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| 29 | |
| The garage next door was dark. I crossed the gravel drive and a patch of sodden lawn. The road ran with small rivulets of water. It gurgled down a ditch on the far side. I had no hat. That must have fallen in the garage. Canino hadn’t bothered to give it back to me. He hadn’t thought I would need it any more. I imagined him driving back jauntily through the rain, alone, having left the gaunt and sulky Art and the probably stolen sedan in a safe place. She loved Eddie Mars and she was hiding to protect him. So he would find her there when he came back, calm beside the light and the untasted drink, and me tied up on the davenport. He would carry her stuff out to the car and go through the house carefully to make sure nothing incriminating was left. He would tell her to go out and wait. She wouldn’t hear a shot. A blackjack is just as effective at short range. He would tell her he had left me tied up and I would get loose after a while. He would think she was that dumb. Nice Mr. Canino. | Garaža odmah u susjedstvu bila je u mraku. Prešao sam pošljunčani odvojak i krpu promočene trave. Cesta je tekla potočićima vode. Voda je grgorila i u jarku s druge strane. Nišani imao šešira. Mora da mi je spao u garaži. Canino se nije pomučio da mi ga vrati. Nije mislio da će mi više trebati. Zamišljao sam ga kako živahno vozi natrag kroz kišu, sam, vjerojatno ostavivši mršavog i mrzovoljnog Arta i vjerojatno ukradenu limuzinu na sigurnome mjestu. A ona je voljela Eddija Marsa i krila se da bi ga zaštitila. I tako bi je Canino zatekao ondje kad se bude vratio, smirenu pokraj svjetiljke i netaknuta pića, i mene zavezanog na sofi. Iznio bi njene krpice do automobila i pažljivo prošao kroz kuću kako bi bio siguran da nije ostalo ništa inkriminirajuće. Rekao bi joj da izađe i pričeka. Ne bi začula pucanj. Na malim je udaljenostima toljaga podjednako efikasna. Rekao bi joj da me je ostavio zavezanog i da ću se osloboditi nakon nekog vremena. Mislio bi da je tako glupa. Dragi mister Canino. |
| The raincoat was open in front and I couldn’t button it, being handcuffed. The skirts flapped against my legs like the wings of a large and tired bird. I came to the highway. Cars went by in a wide swirl of water illuminated by headlights. The tearing noise of their tires died swiftly. I found my convertible where I had left it, both tires fixed and mounted, so it could be driven away, if necessary. They thought of everything. I got into it and leaned down sideways under the wheel and fumbled aside the flap of leather that covered the pocket. I got the other gun, stuffed it up under my coat and started back. The world was small, shut in, black. A private world for Canino and me. | Kišni mi je kaput bio otvoren sprijeda, a nisam ga mogao zakopčati, jer sam imao lisičine. Skutovi su mi lepeta-li po nogama nalik na krila velike i umorne ptice. Stigao sam do ceste. Automobili su prolazili u Širokom kovitlacu vode osvijetljenom farovima. Prodorni je zvuk njihovih guma brzo zamirao. Zatekao sam svoj kabriolet gdje sam ga i ostavio, s oba pneumatika popravljena i montirana, tako da ga mogu odvesti bude li potrebno. Mislili su na sve. Ušao sam u nj i sagnuo se bočno pod Upravljač, pa petljajući odgurnuo u stranu kožni zaklopac što je prekrivao džep. Uzeo sam onaj drugi pištolj, strpao ga pod kaput i krenuo natrag. Svijet je bio mali, zatvoren, crn. Privatni svijet za Ca-nina i mene. |
