Rasmunsen mortgaged the little cottage for a thousand dollars, arranged for his wife to make a prolonged stay among her own people, threw up his job, and started North. To keep within his schedule he compromised on a second-class passage, which, because of the rush, was worse than steerage; and in the late summer, a pale and wabbly man, he disembarked with his eggs on the Dyea beach. But it did not take him long to recover his land legs and appetite. His first interview with the Chilkoot packers straightened him up and stiffened his backbone. Forty cents a pound they demanded for the twenty-eight-mile portage, and while he caught his breath and swallowed, the price went up to forty-three. Fifteen husky Indians put the straps on his packs at forty-five, but took them off at an offer of forty-seven from a Skaguay Croesus in dirty shirt and ragged overalls who had lost his horses on the White Pass Trail and was now making a last desperate drive at the country by way of Chilkoot.

But Rasmunsen was clear grit (но Расмунсен был настоящий кремень; clear grit — бесстрашие, выдержка, твердость характера; grit — гравий; твердость характера, стойкость), and at fifty cents found takers (и за пятьдесят центов нашел желающих; taker — охотник, желающий, доброволец), who, two days later, set his eggs down intact at Linderman (которые два дня спустя поставили его яйца невредимыми на землю у Линдермана; to set down — класть, ставить /на землю, на стол и т. п./). But fifty cents a pound is a thousand dollars a ton (но пятьдесят центов за фунт — это тысяча долларов за тонну), and his fifteen hundred pounds had exhausted his emergency fund (и его полторы тысячи фунтов израсходовали его резервный фонд) and left him stranded at the Tantalus point (и оставили его без средств на мысе Тантал; stranded — без средств, в затруднительном положении; to strand — сесть на мель; посадить на мель; выбросить на берег; strand — уст., поэт. прибрежная полоса, берег /особ. часть берега, находящаяся между линиями прилива и отлива/) where each day he saw the fresh-whipsawed boats departing for Dawson (где каждый день он видел недавно выпиленные лодки, отправляющиеся в Доусон; whipsaw — лучковая пила, продольная пила; to whipsaw — пилить продольной пилой). Further, a great anxiety brooded over the camp (более того, большая тревога нависла над лагерем) where the boats were built (где строили лодки; to build). Men worked frantically (люди работали неистово), early and late (с раннего утра и допоздна: «рано и поздно»), at the height of their endurance (на пике своей выносливости; height — высота; высшая точка, высшая степень; to endure — вынести, вытерпеть), calking, nailing, and pitching in a frenzy of haste (конопатя, вбивая гвозди и смоля в неистовстве спешки) for which adequate explanation was not far to seek (чему не нужно было искать далеко подходящее объяснение = за подходящим объяснением для чего не нужно было далеко ходить). Each day the snowline crept farther down the bleak, rock-shouldered peaks (каждый день снеговая граница прокрадывалась дальше вниз по холодным пикам со скалистыми уступами; to creep — ползти; красться; bleak — открытый; холодный; shouldered — имеющий уступ), and gale followed gale (и буря следовала за бурей), with sleet and slush and snow (с ледяным дождем, шугой и снегом; sleet — дождь со снегом; мокрый снег; ледяной дождь; крупа; гололед; slush — грязь, слякоть; жижа; снеговая каша; шуга), and in the eddies and quiet places young ice formed and thickened through the fleeting hours (а в маленьких омутах и тихих местах за скоротечные часы образовывался и утолщался молодой лед). And each morn (и каждое утро), toil-stiffened men turned wan faces across the lake to see if the freeze-up had come (одеревенелые от тяжелого труда люди поворачивали изнуренные лица через = к озеру, чтобы узнать, не наступил ли ледостав). For the freeze-up heralded the death of their hope (ибо ледостав возвещал смерть их надежды) — the hope that they would be floating down the swift river (надежды, что они поплывут вниз по течению быстрой реки) ere navigation closed on the chain of lakes (прежде чем закончится навигация на цепочке озер; to close — заканчиваться, прекращаться).

But Rasmunsen was clear grit, and at fifty cents found takers, who, two days later, set his eggs down intact at Linderman. But fifty cents a pound is a thousand dollars a ton, and his fifteen hundred pounds had exhausted his emergency fund and left him stranded at the Tantalus point where each day he saw the fresh-whipsawed boats departing for Dawson. Further, a great anxiety brooded over the camp where the boats were built. Men worked frantically, early and late, at the height of their endurance, calking, nailing, and pitching in a frenzy of haste for which adequate explanation was not far to seek. Each day the snowline crept farther down the bleak, rock-shouldered peaks, and gale followed gale, with sleet and slush and snow, and in the eddies and quiet places young ice formed and thickened through the fleeting hours. And each morn, toil-stiffened men turned wan faces across the lake to see if the freeze-up had come. For the freeze-up heralded the death of their hope — the hope that they would be floating down the swift river ere navigation closed on the chain of lakes.

To harrow Rasmunsen's soul further (чтобы еще больше помучить душу Расмунсена = еще больше мучило душу Расмунсена то, что; to harrow — боронить; мучить), he discovered three competitors in the egg business (он обнаружил трех конкурентов по яичному бизнесу). It was true that one, a little German, had gone broke (правда, один, маленький немец, обанкротился; to go broke — обанкротиться, разориться) and was himself forlornly back-tripping the last pack of the portage (и сам безнадежно ехал назад с последним тюком для перевозки); but the other two had boats nearly completed (но остальным двоим почти закончили лодки) and were daily supplicating the god of merchants and traders to stay the iron hand of winter for just another day (и /они/ ежедневно молили бога торговцев и купцов сдержать железную руку зимы хотя бы еще на один день; to stay — останавливать, сдерживать; задерживать). But the iron hand closed down over the land (но железная рука нависла над землей; to close down — сгущаться, нависать). Men were being frozen in the blizzard (люди замерзали в пурге), which swept Chilkoot (который обрушился на Чилкут; to sweep — мести; обрушиться; нестись, проноситься), and Rasmunsen frosted his toes ere he was aware (и Расмунсен обморозил пальцы ног, прежде чем понял /это/). He found a chance to go passenger with his freight in a boat just shoving off through the rubble (он нашел возможность проехаться пассажиром со своим грузом в лодке, как раз отчаливавшей через валуны), but two hundred, hard cash, was required (но потребовали две сотни звонкой монетой; hard cash — звонкая монета; золотые и серебряные монеты, банкноты), and he had no money (а у него не было денег).

To harrow Rasmunsen's soul further, he discovered three competitors in the egg business. It was true that one, a little German, had gone broke and was himself forlornly back-tripping the last pack of the portage; but the other two had boats nearly completed and were daily supplicating the god of merchants and traders to stay the iron hand of winter for just another day. But the iron hand closed down over the land. Men were being frozen in the blizzard, which swept Chilkoot, and Rasmunsen frosted his toes ere he was aware. He found a chance to go passenger with his freight in a boat just shoving off through the rubble, but two hundred, hard cash, was required, and he had no money.