O TESOIRO

THE TREASURE

I

I

Os três irmãos de Medranhos, Rui, Guannes e Rostabal, eram então, em todo o Reino das Astúrias, os fidalgos mais famintos e os mais remendados.

The three brothers of Medranhos, Rui, Guannes, and Rostabal, were then, in all the Kingdom of Asturias, the hungriest and most patched-up noblemen.

Nos Paços de Medranhos, a que o vento da serra levára vidraça e telha, passavam êles as tardes dêsse inverno, engelhados nos seus pelotes de camelão, batendo as solas rotas sôbre as lages da cozinha, diante da vasta lareira negra, onde desde muito não estalava lume, nem fervia a panela de ferro.

In the Manor of Medranhos, from which the mountain wind had blown away windowpane and tile, they spent the afternoons of that winter, shriveled in their camlet doublets, beating their broken soles upon the kitchen flagstones, before the vast black fireplace, where for a long time no fire had crackled, nor had the iron pot boiled.

Ao escurecer devoravam uma côdea de pão negro, esfregada com alho.

At dusk they devoured a crust of black bread, rubbed with garlic.

Depois, sem candeia, através do pátio, fendendo a neve, iam dormir à estrebaria, para aproveitar o calor das três éguas lazarentas que, esfaimadas como êles, roíam as traves da mangedoura.

Afterwards, without a lamp, across the courtyard, parting the snow, they went to sleep in the stable, to make use of the warmth of the three mangy mares that, starved like them, gnawed the beams of the manger.

E a miséria tornára êstes senhores mais bravios que lôbos.

And misery had made these lords fiercer than wolves.

Ora, na primavera, por uma silenciosa manhã de domingo, andando todos três na mata de Roquelanes a espiar pègadas de caça e a apanhar tortulhos entre os robles, emquanto as três éguas pastavam a relva nova de abril,--os irmãos de Medranhos encontraram, por trás de uma moita de espinheiros, numa cova de rocha, um vélho cofre de ferro.

Now, in the spring, on a quiet Sunday morning, as all three were walking in the woods of Roquelanes spying out game tracks and gathering mushrooms among the oak trees, while the three mares grazed on the fresh grass of April—the Medranhos brothers found, behind a thicket of thorn bushes, in a rock hollow, an old iron chest.

Como se o resguardasse uma tôrre segura, conservava as suas três chaves nas suas três fechaduras.

As if sheltered by a secure tower, it kept its three keys in its three locks.

Sôbre a tampa, mal decifrável através da ferrugem, corria um dístico em letras árabes.

On the lid, barely decipherable through the rust, ran a couplet in Arabic letters.

E dentro, até às bordas, estava cheio de dobrões de oiro!

And inside, up to the brim, it was full of gold doubloons!

No terror e esplendor da emoção, os três senhores ficaram mais lívidos do que círios.

In the terror and splendor of the emotion, the three lords turned paler than tapers.

Depois, mergulhando furiosamente as mãos no oiro, estalaram a rir, num riso de tam larga rajada, que as fôlhas tenras dos olmos, em roda, tremiam...

Then, plunging their hands furiously into the gold, they burst out laughing, with a laugh of such a wide gust that the tender leaves of the elm trees, all around, trembled...

E de novo recuaram, bruscamente se encararam, com os olhos a flamejar, numa desconfiança tam desabrida que Guannes e Rostabal apalpavam nos cintos os cabos das grandes facas.

And again they stepped back, abruptly facing each other, eyes blazing, in a suspicion so harsh that Guannes and Rostabal were feeling at their belts the handles of their large knives.

Então Rui, que era gordo e ruivo, e o mais avisado, ergueu os braços, como um árbitro, e começou por decidir que o tesoiro, ou viesse de Deus ou do demónio, pertencia aos três, e entre êles se repartiria, rígidamente, pesando-se o oiro em balanças.

Then Rui, who was fat and red-haired, and the wisest, raised his arms like an umpire, and began by deciding that the treasure, whether it came from God or the devil, belonged to the three of them, and among them it would be strictly divided, weighing the gold on scales.

¿Mas como poderiam carregar para Medranhos, para os cimos da serra, aquele cofre tam cheio?

But how could they carry that chest, so full, to Medranhos, to the peaks of the mountain range?

