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| We went out at the French doors and along a smooth red-flagged path that skirted the far side of the lawn from the garage. The boyish-looking chauffeur had a big black and chromium sedan out now and was dusting that. The path took us along to the side of the greenhouse and the butler opened a door for me and stood aside. It opened into a sort of vestibule that was about as warm as a slow oven. He came in after me, shut the outer door, opened an inner door and we went through that. Then it was really hot. The air was thick, wet, steamy and larded with the cloying smell of tropical orchids in bloom. The glass walls and roof were heavily misted and big drops of moisture splashed down on the plants. The light had an unreal greenish color, like light filtered through an aquarium tank. The plants filled the place, a forest of them, with nasty meaty leaves and stalks like the newly washed fingers of dead men. They smelled as overpowering as boiling alcohol under a blanket. | Izišli smo kroz francuske prozore i produžili glatkom, crveno popločanom stazom što je odjeljivala udaljeniju stranu tratine od garaže. Šofer dječačkog izgleda imao je sada vani veliku crnu kromiranu limuzinu i brisao s nje prašinu. Staza nas je odvela do boka staklenika. Batler mi je otvorio vrata i stao u stranu, oslobodivši mi put u predvorje što je bilo toplo otprilike kao pećnica. Čovjek je ušao za mnom, zatvorio vanjska vrata i otvorio unutrašnja, kroz koja smo zatim prošli. Tada je zaista postalo vruće. Zrak je bio gust, vlažan, zaparen i nadjenut gadljivim mirisom tropskih orhideja u cvatu. Stakleni su zidovi i krov bili grdno zamagljeni, a krupne su kapi vlage pljuskale odozgo po biljkama. Svjetlo je imalo nestvarnu zelenkastu boju, poput svjetla profiltriranog kroz akvarij. Biljke su ispunjavale prostor, čitava šuma njih, s gadnim mesnatim lišćem i stapkama nalik na svježe oprane prste mrtvaca. Mirisale su nesnosno i omamljujuće kao ključali alkohol pod poplunom. |
| The butler did his best to get me through without being smacked in the face by the sodden leaves, and after a while we came to a clearing in the middle of the jungle, under the domed roof. Here, in a space of hexagonal flags, an old red Turkish rug was laid down and on the rug was a wheel chair, and in the wheel chair an old and obviously dying man watched us come with black eyes from which all fire had died long ago, but which still had the coal black directness of the eyes in the portrait that hung above the mantel in the hall. The rest of his face was a leaden mask, with the bloodless lips and the sharp nose and the sunken temples and the outward-turning earlobes of approaching dissolution. His long narrow body was wrapped—in that heat—in a traveling rug and a faded red bathrobe. His thin claw-like hands were folded loosely on the rug, purple-nailed. A few locks of dry white hair clung to his scalp, like wild flowers fighting for life on a bare rock. | Batler je učinio sve što je mogao da bi me provukao a da me pri tome ne išamara promočeno lišće, i domalo stigosmo na čistinu usred džungle, smještenu ispod kupola-stoga krova. Ovdje je, umjesto šesterokutnih podnih ploča bio položen nekakav stari crveni turski ćilim, a na njemu su bila invalidska kolica, u kojima je opet bio neki starac, očito na samrti, koji nas je promatrao kako dolazimo svojini crnim očima u kojima se već odavno ugasila sva vatra, no koje su još uvijek imale ugljeno garavu neposre- dnost očiju portreta što je visio nad okvirom kamina u predvorju. Ostatak mu je lica bio olovna maska, s beskrvnim usnicama, usiljenim nosom, uvučenim sljepoočicama i izbačenim usnim resicama, znakovima nastupajućeg rasula. Njegovo je dugačko i tanko tijelo bilo za vi j eno — pri svoj toj vrućini — u debeli vuneni pokrivač i izblijedjeli crveni kućni kaput. Mršave su mu ruke, nalik čaporcima, bile mlitavo prekrižene na pokrivaču; nokti su im bili grimizni. Još mu se nekoliko pramenova suhe bijele kose grčevito držalo tjemena, nalik na divlje bilje što se na goloj stijeni bori za život. |
