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| 7 | |
| It was a wide room, the whole width of the house, It had a low beamed ceiling and brown plaster walls decked out with strips of Chinese embroidery and Chinese and Japanese prints in grained wood frames. There were low bookshelves, there was a thick pinkish Chinese rug in which a gopher could have spent a week without showing his nose above the nap. There were floor cushions, bits of odd silk tossed around, as if whoever lived there had to have a piece he could reach out and thumb. There was a broad low divan of old rose tapestry. It had a wad of clothes on it, including lilac-colored silk underwear. There was a big carved lamp on a pedestal, two other standing lamps with jade-green shades and long tassels. There was a black desk with carved gargoyles at the corners and behind it a yellow satin cushion on a polished black chair with carved arms and back. The room contained an odd assortment of odors, of which the most emphatic at the moment seemed to be the pungent aftermath of cordite and the sickish aroma of ether. | Bila je to dugačka soba, protezala se čitavom širinom kuće. Imala je nizak, na grede položen strop i smeđe ožbu-kane zidove okićene vrpcama kineskog veza te kineskim i japanskim litografijama u drvenim okvirima s vidljivom šarom. Bile su tu i niske police s knjigama i debeli ružičasti kineski sag u kojem bi kornjača mogla provesti tjedan ne pokazavši nos iznad vlakana. Bili su i podni jastuci, ras-pareni svileni komadi razbacani svud uokolo, kao da je bi- lo tko tko je živio ovdje morao imati nešto što je mogao dosegnuti i opipati; bio je tu i široki niski divan sa starim ružičastim vezovima. Na njemu je bila gvalja odjeće, među kojom se nalazilo i svileno donje rublje boje jorgovana. U sobi se 'nalazila i velika izrezbarena svjetiljka na postolju, i još dvije stojeće svjetiljke s nefritno zelenim sjenilima i dugačkim resama, kao i crni pisaći stol s izdjeljanim demonima na uglovima, a iza njega jastuk od žuta baršuna na poliranoj crnoj stolici s izrezbarenim naslonima za leđa i ruke. Prostorija je sadržavala neobičan asortiman mirisa, od kojih su, čini se, u ovom trenutku najnaglašeniji bili jet-ki trag kordita i bolnička aroma etera. |
| On a sort of low dais at one end of the room there was a high-backed teakwood chair in which Miss Carmen Sternwood was sitting on a fringed orange shawl. She was sitting very straight, with her hands on the arms of the chair, her knees close together, her body stiffly erect in the pose of an Egyptian goddess, her chin level, her small bright teeth shining between her parted lips. Her eyes were wide open. The dark slate color of the iris had devoured the pupil. They were mad eyes. She seemed to be unconscious, but she didn’t have the pose of unconsciousness. She looked as if, in her mind, she was doing something very important and making a fine job of it. Out of her mouth came a tinny chuckling noise which didn’t change her expression or even move her lips. | Na nekoj vrsti podija na jednom kraju sobe nalazio se stolac od tikovine s visokim naslonom, na kojem je na narančastoj marami s resama sjedila miss Carmen Stern-vvood. Sjedila je sasvim uspravno, s rukama na oslonima, tijesno skupljenih koljena, tijela ukočena u pozi egipatske božice, podignute brade i malih bijelih zubi što su blistali između razmaknutih usnica. Oči su joj bile širom otvorene. Tamnoškriljasta boja šarenica proždrla joj je zjenice. Bile su to luđačke oči. Činilo se da je u nesvjestici, ali poza nije odgovarala tom stanju. Činilo se kao da je, u svojoj svijesti, zabavljena nečim veoma značajnim, i da u tom poslu lijepo uspijeva. Iz ustiju joj je dopiralo tiho smijuljenje, ali joj to nije izmijenilo izraz ili makar pomaklo usne. |
| She was wearing a pair of long jade earrings. They were nice earrings and had probably cost a couple of hundred dollars. She wasn’t wearing anything else. | Nosila je par dugačkih nefritnih naušnica. Bile su lijepe i vjerojatno su stajale nekoliko stotina dolara. Osim njih nije nosila ništa drugo. |
