Chapter 2 (6) Kapitel 2 (6) Capítulo 2 (6) Розділ 2 (6)

Mr. Havisham found himself leaning out of the window of his coupe with a curious feeling of interest. Il signor Havisham si trovò a sporgersi dal finestrino del suo coupé con una curiosa sensazione di interesse. He really never remembered having seen anything quite like the way in which his lordship's lordly little red legs flew up behind his knickerbockers and tore over the ground as he shot out in the race at the signal word. Non ricordava davvero di aver mai visto nulla di simile al modo in cui le piccole gambe rosse di Sua Signoria volavano dietro i suoi calzettoni e si strappavano al suolo quando scattava in corsa al segnale. He shut his small hands and set his face against the wind; his bright hair streamed out behind. Chiuse le piccole mani e mise il viso contro il vento; i suoi capelli luminosi spuntavano alle spalle.

"Hooray, Ced Errol!" "Urrà, Ced Errol!". all the boys shouted, dancing and shrieking with excitement. gridarono tutti i ragazzi, ballando e gridando per l'eccitazione. "Hooray, Billy Williams! Hooray, Ceddie! Hooray, Billy! Hooray! 'Ray! 'Ray!" "I really believe he is going to win," said Mr. Havisham. The way in which the red legs flew and flashed up and down, the shrieks of the boys, the wild efforts of Billy Williams, whose brown legs were not to be despised, as they followed closely in the rear of the red legs, made him feel some excitement. Il modo in cui le zampe rosse volavano e lampeggiavano su e giù, le grida dei ragazzi, gli sforzi selvaggi di Billy Williams, le cui zampe marroni non erano da disprezzare, mentre seguivano da vicino le zampe rosse, gli fecero provare una certa eccitazione. "I really--I really can't help hoping he will win!" "Davvero... davvero non posso fare a meno di sperare che vinca!". he said, with an apologetic sort of cough. disse, con una specie di tosse apologetica. At that moment, the wildest yell of all went up from the dancing, hopping boys. In quel momento, dai ragazzi danzanti e saltellanti si levò l'urlo più selvaggio di tutti. With one last frantic leap the future Earl of Dorincourt had reached the lamp-post at the end of the block and touched it, just two seconds before Billy Williams flung himself at it, panting. Con un ultimo frenetico balzo il futuro conte di Dorincourt aveva raggiunto il lampione alla fine dell'isolato e lo aveva toccato, appena due secondi prima che Billy Williams vi si gettasse contro, ansimando.

"Three cheers for Ceddie Errol!" "Tre urrà per Ceddie Errol!". yelled the little boys. urlarono i ragazzi. "Hooray for Ceddie Errol!" Mr. Havisham drew his head in at the window of his coupe and leaned back with a dry smile. Il signor Havisham si avvicinò con la testa al finestrino del suo coupé e si appoggiò allo schienale con un sorriso asciutto.

"Bravo, Lord Fauntleroy!" "Bravo, Lord Fauntleroy!". he said.

As his carriage stopped before the door of Mrs. Errol's house, the victor and the vanquished were coming toward it, attended by the clamoring crew. Quando la sua carrozza si fermò davanti alla porta della casa della signora Errol, il vincitore e il vinto stavano venendo verso di essa, accompagnati da un gruppo di persone che chiedevano a gran voce. Cedric walked by Billy Williams and was speaking to him. Cedric si è avvicinato a Billy Williams e gli ha parlato. His elated little face was very red, his curls clung to his hot, moist forehead, his hands were in his pockets. Il suo visino euforico era molto rosso, i suoi riccioli si aggrappavano alla fronte calda e umida, le sue mani erano in tasca.

