Heart of Darkness — Page 14
Therefore he whacked the old nigger mercilessly, while a big crowd of his people watched him, thunderstruck, till some man—I was told the chief's son—in desperation at hearing the old chap yell, made a tentative jab with a spear at the white man—and of course it went quite easy between the shoulder-blades.
Daher verprügelte er den alten Schwarzen erbarmungslos, während eine große Menge seiner Leute ihn wie vom Donner gerührt beobachtete, bis ein Mann – es soll der Sohn des Häuptlings gewesen sein – in seiner Verzweiflung, als er den alten Kerl schreien hörte, einen zaghaften Speerstoß gegen den weißen Mann versuchte – und der fuhr natürlich ganz leicht zwischen die Schulterblätter.
Then the whole population cleared into the forest, expecting all kinds of calamities to happen, while, on the other hand, the steamer Fresleven commanded left also in a bad panic, in charge of the engineer, I believe.
Daraufhin flüchtete die gesamte Bevölkerung in den Wald, alle möglichen Katastrophen erwartend, während andererseits der Dampfer, den Fresleven befehligt hatte, ebenfalls in wilder Panik unter dem Kommando des Ingenieurs ablegte, wie ich glaube.
Afterwards nobody seemed to trouble much about Fresleven's remains, till I got out and stepped into his shoes.
Danach schien sich niemand sonderlich um Freslevens Überreste zu kümmern, bis ich aufbrach und in seine Fußstapfen trat.
I couldn't let it rest, though; but when an opportunity offered at last to meet my predecessor, the grass growing through his ribs was tall enough to hide his bones.
Ich konnte die Sache jedoch nicht auf sich beruhen lassen; doch als sich endlich Gelegenheit bot, meinen Vorgänger aufzusuchen, war das Gras, das durch seine Rippen wuchs, hoch genug, um seine Knochen zu verbergen.
They were all there.
Sie waren alle noch da.
The supernatural being had not been touched after he fell.
Das übernatürliche Wesen war nach seinem Fall nicht angerührt worden.
And the village was deserted, the huts gaped black, rotting, all askew within the fallen enclosures.
Und das Dorf war verlassen, die Hütten klafften schwarz und verrottend, schief und verwinkelt inmitten der eingestürzten Einfriedungen.
A calamity had come to it, sure enough.
Eine Katastrophe war über es hereingebrochen, ganz gewiss.
The people had vanished.
Die Menschen waren verschwunden.
Mad terror had scattered them, men, women, and children, through the bush, and they had never returned.
Wahnsinniger Schrecken hatte sie, Männer, Frauen und Kinder, durch den Busch zerstreut, und sie waren nie zurückgekehrt.
What became of the hens I don't know either.
Was aus den Hühnern wurde, weiß ich auch nicht.
I should think the cause of progress got them, anyhow.
Ich sollte meinen, die Sache des Fortschritts hat sie jedenfalls bekommen.
However, through this glorious affair I got my appointment, before I had fairly begun to hope for it.
Wie auch immer, durch diese ruhmreiche Angelegenheit erhielt ich meine Stelle, bevor ich ernsthaft begonnen hatte, darauf zu hoffen.
Vocabulary
- Daher
- Therefore; for that reason or from that place.
- verprügelte
- Beat or thrashed someone repeatedly with force.
- er
- He; masculine third-person singular pronoun.
- den
- The; accusative masculine singular article.
- alten
- Old; aged or ancient in years.
- erbarmungslos
- Merciless; showing no compassion or pity.
- während
- While; during the time that something occurs.
- eine
- A; feminine or neuter singular indefinite article.
- große
- Large or big in size or extent.
- Menge
- Quantity; a large amount of something.
- seiner
- His; possessive pronoun for masculine singular.
- Leute
- People; persons or individuals collectively.
- ihn
- Him; masculine third-person singular accusative pronoun.
- wie
- Like or as; comparison or manner.
- vom
- From the; contraction of von and dem.
- Donner
- Thunder; loud sound during electrical storm.
- gerührt
- Moved or touched emotionally; affected.
- beobachtete
- Observed or watched something carefully.
- bis
- Until; up to a certain point.
- ein
- A; masculine or neuter singular article.
- Mann
- Man; adult male human being.
- es
- It; neuter third-person singular pronoun.
- soll
- Shall or should; auxiliary expressing obligation.
- der
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- Sohn
- Son; male child of parents.
- des
- Of the; genitive masculine singular article.
- Häuptlings
- Chief or leader of a group.
- gewesen
- Been; past participle of sein.
- sein
- To be; basic existence or identity verb.
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or containment.
- Verzweiflung
- Desperation; state of hopelessness and despair.
- als
- As; at the time that or when.
- Kerl
- Fellow or guy; man of character.
- schreien
- To scream or shout loudly.
- hörte
- Heard; past tense of hören.
- einen
- A; masculine singular accusative article.
- zaghaften
- Timid or hesitant; lacking courage.
- gegen
- Against; in opposition to something.
- weißen
- White; pale or light colored skin.
- versuchte
- Tried or attempted something.
- und
- And; basic conjunction joining words.
- fuhr
- Drove or traveled in a vehicle.
- natürlich
- Of course; naturally or obviously.
- ganz
- Quite; very or completely whole.
- leicht
- Light; not heavy or easy.
- zwischen
- Between; in the space separating two.
- die
- The; feminine singular or plural article.
- Daraufhin
- Thereupon; after that or consequently.
- flüchtete
- Fled or escaped from danger.
- gesamte
- Entire or whole; complete collection.
- Bevölkerung
- Population; people living in an area.
- Wald
- Forest; large area of trees.
- alle
- All; every one without exception.
- möglichen
- Possible or conceivable things.
- Katastrophen
- Catastrophes; great disasters or misfortunes.
- erwartend
- Expecting or anticipating something.
- andererseits
- On the other hand; conversely.
- Dampfer
- Steamer; ship powered by steam engine.
- befehligt
- Commanded; exercised authority over military troops.
- hatte
- Had; past tense of haben.
- ebenfalls
- Also; likewise or as well.
- wilder
- Wild; untamed or frenzied behavior.
- Panik
- Panic; sudden overwhelming fear or anxiety.
- unter
- Under; beneath or below something.
- dem
- The; dative masculine singular article.
- Kommando
- Command; military order or unit.
- Ingenieurs
- Engineer; person with technical skills.
- ich
- I; first-person singular pronoun.
- glaube
- Believe; think or suppose something.
- Danach
- After that; subsequently in time.
- schien
- Seemed; appeared to be the case.
- sich
- Himself, herself or itself reflexive pronoun.
- niemand
- Nobody; not any person at all.
- sonderlich
- Particularly; especially or notably important.
- um
- About; concerning or around something.
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