| She had a beautiful body, small, lithe, compact, firm, rounded. Her skin in the lamplight had the shimmering luster of a pearl. Her legs didn’t quite have the raffish grace of Mrs. Regan’s legs, but they were very nice. I looked her over without either embarrassment or ruttishness. As a naked girl she was not there in that room at all. She was just a dope. To me she was always just a dope. | Imala je krasno tijelo, sitno, gipko, kompaktno, čvrsto, zaobljeno. Pri umjetnom svjetlu koža joj je imala treperavi odsjaj bisera. Noge joj nisu imale baš svu razuzdanu ljupkost nogu gospođe Regan, no svejedno su bile vrlo lijepe. Prešao sam je pogledom bez zbunjenosti i animalne želje. Kao da u prostoriji uopće nije bilo nage djevojke. Ona je bila naprosto narkić. Za mene je uvijek bila samo to. |
| I stopped looking at her and looked at Geiger. He was on his back on the floor, beyond the fringe of the Chinese rug, in front of a thing that looked like a totem pole. It had a profile like an eagle and its wide round eye was a camera lens. The lens was aimed at the naked girl in the chair. There was a blackened flash bulb clipped to the side of the totem pole. Geiger was wearing Chinese slippers with thick felt soles, and his legs were in black satin pajamas and the upper part of him wore a Chinese embroidered coat, the front of which was mostly blood. His glass eye shone brightly up at me and was by far the most lifelike thing about him. At a glance none of the three shots I heard had missed. He was very dead. | Prestao sam gledati nju i počeo gledati Geigera. Ležao je na podu izvrnut na leđa, onkraj resa kineskog saga, ispred nekog predmeta nalik totemskom stupu. Kip je imao orlovski profil, a široko mu je okruglo oko bilo objektiv kamere. Bio je naciljan u golu djevojku na stolici. Sa strane to-temskog stupa bila je prikvačena zacrnjena žarulja bljeska- lice. Geiger je nosio kineske papuče s debelim pustenim potplatima, noge su mu bile u pidžami od crnog atlasa, dok je gornji dio njegove osobe bio odjeven u čipkasti kineski haljetak, čija se prednjica sastojala uglavnom od krvi. Stakleno mu se oko odozdo bistro sjajilo prema meni; ono je bilo daleko najživlja stvar na njemu. Na prvi pogled, ni jedan od tri hica koja sam čuo nije promašio. Bio je sasvim mrtav. |
| The flash bulb was the sheet lightning I had seen. The crazy scream was the doped and naked girl’s reaction to it. The three shots had been somebody else’s idea of how the proceedings might be given a new twist. The idea of the lad who had gone down the back steps and slammed into a car and raced away. I could see merit in his point of view. | Bljeskalica je bila izvor olujne munje što sam je vidio. Suludi je vrisak bio reakcija drogirane i gole djevojke na to. Tri su pucnja bila nečija ideja kako da se zasjedanju dade novi tok. Ideja tipa koji se spustio niz stražnje stepenice, zalupio vratima automobila i odjurio. Mogao sam uočiti izvjesnu vrijednost njegova načina gledanja na stvari. |
| A couple of fragile gold-veined glasses rested on a red lacquer tray on the end of the black desk, beside a pot-bellied flagon of brown liquid. I took the stopper out and sniffed at it. It smelled of ether and something else, possibly laudanum. I had never tried the mixture but it seemed to go pretty well with the Geiger ménage. | Par lomnih, zlatnim nitima opletenih čaša počivalo je na lakiranome pladnju pri kraju crnog pisaćeg stola, pokraj trbušaste kristalne boce smeđe tekućine. Izvadio sam čep i onjušio ga. Mirisao je na eter i još nešto, moguće lau-danum. Nikad nisam kušao tu miksturu, no činilo se da prilično dobro služi u Geigerovu kućanstvu. |
