archaic [ɑ:ˈkeɪɪk], suppose [səˈpəuz], ignorance [ˈɪɡnərəns]

"What is it?" whispered Balthus. It looked archaic and meaningless to him. He supposed that it was his ignorance of artistry which prevented his identifying it as one of the conventional designs of some prevailing culture. But had he been the most erudite artist in the world, he would have been no nearer the solution.

"I saw it carved in the rock of a cave no human had visited for a million years," muttered Conan (я видел его высеченным в скале пещеры, /которую/ ни один человек не посещал в течение миллиона лет, — пробормотал Конан), "in the uninhabited mountains beyond the Sea of Vilayet, half a world away from this spot (в необитаемых горах за морем Вилайет, на расстоянии в полмира: «полмира прочь» от этого места). Later I saw a black witch-finder of Kush scratch it in the sand of a nameless river (позже я видел, /как/ черный = чернокожий искатель ведьм из Куша нацарапал его на песке безымянной реки). He told me part of its meaning — it's sacred to Jhebbal Sag and the creatures which worship him (он рассказал мне часть его значения — это священный /знак/ Джеббала Сага и созданий, которые поклоняются ему). Watch (смотри)!"

year [jə: ], sacred [ˈsekrɪd], watch [wɔʧ]

"I saw it carved in the rock of a cave no human had visited for a million years," muttered Conan, "in the uninhabited mountains beyond the Sea of Vilayet, half a world away from this spot. Later I saw a black witch-finder of Kush scratch it in the sand of a nameless river. He told me part of its meaning — it's sacred to Jhebbal Sag and the creatures which worship him. Watch!"

They drew back among the dense foliage some yards away and waited in tense silence (они отступили среди = в густую листву на несколько ярдов /прочь/ и ждали = стали ждать в напряженной тишине). To the east drums muttered and somewhere to north and west other drums answered (на востоке глухо грохотали барабаны, а где-то на севере и западе отвечали другие барабаны). Balthus shivered, though he knew long miles of black forest separated him from the grim beaters of those drums (Балтус вздрогнул, хотя он знал, /что/ долгие мили черного леса отделяли его от мрачных барабанщиков тех барабанов) whose dull pulsing was a sinister overture that set the dark stage for bloody drama (чей унылый ритмичный бой был зловещей увертюрой, которая готовила темную сцену для кровавой драмы; to set the stage — готовить сцену, монтировать декорации).