Treasure Island — Page 3
The man who came with the barrow told us the mail had set him down the morning before at the Royal George, that he had inquired what inns there were along the coast, and hearing ours well spoken of, I suppose, and described as lonely, had chosen it from the others for his place of residence.
Der Mann, der mit der Schubkarre gekommen war, erzählte uns, die Post habe ihn am Morgen zuvor beim Royal George abgesetzt, er habe sich erkundigt, welche Gasthäuser es entlang der Küste gebe, und da er unseres, wie ich annehme, gut beleumundet und als abgelegen beschrieben gehört habe, habe er es unter den anderen als seinen Wohnort gewählt.
And that was all we could learn of our guest.
Und das war alles, was wir über unseren Gast in Erfahrung bringen konnten.
He was a very silent man by custom.
Er war von Natur aus ein sehr schweigsamer Mann.
All day he hung round the cove or upon the cliffs with a brass telescope; all evening he sat in a corner of the parlour next the fire and drank rum and water very strong.
Den ganzen Tag trieb er sich mit einem Messingfernrohr in der Bucht oder auf den Klippen herum; den ganzen Abend saß er in einer Ecke der Gaststube neben dem Feuer und trank Rum mit Wasser, sehr stark.
Mostly he would not speak when spoken to, only look up sudden and fierce and blow through his nose like a fog-horn; and we and the people who came about our house soon learned to let him be.
Meistens antwortete er nicht, wenn man ihn ansprach, sondern blickte nur plötzlich und finster auf und schnaufte durch die Nase wie ein Nebelhorn; und wir und die Leute, die zu unserem Haus kamen, lernten bald, ihn in Ruhe zu lassen.
Every day when he came back from his stroll he would ask if any seafaring men had gone by along the road.
Jeden Tag, wenn er von seinem Spaziergang zurückkam, fragte er, ob irgendwelche Seeleute die Straße entlanggekommen seien.
At first we thought it was the want of company of his own kind that made him ask this question, but at last we began to see he was desirous to avoid them.
Zunächst glaubten wir, es sei die Sehnsucht nach Gesellschaft seinesgleichen, die ihn diese Frage stellen ließ, aber schließlich begannen wir zu erkennen, dass er sie vielmehr zu meiden wünschte.
Vocabulary
- Mann
- Adult male person; man
- mit
- Preposition indicating accompaniment or means: 'with'
- Schubkarre
- Single-wheeled cart pushed by hand; wheelbarrow
- gekommen
- Past participle of kommen; arrived or come
- war
- Simple past of sein; was
- erzählte
- Simple past of erzählen; narrated or told
- uns
- First-person plural dative/accusative pronoun: 'us'
- Post
- Mail service or postal office; post
- habe
- Present subjunctive of haben; has (reported speech)
- ihn
- Third-person singular masculine accusative pronoun: 'him'
- Morgen
- Time of day after midnight before noon; morning
- zuvor
- Adverb indicating earlier point in time; before
- abgesetzt
- Past participle of absetzen; dropped off or deposited
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun for third person: 'himself/herself'
- erkundigt
- Past participle of erkundigen; inquired or asked about
- welche
- Interrogative or relative pronoun: 'which' or 'what'
- Gasthäuser
- Plural of Gasthaus; inns or guesthouses along a route
- entlang
- Preposition or adverb indicating direction: 'along'
- Küste
- Edge of land where it meets the sea; coast
- gebe
- Present subjunctive of geben; there be or exist (reported)
- da
- Adverb or conjunction meaning 'there' or 'since'
- unseres
- Genitive form of unser; of ours or our (genitive)
- wie
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as' or 'how'
- annehme
- First-person present of annehmen; assume or suppose
- gut
- Adjective meaning of high quality or morally right: 'good'
- beleumundet
- Having a certain reputation; reputed or spoken of
- als
- Conjunction or particle meaning 'as' or 'than'
- abgelegen
- Situated far from populated areas; remote or secluded
- beschrieben
- Past participle of beschreiben; described or characterized
- gehört
- Past participle of hören; heard or listened to
- unter
- Preposition meaning 'under,' 'among,' or 'below'
- anderen
- Inflected form of ander; the others or other ones
- seinen
- Possessive pronoun, masculine accusative: 'his'
- Wohnort
- Place where someone officially resides; place of residence
- gewählt
- Past participle of wählen; chosen or elected
- alles
- Indefinite pronoun meaning everything or all of it
- was
- Relative or interrogative pronoun: 'what' or 'that'
- über
- Preposition meaning 'about,' 'over,' or 'across'
- unseren
- Possessive pronoun, masculine accusative: 'our'
- Gast
- Person staying at a place temporarily; guest
- Erfahrung
- Knowledge gained through personal experience; experience
- bringen
- Infinitive of bringen; to bring or to yield
- konnten
- Simple past of können; were able to or could
- von
- Preposition indicating origin or possession: 'from' or 'of'
- Natur
