Harrigan — Page 8
The other man had fought stiffly erect, standing with feet braced to give the weight of his whole body to every punch; Harrigan raged back and forth like a panther, avoiding blows by the catlike agility of his movements, which left both hands free to strike sledge-hammer blows.
L'autre homme s'était battu raidement droit, debout avec les pieds arc-boutés pour donner le poids de tout son corps à chaque coup ; Harrigan faisait rage de-ci de-là comme une panthère, évitant les coups grâce à l'agilité féline de ses mouvements, qui laissait ses deux mains libres de porter des coups de marteau.
Presently he heard a chuckling at his side.
Bientôt il entendit un gloussement à son côté.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the black-haired man come into the battle, straight and stiff as before, with long arms shooting out like pistons.
Du coin de l'œil il vit l'homme aux cheveux noirs entrer dans la bataille, droit et raide comme avant, avec de longs bras qui jaillissaient comme des pistons.
It was a glorious sight.
C'était un spectacle glorieux.
Something made Harrigan's heart big; rose and swelled his throat; rose again and came as a wild yell upon his tongue.
Quelque chose gonfla le cœur de Harrigan ; monta et enfla sa gorge ; monta encore et jaillit de sa langue comme un cri sauvage.
The unfortunates who have faced Irish legions in battle know that yell.
Les malheureux qui ont fait face aux légions irlandaises au combat connaissent ce cri.
The soldiers did not know it, and they held back for a moment.
Les soldats ne le connaissaient pas, et ils reculèrent un instant.
Something else lowered their spirits still more.
Autre chose abaissa encore davantage leur moral.
It was the clanging of the police patrol as it swung to a halt and a body of reserves poured out.
C'était le fracas du fourgon de police qui s'arrêtait brusquement et d'un groupe de réservistes qui en déversaient.
"Here comes our finish!" panted Harrigan to his comrade in arms.
« Voilà notre fin ! » haleta Harrigan à son compagnon d'armes.
"But oh, man, I'm thinkin' it was swate while it lasted!"
« Mais oh, mon vieux, je pense que c'était doux pendant que ça durait ! »
In his great moments the Irish brogue thronged thick upon his tongue.
Dans ses grands moments, l'accent irlandais se pressait épais sur sa langue.
"Finish, hell!" grunted the other.
« La fin, mon œil ! » grogna l'autre.
"After me, lad!"
« Suis-moi, mon gars ! »
And lowering his head like a bull, he drove forward against the crowd.
Et baissant la tête comme un taureau, il fonça en avant contre la foule.
Harrigan caught the idea in a flash.
Harrigan saisit l'idée en un éclair.
He put his shoulder to the hip of his friend.
Il mit son épaule contre la hanche de son ami.
Vocabulary
- autre
- otr — Other; different from the one mentioned
- homme
- om — Man; adult male human being
- était
- etɛ — Was; third person singular past of être
- battu
- baty — Beaten; struck repeatedly with force
- raidement
- rɛdmɑ̃ — Stiffly; rigidly, without flexibility or ease
- droit
- drwa — Straight; upright, in a direct manner
- debout
- dəbu — Standing; upright on one's feet
- avec
- avɛk — With; in the company or manner of
- pieds
- pje — Feet; the lower extremities of the legs
- arc-boutés
- ark bute — Braced; firmly planted for leverage and support
- pour
- pur — For; in order to, with the purpose of
- donner
- dɔne — To give; to provide or deliver something
- poids
- pwa — Weight; the heaviness or mass of something
- tout
- tu — All; entire, every part of something
- corps
- kɔr — Body; the physical structure of a person
- chaque
- ʃak — Each; every individual one of a group
- coup
