Waltey
Zvonar iz onstranstva v Atlanti
179 The Wraith Ringer of Atlanta
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land · Charles M. SkinnerO besedilu
Zvonar iz onstranstva v Atlanti
- Vir
- Myths and Legends of Our Own Land
- Avtor
- Charles M. Skinner
- Jezik branja
- Slovenščina
- Jezik izvirnika
- English
- Čas branja
- 2 min branja
- Obseg
- 2 strani
- Naslov izvirnika
- 179 The Wraith Ringer of Atlanta
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
Zvonar iz onstranstva v Atlanti
Na ulici Elliott v Atlanti v Georgii je moža ubil strahopeten vbod s stiletom. Morilec je pobegnil. Kako nenavadno je tisto noč brnelo v zvoniku cerkve svetega Mihaela! Se je morilec zatekel tja? Je bil to mrtvaški zvon za njegovo pogubljeno dušo, ki ga je preganjal po praznih ulicah in mu že nalagal večno kazen groze? Morda si krivec ni upal zapustiti Atlante, kajti zvonovi so še nekaj naslednjih noči peli v molovskih akordih. Stari policist, ki je stražil v starinski stražnici nasproti cerkve — pozneje jo je porušil potres — je pripovedoval, da je videl človeško postavo, za katero bi prisegel, da je bila postava umorjenega moža, čeprav je bila ovita v plašč. Z dolgimi koraki je pristopila k vratom, vstopila, ne da bi jih odprla, zdrsela po zavitih stopnicah, ne da bi upognila roko ali koleno, šla mimo vrvi, s katerimi so zvonili, in se povzpela v zvonik. Videl je zagrnjeno postavo, kako je stala pod mračnimi kovinskimi žreli. Koščene roke je iztegnila k kembljem in jih zanihala sem ter tja, toda čeprav so na videz silovito udarjali, je bil njihov glas kakor zadušen in iz njih se je razlegal le tih, melodičen hrum, kot bi jih pozibaval veter. Je bil morilec tiste noči zunaj? Je tudi on videl črno senco svoje žrtve v zvoniku, kako spečemu mestu oznanja preplah in kliče k maščevanju? Morda. Vsekakor pa je prikazen drugim napovedovala nesrečo, kajti vsakokrat, ko so zvonove zanihale prikazenske roke, so se ob kaki postelji, do katere je segal njihov glas, zbirali žalujoči in tožili, da jih ljubljeni prijatelj na tem svetu ne bo nikoli več prepoznal.
Izvirnik
179 The Wraith Ringer of Atlanta
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
A man was killed in Elliott Street, Atlanta, Georgia, by a cowardly stroke from a stiletto. The assassin escaped. Strange what a humming there was in the belfry of St. Michael's Church that night! Had the murderer taken refuge there? Was it a knell for his lost soul, chasing him through the empty streets and beginning already an eternal punishment of terror? Perhaps the guilty one did not dare to leave Atlanta, for the chimes sang in minor chords on several nights after. The old policeman who kept ward in an antiquated guardhouse that stood opposite the church--it was afterward shaken down by earthquake--said that he saw a human form, which he would avouch to be that of the murdered man, though it was wrapped in a cloak, stalk to the doors, enter without opening them, glide up the winding stair, albeit he bent neither arm nor knee, pass the ropes by which the chimes were rung, and mount to the belfry. He could see the shrouded figure standing beneath the gloomy mouths of metal. It extended its bony hands to the tongues of the bells and swung them from side to side, but while they appeared to strike vigorously they seemed as if muffled, and sent out only a low, musical roar, as if they were rung by the wind. Was the murderer abroad on those nights? Did he, too, see that black shadow of his victim in the belfry sounding an alarm to the sleeping town and appealing to be avenged? It may be. At all events, the apparition boded ill to others, for, whenever the chimes were rung by spectral hands, mourners gathered at some bedside within hearing of them and lamented that the friend they had loved would never know them more on earth.
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