there' or 'down there'
- brouhaha
- Noun meaning 'hubbub', loud confused noise from a crowd
- voix
- Noun meaning 'voice' or 'voices'
- vives
- Plural adjective meaning 'lively', 'sharp', or 'vivid'
- rapides
- Plural adjective meaning 'fast' or 'quick'
- éleva
- Past tense of 'élever'; rose or went up
- groupe
- Noun meaning 'group'
- soldats
- Plural noun meaning 'soldiers'
- noirs
- Plural adjective meaning 'black'; also noun 'Black people'
- rassemblant
- Present participle of 'rassembler'; gathering or assembling
- autour
- Adverb or preposition meaning 'around'
- homme
- Noun meaning 'man' or 'human being'
- Personne
- Pronoun meaning 'nobody'; also noun meaning 'person'
- pouvait
- Imperfect of 'pouvoir'; could or was able to
- dire
- Infinitive meaning 'to say' or 'to tell'
- cause
- Noun meaning 'cause' or 'reason'
- querelle
- Noun meaning 'quarrel' or 'dispute'
- Cela
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'this'
- aurait
- Conditional of 'avoir'; would have
- pu
- Past participle of 'pouvoir'; been able to
- être
- Infinitive meaning 'to be'
- importe
- From 'importer'; 'n'importe quoi' means 'anything at all'
- quoi
- Interrogative pronoun meaning 'what'
- juron
- Noun meaning 'swear word' or 'oath'
- à
- Preposition meaning 'at', 'to', or 'in'
- coup
- Noun meaning 'blow', 'hit', or sudden action
- Regardez-le
- Imperative phrase meaning 'look at him'
- dit
- Past tense of 'dire'; said
- Il
- Third-person singular masculine pronoun 'he'
- a
- Third-person singular of 'avoir'; has
- air
- Noun meaning 'air' or 'look/appearance'; avoir l'air
- ajouta
- Past tense of 'ajouter'; added (in speech)
- ton
- Noun meaning 'tone'; also possessive 'your'
- plaintif
- Adjective meaning 'plaintive', sorrowful, or mournful
- Mais
- Conjunction meaning 'but'
- apparences
- Plural noun meaning 'appearances' or 'looks'
- sont
- Third-person plural of 'être'; are
- trompeuses
- Plural adjective meaning 'deceptive' or 'misleading'
- centre
- Noun meaning 'center' or 'middle'
- perturbation
- Noun meaning 'disturbance' or 'disruption'
- semblait
- Imperfect of 'sembler'; seemed or appeared
- effet
- Noun meaning 'effect'; 'en effet' means 'indeed'
- encore
- Adverb meaning 'still', 'yet', or 'again'
- plus
- Adverb meaning 'more' or used in comparisons
- grand
- Adjective meaning 'tall', 'big', or 'great'
- large
- Adjective meaning 'wide' or 'broad'
- épaules
- Plural noun meaning 'shoulders'
- ce
- Demonstrative adjective or pronoun meaning 'this' or 'that'
- dernier
- Adjective meaning 'last' or 'latter'
- y
- Adverbial pronoun meaning 'there' or 'in it'
- avait
- Imperfect of 'avoir'; had or there was
- lui
- Stressed pronoun meaning 'him' or 'to him/her'
- impression
- Noun meaning 'impression' or 'feeling'
- force
- Noun meaning 'strength' or 'force'
- qui
- Relative or interrogative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'which'
- définie
- Past participle of 'définir'; defined or determined
- par
- Preposition meaning 'by' or 'through'
- sa
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'
- seule
- Feminine adjective meaning 'alone', 'only', or 'sole'
- stature
- Noun meaning 'stature' or physical height and build
- À
- Preposition meaning 'at', 'to', or 'in'
- cette
- Feminine demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' or 'that'
- distance
- Noun meaning 'distance'
- ils
- Third-person plural masculine pronoun 'they'
- pouvaient
- Imperfect of 'pouvoir'; they could or were able to
- deviner
- To guess or make out something
- son
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'
- sourire
- Noun meaning 'smile'; also infinitive 'to smile'
- alors
- Adverb meaning 'then', 'so', or 'at that time'
- faisait
- Imperfect of 'faire'; was doing or making
- face
- Noun meaning 'face'; 'faire face à' means to face
- foule
- Noun meaning 'crowd' or 'mob'
- vociférante
- Adjective meaning 'shouting', 'yelling', or 'clamoring'
- Intervenez
- Imperative of 'intervenir'; intervene or step in
- là-dedans
- Adverb meaning 'in there' or 'inside that'
- ordonna
- Past tense of 'ordonner'; ordered or commanded
- sergent
- Noun meaning 'sergeant'
- ses
- Plural possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'
- compagnons
- Plural noun meaning 'companions' or 'fellow members'
- dirigea
- Past tense of 'diriger'; directed or headed toward
- vers
- Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'around' a time
- cercle
- Noun meaning 'circle' or 'ring' of people
- colère
- Noun meaning 'anger' or 'rage'
- Tandis
- Conjunction; 'tandis que' means 'while' or 'whereas'
- parlait
- Imperfect of 'parler'; was speaking or talking
- entendirent
- Past tense of 'entendre'; they heard
- Noirs
- Noun meaning 'Black people'
- jurer
- To swear or curse
- fusa
- Past tense of 'fuser'; shot out or burst forth
- soldat
- Noun meaning 'soldier'
- basculer
- To tip over, topple, or fall backward
- arrière
- Noun or adverb meaning 'back' or 'backward'
- parmi
- Preposition meaning 'among' or 'amongst'
- camarades
- Plural noun meaning 'comrades' or 'fellow soldiers'
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