- ku — Blow; a strike or hit delivered forcefully
- faisait
- fəzɛ — Was doing; third person imperfect of faire
- rage
- raʒ — Rage; intense fury or violent angry movement
- de-ci
- dəsi — Here and there; moving from side to side
- de-là
- dəla — There; part of 'de-ci de-là' meaning everywhere
- comme
- kɔm — Like, as; used for comparison or similarity
- panthère
- pɑ̃tɛr — Panther; a large, powerful wild feline animal
- évitant
- evitɑ̃ — Avoiding; dodging or keeping away from something
- coups
- ku — Blows; plural of coup, strikes or hits
- grâce
- gras — Grace; elegance, or thanks to something enabling
- agilité
- aʒilite — Agility; ability to move quickly and easily
- féline
- felin — Feline; relating to or resembling a cat
- mouvements
- muvmɑ̃ — Movements; the act or manner of moving
- laissait
- lɛsɛ — Left; allowed or permitted something to remain
- deux
- dø — Two; the number 2
- mains
- mɛ̃ — Hands; the body parts at the end of arms
- libres
- libr — Free; unoccupied, available, not restrained
- porter
- pɔrte — To carry, to deliver; to bring or land blows
- marteau
- marto — Hammer; a heavy tool used for striking
- Bientôt
- bjɛ̃to — Soon; in a short amount of time
- entendit
- ɑ̃tɑ̃di — Heard; past tense of entendre, to hear
- gloussement
- glusmɑ̃ — Chuckle; a low clucking or chuckling sound
- côté
- kote — Side; the lateral part or direction nearby
- coin
- kwɛ̃ — Corner; the angle where two lines or walls meet
- œil
- œj — Eye; the organ used for seeing
- vit
- vi — Saw; third person simple past of voir
- cheveux
- ʃəvø — Hair; the strands growing from a person's head
- noirs
- nwar — Black; dark-colored, lacking light or brightness
- entrer
- ɑ̃tre — To enter; to go or come into a place
- dans
- dɑ̃ — In, into; preposition indicating location or entry
- bataille
- bataj — Battle; a fight or combat between opposing forces
- raide
- rɛd — Stiff; rigid, tense, not flexible or relaxed
- avant
- avɑ̃ — Before, forward; prior in time or position
- longs
- lɔ̃ — Long; extended in length, not short
- bras
- bra — Arms; upper limbs of the human body
- jaillissaient
- ʒajisɛ — Were shooting out; gushing or darting rapidly forward
- pistons
- pistɔ̃ — Pistons; mechanical parts moving back and forth rapidly
- spectacle
- spɛktakl — Spectacle; an impressive or remarkable sight or scene
- glorieux
- glɔrjø — Glorious; magnificent, wonderful, full of glory
- Quelque
- kɛlkə — Some; an indefinite quantity or unspecified thing
- chose
- ʃoz — Thing; an object or matter of any kind
- gonfla
- gɔ̃fla — Swelled; expanded or inflated with emotion or air
- cœur
- kœr — Heart; the organ or center of emotion
- monta
- mɔ̃ta — Rose; moved upward, climbed or ascended
- enfla
- ɑ̃fla — Swelled; became larger, inflated with feeling
- gorge
- gɔrʒ — Throat; the passage inside the neck for swallowing
- encore
- ɑ̃kɔr — Still, yet, again; continuing or happening once more
- jaillit
- ʒaji — Burst forth; shot out suddenly and forcefully
- langue
- lɑ̃g — Tongue; the mouth organ also meaning language
- cri
- kri — Cry, shout; a loud exclamation or yell
- sauvage
- sovaʒ — Wild, savage; fierce, untamed, primitive in nature
- malheureux
- malørø — Unfortunate ones; unhappy or wretched people
- fait
- fɛ — Done, made; past participle of faire
- face
- fas — Face; front side, or to confront something directly
- légions
- leʒjɔ̃ — Legions; large groups of soldiers or fighters
- irlandaises
- irlɑ̃dɛz — Irish; relating to Ireland, feminine plural form
- combat
- kɔ̃ba — Combat, fight; armed or physical confrontation
- connaissent
- kɔnɛs — Know; third person plural of connaître
- ce
- sə — This, that; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- soldats