| The butler stood in front of him and said: “This is Mr. Marlowe, General.” | Batler je stao ispred njega i kazao: — Generale, ovo je mister Marlowe |
| The old man didn’t move or speak, or even nod. He just looked at me lifelessly. The butler pushed a damp wicker chair against the backs of my legs and I sat down. He took my hat with a deft scoop. | Starac se nije pomaknuo ni progovorio, nije čak ni kirnnuo. Samo me je pogledao beživotnim pogledom. Batler mi je gurnuo otraga pod koljena mokru pletenu stolicu i ja sam sjeo. Uzeo mi je šešir spretnim zamahom. |
| Then the old man dragged his voice up from the bottom of a well and said: “Brandy, Norris. How do you like your brandy, sir?” | Tada je starac izvukao glas sa dna bunara i progovorio: — Brandy, Norris. Na kakav način volite brandy, sir? |
| “Any way at all,” I said. | — Uopće na bilo koji način — odgovorio sam. |
| The butler went away among the abominable plants. The General spoke again, slowly, using his strength as carefully as an out-of-work showgirl uses her last good pair of stockings. | Batler se izgubio među užasnim biljkama. General je progovorio ponovno, polako, trošeći snagu tako pažljivo kao što barska plesačica bez posla troši svoj posljednji par čarapa. |
| “I used to like mine with champagne. The champagne as cold as Valley Forge and about a third of a glass of brandy beneath it. You may take your coat off, sir. It’s too hot in here for a man with blood in his veins.” | — Obično ga pijem sa šampanjcem. Šampanjcem hladnim kao zimski bivak i s trećinom čaše brandyja ispod njega. Možete skinuti ogrtač, sir. Ovdje je pretopio za čovjeka čijim žilama teče krv. |
| I stood up and peeled off my coat and got a handkerchief out and mopped my face and neck and the backs of my wrists. St. Louis in August had nothing on that place. I sat down again and I felt automatically for a cigarette and then stopped. The old man caught the gesture and smiled faintly. | Ustao sam, svukao ogrtač pa izvadio maramicu i obrisao lice, vrat i unutrašnju stranu zglavaka. St. Louis u kolovozu nije ništa prema ovome ovdje. Sjeo sam ponovno i automatski pipanjem potražio cigaretu, no zatim zastao. Starcu nije promakla kretnja i on se slabašno nasmiješio. |
| “You may smoke, sir. I like the smell of tobacco.” I lit the cigarette and blew a lungful at him and he sniffed at it like a terrier at a rat-hole. The faint smile pulled at the shadowed corners of his mouth. | — Možete pušiti, sir. Volim miris duhana. '* Pripalio sam cigaretu pa ispuhnuo puna pluća dima prema njemu; on ga je njuškao kao terijer štakorsku jazbinu. Slabašni mu je smiješak razvukao zasjenjene kutove usnica. |
| “A nice state of affairs when a man has to indulge his vices by proxy,” he said dryly. “You are looking at a very dull survival of a rather gaudy life, a cripple paralyzed in both legs and with only half of his lower belly. There’s very little that I can eat and my sleep is so close to waking that it is hardly worth the name. I seem to exist largely on heat, like a newborn spider, and the orchids are an excuse for the heat. Do you like orchids?” | — Lijepo stanje stvari kad se čovjek mora prepuštati porocima preko opunomoćenika — rekao je suho. — Gledate u prilično sumoran preostatak nekad vrlo bujnoga ži- vota, u bogalja s oduzetim obim nogama i samo polovicom donjeg trbuha. Malo je toga što mogu pojesti, a san je tako nalik buđenju da je jedva dostojan svog imena. Čini se da živim uglavnom od topline, kao netom rođeni pauk; orhideje su samo izlika da bi bilo toplo. Volite li ih? |
