There were three shocks about eight minutes apart. The strongest building you ever saw would have been overturned.
I was so frightened that I did not know what to do. I sat on the ground and could not move. I could only cry, over and over again, "Lord, have mercy on me!"
After the third shock was over I began to grow braver. But still I sat on the ground, wondering what would come next.
All at once the sky was overcast. Dark clouds rolled over the sea. The wind began to blow. A dreadful hurricane was at hand.
The sea was covered with foam. The waves were mountain high. On the shore, trees were torn up by the roots. If my tent had not been well sheltered behind the great rock, it would have been carried away.
The hurricane lasted fully three hours. Then the rain began to pour down.
All this time I sat on the ground outside, too much frightened to go back into my castle.
Toward night the rain slackened, and I ventured over my wall. The tent was half beaten down. So I crept through into the cave. I was half afraid that even it would tumble down on my head.
I EXPLORE MY ISLAND
(я исследую мой остров)
IT rained all that night (дождь шел всю ночь). But in the cave everything was warm and dry (но в пещере все было теплым и сухим), and little by little I lost my fear (и мало-помалу я утратил свой страх; to lose — терять, утрачивать).
The earthquake and the hurricane had done great damage to my castle (землетрясение и ураган причинили большой ущерб моему замку). I had to work hard for many days (мне пришлось усиленно трудиться много дней) to put things to rights again (чтобы привести все в порядок).
I had now been on the island about ten months (я был уже на острове около десяти месяцев). In all that time I had seen only a small part of it (за все это время я видел только малую часть его).
One morning I set out with my gun on my shoulder for a long walk (одним утром я пустился с ружьем на плече на длительную прогулку).
I went up the little river (я прошел вверх вдоль маленькой реки) where I had first landed with my rafts (где я впервые причаливал с моими плотами). I found that it was a very short river (я обнаружил, что это была очень короткая река). After about two miles (через примерно две мили), the tide did not flow any higher (вода не приливала выше); and above that, the stream was only a little brook of fresh water (и над этим /местом/ поток был только маленьким ручьем пресной воды).
Along the brook there were pleasant meadows (вдоль ручья были красивые луга; pleasant — приятный; радостный; милый, симпатичный; славный), covered with high grass (покрытые высокой травой).
In the dryer parts of these meadows (в более сухих частях этих лугов) I found tobacco growing wild (нашел табак, растущий диким = дикорастущий табак).
I looked for the roots of a plant which the Indians use instead of bread (я искал корни /какого-либо/ растения, которое индейцы используют вместо хлеба), but could find none (не мог найти ни одного).
In one place, however (однако в одном месте), I saw many tall sugar canes (я увидел много высоких /растений/ сахарного тростника) and some fair-looking plants of a kind that was strange to me (и несколько красиво выглядящих растений вида, который был незнаком мне).
As I went back to my castle I wondered how I could learn something useful about the many objects I had seen (пока я шел обратно в мой замок, я думал, как я мог узнать = как бы мне узнать что-то полезное о многих объектах, /которые/ я видел). But I had never taken much thought about such things (но я никогда много не думал = не задумывался о подобных вещах), and now I had but little chance to learn (и теперь я имел лишь маленький шанс узнать = не имел особой возможности узнать).
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