| Halfway there the headlights nearly caught me. They turned swiftly off the highway and I slid down the bank into the wet ditch and flopped there breathing water. The car hummed by without slowing. I lifted my head, heard the rasp of its tires as it left the road and took the gravel of the driveway. The motor died, the lights died, a door slammed. I didn’t hear the house door shut, but a fringe of light trickled through the clump of trees, as though a shade had been moved aside from a window, or the light had been put on in the hall. | Na pola puta do tamo gotovo su me zahvatili farovi. Brzo su skrenuli s auto-ceste, i ja sam klizimo niz nasip u mokri jarak, Ijosnuo u nj i počeo disati vodu. Automobil je prozujao mimo, bez usporavanja. Podigao sam glavu i začuo struganje guma kad je napustio cestu i udario šljunkom prilaza. Motor je zamro, svjetla su zamrla, vrata automobila su se zalupila. Nisam čuo kako se zatvaraju kućna, ali je vrpca svjetla prokapala kroz splet drveća kao da je netko maknuo roletu s prozora ili upalio svjetlo u predsoblju. |
| I came back to the soggy grass plot and sloshed across it. The car was between me and the house, the gun was down at my side, pulled as far around as I could get it, without pulling my left arm out by the roots. The car was dark, empty, warm. Water gurgled pleasantly in the radiator. I peered in at the door. The keys hung on the dash. Canino was very sure of himself. I went around the car and walked carefully across the gravel to the window and listened. I couldn’t hear any voices, any sound but the swift bong-bong of the raindrops hitting the metal elbows at the bottom of the rain gutters. | Vratio sam se do razmočene čestice trave i zašljapkao preko nje. Automobil je bio između mene i kuće, pištolj spušten uz bok i povučen naprijed, koliko god sam to mogao postići a da ne iščupam ljevicu iz korijena. Auto je bio u mraku, prazan, topao. Voda je ugodno grgljala u hladnja- ku. Provirio sam kroz vrata. Ključevi su visjeli na upravljačkoj ploči. Canino je bio vrlo siguran u sebe. Obišao sam kola, oprezno prešao preko šljunka do prozora i naćulio uši. Nisam mogao čuti ni glasa, nikakav zvuk osim brzog bong-bonga kišnih kapi što su tukle u laktove metalnih cijevi i po dnu krovnih žljebova. |
| I kept on listening. No loud voices, everything quiet and refined. He would be purring at her and she would be telling him she had let me go and I had promised to let them get away. He wouldn’t believe me, as I wouldn’t believe him. So he wouldn’t be in there long. He would be on his way and take her with him. All I had to do was wait for him to come out. | Nastavio sam osluškivati. Nema vikanja, sve je tiho i otmjeno. On će joj presti, a ona će mu govoriti kako me je pustila da odem i kako sam obećao da ću im dati da pobjegnu. Neće mi povjerovati, kao što ni ja ne bih njemu. I tako, neće biti dugo unutra. Dat će se na put, i nju će povesti sobom. Sve što treba učiniti, to je pričekati na nj da izađe. |
| I couldn’t do it. I shifted the gun to my left hand and leaned down to scoop up a handful of gravel. I tossed it against the screen of the window. It was a feeble effort. Very little of it reached the glass above the screen, but the loose rattle of that little was like a dam bursting. | Ali to nisam mogao. Prebacio sam pištolj u lijevu ruku, sagnuo se i zagrabio šaku šljunka. Bacio sam ga prema prozorskoj rešetki. Bilo je to slabačko nastojanje. Vrlo je malo toga doseglo staklo, no i rijetki je štropot od to malo bio nalik na pucanje brane. |
| I ran back to the car and got on the running board behind it. The house had already gone dark. That was all. I dropped quietly on the running board and waited. No soap. Canino was too cagey. | Potrčao sam natrag do automobila i uspeo se na papučicu iza njega. Kuća je već bila u mraku. To je bilo sve. Tiho sam se snizio na papučici i počekao. Bez zezanja. Canino je premazan. |
| I straightened up and got into the car backwards, fumbled around for the ignition key and turned it. I reached with my foot, but the starter button had to be on the dash. I found it at last, pulled it and the starter ground. The warm motor caught at once. It purred softly, contentedly. I got out of the car again and crouched down by the rear wheels. | Uspravio sam se i ušao u kola odostrag, pročeprkao za ključem startera i okrenuo ga. Potražio sam nogom, no dugme za pokretanje motora mora da je bilo na upravljačkoj ploči. Napokon sam ga našao, povukao ga i starter se zavrtio. Topli je motor odmah prihvatio. Preo je nježno, zadovoljno. Izišao sam iz automobila i čučnuo pokraj stražnjih kotača. |
