Harrigan — Page 4
McTee," he said, "I came on your ship by chance an' saw you. If you _can_ use an extra hand, let me stay. I'm footfree an' I need to be movin' on."
«McTee,» disse, «sono salito sulla sua nave per caso e l'ho vista. Se può usare un'altra mano, mi lasci restare. Sono libero da legami e ho bisogno di andare avanti.»
Even through the gloom he caught the glint of the Scotchman's eye.
Anche attraverso l'oscurità riuscì a cogliere il luccichio dell'occhio dello scozzese.
"Get off the bridge!" thundered McTee.
«Scendi dal ponte!» tuonò McTee.
"But I'm Harrigan, and--"
«Ma sono Harrigan, e--»
McTee turned to his first and second mates.
McTee si rivolse al suo primo e secondo ufficiale.
"Throw that man off the bridge!" he ordered.
«Buttate quell'uomo giù dal ponte!» ordinò.
Harrigan didn't wait. He retreated down the steps to the deck and went to the rail.
Harrigan non aspettò. Scese i gradini fino al ponte e si diresse verso la ringhiera.
A wide gap of swarthy water now extended between the ship and the dock, but he placed his knee on the rail ready to dive.
Un ampio tratto di acque scure si estendeva ora tra la nave e il molo, ma egli posò il ginocchio sulla ringhiera pronto a tuffarsi.
Then he turned and stood with folded arms looking up to the bridge, for his mind was dark with many doubts.
Poi si girò e rimase con le braccia conserte a guardare verso il ponte, poiché la sua mente era oscurata da molti dubbi.
He tapped a passing sailor on the shoulder.
Diede un colpetto sulla spalla a un marinaio che passava.
"What sort of an old boy is the captain?"
«Che tipo di vecchio lupo di mare è il capitano?»
He made up his mind that according to the answer he would stay with the ship or swim to the shore, but the sailor merely stared stupidly at him for a moment and then grinned slowly.
Decise che a seconda della risposta sarebbe rimasto sulla nave o avrebbe nuotato fino alla riva, ma il marinaio si limitò a fissarlo stupidamente per un momento e poi sorrise lentamente.
There might be malice, there might be mere ridicule in that smile.
Poteva esserci malizia, poteva esserci semplice scherno in quel sorriso.
He passed on before another question could be asked.
Se ne andò prima che potesse essere posta un'altra domanda.
"Huh!" grunted Harrigan. "I stay!"
«Uhm!» grugnì Harrigan. «Resto!»
He kept his eyes fixed on the bridge, remaining motionless at the rail for an hour while the glow of Honolulu grew dimmer and dimmer past the stern.
Tenne gli occhi fissi sul ponte, rimanendo immobile alla ringhiera per un'ora mentre il bagliore di Honolulu diventava sempre più fioco oltre la poppa.