| “Not particularly,” I said. | — Ne posebno. |
| The General half-closed his eyes. “They are nasty things. Their flesh is too much like the flesh of men. And their perfume has the rotten sweetness of a prostitute.” | General je napola zatvorio oči. — To su gadne stvarčice. Njihovo je tkivo isuviše slično čovjekovu. A njihov miris ima trulu slatkoću javne b idnice. |
| I stared at him with my mouth open. The soft wet heat was like a pall around us. The old man nodded, as if his neck was afraid of the weight of his head. Then the butler came pushing back through the jungle with a tea-wagon, mixed me a brandy and soda, swathed the copper ice bucket with a damp napkin, and went away softly among the orchids. A door opened and shut behind the jungle. | Zurio sam u nj otvorenih ustiju. Meka vlažna toplina oko nas bila je nalik na mrtvački pokrov. Starac je kimnuo, kao da mu je vrat ustrašen težinom glave. Tada se pojavio batler probijajući se natrag kroz džunglu sa stolićem na kotačima, izmiješao mi brandv i sodu, omotao bakrenu čabri-ću s ledom mokrim ubrusom i tiho se udaljio među orhideje. Vrata su se otvorila i zatvorila s onu stranu džungle. |
| I sipped the drink. The old man licked his lips watching me, over and over again, drawing one lip slowly across the other with a funereal absorption, like an undertaker dry-washing his hands. | Srknuo sam piće. Starac je oblizivao usne promatrajući me, ponovno i ponovno, prevlačeći polagano jednu usnicu preko druge s mrtvački ozbiljnom koncentracijom, nalik na poduzetnika što trlja ruke. |
| “Tell me about yourself, Mr. Marlowe. I suppose I have a right to ask?” | — Pričajte mi o sebi, mister Marlowe. Pretpostavljam da imam pravo upitati? |
| “Sure, but there’s very little to tell. I’m thirty-three years old, went to college once and can still speak English if there’s any demand for it. There isn’t much in my trade. I worked for Mr. Wilde, the District Attorney, as an investigator once. His chief investigator, a man named Bernie Ohls, called me and told me you wanted to see me. I’m unmarried because I don’t like policemen’s wives.” | — Sigurno, no tu ima malo što za ispričati. Trideset i tri su mi godine, pohađao sam svojedobno koledž i još i sad mogu govoriti engleski ako se za tim ukaže potreba. U mom zanatu nema bog zna što. Radio sam za mistera Wildea, okružnog tužioca, svojedobno kao istražitelj. Njegov glavni istražitelj, čovjek imenom Bemie Ohls, nazvao me je i rekao da me želite vidjeti. Neženja sam jer mi se ne dopadaju policijske supruge. |
| “And a little bit of a cynic,” the old man smiled. “You didn’t like working for Wilde?” | — I pomalo ste cinični — nasmiješio se starac. — Nije vam se dopao rad za Wildea? |
| “I was fired. For insubordination. I test very high on insubordination, General.” | — Najuren sam. Zbog insubordinacije. Visoko stojim na*testovima neposlušnosti, generale. |
| “I always did myself, sir. I’m glad to hear it. What do you know about my family?” | — I ja sam uvijek, sir. Drago mi je da to čujem. Što •znate o mojoj obitelji? |
| “I’m told you are a widower and have two young daughters, both pretty and both wild. One of them has been married three times, the last time to an ex-bootlegger who went in the trade by the name of Rusty Regan. That’s all I heard, General.” | — Rekli su mi da ste udovac i da imate dvije mlade kćeri, obje zgodne i obadvije divlje. Jedna se od njih triput udavala, posljednji put za bivšeg švercera koji je ušao u posao pod imenom Rustv Regan. To je sve što sam čuo, generale. • |
| “Did any of it strike you as peculiar?” | — Da li vam išta od toga upada u oči kao neobično? |
| “The Rusty Regan part, maybe. But I always got along with bootleggers myself.” | — Onaj dio s Rustyjem Reganom, možda. Ali sam se i sam uvijek dobro razumio sa švercerima. |
