Harrigan — Page 2
He carried a contradiction in his face.
Son visage portait une contradiction.
The heavy, hard-cut jaw, the massive cheekbones, the stiff, straight upper lip indicated merely brutal endurance and energy, but these qualities were tempered by possibilities of tenderness about the lips and by the singular lights forever changing in the blue eyes.
La mâchoire lourde aux contours accusés, les pommettes saillantes, la lèvre supérieure rigide et droite ne trahissaient qu'une endurance brutale et une énergie farouche, mais ces qualités étaient tempérées par une tendresse possible au coin des lèvres et par les lueurs singulières qui changeaient sans cesse dans les yeux bleus.
He would be hard for the shrewdest judge to understand, for the simple reason that he did not know himself.
Le juge le plus perspicace aurait eu du mal à le comprendre, pour la simple raison qu'il ne se connaissait pas lui-même.
In looking at McTee, one asked: "What is he?"
En regardant McTee, on se demandait : « Qu'est-il ? »
In looking at Harrigan, the question was: "What will he become?"
En regardant Harrigan, la question était : « Que deviendra-t-il ? »
"Stayin' in town long?" asked Harrigan, and his voice was a little wistful.
« Tu restes longtemps en ville ? » demanda Harrigan, et sa voix était un peu mélancolique.
"I'm bound out tonight."
« Je pars ce soir. »
"So long, then."
« À bientôt, alors. »
"So long."
« À bientôt. »
They turned on their heels into opposite streets without further words, with no thanks given for service rendered, with no exchange of congratulations for the danger they had just escaped.
Ils tournèrent les talons et s'engagèrent dans des rues opposées sans un mot de plus, sans remerciements pour les services rendus, sans échange de félicitations pour le danger qu'ils venaient d'échapper.
That parting proved them hardened knights of the road which leads across the world and never turns back home.
Cette séparation les révélait comme des chevaliers endurcis de la route qui traverse le monde et ne ramène jamais au foyer.
Harrigan strode on full of thought.
Harrigan avançait à grands pas, plein de pensées.
His uncertain course brought him at last to the waterfront, and he idled along the black, odorous docks until he came to a pier where a ship was under steam, making ready to put out to sea.
Son chemin incertain le mena finalement jusqu'au bord de l'eau, et il flâna le long des quais sombres et malodorants jusqu'à ce qu'il parvînt à une jetée où un navire était sous pression, prêt à prendre la mer.
The spur touched the heart of Harrigan.
L'éperon toucha le cœur d'Harrigan.
The urge never failed to prick him when he heard the scream of a steamer's horn as it put to sea.
L'envie ne manquait jamais de le piquer lorsqu'il entendait le cri de la corne d'un vapeur appareillant pour la mer.
It brought the thoughts of far lands and distant cities.
Cela lui évoquait des contrées lointaines et des villes éloignées.
