CHAPTER XVI. THE COMING OF NIGHT CAPÍTULO XVI. A CHEGADA DA NOITE

It was not yet full dusk, for the shadows were still swinging out from the mountains and a ghost of colour lingered in the west, but midnight lay in the open eyes of Jerry Strann. Ainda não era o crepúsculo completo, pois as sombras ainda balançavam nas montanhas e um fantasma de cor permanecia no oeste, mas a meia-noite estava nos olhos abertos de Jerry Strann. There had been no struggle, no outcry, no lifting of head or hand. Não houve luta, nem clamor, nem levantar de cabeça ou mão. One instant his eyes were closed, and then, indeed, he looked like death; the next instant the eyes open, he smiled, the wind stirred in his bright hair. He had never seemed so happily alive as in the moment of his death. Fatty Matthews held the mirror close to the faintly parted lips, examined it, and then drew slowly back towards the door, his eyes steady upon Mac Strann. Fatty Matthews segurou o espelho perto dos lábios entreabertos, examinou-o e depois voltou lentamente para a porta, os olhos fixos em Mac Strann.

"Mac," he said, "it's come. "Mac", disse ele, "chegou. I got just this to say: whatever you do, for God's sake stay inside the law!" Só tenho isso a dizer: faça o que fizer, pelo amor de Deus, fique dentro da lei!" And he slipped through the door and was gone.

But Mac Strann did not raise his head or cast a glance after the marshal. Mas Mac Strann não levantou a cabeça nem lançou um olhar para o marechal. He sat turning the limp hand of Jerry back and forth in his own, and his eyes wandered vaguely through the window and down to the roofs of the village. Sentou-se girando a mão flácida de Jerry para frente e para trás na sua, e seus olhos vagaram vagamente pela janela até os telhados da aldeia.

Night thickened perceptibly every moment, yet still while the eastern slope of every roof was jet black, the western slopes were bright, and here and there at the distance the light turned and waned on upper windows. A noite engrossava perceptivelmente a cada momento, mas ainda assim, enquanto a encosta leste de todos os telhados estava negra como azeviche, as encostas oeste eram brilhantes, e aqui e ali à distância a luz mudava e diminuía nas janelas superiores. Sleep was coming over the world, and eternal sleep had come for Jerry Strann.

It did not seem possible. Não parecia possível.

Some night at sea, when clouds hurtled before the wind across the sky and when the waves leaped up mast-high; when some good ship staggered with the storm, when hundreds were shrieking and yelling in fear or defiance of death; there would have been a death-scene for Jerry Strann. Alguma noite no mar, quando as nuvens se arremessaram diante do vento no céu e quando as ondas saltaram até a altura do mastro; quando algum bom navio cambaleou com a tempestade, quando centenas gritavam e berravam com medo ou desafiando a morte; haveria uma cena de morte para Jerry Strann.

Or in the battle, when hundreds rush to the attack with one man in front like the edge before the knife—there would have been a death-scene for Jerry Strann. Ou na batalha, quando centenas correm para o ataque com um homem na frente como o fio da navalha – haveria uma cena de morte para Jerry Strann. Или в бою, когда сотни бросаются в атаку с одним человеком впереди, как край перед ножом, - там Джерри Стрэнна ждала бы смерть. Or while he rode singing, a bolt of lightning that slew and obliterated at once—such would have been a death for Jerry Strann. Ou enquanto ele cantava, um relâmpago que matava e obliterava ao mesmo tempo — isso teria sido uma morte para Jerry Strann.

It was not possible that he could die like this, with a smile. There was something incompleted. Havia algo incompleto. The fury of the death-struggle which had been omitted must take place, and the full rage of wrath and destruction must be vented. A fúria da luta de morte que foi omitida deve ocorrer, e toda a fúria da ira e destruição deve ser descarregada. Can a bomb explode and make no sound and do no injury?

