Audiobook Dictation: “He would have been drowned, the…”

He would have been drowned, the breath battered clean out of him, in half a minute more, had he maintained the hopelessly unequal struggle.

Ter-se-ia afogado, com o fôlego arrancado por completo, em mais meio minuto, se tivesse mantido aquela luta desesperadamente desigual.

Once more he half emerged, filled his gasping lungs, and pounded onward desperately, half flying and half swimming.

Mais uma vez emergiu pela metade, encheu os pulmões ofegantes e avançou desesperadamente, meio voando e meio nadando.

It was a mongrel method of progression, in which he was singularly expert.

Era um modo de locomoção híbrido, no qual era singularmente hábil.

Immediately over his outstretched gleaming head flew the hawk.

Logo acima de sua cabeça estendida e reluzente voava o falcão.

Where the waves for an instant sank, they came closer,--but not quite within grasping reach.

Onde as ondas baixavam por um instante, aproximavam-se mais, mas não chegavam a estar ao alcance das garras.

The marauder from the upper air was waiting till his quarry should reach less turbulent waters.

O saqueador vindo das alturas esperava que sua presa alcançasse águas menos turbulentas.

A few yards further on, the torrent fell seething over a long ledge into a pool of brief quiet.

Alguns metros adiante, a torrente despencava fervilhando sobre uma longa saliência num poço de breve quietude.

Immediately beyond the lip of the ledge the hawk lifted his wings high over his back and struck downward, so that his talons went deep into the water.

Logo além da borda da saliência, o falcão ergueu as asas bem acima do dorso e golpeou para baixo, de modo que suas garras mergulharam fundo na água.

But water was all they clutched.

Mas foi só água o que agarraram.

The wily drake had plunged with the plunge of the fall itself, and was now darting onward at a safe depth.

O astuto pato mergulhara junto com a própria queda da cascata e agora disparava adiante a uma profundidade segura.