I stopped and saw the monster formed in a high spiral coil, not half his length from my feet: another step forward would have put my life in his power, as I must have touched if not stumbled over him.

我停下来，看到这个怪物形成一个高高的螺旋形线圈，距离我的脚还不到他的一半长度：再向前一步就会让我的生命落在他的手中，因为如果我没有被他绊倒的话，我一定是碰到了他。