| He smiled his faint economical smile. “It seems I do too. I’m very fond of Rusty. A big curly-headed Irishman from Clonmel, with sad eyes and a smile as wide as Wilshire Boulevard. The first time I saw him I thought he might be what you are probably thinking he was, an adventurer who happened to get himself wrapped up in some velvet.” | Nasmiješio se svojim slabašnim ekonomičnim smiješkom. — Čini se, i ja također. Rusty mi je vrlo drag. Krupni kovrčavi Irac iz Clonmela, s tužnim očima i smiješkom širokim kao bulevar VVilshire. Kad sam ga prvi put ugledao pomislio sam da bi mogao biti ono što vi vjerojatno sada mislite da jest: pustolov kojem se slučilo da dobije omot od baršuna, |
| “You must have liked him,” I said. “You learned to talk the language.” | — Mora da vam se dopadao — rekoh. — Naučili ste govoriti njegovim jezikom. |
| He put his thin bloodless hands under the edge of the rug. I put my cigarette stub out and finished my drink. | Stavio je tanjušnu beskrvnu ruku pod rub pokrivača. Izvadio sam čik i dovršio piće. |
| “He was the breath of life to me—while he lasted. He spent hours with me, sweating like a pig, drinking brandy by the quart and telling me stories of the Irish revolution. He had been an officer in the I.R.A. He wasn’t even legally in the United States. It was a ridiculous marriage of course, and it probably didn’t last a month, as a marriage. I’m telling you the family secrets, Mr. Marlowe.” | — Za mene je bio dašak života — dok je bio. Provodio je sa mnom sate, znojeći se kao svinja i pijući brandv na litre, pričajući mi priče o irskoj revoluciji. Bio je bio oficir u IRA-i. Nije čak ni bio legalno u Sjedinjenim Državama. Bio je to, naravno, smiješan brak, i vjerojatno nije •trajao ni mjesec dana, kao brak. Pričam vam obiteljske tajne, mister Marlovve. |
| “They’re still secrets,” I said. “What happened to him?” | — Još su i sad tajne -— rekoh. — Što se s njim dogodilo? |
| The old man looked at me woodenly. “He went away, a month ago. Abruptly, without a word to anyone. Without saying goodbye to me. That hurt a little, but he had been raised in a rough school. I’ll hear from him one of these days. Meantime I am being blackmailed again.” | Starac me pogledao drvenim pogledom. — Otišao je, ima tome mjesec dana. Nenadano, bez i jedne riječi ikome. Ne kazavši mi niti zbogom. To pomalo boli, no njega su odgojile surove škole. Dobit ću glas od njega jednoga dana. U međuvremenu, ponovno su me ucijenili. |
| I said: “Again?” | — Ponovno? — rekoh. |
| He brought his hands from under the rug with a brown envelope in them. “I should have been very sorry for anybody who tried to blackmail me while Rusty was around. A few months before he came—that is to say about nine or ten months ago—I paid a man named Joe Brody five thousand dollars to let my younger daughter Carmen alone.” | Izvukao je ruke ispod pokrivača, ruke u kojima je bila smeđa omotnica. — Bilo bi mi vrlo žao svakoga tko bi me pokušao ucijeniti dok je Rusty bio u blizini. Nekoliko mjeseci prije no što se pojavio — to će reći prije devet ili deset mjeseci — platio sam tipu imenom Joe Brody pet tisuća dolara da mi ostavi na miru mlađu kćer Carmen. |
| “Ah,” I said. | — Ah — rekoh. |
| He moved his thin white eyebrows. “That means what?” | Pomakao je svoje tanke bijele obrve. — To znači što? |
| “Nothing,” I said. | — Ništa. |
| He went on staring at me, half frowning. Then he said: “Take this envelope and examine it. And help yourself to the brandy.” | Nastavio je zuriti u mene, napola se mršteći. Tada je rekao: —"Uzmite kuvertu i pregledajte je. I služite se bran-dyjem. |