| I was shivering now but I knew Canino wouldn’t like that last effect. He needed that car badly. A darkened window slid down inch by inch, only some shifting of light on the glass showing it moved. Flame spouted from it abruptly, the blended roar of three swift shots. Glass starred in the coupe. I yelled with agony. The yell went off into a wailing groan. The groan became a wet gurgle, choked with blood. I let the gurgle die sickeningly, one choked gasp. It was nice work. I liked it. Canino liked it very much. I heard him laugh. It was a large booming laugh, not at all like the purr of his speaking voice. | Sad sam već drhturio, no znao sam da se ovaj posljednji nastavak neće dopasti Caninu. Ta su mu kola gadno trebala. Zamračeni je prozor kliznuo dolje centimetar po centimetar; samo je malo pomicanje svjetla na njemu pokazivalo da se miče. Iz njega je naglo suknuo plamen, pomiješana rika tri brza hica. Staklo je na kupeu prsnulo u zvijezdu. Kriknuo sam u agoniji. Krik je prešao u bolno stenjanje. Stenjanje je prešlo u mokro krkljanje, zagušeno krvlju. Pustio sam da krkljanje mučno zamre, pa jedno davljeničko gutanje zraka. Bio je to lijepo obavljen posao. Dopao mi se. I Caninu se vrlo dopao. Čuo sam ga kako se smije. Bio je to širok, eksplozivan smijeh, nimalo nalik na predenje glasa kojim je govorio. |
| Then silence for a little while, except for the rain and the quietly throbbing motor of the car. Then the house door crawled open, a deeper blackness in the black night. A figure showed in it cautiously, something white around the neck. It was her collar. She came out on the porch stiffly, a wooden woman. I caught the pale shine of her silver wig. Canino came crouched methodically behind her. It was so deadly it was almost funny. | Zatim je nakratko uslijedila tišina, ako zanemarimo kišu i tiho kuckanje automobilskog motora. Tad su se kućna vrata kradomice otvorila, duboka crnina u crnoj noći. U njima se oprezno pokazala neka prilika, s nečim bijelim oko vrata. Bio je to njen ovratnik. Izišla je na trijem ukočeno, bila je žena od drveta. Uhvatio sam blijedi odbljesak njene srebrne vlasulje. Canino je izišao metodički pognut iza nje. Bilo je tako smrtonosno, da je gotovo bilo smiješno. |
| She came down the steps. Now I could see the white stiffness of her face. She started towards the car. A bulwark of defense for Canino, in case I could still spit in his eye. Her voice spoke through the lisp of the rain, saying slowly, without any tone: “I can’t see a thing, Lash. The windows are misted.” | Sišla je niz stepenice. Sad sam mogao vidjeti bijelu ukočenost njezina lica. Krenula je prema automobilu. Bastion za Canina, u slučaju ako bih mu još uvijek mogao pljunuti u oko. Njen je glas progovorio kroz šušljetanje kiše, izgovarajući polako, bez ikakve intonacije: — Ne vidim ništa, Lash. Prozori su zamagljeni. |
| He grunted something and the girl’s body jerked hard, as though he had jammed a gun into her back. She came on again and drew near the lightless car. I could see him behind her now, his hat, a side of his face, the bulk of his shoulder. The girl stopped rigid and screamed. A beautiful thin tearing scream that rocked me like a left hook. | Progunđao je nešto, a curino se tijelo oštro trznulo, kao da joj je zabio pištolj u leđa. Ponovno je krenula naprijed i dovukla se do zamračenih kola. Mogao sam ga sad već vidjeti iza nje, njegov šešir, profil, masu ramena. Ženska je ukočeno zastala i vrisnula. Bio je to lijepi tanki prodorni vrisak koji me je potresao poput lijevog voleja. |
| “I can see him!” she screamed. “Through the window. Behind the wheel, Lash!” | — Vidim ga! — vrisnula je. — Kroz prozor. Za volanom, Lash! |