- Innate character or the natural world; nature
- aus
- Preposition meaning 'out of,' 'from,' or 'made of'
- sehr
- Adverb intensifying adjectives or adverbs: 'very'
- schweigsamer
- Comparative of schweigsam; more taciturn or reserved
- ganzen
- Inflected form of ganz; entire or whole
- Tag
- Period of 24 hours; day
- trieb
- Simple past of treiben; roamed or drove about
- Messingfernrohr
- Telescope made of brass for viewing distant objects
- Bucht
- Curved inlet of sea along the coastline; bay
- oder
- Coordinating conjunction presenting alternatives: 'or'
- auf
- Preposition meaning 'on,' 'onto,' or 'upon'
- Klippen
- Plural of Klippe; steep rocky faces along coast; cliffs
- herum
- Adverb indicating movement around or about; around
- Abend
- Time of day between afternoon and night; evening
- saß
- Simple past of sitzen; sat or was seated
- Ecke
- Point where two surfaces or lines meet; corner
- Gaststube
- Common room in an inn where guests eat and drink
- neben
- Preposition indicating position beside something: 'next to'
- Feuer
- Combustion producing heat and light; fire
- trank
- Simple past of trinken; drank a liquid
- Rum
- Alcoholic spirit distilled from sugarcane; rum
- Wasser
- Clear liquid essential for life; water
- stark
- Adjective meaning of great strength or intensity: 'strong'
- Meistens
- Adverb indicating frequency: 'mostly' or 'most of the time'
- antwortete
- Simple past of antworten; gave a reply or responded
- nicht
- Negation particle used to negate verbs or adjectives: 'not'
- wenn
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'if' in conditional clauses
- man
- Indefinite pronoun used for general statements: 'one' or 'you'
- ansprach
- Simple past of ansprechen; addressed or spoke to someone
- sondern
- Conjunction correcting a negation: 'but rather' or 'instead'
- blickte
- Simple past of blicken; glanced or looked briefly
- nur
- Limiting adverb meaning solely or merely: 'only'
- plötzlich
- Adverb describing unexpectedly quick occurrence: 'suddenly'
- finster
- Adjective meaning dark or grimly threatening: 'grim'
- schnaufte
- Simple past of schnaufen; breathed audibly or snorted
- durch
- Preposition meaning passage from one side to another: 'through'
- Nase
- Facial organ used for smelling and breathing; nose
- Nebelhorn
- Horn used in fog to warn ships of obstacles; foghorn
- Leute
- Plural noun referring to people in general; people
- zu
- Preposition or particle meaning 'to,' 'at,' or 'too'
- unserem
- Possessive pronoun, dative masculine or neuter: 'our'
- Haus
- Building used as a dwelling; house
- kamen
- Simple past plural of kommen; arrived or came
- lernten
- Simple past of lernen; learned or came to know
- bald
- Adverb indicating nearness in time: 'soon'
- Ruhe
- State of quiet and calm; peace or rest
- lassen
- Infinitive meaning to allow or to let someone be
- Jeden
- Accusative of jeder; every or each one
- seinem
- Possessive pronoun, dative masculine or neuter: 'his'
- Spaziergang
- Leisure walk taken for enjoyment or exercise; stroll
- zurückkam
- Simple past of zurückkommen; came back or returned
- fragte
- Simple past of fragen; asked a question
- ob
- Conjunction introducing indirect yes/no questions: 'whether'
- irgendwelche
- Indefinite pronoun meaning some or any unspecified ones
- Seeleute
- Plural of Seemann; people who work and sail at sea
- Straße
- Paved route for vehicles and pedestrians; road or street
- entlanggekommen
- Past participle of entlanggekommen; come along a route
- seien
- Subjunctive II plural of sein; might be (indirect speech)
- Zunächst
- Adverb indicating the initial point: 'at first' or 'initially'
- glaubten
- Simple past of glauben; believed or thought something true
- sei
- Subjunctive I of sein; be (used in reported speech)
- Sehnsucht
- Deep longing or yearning for something distant; longing
- nach
- Preposition meaning 'after,' 'toward,' or 'for' (with longing)
- Gesellschaft
- Being in the company of others; society or company
- seinesgleichen
- People of the same kind or class as him; his kind
- diese
- Demonstrative pronoun or article: 'this' or 'these'
- Frage
- Sentence seeking information from someone; question
- stellen
- Infinitive meaning to place or to pose a question
- ließ
- Simple past of lassen; let, allowed, or caused something
- aber
- Coordinating conjunction expressing contrast: 'but' or 'however'
- schließlich
- Adverb indicating the final outcome: 'finally' or 'eventually'
- begannen
- Simple past of beginnen; started or began doing something
- erkennen
- Infinitive meaning to recognize or come to realize something
- dass
- Subordinating conjunction introducing a content clause: 'that'
- vielmehr
- Adverb expressing correction or contrast: 'rather' or 'instead'
- meiden
- Infinitive meaning to deliberately avoid someone or something
- wünschte
- Simple past of wünschen; wished or desired something
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