| I took the envelope off his knees and sat down with it again. I wiped off the palms of my hands and turned it around. It was addressed to General Guy Sternwood, 3765 Alta Brea Crescent; West Hollywood, California. The address was in ink, in the slanted printing engineers use. The envelope was slit. I opened it up and took out a brown card and three slips of stiff paper. The card was of thin brown linen, printed in gold: “Mr. Arthur Gwynn Geiger.” No address. Very small in the lower left-hand corner: “Rare Books and Deluxe Editions.” I turned the card over. More of the slanted printing on the back. “Dear Sir: In spite of the legal uncollectibility of the enclosed, which frankly represent gambling debts, I assume you might wish them honored. Respectfully, A. G. Geiger.” | Digao sam mu omotnicu s koljena i ponovno sjeo. Obrisao sam dlanove i okrenuo je. Bila je adresirana na generala Guyja Sternwooda, 3765 Alta Brea Crescent, West Ho-llywood, California. Adresa je bila ispisana tintom, nagnutim štampanim slovima kakvima se služe tehničari. Omotnica je bila razrezana. Otvorio sam je i izvadio smeđu posjetnicu i tri komadića krutoga papira. Posjetnica je bila od tankoga smeđeg lanenog papira, u zlatotisku: »Mr. Ar-thur Gwynn Geiger.« Bez adrese. I vrlo sitno, u donjem lijevom uglu: »Rijetke knjige i divot-izdanja.« Preokrenuo sam posjetnicu. Na poleđini još nagnutih štampanih slova. »Poštovani gospodine, unatoč tome što se priloženo ne može zakonski utjerati, a što uistinu predstavlja kockarske dugove, polazim od pretpostavke da biste ih možda željeli u-važiti. S poštovanjem, A. G. Geiger.« |
| I looked at the slips of stiffish white paper. They were promissory notes filled out in ink, dated on several dates early in the month before, September. “On Demand I promise to pay to Arthur Gwynn Geiger on Order the sum of One Thousand Dollars ($1000.00) without interest. Value Received. Carmen Sternwood.” | Pogledao sam komadiće krutog bijelog papira. Bile su to obveznice, ispisane tintom i datirane s nekoliko datuma s početka prošlog mjeseca, rujna. »Ovim obećavam da ću na zahtjev isplatiti ili doznačiti Arthuru Gwynnu Geigeru svotu od jedne tisuće dolara ($ 1000,00), beskamatno. Protuvrijednost primljena. Carmen Stermvood.« |
| The written part was in a sprawling moronic handwriting with a lot of fat curlicues and circles for dots. I mixed myself another drink and sipped it and put the exhibit aside. | Tekst je bio ispisan razbacanim debilnim rukopisom s mnogo debelih vitica i s kružićima umjesto točaka. Izmiješao sam sebi još jedno piće, srknuo ga i položio izložak na stranu. |
| “Your conclusions?” the General asked. | — Vaš zaključak? — upitao je general. |
| “I haven’t any yet. Who is this Arthur Gwynn Geiger?” | — Još ga nemam. Tko je taj Arthur Gwynn Geiger? |
| “I haven’t the faintest idea.” | — Nemam ni najbljeđe ideje. |
| “What does Carmen say?” | — Sto veli Carmen? |
| “I haven’t asked her. I don’t intend to. If I did, she would suck her thumb and look coy.” | — Nisam je pitao. I ne namjeravam. Kad bih je upitao, počela bi sisati palac i stidljivo se kreveljiti. |
| I said: “I met her in the hall. She did that to me. Then she tried to sit in my lap.” | Odgovorio'sam: —- Sreo sam je u predvorju. Upravo je to učinila. Zatim mi je pokušala sjesti u krilo. |
| Nothing changed in his expression. His clasped hands rested peacefully on the edge of the rug, and the heat, which made me feel like a New England boiled dinner, didn’t seem to make him even warm. | Ništa mu se nije promijenilo u izrazu. Prekrižene su mu ruke mirno počivale na rubu pokrivača, a vrućina, zbog koje sam se osjećao kao novoengleski gulaš, činilo se kao da ga nije ni ugrijala. |
| “Do I have to be polite?” I asked. “Or can I just be natural?” | — Moram li biti uljudan? — upitao sam. — Ili mogu naprosto biti prirodan? |
| “I haven’t noticed that you suffer from many inhibitions, Mr. Marlowe.” | — Nisam primijetio da patite od mnogih inhibicija, mister Marlowe. |
