How would you translate this?

[Chowlz]

I'm learning Japanese and wanted to start reading/learning from light novels, particularly spice and wolf since I hated the way the anime ended! These lines are from the colored pages from the first book.
「なに、俺も駆け出しの頃は行商人全部が化け物に見えた。」
「それでもなんと食っていける」行商人ロレンス
My guess is:
"_____, when I was a novice, all peddlers appeared as monsters to me."
"Yet somehow I managed to live." Lawrence, the peddler.

「へへへ、だんな、なかなかの人物だね。」
謎の商人ゼーレン
My guess is
"Hehehe, sir, you're quite the character."
Zeeren, the mysterious merchant.

「無事でよかった。」
「ぬしがその麦を持っとる限りわっちは死にはせんがな」
My guess:
"I'm glad you're safe."
"As long as you carry the wheat, I will not die."


Main questions:
Is 持っとる equal or similar to 持っている or 持ってる?
死にはせんがな
The short form is 死ぬ which means to die, but I don't get how this is conjugated...
What is なに from the first line?

 

[Frankincense]

Hi Chowlz. I'll try to answer your questions as best I can. Pardon me if I'm inaccurate. =P

1. Yes, 持っとる is the same as 持っている. This line is spoken in some dialect, although I don't know enough to classify it.

2. 死にはせん isn't a conjugation of 死ぬ. It's 死にはしない spoken in dialect. (せん = しない)

3. My guess is it's an interjection, but it can have a few different meanings. It's hard to tell what this なに means without knowing the context.
なに can be used to express surprise, like "what" or "oh".
It can also be used to ease second person's worry, excitement, etc. like "it's nothing" or "not at all" (as in "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."/"Not at all. It's not a big deal.").

Hope I could be of some help. ^^

 

[Chowlz]

Ahhh, I see! Thanks for the help!

 

[Animaksiat]

[MENTION=29177]Chowlz[/MENTION] a little bit late of reply... what were lady rabbit Frankincense said is true, they're dialect of kyoto! in japanese they're 京都弁