| He fell for it like a bucket of lead. He knocked her roughly to one side and jumped forward, throwing his hand up. Three more spurts of flame cut the darkness. More glass scarred. One bullet went on through and smacked into a tree on my side. A ricochet whined off into the distance. But the motor went quietly on. | Navalio je kao da se kolači dijele. Grubo ju je šupio u stranu i skočio naprijed, odbacujući ruku prema gore. Još su tri plamena mlaza zasjekla tminu. Još se stakla izbraz-dalo. Jedno je zrno prošlo skroz i zviznulo u drvo kraj mene. Rikošet je odcvilio u daljinu. Ali je motor tiho nastavljao radom. |
| He was low down, crouched against the gloom, his face a grayness without form that seemed to come back slowly after the glare of the shots. If it was a revolver he had, it might be empty. It might not. He had fired six times, but he might have reloaded inside the house. I hoped he had. I didn’t want him with an empty gun. But it might be an automatic. | Sad je bio nisko pognut, zgrbljen na pozadini tmine, s licem koje je bilo sivilo bez oblika, koji kao da se polako vraćao nakon bljeska pucnjeva. Ako je to što je imao bio revolver, mogao je biti prazan. A mogao je i ne biti. Opalio je šest puta, ali ga je mogao ponovno napuniti u kući. Nadao sam se da jest. Nisam ga želio s praznim oružjem. Ali je mogao biti i automatski pištolj. |
| I said: “Finished?” | Rekoh: — Gotov? |
| He whirled at me. Perhaps it would have been nice to allow him another shot or two, just like a gentleman of the old school. But his gun was still up and I couldn’t wait any longer. Not long enough to be a gentleman of the old school. I shot him four times, the Colt straining against my ribs. The gun jumped out of his hand as if it had been kicked. He reached both his hands for his stomach. I could hear them smack hard against his body. He fell like that, straight forward, holding himself together with his broad hands. He fell face down in the wet gravel. And after that there wasn’t a sound from him. | U kovitlu se okrenuo prema meni. Možda bi bilo lijepo da sam mu dopustio još hitac ili dva, baš kao gentleman od stare škole. No njegov je pištolj još bio podignut i nisam više mogao čekati. Ne dovoljno dugo da bih postao gentleman od stare škole. Upucao sam ga četiri puta, s kol- tom stegnutim uz rebra. Pištolj mu je iskočio iz ruku kao da ga je netko šutnuo. Posegnuo je objema rukama za trbuh. Mogao sam čuti kako su mu snažno pljesnule po tijelu. I pao je naprosto tako, ravno prema naprijed, držeći se na okupu svojim širokim rukama. Pao je licem u mokri šljunak. A poslije toga od njega nije bilo ni glasa. |
| Silver-Wig didn’t make a sound either. She stood rigid, with the rain swirling at her. I walked around Canino and kicked his gun, without any purpose. Then I walked after it and bent over sideways and picked it up. That put me close beside her. She spoke moodily, as if she was talking to herself. | Glasa nije bilo ni od Srebrne Perike. Stajala je ukočeno, u kovitlacu kiše. Obišao sam Canina i ritnuo mu pištolj, bez ikakve svrhe. Zatim sam pošao po njega, sagnuo se u stranu i podigao ga. To me je dovelo u njenu blizinu. Progovorila je deprimirano, kao da se obraća samoj sebi: |
| “I—I was afraid you’d come back.” | — Bo ... bojala sam se da ćete se vratiti. |
| I said: “We had a date. I told you it was all arranged.” I began to laugh like a loon. | Rekoh: — Imali smo spoj. Rekao sam vam da je sve već unaprijed pripremljeno. — Počeo sam se smijati kao krelac. |
| Then she was bending down over him, touching him. And after a little while she stood up with a small key on a thin chain. | Tada se spustila do njega i prepipala ga. Trenutak kasnije ustala je s ključićem na tankome lancu. |
| She said bitterly: “Did you have to kill him?” | Rekla je s gorčinom u glasu: — Zar ste ga morali ubiti? |
| I stopped laughing as suddenly as I had started. She went behind me and unlocked the handcuffs. | Prestao sam se smijati naglo kao što sam i počeo. Pošla mi je za leđa i otključala lisičine. |
| “Yes,” she said softly. “I suppose you did.” | — Da — rekla je meko. — Pretpostavljani da ste morali. |