| “Do the two girls run around together?” | — Da li te dvije cure zajedno tjeraju kera? |
| “I think not. I think they go their separate and slightly divergent roads to perdition. Vivian is spoiled, exacting, smart and quite ruthless. Carmen is a child who likes to pull wings off flies. Neither of them has any more moral sense than a cat. Neither have I. No Sternwood ever had. Proceed.” | — Mislim da ne. Mislim da idu odvojenim i za nijansu različitim putovima u pakao. Vivian je razmažena, puna prohtjeva, bistra i prilično bezobzirna. Carmen je dijete koje uživa čupati muhama krila. Ni jedna od njih nema išta više moralnog osjećaja od mačke. Nemam ga ni ja. Ni jedan ga Sternv/ood nije nikada imao. Nastavite. |
| “They’re well educated, I suppose. They know what they’re doing.” | — Fino su obrazovane, pretpostavljam. Znaju što rade. |
| “Vivian went to good schools of the snob type and to college. Carmen went to half a dozen schools of greater and greater liberality, and ended up where she started. I presume they both had, and still have, all the usual vices. If I sound a little sinister as a parent, Mr. Marlowe, it is because my hold on life is too slight to include any Victorian hypocrisy.” He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, then opened them again suddenly. “I need not add that a man who indulges in parenthood for the first time at the age of fifty-four deserves all he gets.” | — Vivian je pohađala dobre škole snobovskog tipa, a osim toga i koledž. Carmen je pohađala pola tuceta sve liberalnijih škola da bi se na koncu vratila odakle je i pošla. Pretpostavljam da su obadvije imale, i da još i sad imaju, sve uobičajene poroke. Ako to od mene, kao oca, zvuči malo zloslutno, mister Marlovve, to je stoga što je moja veza sa životom preslaba a da bih je smio opteretiti ičim nalik na viktorijansko licemjerje. — Zabacio je glavu prema natrag i zatvorio oči da bi ih potom iznenada opet otvorio. -— Ne moram dodati da čovjek koji se prvi put u pedeset i četvrtoj prepusti stvaranju potomstva zaslužuje sve što ga snađe. |
| I sipped my drink and nodded. The pulse in his lean gray throat throbbed visibly and yet so slowly that it was hardly a pulse at all. An old man two thirds dead and still determined to believe he could take it. | Srknuo sam piće i kimnuo. Bilo mu je u mršavu sivu vratu tuklo vidljivo, pa ipak tako sporo da se teško moglo i nazvati pulsom. Starac je već dvije trećine mrtav, a još odlučan da vjeruje kako neće pokleknuti. |
| “Your conclusions?” he snapped suddenly. | — Vaš zaključak? — ispalio je iznenada. |
| “I’d pay him.” | — Ja bih mu platio. |
| “Why?” | — Zašto? |
| “It’s a question of a little money against a lot of annoyance. There has to be something behind it. But nobody’s going to break your heart, if it hasn’t been done already. And it would take an awful lot of chiselers an awful lot of time to rob you of enough so that you’d even notice it.” | — Riječ je o malo novaca nasuprot velikoj gnjavaži. Tu mora biti nešto iza toga. No nitko vam neće slomiti srce, ukoliko to već nije učinjeno. Trebalo bi mnogo vremena i mnogo pijavica da bi vas orobili dovoljno da to samo opazite. |
| “I have pride, sir,” he said coldly. | — Imam svoj ponos, sir — rekao je hladno. |