Vocabulary
- disse
- He/she said; past tense of dire
- sono
- I am, or they are; form of essere
- salito
- Gone up, boarded; past participle of salire
- sulla
- On the; contraction of su and la
- sua
- His, her, its; possessive adjective third person
- nave
- Ship, vessel; large watercraft for sea travel
- per
- For, by, through; common Italian preposition
- caso
- Chance, case, accident; per caso means by chance
- e
- And; basic Italian coordinating conjunction
- l'
- The; elided definite article before a vowel
- ho
- I have; first person singular of avere
- vista
- Seen, view; past participle of vedere
- Se
- If; conditional conjunction introducing a clause
- può
- He/she/it can; third person singular of potere
- usare
- To use; to employ or make use of something
- un'
- A, an; elided feminine indefinite article
- altra
- Another, other; feminine form of altro
- mano
- Hand; the body part at the end of the arm
- mi
- Me, myself; first person singular object pronoun
- lasci
- Let, allow; subjunctive/imperative form of lasciare
- restare
- To stay, to remain; to continue being somewhere
- Sono
- I am, or they are; form of essere
- libero
- Free, unbound; without constraints or obligations
- da
- From, by, since; versatile Italian preposition
- legami
- Ties, bonds, attachments; plural of legame
- bisogno
- Need, necessity; ho bisogno di means I need
- di
- Of, from; very common Italian preposition
- andare
- To go; basic verb of movement in Italian
- avanti
- Forward, ahead; indicating forward direction or progress
- Anche
- Also, even, too; additive Italian adverb
- attraverso
- Through, across; preposition indicating passage through something
- oscurità
- Darkness, obscurity; absence of light or clarity
- riuscì
- He/she managed, succeeded; past tense of riuscire
- a
- To, at; basic Italian preposition of direction
- cogliere
- To catch, grasp, perceive; to notice something subtle
- il
- The; masculine singular definite article in Italian
- luccichio
- Glimmer, sparkle, twinkle; a flickering light reflection
- dell'
- Of the; elided contraction of di and lo/la
- occhio
- Eye; the organ of sight in humans and animals
- dello
- Of the; masculine contraction of di and lo
- scozzese
- Scottish person or adjective; relating to Scotland
- Scendi
- Get down, come down; imperative of scendere
- dal
- From the; contraction of da and il
- ponte
- Bridge, deck; the deck of a ship
- tuonò
- He/she thundered, bellowed; past tense of tuonare
- Ma
- But; basic Italian adversative conjunction
- si
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun third person
- rivolse
- He/she turned to, addressed; past tense of rivolgere
- al
- To the; contraction of a and il
- suo
- His, her, its; masculine possessive adjective
- primo
- First; ordinal number indicating the first position
- secondo
- Second; ordinal number or second in command
- ufficiale
- Officer, official; person of authority or rank
- Buttate
- Throw, toss; imperative plural of buttare
- quell'
- That; elided demonstrative adjective before a vowel
- uomo
- Man; adult male human being
- giù
- Down, below; adverb indicating downward direction
- ordinò
- He/she ordered, commanded; past tense of ordinare
- non
- Not; basic Italian negation adverb
- aspettò
- He/she waited; past tense of aspettare
- Scese
- He/she descended, went down; past tense of scendere
- i
- The; masculine plural definite article in Italian
- gradini
- Steps, stairs; plural of gradino, individual stair steps
- fino
- Until, up to; indicating a limit or endpoint
- diresse
- He/she directed, headed toward; past tense of dirigere
- verso
- Toward, towards; preposition indicating direction of movement
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article in Italian
- ringhiera
- Railing, banister; protective barrier along edge or stairway
- Un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- ampio
- Wide, broad, ample; large in extent or space
- tratto
- Stretch, tract, section; a portion of distance or space
- acque
- Waters; plural of acqua, bodies or expanses of water
- scure
- Dark; feminine plural adjective, dark colored waters
- estendeva
- Extended, stretched; imperfect tense of estendersi
- ora
- Now; adverb indicating the present moment
- tra
- Between, among; preposition of position or time
- molo
- Pier, dock, wharf; structure extending into water
- ma
- But; basic Italian adversative conjunction
- egli
- He; formal third person masculine subject pronoun
- posò
- He/she placed, set down; past tense of posare
- ginocchio
- Knee; the joint in the middle of the leg
- pronto
- Ready, prepared; adjective indicating readiness
- tuffarsi
