weapon [ˈwepən], double [dʌbl], nauseous [ˈnɔ:zɪəs]

He discarded his ragged tunic and moved off through the night naked but for a loincloth. As he went he fingered the poniard he had captured — a murderous weapon with a broad, double-edged blade nineteen inches long. He slunk along alleys and shadowed plazas until he came to the district which was his destination — the Maze. Along its labyrinthian ways he went with the certainty of familiarity. It was indeed a maze of black alleys and enclosed courts and devious ways; of furtive sounds, and stenches. There was no paving on the streets; mud and filth mingled in an unsavory mess. Sewers were unknown; refuse was dumped into the alleys to form reeking heaps and puddles. Unless a man walked with care he was likely to lose his footing and plunge waist-deep into nauseous pools. Nor was it uncommon to stumble over a corpse lying with its throat cut or its head knocked in, in the mud. Honest folk shunned the Maze with good reason.

Conan reached his destination without being seen (Конан добрался до своей цели никем не замеченный; destination — назначение; цель), just as one he wished fervently to meet was leaving it (как раз когда человек, которого он страстно желал встретить, выходил оттуда). As the Cimmerian slunk into the courtyard below (когда киммериец прокрался во /внутренний/ двор внизу; to slink — красться), the girl who had sold him to the police (девица, которая продала его полиции; to sell — продавать) was taking leave of her new lover in a chamber one flight up (прощалась со своим новым любовником в спальне на один лестничный пролет выше; to take leave of — прощаться с). This young thug, her door closed behind him (этот молодой головорез, когда ее дверь закрылась за ним), groped his way down a creaking flight of stairs, intent on his own meditations (стал наощупь спускаться по скрипучему лестничному пролету, погруженный в свои раздумья; to grope one’s way — пробираться на ощупь; intent — полный решимости; погруженный, поглощенный), which, like those of most of the denizens of the Maze, had to do with the unlawful acquirement of property (которые, как и те = мысли большинства обитателей Лабиринта касались незаконного присвоения собственности; to have to do with — иметь дело с чем-л., касаться чего-л., иметь отношение к чему-л.). Part-way down the stairs, he halted suddenly (на полпути вниз по лестнице он вдруг остановился; partway — на полпути), his hair standing up (/и/ у него встали /дыбом/ волосы; to stand up — встать; подняться). A vague bulk crouched in the darkness before him (неясное тело пригнулось в темноте перед ним; bulk — груда; тело), a pair of eyes blazed like the eyes of a hunting beast (пара глаз пылала, как глаза охотящегося = хищного зверя). A beastlike snarl was the last thing he heard in life (звериное рычание было последним: «последней вещью», что он услышал в жизни; to hear — слышать), as the monster lurched against him and a keen blade ripped through his belly (когда чудовище накренилось к нему, и острое лезвие распороло его брюхо). He gave one gasping cry and slumped down limply on the stairway (он издал один задыхающийся крик и безвольно осел на лестницу).