Vocabulary
- Son
- His, her, its (possessive adjective)
- visage
- Face, a person's facial appearance
- portait
- Was wearing or carrying (imperfect tense)
- une
- A, an (feminine indefinite article)
- contradiction
- A contradiction, inconsistency between two things
- La
- The (feminine definite article)
- mâchoire
- Jaw, the lower bone of the mouth
- lourde
- Heavy, massive (feminine adjective)
- aux
- To the, at the (contraction of à les)
- contours
- Outlines, shapes defining an object's edges
- accusés
- Pronounced, strongly marked or defined features
- les
- The (plural definite article)
- pommettes
- Cheekbones, the prominent bones of the cheeks
- saillantes
- Protruding, sticking out prominently (feminine plural)
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- lèvre
- Lip, fleshy part of the mouth
- supérieure
- Upper, higher (feminine adjective)
- rigide
- Rigid, stiff, inflexible in appearance or manner
- et
- And, a coordinating conjunction
- droite
- Straight, right (feminine adjective or noun)
- ne
- Not, negative particle used with pas or other negatives
- trahissaient
- Betrayed, revealed (imperfect tense of trahir)
- qu'
- That, only (conjunction or adverb, elided form)
- endurance
- Endurance, ability to withstand hardship over time
- brutale
- Brutal, harsh, rough (feminine adjective)
- énergie
- Energy, force or vigor in action
- farouche
- Fierce, wild, untamed in character
- mais
- But, a coordinating conjunction showing contrast
- ces
- These, those (plural demonstrative adjective)
- qualités
- Qualities, positive characteristics or traits
- étaient
- Were (imperfect tense of être)
- tempérées
- Tempered, moderated, softened (past participle feminine plural)
- par
- By, through (preposition)
- tendresse
- Tenderness, gentle affection or softness
- possible
- Possible, able to happen or exist
- au
- At the, to the (contraction of à le)
- coin
- Corner, small area at the edge of something
- des
- Some, of the (partitive or plural article)
- lèvres
- Lips, fleshy parts of the mouth (plural)
- lueurs
- Gleams, faint or flickering lights or expressions
- singulières
- Singular, unusual, remarkable (feminine plural adjective)
- qui
- Who, which, that (relative pronoun)
- changeaient
- Were changing (imperfect tense of changer)
- sans
- Without (preposition)
- cesse
- Ceasing; sans cesse means without stopping
- dans
- In, inside (preposition indicating location)
- yeux
- Eyes, the organs of sight (plural of œil)
- bleus
- Blue (masculine plural adjective)
- Le
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- juge
- Judge, a person who evaluates or decides
- le
- Him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
- plus
- Most, more (superlative or comparative adverb)
- perspicace
- Perceptive, having sharp insight or judgment
- aurait
- Would have (conditional tense of avoir)
- eu
- Had (past participle of avoir)
- du
- Some, of the (partitive article, masculine singular)
- mal
- Difficulty, trouble, or pain
- à
- To, at, in (preposition)
- comprendre
- To understand, to grasp the meaning of something
- pour
- For, in order to (preposition)
- simple
- Simple, basic, easy to understand
- raison
- Reason, cause or justification for something
- il
- He, it (third-person masculine subject pronoun)
- se
- Himself, herself, itself (reflexive pronoun)
- connaissait
- Knew (himself), was acquainted with (imperfect tense)
- pas
- Not (negative particle used with ne)
- lui-même
- Himself, oneself (emphatic reflexive pronoun)
- En
- While, by (preposition used with gerund)
- regardant
- Looking at, watching (present participle of regarder)
- on
- One, we, people (indefinite subject pronoun)
- demandait
- Was asking, wondered (imperfect tense of demander)
- Qu'
- What, that (interrogative or relative, elided form)
- est-il
- Is he? (inverted question form of il est)
- question
- Question, an inquiry seeking information or answer
- était
- Was (imperfect tense of être, third person singular)
- Que
- What, that (interrogative or relative pronoun)
- deviendra-t-il
- What will become of him? (future tense of devenir)
- Tu
- You (informal second-person singular subject pronoun)
- restes
- Are staying, remain (present tense of rester)
- longtemps
- For a long time, a lengthy duration
- en
- In, at (preposition indicating location or state)
- ville
- City, town, an urban area
- demanda
- Asked (simple past of demander)
- sa
- His, her, its (feminine possessive adjective)
- voix
- Voice, the sound produced when speaking
- un
- A, one (masculine indefinite article)
- peu
- A little, somewhat (adverb of quantity)
- mélancolique
- Melancholic, expressing sadness or gentle sorrow