"You see," he was saying, evidently with the intention of making defeat easy for his unsuccessful rival, "I guess I won because my legs are a little longer than yours. I guess that was it. You see, I'm three days older than you, and that gives me a 'vantage. I'm three days older." And this view of the case seemed to cheer Billy Williams so much that he began to smile on the world again, and felt able to swagger a little, almost as if he had won the race instead of losing it. E questa visione del caso sembrò rallegrare Billy Williams a tal punto che ricominciò a sorridere al mondo e si sentì in grado di spadroneggiare un po', quasi come se avesse vinto la gara invece di perderla. Somehow, Ceddie Errol had a way of making people feel comfortable. Even in the first flush of his triumphs, he remembered that the person who was beaten might not feel so gay as he did, and might like to think that he might have been the winner under different circumstances. Anche nella fase iniziale dei suoi trionfi, ricordava che chi era stato battuto poteva non sentirsi così allegro come lui, e poteva pensare che avrebbe potuto essere lui il vincitore in circostanze diverse.

That morning Mr. Havisham had quite a long conversation with the winner of the race--a conversation which made him smile his dry smile, and rub his chin with his bony hand several times. Quella mattina il signor Havisham ebbe una lunga conversazione con il vincitore della corsa, una conversazione che lo fece sorridere del suo sorriso secco e sfregare più volte il mento con la mano ossuta.

Mrs. Errol had been called out of the parlor, and the lawyer and Cedric were left together. La signora Errol era stata chiamata fuori dal salotto e l'avvocato e Cedric erano rimasti insieme. At first Mr. Havisham wondered what he should say to his small companion. He had an idea that perhaps it would be best to say several things which might prepare Cedric for meeting his grandfather, and, perhaps, for the great change that was to come to him. He could see that Cedric had not the least idea of the sort of thing he was to see when he reached England, or of the sort of home that waited for him there. Si rendeva conto che Cedric non aveva la minima idea del tipo di cose che avrebbe visto una volta arrivato in Inghilterra, o del tipo di casa che lo aspettava lì. He did not even know yet that his mother was not to live in the same house with him. They had thought it best to let him get over the first shock before telling him. Avevano pensato che fosse meglio fargli superare il primo shock prima di dirglielo.

Mr. Havisham sat in an arm-chair on one side of the open window; on the other side was another still larger chair, and Cedric sat in that and looked at Mr. Havisham. Il signor Havisham sedeva in una poltrona da un lato della finestra aperta; dall'altro lato c'era un'altra poltrona ancora più grande, e Cedric si sedette su quella e guardò il signor Havisham. He sat well back in the depths of his big seat, his curly head against the cushioned back, his legs crossed, and his hands thrust deep into his pockets, in a quite Mr. Hobbs-like way. Si sedette ben in fondo alla sua grande poltrona, con la testa riccioluta appoggiata allo schienale imbottito, le gambe incrociate e le mani infilate in profondità nelle tasche, in modo del tutto simile a Mr. He had been watching Mr. Havisham very steadily when his mamma had been in the room, and after she was gone he still looked at him in respectful thoughtfulness. Aveva osservato il signor Havisham con molta attenzione quando la mamma era nella stanza, e dopo che lei se n'era andata lo guardava ancora con rispettosa attenzione. There was a short silence after Mrs. Errol went out, and Cedric seemed to be studying Mr. Havisham, and Mr. Havisham was certainly studying Cedric. He could not make up his mind as to what an elderly gentleman should say to a little boy who won races, and wore short knickerbockers and red stockings on legs which were not long enough to hang over a big chair when he sat well back in it. Non riusciva a decidersi su cosa un signore anziano dovesse dire a un ragazzino che vinceva le corse e che portava calzoncini corti e calze rosse su gambe non abbastanza lunghe da pendere da una grande sedia quando vi si sedeva ben indietro.

But Cedric relieved him by suddenly beginning the conversation himself. Ma Cedric lo sollevò iniziando improvvisamente lui stesso la conversazione.

"Do you know," he said, "I don't know what an earl is?" "Don't you?" said Mr. Havisham.

"No," replied Ceddie. "And I think when a boy is going to be one, he ought to know. Don't you?"