- sɔlda — Soldiers; people who serve in an army
- connaissaient
- kɔnɛsɛ — Knew; imperfect tense of connaître, to know
- reculèrent
- rəkylɛr — Retreated; stepped or moved backward away
- instant
- ɛ̃stɑ̃ — Instant, moment; a very brief period of time
- Autre
- otr — Other; another person or different thing
- abaissa
- abeisa — Lowered; brought down, reduced in level or status
- davantage
- davɑ̃taʒ — More; to a greater degree or extent
- leur
- lœr — Their; plural possessive adjective or pronoun
- moral
- mɔral — Morale; spirit, confidence, mental state of a group
- fracas
- fraka — Crash, din; a loud noisy disturbance or clatter
- fourgon
- furgɔ̃ — Van, wagon; a vehicle used to transport goods or people
- police
- pɔlis — Police; law enforcement authority or officers
- arrêtait
- arɛtɛ — Was stopping; bringing to a halt, ceasing movement
- brusquement
- bryskəmɑ̃ — Abruptly; suddenly, without warning or gradual transition
- groupe
- grup — Group; a number of people gathered or acting together
- réservistes
- rezɛrvist — Reservists; military personnel held in reserve
- déversaient
- devɛrsɛ — Were pouring out; flowing or spilling in large numbers
- Voilà
- vwala — There it is; used to present or point something out
- notre
- nɔtr — Our; first person plural possessive adjective
- fin
- fɛ̃ — End; conclusion or final point of something
- haleta
- alta — Panted; breathed heavily with gasping exertion
- compagnon
- kɔ̃paɲɔ̃ — Companion; a person who accompanies or associates closely
- armes
- arm — Arms, weapons; tools used for fighting or combat
- Mais
- mɛ — But; conjunction expressing contrast or exception
- vieux
- vjø — Old man, buddy; familiar term of address for friend
- pense
- pɑ̃s — Think; first person singular of penser
- doux
- du — Sweet, gentle; pleasant, soft, mild in nature
- pendant
- pɑ̃dɑ̃ — During, while; throughout the duration of a period
- ça
- sa — That, it; informal demonstrative pronoun in French
- durait
- dyrɛ — Lasted; continued over a period of time
- Dans
- dɑ̃ — In, during; preposition indicating location or time
- grands
- grɑ̃ — Great, big; large or important in scale or degree
- moments
- mɔmɑ̃ — Moments; brief periods or significant points in time
- accent
- aksɑ̃ — Accent; distinctive manner of pronunciation from a region
- irlandais
- irlɑ̃dɛ — Irish; relating to or from Ireland
- pressait
- prɛsɛ — Pressed, thickened; was becoming more intense or heavy
- épais
- epɛ — Thick; dense, heavy, not thin or sparse
- sur
- syr — On, over; preposition indicating position above or upon
- grogna
- grɔɲa — Growled, grumbled; uttered a low threatening sound
- Suis-moi
- sɥi mwa — Follow me; imperative command to follow the speaker
- gars
- ga — Guy, lad; informal word for a young man or fellow
- baissant
- bɛsɑ̃ — Lowering; bringing down, reducing in height
- tête
- tɛt — Head; the upper part of the body containing the brain
- taureau
- toro — Bull; a male bovine animal known for charging
- fonça
- fɔ̃sa — Charged, rushed; moved forward rapidly and forcefully
- contre
- kɔ̃tr — Against; in opposition to or in contact with
- foule
- ful — Crowd; a large group of people gathered together
- saisit
- sezi — Seized, grasped; grabbed or understood something quickly
- idée
- ide — Idea; a thought, plan, or concept in the mind
- éclair
- eklɛr — Lightning flash; a sudden bright flash of insight
- mit
- mi — Put, placed; simple past of mettre, to put
- épaule
- epol — Shoulder; the joint connecting the arm to the torso
- hanche
- ɑ̃ʃ — Hip; the joint between the torso and upper leg
- ami
- ami — Friend; a person with whom one has a bond
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