- Je
- I (first-person singular subject pronoun)
- pars
- Leave, depart (present tense of partir)
- ce
- This, that (demonstrative adjective or pronoun)
- soir
- Evening, the later part of the day
- À
- See you; used in farewell expressions (preposition)
- bientôt
- Soon, in a short time; used as farewell
- alors
- Then, so, well (adverb or conjunction)
- Ils
- They (masculine plural third-person subject pronoun)
- tournèrent
- Turned (simple past of tourner)
- talons
- Heels; tourner les talons means to walk away
- s'
- Themselves (reflexive pronoun, elided form of se)
- engagèrent
- Went into, entered (simple past of s'engager)
- rues
- Streets, roads in a town or city (plural)
- opposées
- Opposite, contrary directions (feminine plural adjective)
- mot
- Word, a unit of spoken or written language
- de
- Of, from (preposition)
- remerciements
- Thanks, expressions of gratitude (plural noun)
- services
- Services, helpful acts rendered to someone
- rendus
- Rendered, provided (past participle of rendre)
- échange
- Exchange, mutual giving or sharing of something
- félicitations
- Congratulations, expressions of praise or good wishes
- danger
- Danger, risk of harm or injury
- ils
- They (third-person masculine plural subject pronoun)
- venaient
- Were coming (imperfect tense of venir)
- d'
- Of, from (preposition de, elided before vowel)
- échapper
- To escape, to get away from danger
- Cette
- This, that (feminine singular demonstrative adjective)
- séparation
- Separation, the act of parting from someone
- révélait
- Revealed, showed (imperfect tense of révéler)
- comme
- As, like (conjunction or preposition of comparison)
- chevaliers
- Knights, warriors of noble rank (plural noun)
- endurcis
- Hardened, toughened by experience (past participle plural)
- route
- Road, a path or way of travel
- traverse
- Crosses, travels across (present tense of traverser)
- monde
- World, the earth and all its people
- ramène
- Brings back, returns (present tense of ramener)
- jamais
- Never, ever (negative adverb of frequency)
- foyer
- Home, hearth, a place of belonging
- avançait
- Was advancing, moving forward (imperfect of avancer)
- grands
- Great, large (masculine plural adjective)
- plein
- Full of, absorbed in (adjective or preposition)
- pensées
- Thoughts, ideas occupying the mind (plural noun)
- chemin
- Path, way, a route or road
- incertain
- Uncertain, unclear, not definite or fixed
- mena
- Led, guided (simple past of mener)
- finalement
- Finally, in the end, ultimately
- jusqu'
- Until, up to (preposition, elided before vowel)
- bord
- Edge, bank, border of a body of water
- l'
- The (definite article, elided before vowel)
- eau
- Water, a liquid essential for life
- flâna
- Strolled, wandered leisurely (simple past of flâner)
- long
- Along, length; le long de means along the side
- quais
- Quays, wharves or platforms along waterfront
- sombres
- Dark, gloomy, dim (plural adjective)
- malodorants
- Foul-smelling, having an unpleasant odor (plural adjective)
- parvînt
- Reached, arrived at (simple past subjunctive of parvenir)
- jetée
- Pier, jetty, a structure extending into water
- où
- Where, in which (relative or interrogative adverb)
- navire
- Ship, a large vessel for sea travel
- sous
- Under, beneath (preposition)
- pression
- Pressure, force applied; steam pressure here
- prêt
- Ready, prepared to do something
- prendre
- To take; prendre la mer means to set sail
- mer
- Sea, the large body of salt water
- L'
- The (definite article elided before vowel)
- éperon
- Spur; here figuratively, an impulse or prompt
- toucha
- Touched, struck (simple past of toucher)
- cœur
- Heart, the center of emotion and feeling
- envie
- Desire, urge, longing for something
- manquait
- Was lacking, was missing (imperfect of manquer)
- piquer
- To prick, to spur; here to dart or dash
- lorsqu'
- When (conjunction, elided form of lorsque)
- entendait
- Heard (imperfect tense of entendre)
- cri
- Cry, shout, a loud sound or call
- corne
- Horn, foghorn of a ship signaling departure
- vapeur
- Steam; bateau à vapeur means steamship
- appareillant
- Setting sail, departing (present participle of appareiller)
- Cela
- That, it (demonstrative pronoun referring to something)
- lui
- Him, to him (indirect object pronoun)
- évoquait
- Evoked, called to mind (imperfect of évoquer)
- contrées
- Lands, regions, distant territories (plural noun)
- lointaines
- Distant, faraway (feminine plural adjective)
- villes
- Cities, towns (plural of ville)
- éloignées
- Remote, far away (feminine plural past participle)
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