| “Somebody’s counting on that. It’s the easiest way to fool them. That or the police. Geiger can collect on these notes, unless you can show fraud. Instead of that he makes you a present of them and admits they are gambling debts, which gives you a defense, even if he had kept the notes. If he’s a crook, he knows his onions, and if he’s an honest man doing a little loan business on the side, he ought to have his money. Who was this Joe Brody you paid the five thousand dollars to?” | — Netko s tim računa. To je najlakši način da ih se namagarči. To ili policija. Geiger može utjerati dug na temelju tih priznanica, ukoliko ne možete dokazati da je riječ o podvali. Umjesto toga on vam ih daje na dar i priznaje da su to kockarski dugovi, što bi vam dalo protuargu-mente čak i kad bi on zadržao te ceduljice. Ako je dribler, taj ima soli, a ako je čestit čovjek koji se sa strane pomalo bavi lihvom, zaslužuje da dobije svoj novac. Tko je bio taj Joe Brody kojemu ste isplatili pet tisuća dolara? |
| “Some kind of gambler. I hardly recall. Norris would know. My butler.” | — Neki kockarski tip. Jedva ga se i sjećam. Norris bi mogao znati. Moj batler. |
| “Your daughters have money in their own right, General?” | — Vaše kćeri imaju vlastiti novac na raspolaganju, generale? |
| “Vivian has, but not a great deal. Carmen is still a minor under her mother’s will. I give them both generous allowances.” | — Vivian ima, ali ne bog zna koliko. Carmen je još pod starateljstvom prema majčinoj oporuci. Dajem im objema obilate džeparce. |
| I said: “I can take this Geiger off your back, General, if that’s what you want. Whoever he is and whatever he has. It may cost you a little money, besides what you pay me. And of course it won’t get you anything. Sugaring them never does. You’re already listed on their book of nice names.” | Rekoh: — Mogu vam skinuti toga Geigera s vrata, generale, ako je to ono što želite. Tko god on bio i što god on imao. To vas može stajati nešto novca, uz ono što mene plaćate. I naravno da time nećete ništa postići. Nikad se ništa ne postiže ako im date da vas muzu. Već ste upisani u njihovu knjigu milih imena. |
| “I see.” He shrugged his wide sharp shoulders in the faded red bathrobe. “A moment ago you said pay him. Now you say it won’t get me anything.” | — Shvaćam. — Slegnuo je svojim širokim usiljenim ramenima pod izblijedjelim crvenim ogrtačem. — Maločas ste kazali: plati. Sad velite da time neću ništa postići. |
| “I mean it might be cheaper and easier to stand for a certain amount of squeeze. That’s all.” | — Mislio sam da bi rnoglo biti jeftinije i jednostavnije otrpjeti malo cijeđenja. To je sve. |
| “I’m afraid I’m rather an impatient man, Mr. Marlowe. What are your charges?” | — Bojim se da sam prilično nestrpljiv čovjek, mister Marlowe. Kakva je vaša tarifa? |
| “I get twenty-five a day and expenses—when I’m lucky.” | — Dobivam dvadeset pet na dan, i troškove — kad imam sreće. |
| “I see. It seems reasonable enough for removing morbid growths from people’s backs. Quite a delicate operation. You realize that, I hope. You’ll make your operation as little of a shock to the patient as possible? There might be several of them, Mr. Marlowe.” | — Shvaćam. Čini mi se prilično razumno za uklanjanje bolesnih izraslina ljudima s vrata. Vrlo delikatna operacija. Uviđate to, nadam se. Potrudit ćete se da ona za pacijenta bude bezbolna koliko je to moguće? A moglo bi ih biti nekoliko, mister Marlowe. |
| I finished my second drink and wiped my lips and my face. The heat didn’t get any less hot with the brandy in me. The General blinked at me and plucked at the edge of his rug. | Dovršio sam drugo piće pa obrisao usne i lice. Toplina nije bila ništa manje topla zato što sam imao brandy u sebi. General je zažmirkao prema meni i počeo cupkati rub svoga pokrivača. |
| “Can I make a deal with this guy, if I think he’s within hooting distance of being on the level?” | — Mogu li se nagoditi s tipom ako mislim da smo došli na domet glasa i da ne prodaje fore? |
| “Yes. The matter is now in your hands. I never do things by halves.” | — Da. Stvar jć sad u vašim rukama. Nikad ništa ne radim napola. |
| “I’ll take him out,” I said. “He’ll think a bridge fell on him.” | — Izvući ću ga napolje — rekoh. — Mislit će da mu je nebo palo na glavu. |