| I listened to the rain hitting the roof and the north windows. Beyond was no other sound, no cars, no siren, just the rain beating. I went over to the divan and peeled off my trench coat and pawed through the girl’s clothes. There was a pale green rough wool dress of the pull-on type, with half sleeves. I thought I might be able to handle it. I decided to pass up her underclothes, not from feelings of delicacy, but because I couldn’t see myself putting her pants on and snapping her brassiere. I took the dress over to the teak chair on the dais. Miss Sternwood smelled of ether also, at a distance of several feet. The tinny chuckling noise was still coming from her and a little froth oozed down her chin. I slapped her face. She blinked and stopped chuckling. I slapped her again. | Osluškivao sam kišu kako udara po krovu i sjevernim prozorima. Izvan toga nije bilo nikakva drugog zvuka, nije bilo automobila, sirena, samo je kiša mlatila. Prešao, sam do divana, svukao baloner i počeo šapama prekapati po djevojčinoj odjeći. Bila je tu nekakva svijetlozelena pulover-'haljina od grube vune s polurukavima. Pomislio sam da bih s tim mogao izaći na kraj. Odlučio sam preskočiti donje rublje, ne zbog osjećaja delikatnosti, već zato što nisam sebi mogao dopustiti da joj navlačim gaćice ili zakopčavam grudnjak. Odnio sam haljinu do tikovog stolca na podiju. Gospođica Stermvood također je mirisala po eteru, i to s udaljenosti od metar ili dva. Od nje je još dopirale tiho smijuijenje, a nešto joj se pjene slilo niz bradu. Ošamario sam je. Zažmirkala je i prestala se smijuljiti. Ošamario sam je ponovno. |
| “Come on,” I said brightly. “Let’s be nice. Let’s get dressed.” | — Idemo — rekao sam veselo. — Hajde da budemo dobri. Idemo se obući. |
| She peered at me, her slaty eyes as empty as holes in a mask. “Gugutoterell,” she said. | Zapiljila se u mene, s očima boje škriljca praznima poput rupa na maski. — Idi do đavola — odgovorila je. |
| I slapped her around a little more. She didn’t mind the slaps. They didn’t bring her out of it. I set to work with the dress. She didn’t mind that either. She let me hold her arms up and she spread her fingers out wide, as if that was cute. I got her hands through the sleeves, pulled the dress down over her back, and stood her up. She fell into my arms giggling. I set her back in the chair and got her stockings and shoes on her. | Još sam je malo šamarao. Nije se obazirala na pljuske. Nisu je izvukle iz tog stanja. Dao sam se na posao oko odi- jevanja. Ni na to se nije obazrela. Dopustila je da joj podignem ruke i široko raširila prste, kao da je nestašna. Dobio sam joj nekako ruke kroz rukave, navukao joj haljinu do pasa i postavio na noge. Hihoćući mi se svalila u naručje. Ponovno sam je postavio u stolicu i navukao joj čarape i cipele. |
| “Let’s take a little walk,” I said. “Let’s take a nice little walk.” | — Idemo se malo prošetati — rekoh. — Idemo u jednu lijepu malu šetnju. |
| We took a little walk. Part of the time her earrings banged against my chest and part of the time we did the splits in unison, like adagio dancers. We walked over to Geiger’s body and back. I had her look at him. She thought he was cute. She giggled and tried to tell me so, but she just bubbled. I walked her over to the divan and spread her out on it. She hiccupped twice, giggled a little and went to sleep. I stuffed her belongings into my pockets and went over behind the totem pole thing. The camera was there all right, set inside it, but there was no plate-holder in the camera. I looked around on the floor, thinking he might have got it out before he was shot. No plate-holder. I took hold of his limp chilling hand and rolled him a little. No plate-holder. I didn’t like this development. | Otišli smo u lijepu malu šetnju. Dio su me vremena njene naušnice udarale po prsima, a dio smo vremena sin-hronizirano izvodili špagu, kao baletni par. Šetali smo se do Geigerova tijela i natrag. Naveo sam je da ga pogleda. Mislila je da je to njegova zločestoća. Hihotala je i pokušavala mi to kazati, no samo je šušljetala. Odšetao sam je do di-vana i razvukao je po njemu. Dvaput je štucnula, malo za-hihotala i zatim pošla na spavanje. Nabio sam njene stvari u džepove i otišao iza tog predmeta nalik na totemski stup. Kamera je bila tu kako treba, sve je bilo namješteno, no u njoj nije bilo držača fotografske ploče. Pregledao sam pod uokolo, pomišljajući da ju je možda izvadio prije no što je ustrijeljen. Nema držača. Uhvatio sam ga za mlitavu ruku što se hladila i malo ga za val jao. Nema držača. Nije mi se dopadao ovakav razvoj događaja. |
