Waltey
Valček smrti
234 The Death Waltz
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land · Charles M. SkinnerO besedilu
Valček smrti
- Vir
- Myths and Legends of Our Own Land
- Avtor
- Charles M. Skinner
- Jezik branja
- Slovenščina
- Jezik izvirnika
- English
- Čas branja
- 3 min branja
- Obseg
- 2 strani
- Naslov izvirnika
- 234 The Death Waltz
O izvirniku
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land
Obsežna zgodovinska zbirka ameriških legend, ki jih je Skinner zbral in avtorsko rekonstruiral. Bralni jezik je Slovenščina, izvirnik pa prihaja iz vira Myths and Legends of Our Own Land v jeziku English.
Besedilo
Valček smrti
Pred davnimi leti, ko je bilo vse onkraj Missourija še pustinja, je bila vojaška postojanka Fort Union v Novi Mehiki edini kraj daleč naokoli, kjer je bilo mogoče najti kaj omike družabnega življenja. Med damami v postojanki je bila tudi neka vesela mladenka, kapitanova svakinja, ki je uživala v raznolikosti in vznemirljivosti tamkajšnjih dogodivščin, pa tudi v pozornostih, s katerimi so jo obsipali mladi častniki, saj v tisti divji deželi ni bilo veliko žensk, ki bi jih človek lahko vzljubil ali se jim naklonil. Neki mladi poročnik je še posebno podlegel njenim čarom in se ji povsem posvetil v upanju, da bo nazadnje osvojil njeno roko. S svetom je imel premalo izkušenj, da bi znal ločiti med žensko pristnega srca in koketo.
Nekega dne so v trdnjavo pridrveli sli z novico o apaškem uporu in odred je dobil ukaz, naj zasleduje in kaznuje roparske Indijance. Za poveljnika odprave so postavili poročnika, toda pred odhodom je mladenki izpovedal ljubezen. Ta mu ni le priznala, da mu naklonjenost vrača, temveč mu je tudi obljubila, da se, če mu vojna usoda vzame življenje, ne bo nikoli poročila z drugim. Ko se je poslavljal od nje, so ga slišali reči: »Tako je prav. Nihče drug te ne bo imel. Vrnil se bom in terjal, kar mi pripada.«
Čez nekaj dni se je odred vrnil, poročnika pa ni bilo z njim. Opazili so, da je njegova bodoča nevesta le malo žalovala za njim, in nihče ni bil presenečen, ko je oznanila, da se namerava poročiti z mladeničem z Vzhoda. Prišel je poročni dan. V postojanki je vladalo vsesplošno veselje in zvečer so častniško jedilnico okrasili za ples. Ko je bil ples v polnem razmahu, so se vrata s treskom odprla in skoznje je planil piš, ob katerem so sveče zatrepetale in zatemnele, po poslopju pa je zazvenel nenavaden krik, kakršnega ne bi moglo izpustiti nobeno človeško bitje. Vse oči so se obrnile proti vratom. Med podboji je stalo nabreklo truplo, oblečeno v umazano častniško uniformo. Na sencu je zevala rana od sekire, skalpa ni bilo več, široko odprte oči pa so gorele s strašno svetlobo.
Truplo je stopilo k nevesti in jo iztrgalo iz objema njenega moža, ki je kakor vsi drugi navzoči stal kot v transu, nezmožen vsakega giba, nato pa jo je stisnilo k prsim in začelo plesati valček. Godci, ki so pozneje zatrjevali, da niso vedeli, kaj počnejo, so zaigrali demonski ples in par se je vrtel in vrtel, ženska pa je postajala vse bolj bleda, dokler nista nazadnje povešena čeljust in strmeče oči razkrili, da je tudi v njej ugasnilo življenje. Mrtvec jo je pustil zdrsniti na tla, za hip obstal nad njo in si krčevito mel roke, ko je znova izpustil svoj strašni krik, nato pa izginil skozi vrata. Nekaj dni zatem se je skupina vojakov, ki je odšla na kraj spopada z Apači, vrnila s poročnikovim truplom.
Izvirnik
234 The Death Waltz
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
Years ago, when all beyond the Missouri was a waste, the military post at Fort Union, New Mexico, was the only spot for miles around where any of the graces of social life could be discovered. Among the ladies at the post was a certain gay young woman, the sister-in-law of a captain, who enjoyed the variety and spice of adventure to be found there, and enjoyed, too, the homage that the young officers paid to her, for women who could be loved or liked were not many in that wild country. A young lieutenant proved especially susceptible to her charms, and devoted himself to her in the hope that he should ultimately win her hand. His experience with the world was not large enough to enable him to distinguish between the womanly woman and the coquette.
One day messengers came dashing into the fort with news of an Apache outbreak, and a detachment was ordered out to chase and punish the marauding Indians. The lieutenant was put in command of the expedition, but before starting he confided his love to the young woman, who not only acknowledged that she returned his affection, but promised that if the fortune of war deprived him of life she would never marry another. As he bade her good-by he was heard to say, “That is well. Nobody else shall have you. I will come back and make my claim.”
In a few days the detachment came back, but the lieutenant was missing. It was noticed that the bride-elect grieved but little for him, and nobody was surprised when she announced her intention of marrying a young man from the East. The wedding-day arrived. All was gayety at the post, and in the evening the mess-room was decorated for a ball. As the dance was in full swing a door flew open with a bang, letting in a draught of air that made the candles burn dim, and a strange cry, unlike that of any human creature, sounded through the house. All eyes turned to the door. In it stood the swollen body of a dead man dressed in the stained uniform of an officer. The temple was marked by a hatchet-gash, the scalp was gone, the eyes were wide open and, burned with a terrible light.
Walking to the bride the body drew her from the arms of her husband, who, like the rest of the company, stood as in a trance, without the power of motion, and clasping her to its bosom began a waltz. The musicians, who afterward declared that they did not know what they were doing, struck up a demoniac dance, and the couple spun around and around, the woman growing paler and paler, until at last the fallen jaw and staring eyes showed that life was also extinct in her. The dead man allowed her to sink to the floor, stood over her for a moment, wrung his hands as he sounded his fearful cry again, then vanished through the door. A few days after, a troop of soldiers who had been to the scene of the Apache encounter returned with the body of the lieutenant.
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