Yet Jerry Strann was dead and all the world lived on. No entanto, Jerry Strann estava morto e todo o mundo vivia. Someone cantered his horse down the street and called gayly to an acquaintance, and afterwards the dust rose, invisible, and blew through the open window and stung the nostrils of Mac Strann. Alguém galopou seu cavalo rua abaixo e chamou alegremente um conhecido, e depois a poeira subiu, invisível, e soprou pela janela aberta e picou as narinas de Mac Strann. A child cried, faintly, in the distance, and then was hushed by the voice of the mother, making a sound like a cackling hen. Uma criança chorou, baixinho, ao longe, e então foi silenciada pela voz da mãe, fazendo um som como uma galinha cacarejando. This was all!

There should have been wailing and weeping and cursing and praying, for handsome Jerry Strann was dead. Deveria ter havido lamentos e choros e xingamentos e orações, pois o belo Jerry Strann estava morto. Or there might have been utter and dreadful silence and waiting for the stroke of vengeance, for the brightest eye was misted and the strongest hand was unnerved and the voice that had made them tremble was gone. Ou pode ter havido um silêncio absoluto e terrível e à espera do golpe de vingança, pois o olho mais brilhante estava embaçado e a mão mais forte estava nervosa e a voz que os fazia tremer se foi.

But there was neither silence nor weeping. Mas não houve silêncio nem choro. Someone in a nearby kitchen rattled her pans and then cursed a dog away from her back-door. Alguém em uma cozinha próxima sacudiu suas panelas e então amaldiçoou um cachorro para longe de sua porta dos fundos. Not that any of the sounds were loud. Não que algum dos sons fosse alto. The sounds of living are rarely loud, but they run in an endless river—a monotone broken by ugly ripples of noise to testify that men still sleep or waken, hunger or feed. Os sons da vida raramente são altos, mas correm em um rio sem fim - um tom monótono quebrado por ondas feias de ruído para testemunhar que os homens ainda dormem ou acordam, passam fome ou se alimentam. Another ripple had gone down to the sea of darkness, yet all the ripples behind it chased on their way heedlessly and babbled neither louder nor softer. Outra ondulação desceu para o mar de escuridão, mas todas as ondulações atrás dela seguiram seu caminho descuidadamente e balbuciaram nem mais alto nem mais suave.

There should have been some giant voice to peal over the sleeping village and warn them of the coming vengeance—for Jerry Strann was dead! Deveria haver uma voz gigantesca para ressoar sobre a aldeia adormecida e avisá-los da vingança vindoura - pois Jerry Strann estava morto!

The tall, gaunt figure of Haw-Haw Langley came on tiptoe from behind, beheld the dead face, and grinned; a nervous convulsion sent a long ripple through his body, and his Adam's-apple rose and fell. A figura alta e esquelética de Haw-Haw Langley veio na ponta dos pés por trás, viu o rosto morto e sorriu; uma convulsão nervosa enviou uma longa ondulação através de seu corpo, e seu pomo de Adão subiu e desceu. Next he stole sideways, inch by inch, so gradual was his cautious progress, until he could catch a glimpse of Mac Strann's face. Em seguida, ele se esgueirou para o lado, centímetro por centímetro, tão gradual foi seu progresso cauteloso, até que pôde vislumbrar o rosto de Mac Strann. It was like the open face of a child; there was in it no expression except wonder. Era como o rosto aberto de uma criança; não havia nele nenhuma expressão exceto admiração.

At length a hoarse voice issued from between the grinning lips of Haw-Haw. Por fim, uma voz rouca saiu por entre os lábios sorridentes de Haw-Haw.

"Ain't you goin' to close the eyes, Mac?" "Você não vai fechar os olhos, Mac?" At this the great head of Mac Strann rolled back and he raised his glance to Haw-Haw, who banished the grin from his mouth by a vicious effort. Com isso, a grande cabeça de Mac Strann rolou para trás e ele ergueu o olhar para Haw-Haw, que baniu o sorriso de sua boca com um esforço cruel.