- To dive, to plunge; to jump headfirst into water
- Poi
- Then, afterward; adverb indicating subsequent action
- girò
- He/she turned, spun; past tense of girare
- rimase
- He/she remained, stayed; past tense of rimanere
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or manner
- le
- The; feminine plural definite article in Italian
- braccia
- Arms; plural of braccio, upper limbs of the body
- conserte
- Crossed, folded; braccia conserte means arms crossed
- guardare
- To look, to watch; to observe with the eyes
- poiché
- Since, because; causal conjunction explaining a reason
- mente
- Mind; the cognitive faculty of thought and reasoning
- era
- Was; third person singular imperfect of essere
- oscurata
- Darkened, clouded; past participle of oscurare
- molti
- Many; masculine plural adjective indicating large quantity
- dubbi
- Doubts; plural of dubbio, uncertainties or hesitations
- Diede
- He/she gave; past tense of dare
- un
- A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- colpetto
- A light tap, little knock; diminutive of colpo
- spalla
- Shoulder; the joint connecting arm to torso
- marinaio
- Sailor, seaman; person who works aboard a ship
- che
- That, who, which; relative pronoun or conjunction
- passava
- Was passing by; imperfect tense of passare
- Che
- What kind of; exclamatory or interrogative pronoun
- tipo
- Type, kind, sort; informal word for guy or type
- vecchio
- Old; adjective describing something or someone aged
- lupo
- Wolf; carnivorous mammal; lupo di mare means sea wolf
- mare
- Sea, ocean; large body of salt water
- è
- Is; third person singular present of essere
- capitano
- Captain; the commanding officer of a ship
- Decise
- He/she decided; past tense of decidere
- seconda
- According to, second; a seconda di means depending on
- della
- Of the; contraction of di and la
- risposta
- Answer, response, reply; reaction to a question
- sarebbe
- Would be; conditional tense of essere
- rimasto
- Remained, stayed; past participle of rimanere
- o
- Or; basic Italian disjunctive conjunction
- avrebbe
- Would have; conditional tense of avere
- nuotato
- Swum; past participle of nuotare, to swim
- alla
- To the; contraction of a and la
- riva
- Shore, bank, riverbank; edge of water and land
- limitò
- He/she limited, confined; past tense of limitare
- fissarlo
- To stare at him; infinitive fissare plus him pronoun
- stupidamente
- Stupidly, blankly; adverb meaning in a dull manner
- momento
- Moment, instant; a brief period of time
- poi
- Then, next; adverb indicating sequence of events
- sorrise
- He/she smiled; past tense of sorridere
- lentamente
- Slowly; adverb indicating slow speed or pace
- Poteva
- He/she could, was able; imperfect of potere
- esserci
- To be there; infinitive essere combined with ci
- malizia
- Malice, cunning, mischief; intent to harm or trick
- poteva
- He/she could, was able; imperfect of potere
- semplice
- Simple, plain; uncomplicated or unadorned
- scherno
- Mockery, scorn, derision; contemptuous ridicule of someone
- in
- In, into; preposition indicating location or state
- quel
- That; masculine singular demonstrative adjective
- sorriso
- Smile; a facial expression showing happiness or amusement
- ne
- Of it, about it, away; Italian partitive or adverb
- andò
- He/she went, left; past tense of andare
- prima
- Before, first; adverb or adjective indicating priority
- potesse
- Could, might; imperfect subjunctive of potere
- essere
- To be; fundamental Italian verb of existence
- posta
- Asked, placed; past participle of porre or posta
- domanda
- Question, request; an inquiry or interrogative statement
- grugnì
- He/she grunted; past tense of grugnire
- Resto
- I stay, I remain; first person singular of restare
- Tenne
- He/she kept, held; past tense of tenere
- gli
- The, to him; masculine plural article or pronoun
- occhi
- Eyes; plural of occhio, organs of sight
- fissi
- Fixed, steady; plural adjective meaning unmoving gaze
- sul
- On the; contraction of su and il
- rimanendo
- Remaining, staying; gerund form of rimanere
- immobile
- Still, motionless, unmoving; not moving at all
- mentre
- While, whereas; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions
- bagliore
- Glow, glare, flash; a bright or dazzling light
- diventava
- Was becoming; imperfect tense of diventare
- sempre
- Always, ever; adverb indicating constant frequency
- più
- More; comparative adverb indicating greater degree
- fioco
- Faint, dim, weak; barely visible or audible
- oltre
- Beyond, past; preposition indicating position further away
- poppa
- Stern; the rear end of a ship or boat
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