thing — вещь; создание, существо
to scan — бегло просматривать; пристально разглядывать; closely — близко; внимательно; presently — лично; некоторое время спустя
jade — жадеит, нефрит
to stand out — выступать, выделяться
vividly — ярко; живо
trunk — ствол дерева; туловище; shape — форма; to shape — придавать форму
mind — разум; память
должна была
to mean — намереваться; предназначать; to represent — изображать; олицетворять; grim — жестокий; зловещий
edge — край; граница
кумирен
Book of Skelos
to draw on — обращаться к чему-л., черпать из чего-л.
iridescent [ˌɪrɪˈdesnt], miniature [ˈmɪnɪəʧə], source [sɔ:s]
Then, as the thing did not move, he scanned it more closely and presently mounted the glass steps and stared down at it. It was a gigantic snake, apparently carved of some jadelike substance. Each scale stood out as distinctly as in real life, and the iridescent colors were vividly reproduced. The great wedge-shaped head was half submerged in the folds of its trunk; so neither the eyes nor jaws were visible. Recognition stirred in his mind. The snake was evidently meant to represent one of those grim monsters of the marsh, which in past ages had haunted the reedy edges of Vilayet's southern shores. But, like the golden leopard, they had been extinct for hundreds of years. Conan had seen rude images of them, in miniature, among the idol huts of the Yuetshi, and there was a description of them in the Book of Skelos, which drew on prehistoric sources.
Book of Skelos
Conan admired the scaly torso (Конан с восхищением рассматривал чешуйчатое туловище), thick as his thigh and obviously of great length (толстое, как его бедро, и, очевидно, огромной длины), and he reached out and laid a curious hand on the thing (и он потянулся и возложил любознательную руку на тварь; to reach out — протягивать; тянуться; to lay — класть; положить). And as he did so (и когда он сделал так), his heart nearly stopped (его сердце чуть не остановилось; nearly — близко; почти, чуть не). An icy chill congealed the blood in his veins and lifted the short hair on his scalp (ледяной холод заморозил кровь в его венах и поднял короткие волосы на коже головы = на голове;chill — озноб; холод). Under his hand there was not the smooth, brittle surface of glass or metal or stone (под его ладонью была не гладкая, хрупкая поверхность из стекла, металла или камня), but the yielding, fibrous mass of a living thing (а упругая, жилистая масса живого существа; yielding — плодородный; упругий). He felt cold, sluggish life flowing under his fingers (он ощутил, как под его пальцами струится холодная, вялая жизнь; to feel).