"Ain't he got to see his way?" "Ele não tem que ver o seu caminho?" asked Mac Strann, and lowered his glance once more to the dead man. As for Haw-Haw Langley, he made a long, gliding step back towards the door, and his beady eyes opened in terror; yet a deadly fascination drew him back again beside the bed. Quanto a Haw-Haw Langley, ele deu um passo longo e escorregadio para trás em direção à porta, e seus olhos redondos se abriram aterrorizados; no entanto, uma fascinação mortal o atraiu de volta ao lado da cama.

Mac Strann said: "Kind of looks like Jerry was ridin' the home trail, Haw-Haw. Mac Strann disse: "Parece que Jerry estava andando pela trilha de casa, Haw-Haw. See the way he's smilin'?" The vulture stroked his lean cheeks and seemed once more to swallow his silent mirth. O abutre acariciou suas bochechas magras e pareceu mais uma vez engolir sua alegria silenciosa.

"And his hands," said Mac Strann, "is just like life, except that they's gettin' sort of chilly. He don't look changed, none, does he, Haw-Haw? Ele não parece mudado, nenhum, parece, Haw-Haw? Except that he's seein' something off there—away off there. Exceto que ele está vendo algo lá fora, lá fora. Looks like he was all wrapped up in it, eh?" Parece que ele estava todo envolvido nisso, hein?" He leaned closer, his voice fell to a murmur that was almost soft. Ele se inclinou mais perto, sua voz caiu para um murmúrio que era quase suave. "Jerry, what you seein'?" Haw-Haw Langley gasped in inaudible terror and retreated again towards the door. Haw-Haw Langley engasgou com um terror inaudível e recuou novamente em direção à porta.

Mac Strann laid his giant hand on the shoulder of Jerry. Mac Strann pousou a mão gigante no ombro de Jerry. He asked in a raised voice: "Don't you hear me, lad?" Ele perguntou em voz alta: "Você não me ouve, rapaz?" Sudden terror caught hold of him. O terror súbito tomou conta dele. He plunged to his knees beside the bed, and the floor quaked and groaned under the shock. Ele caiu de joelhos ao lado da cama, e o chão tremeu e gemeu sob o choque. "Jerry, what's the matter? Are you mad at me? Ain't you going to speak to me? Are you forgettin' me, Jerry?" He caught the dead face between his hands and turned it strongly towards his own. Then for a moment his eyes plumbed the shadows into which they looked. Então, por um momento, seus olhos sondaram as sombras para as quais olhavam. He stumbled back to his feet and said apologetically to Haw-Haw at the door: "I kind of forgot he wasn't livin', for a minute." Ele cambaleou para trás e disse se desculpando para Haw-Haw na porta: "Eu meio que esqueci que ele não estava vivo, por um minuto." He stared fixedly at the gaunt cowpuncher. Ele olhou fixamente para o esquelético vaqueiro. "Speakin' man to man, Haw-Haw, d'you think Jerry will forget me?" The terror was still white upon the face of Haw-Haw, but something stronger than fear kept him in the room and even drew him a slow step towards Mac Strann; and his eyes moved from the face of the dead man to the face of the living and seemed to draw sustenance from both. O terror ainda estava branco no rosto de Haw-Haw, mas algo mais forte do que o medo o manteve na sala e até o levou a dar um passo lento em direção a Mac Strann; e seus olhos se moviam do rosto do morto para o rosto do vivo e pareciam se alimentar de ambos. He moistened his lips and was able to speak. Ele umedeceu os lábios e conseguiu falar.

"Forget you, Mac? Not if you get the man that fixed him." Não se você pegar o homem que o consertou." "Would you want me to get him, Jerry?" asked Mac Strann. And he waited for an answer.