| “I’m sure you will. And now I must excuse myself. I am tired.” He reached out and touched the bell on the arm of his chair. The cord was plugged into a black cable that wound along the side of the deep dark green boxes in which the orchids grew and festered. He closed his eyes, opened them again in a brief bright stare, and settled back among his cushions. The lids dropped again and he didn’t pay any more attention to me. | — Siguran sam da hoćete. A sada me morate ispričati. Umoran sam. — Posegnuo je rukom i dotakao zvonce na naslonu za ruke svog naslonjača. Žica je bila prikopčana za crni kabel što je vijugao sa strane dubokih tamnozelenih sanduka u kojima su se množile i trulile orhideje. Zatvorio je oči, otvorio ih ponovno u kratkom, bistrom pogledu, da bi ponovno utonuo u jastuke. Kapci su mu ponovno pali, i više nije mario za mene. |
| I stood up and lifted my coat off the back of the damp wicker chair and went off with it among the orchids, opened the two doors and stood outside in the brisk October air getting myself some oxygen. The chauffeur over by the garage had gone away. The butler came along the red path with smooth light steps and his back as straight as an ironing board. I shrugged into my coat and watched him come. | Ustao sam, podigao svoj ogrtač s naslona vlažne pletene stolice i otišao s njim kroz orhideje, otvorio dvoja vrata i zastao na oštrom listopadskom zraku, poslužujući se s malo kisika. Šofer tamo prijeko, pokraj garaže, u međuvremenu se izgubio. Batler je došao crvenom stazom; korak mu je bio pravilan i lagan, a leđa ravna kao daska za glačanje. Skutrio sam se u ogrtaču i promatrao kako prilazi. |
| He stopped about two feet from me and said gravely: “Mrs. Regan would like to see you before you leave, sir. And in the matter of money the General has instructed me to give you a check for whatever seems desirable.” | Zaustavio se oko pola metra od mene i rekao dostojanstveno: — Gospođa Regan bi vas željela vidjeti prije nego odete, sir. A po pitanju novca, general me uputio da vam dam ček na sumu koja vam se čini poželjnom. |
| “Instructed you how?” | — Uputio, kako? |
| He looked puzzled, then he smiled. “Ah, I see, sir. You are, of course, a detective. By the way he rang his bell.” | Kao da ga je to zbunilo, no onda se nasmiješio. — Ah, shvaćam, sir. Vi ste, naravno, detektiv. Na način kako je pritisnuo zvonce. |
| “You write his checks?” | — Vi mu ispisujete čekove? |
| “I have that privilege.” | — Imam tu povlasticu. |
| “That ought to save you from a pauper’s grave. No money now, thanks. What does Mrs. Regan want to see me about?” | — To bi vas moralo spasiti od mrtvačnice najbjedni-jih. Bez novaca, za sada, hvala. U vezi s čime me želi vidjeti gospođa Regan? " * |
| His blue eyes gave me a smooth level look. “She has a misconception of the purpose of your visit, sir.” | Njegove su me plave oči pogledale mirno i otvoreno. — U zabludi je što se tiče svrhe vašeg posjeta, sir. |
| “Who told her anything about my visit?” | — Tko joj je išta rekao o mom posjetu? |
| “Her windows command the greenhouse. She saw us go in. I was obliged to tell her who you were.” | — Njeni prozori imaju nadzor nad staklenikom. Vidjela nas je kako ulazimo. Bio sam joj dužan reći tko ste vi. |
| “I don’t like that,” I said. | — To ne volim — rekoh. |
| His blue eyes frosted. “Are you attempting to tell me my duties, sir?” | Modre su se oči sledile. — Pokušavate li me uputiti u moje dužnosti, sir? |
| “No. But I’m having a lot of fun trying to guess what they are.” | — Ne. Ali imam hrpu razbibrige pokušavajući pogoditi od čega se one sastoje. |
| We stared at each other for a moment. He gave me a blue glare and turned away. | Na trenutak su nam se sukobili pogledi. Uputio mi je modri bljesak i okrenuo se. |