| I went into a hall at the back of the room and investigated the house. There was a bathroom on the right and a locked door, a kitchen at the back. The kitchen window had been jimmied. The screen was gone and the place where the hook had pulled out showed on the sill. The back door was unlocked. I left it unlocked and looked into a bedroom on the left side of the hall. It was neat, fussy, womanish. The bed had a flounced cover. There was perfume on the triple-mirrored dressing table, beside a handkerchief, some loose money, a man’s brushes, a key holder. A man’s clothes were in the closet and a man’s slippers under the flounced edge of the bed cover. Mr. Geiger’s room. | Otišao sam do hodnika pri dnu sobe pa istražio kuću. Nadesno su bila zaključana vrata i kupaonica, a u dnu kuhinja. Kuhinjski je prozor bio provaljen. Žičana je mreža nestala, a na okviru se vidjelo mjesto odakle je iščupana kuka. Stražnja su vrata bila otključana. Ostavio sam ih tako i pogledao u spavaonicu s lijeve strane hodnika. Bila je uredna, nakinđurena, ženskasta. Krevet je imao pokrov s volanima. Na toaletnom stoliću s trostrukim ogledalom nalazila se bočica parfema, uz maramicu, nešto razbacana novca, muških četaka za kosu i prstena s ključevima. Muška su odijela bila u ormaru, i muške papuče pod rubom volanima opšitog prekrivača na krevetu. Soba mistera Geigera. |
| I took the key holder back to the living room and went through the desk. There was a locked steel box in the deep drawer. I used one of the keys on it. There was nothing in it but a blue leather book with an index and a lot of writing in code, in the same slanting printing that had written to General Sternwood. I put the notebook in my pocket, wiped the steel box where I had touched it, locked the desk up, pocketed the keys, turned the gas logs off in the fireplace, wrapped myself in my coat and tried to rouse Miss Sternwood. It couldn’t be done. I crammed her vagabond hat on her head and swathed her in her coat and carried her out to her car. I went back and put all the lights out and shut the front door, dug her keys out of her bag and started the Packard. We went off down the hill without lights. It was less than ten minutes’ drive to Alta Brea Crescent. Carmen spent them snoring and breathing ether in my face. I couldn’t keep her head off my shoulder. It was all I could do to keep it out of my lap. | Odnio sam svežanj ključeva natrag u dnevnu sobu i pošao do pisaćeg stola. U srednjoj je ladici bila zaključana čelična blagajna. Upotrijebio sam jedan od ključeva da je otvorim. U njoj nije bilo ničega osim knjižice od modre kože s kazalom i mnoštvom šifrom ispisanih slova, onih istih štampanih i nagnutih, kojima je pisao generalu Sternwoo- du. Stavio sam notes u džep, obrisao čeličnu blagajnu gdje sam je bio dodirnuo, zaključao pisaći stol, spremio ključeve u džep, isključio plin iz umjetnih cjepanica u kaminu, umotao se u ogrtač i pokušao probuditi gospođicu Stern-wood. To se nije dalo izvesti. Nabio sam joj njen petrolej-sko zeleni šešir na glavu, povio je u njen kaput i iznio do njenog automobila. Vratio sam se i isključio sva svjetla, zatvorio ulazna vrata, iskopao joj ključeve iz torbice i pokrenuo packard. Otišli smo nizbrdo s ugašenim farovima. Do Alta Brea Crescenta trebalo nam je manje od deset minuta vožnje. Carmen ih je provela hrčući i dahćući mi eter u lice. Nisam joj mogao odvojiti glavu od svog ramena. Jedino što sam mogao učiniti, bilo je da je zadržim podalje od svojih koljena. |