"I dunno," he muttered, after a moment. "Eu não sei", ele murmurou, depois de um momento. "Jerry was always for fightin', but he wasn't never for killin'. "Jerry sempre foi para lutar, mas ele nunca foi para matar. He never liked the way I done things. Ele nunca gostou do jeito que eu fazia as coisas. And when he was lyin' here, Haw-Haw, he never said nothin' about me gettin' Barry. E quando ele estava deitado aqui, Haw-Haw, ele nunca disse nada sobre eu pegar Barry. Did he?" Ele fez?" Astonishment froze the lips of Haw-Haw. O espanto congelou os lábios de Haw-Haw. He managed to stammer: "Ain't you going to get Barry? Ele conseguiu gaguejar: "Você não vai pegar Barry? Ain't you goin' to bust him up, Mac?" Você não vai prendê-lo, Mac?" "I dunno," repeated the big man heavily. "Seems like I've got no heart for killing. "Parece que não tenho coração para matar. Seems like they's enough death in the world." Parece que já é morte suficiente no mundo." He pressed his hand against his forehead and closed his eyes. "Seems like they's something dead in me. "Parece que eles são algo morto em mim. They's an ache that goes ringin' in my head. Eles são uma dor que vai tocando na minha cabeça. They's a sort of hollow feelin' inside me. Eles são uma espécie de sentimento vazio dentro de mim. And I keep thinkin' about times when I was a kid and got hurt and cried." He drew a deep breath. "Oh, my God, Haw-Haw, I'd give most anything if I could bust out cryin' now!" "Oh, meu Deus, Haw-Haw, eu daria quase tudo se pudesse sair chorando agora!" While Mac Strann stood with his eyes closed, speaking his words slowly, syllable by syllable, like the tolling of a bell, Haw-Haw Langley stood with parted lips—like the spirit of famine drinking deep; joy unutterable was glittering in his eyes. Enquanto Mac Strann permanecia com os olhos fechados, falando suas palavras lentamente, sílaba por sílaba, como o badalar de um sino, Haw-Haw Langley permanecia com os lábios entreabertos — como o espírito da fome bebendo profundamente; alegria indizível brilhava em seus olhos.

"If Jerry'd wanted me to get this Barry, he'd of said so," repeated Mac Strann. "Se Jerry quisesse que eu pegasse esse Barry, ele teria dito isso", repetiu Mac Strann. "But he didn't." He turned towards the dead face. "Look at Jerry now. He ain't thinkin' about killin's. Ele não está pensando em matar. Nope, he's thinkin' about some quiet place for sleep. I know the place. They's a spring that come out in a holler between two mountains; and the wind blows up the valley all the year; and they's a tree that stands over the spring. Eles são uma fonte que sai em um grito entre duas montanhas; e o vento sopra o vale todo o ano; e eles são uma árvore que fica sobre a fonte. That's where I'll put him. He loved the sound of runnin' water; and the wind'll be on his face; and the tree'll sort of mark the place. Jerry, lad, would ye like that?" Now, while Mac Strann talked, inspiration came to Haw-Haw Langley, and he stretched out his gaunt arms to it and gathered it in to his heart.

"Mac," he said, "don't you see no reason why Jerry wouldn't ask you to go after Barry?" "Eh?" queried Mac Strann, turning.

But as he turned, Haw-Haw Langley glided towards him, and behind him, as if he found it easier to talk when the face of Mac was turned away. And while he talked his hands reached out towards Mac Strann like one who is begging for alms. E enquanto ele falava, suas mãos se estenderam para Mac Strann como quem está pedindo esmola.

"Mac, don't you remember that Barry beat Jerry to the draw?" "Mac, você não se lembra que Barry venceu Jerry no empate?" "Мак, разве ты не помнишь, что Барри выиграл у Джерри вничью?" "What's that to do with it?" "O que isso tem a ver com isso?" "But he beat him bad to the draw. "Mas ele o derrotou no empate. "Но он выиграл у него вничью. I seen it. Eu vi. Barry waited for Jerry. Understand?" "What of that?" "E daí?" "Mac, you're blind! Jerry knowed you'd be throwing yourself away if you went up agin Barry." Jerry sabia que você estaria se jogando fora se subisse de novo com Barry." Джерри знал, что ты будешь в проигрыше, если вступишь в борьбу с Барри". At this Mac Strann whirled with a suddenness surprising for one of his bulk. Com isso, Mac Strann girou com uma rapidez surpreendente para alguém de seu tamanho. В этот момент Мак Стрэнн взвизгнул с неожиданной для такого крупного человека внезапностью. Haw-Haw Langley flattened his gaunt frame against the wall. Haw-Haw Langley achatou seu corpo esquelético contra a parede. Хоу-Хоу Лэнгли прижался к стене.

