to hinge on — зависеть от;to hang in the balance — висеть на волоске, быть в критическом положении; balance — весы; равновесие
чашу весов перевесил пустяк; small thing — мелочь, пустяк; to tip — наклонять, склонять
to catch — ловить
to expand — расширяться
subtle — нежный; едва различимый; stimulant — возбуждающее средство; раздражитель
скорее не
а
to tantalize — манить, соблазнять, дразнить, мучить, подвергать танталовым мукам
sweet — сладкий; душистый, ароматный
then — тогда; значит
was
to sink — тонуть; погружаться; топить
оставил
kozak
а что это мог быть за груз
как не
future [ˈfju:ʧə], obscure [əbˈskjuə], perfume [ˈpə:fju:m], conclusion [kənˈklu:ʒn]
For an instant, the future fate of kingdoms that hinged on this gay-clad barbarian hung in the balance. It was a small thing that tipped the scales — merely a shred of silk hanging on a bush that caught his uneasy glance. He leaned to it, his nostrils expanding, his nerves quivering to a subtle stimulant. On that bit of torn cloth, so faint that it was less with his physical faculties than by some obscure instinctive sense that he recognized it, lingered the tantalizing perfume that he connected with the sweet, firm flesh of the woman he had seen in Jehugir's pavilion. The fisherman had not lied, then; she was here! Then in the soil he saw a single track in the loam, the track of a bare foot, long and slender, but a man's, not a woman's, and sunk deeper than was natural. The conclusion was obvious; the man who made that track was carrying a burden, and what should it be but the girl the kozak was seeking?