"Mac!" he pleaded, " I didn't say you'd be throwin' yourself away. ele implorou: "Eu não disse que você estaria se jogando fora. умолял он, - Я не говорил, что ты бросишь себя на произвол судьбы. It was Jerry's idea." "Did Jerry tell you that?" he asked.

"So help me God!" "Did Jerry want me to get Barry?" "Why wouldn't he?" persisted the vulture, twisting his bony hands together in an agony of alarm and suspense. продолжал стервятник, скручивая свои костлявые руки в мучительной тревоге и напряжении. "Ain't it nacheral, Mac?" "Разве это не прекрасно, Мак?" Mac Strann wavered where he stood. Mac Strann vacilou onde estava.

"Somehow," he argued to himself, "it don't seem like killin' is right, here." The long hand of Langley touched his shoulder.

He whispered rapidly: "You remember last night when you was out of the room for a minute? Ele sussurrou rapidamente: "Você se lembra da noite passada quando você estava fora da sala por um minuto? Jerry turned his head to me—jest the way he's lyin' now—and I says: 'Jerry, is there anything I can do for you?'" Jerry virou a cabeça para mim — brinca do jeito que está mentindo agora — e eu digo: 'Jerry, há algo que eu possa fazer por você?'" Mac Strann reached up and his big fingers closed over those of Haw-Haw.

"Haw-Haw," he muttered, "you was his frien'. "Haw-Haw", ele murmurou, "você era amigo dele. I know that." Haw-Haw gathered assurance. Haw-Haw reuniu segurança.

He said: "Jerry answers to me: 'Haw-Haw, old pal, there ain't nothin' you can do for me. Ele disse: "Jerry me responde: 'Haw-Haw, velho amigo, não há nada que você possa fazer por mim. I'm goin' West. But after I'm gone, keep Mac away from Barry.' Mas depois que eu for, mantenha Mac longe de Barry. "I says: 'Why, Jerry?" "'Because Barry'll kill him, sure,' says Jerry. "'I'll do what I can to keep him away from Barry,' says I, 'but don't you want nothin' done to the man what killed you?' "Я сделаю все возможное, чтобы держать его подальше от Барри, - сказал я, - но разве ты не хочешь, чтобы с человеком, который тебя убил, ничего не сделали? "'Oh, Haw-Haw,' says Jerry, 'I ain't goin' to rest easy, I ain't goin' to sleep in heaven—until I know Barry's been sent to hell. "О, Хоу-Хоу, - говорит Джерри, - я не успокоюсь, я не буду спать в раю, пока не узнаю, что Барри отправили в ад. But for God's sake don't let Mac know what I want, or he'd be sure to go after Barry and get what I got.'" Mac Strann crushed the hand of Haw-Haw in a terrible grip. Mac Strann esmagou a mão de Haw-Haw em um aperto terrível. Мак Странн сжал руку Хоу-Хоу в страшной хватке.

"Partner," he said, "d'you swear this is straight?" "Parceiro", ele disse, "você jura que isso é hétero?" "So help me God!" repeated the perjurer. repetiu o perjuro.

"Then," said Mac Strann, "I got to leave the buryin' to other men what I'll hire. "Тогда, - сказал Мак Странн, - я должен оставить погребение другим людям, которых я найму". Me—I've got business on hand. Where did Barry run to?" "He ain't run," cried Haw-Haw, choking with a strange emotion. "The fool—the damned fool!—is waiting right down here in O'Brien's bar for you to come. He's darin' you to come!" Ele está desafiando você a vir!" Mac Strann made no answer. He cast a single glance at the peaceful face of Jerry, and then started for the door. Haw-Haw waited until the door closed; then he wound his arms about his body, writhed in an ecstasy of silent laughter, and followed with long, shambling strides. Haw-Haw esperou até que a porta se fechasse; então ele enrolou os braços ao redor do corpo, contorceu-se em um êxtase de riso silencioso, e seguiu com passos largos e trôpegos.