Nem convinha que saíssem da mata com o seu bem, antes de cerrar a escuridão.

Nor was it advisable for them to leave the woods with their treasure before darkness fell.

Por isso êle entendia que o mano Guannes, como mais leve, devia trotar para a vila vizinha de Retortilho, levando já oiro na bolsinha, a comprar três alforges de coiro, três maquias de cevada, três empadões de carne, e três botelhas de vinho.

Therefore he believed that brother Guannes, being the lightest, should trot to the neighboring town of Retortilho, carrying gold in his pouch, to buy three leather saddlebags, three measures of barley, three meat pies, and three bottles of wine.

Vinho e carne eram para êles, que não comiam desde a véspera: a cevada era para as éguas.

Wine and meat were for them, who had not eaten since the day before; the barley was for the mares.

E assim refeitos, senhores e cavalgaduras, ensacariam o oiro nos alforges, e subiriam para Medranhos, sob a segurança da noite sem lua.

And thus refreshed, lords and mounts, they would sack the gold into the saddlebags, and ascend to Medranhos under the safety of the moonless night.

--Bem tramado!--gritou Rostabal, homem mais alto que um pinheiro, de longa guedelha, e com uma barba que lhe caía desde os olhos raiados de sangue até à fivela do cinturão.

"Well planned!" shouted Rostabal, a man taller than a pine tree, with long messy hair, and with a beard that fell from his bloodshot eyes down to his belt buckle.

Mas Guannes não se arredava do cofre, enrugado, desconfiado, puxando entre os dedos a pele negra do seu pescoço de grou.

But Guannes would not move away from the chest, wrinkled, suspicious, pulling between his fingers the black skin of his crane-like neck.

Por fim, brutalmente:

Finally, brutally:

--Manos!

"Brothers!"

O cofre tem três chaves...

The chest has three keys...

Eu quero fechar a minha fechadura e levar a minha chave!

I want to lock my lock and take my key!

--Tambêm eu quero a minha, mil raios!--rugiu logo Rostabal.

"I want mine too, thousand thunders!" roared Rostabal at once.

Rui sorriu.

Rui smiled.

De-certo, de-certo!

Certainly, certainly!

A cada dono do oiro cabia uma das chaves que o guardavam.

To each owner of the gold belonged one of the keys that guarded it.

E cada um em silêncio, agachado ante o cofre, cerrou a sua fechadura com fôrça.

And each one in silence, crouching before the chest, locked his lock firmly.

Imediatamente Guannes, desanuviado, saltou na égua, meteu pela vereda de olmos, a caminho de Retortilho, atirando aos ramos a sua cantiga costumada e dolente:

Immediately Guannes, his spirits brightened, leaped onto his mare and set off down the path of elms toward Retortilho, tossing his usual doleful song into the branches:

Olé!

Olé!

olé!

olé!

Sale la crus de la iglesia, Vestida de negro luto...

The cross leaves the church, Dressed in black mourning...

II

II

Na clareira, em frente à moita que encobria o tesoiro (e que os três tinham desbastado a cutiladas) um fio de água, brotando entre rochas, caía sôbre uma vasta lage escavada, onde fazia como um tanque, claro e quieto, antes de se escoar para as relvas altas.

In the clearing, in front of the thicket that concealed the treasure (which the three had thinned with sword strikes), a trickle of water, springing between rocks, fell onto a vast hollowed slab, where it formed something like a pool, clear and quiet, before draining into the tall grass.

E ao lado, na sombra de uma faia, jazia um vélho pilar de granito, tombado e musgoso.

And beside it, in the shade of a beech tree, lay an old granite pillar, fallen and mossy.

Ali vieram sentar-se Rui e Rostabal, com os seus tremendos espadões entre os joelhos.

There Rui and Rostabal came to sit, with their tremendous broadswords between their knees.

As duas éguas tosavam a boa erva pintalgada de papoulas e botões de oiro.

The two mares grazed on the fine grass speckled with poppies and buttercups.

Pela ramaria andava um melro a assobiar.

Through the branches a blackbird was whistling.

Um cheiro errante de violetas adoçava o ar luminoso.

A wandering scent of violets sweetened the luminous air.

E Rostabal, olhando o sol, bocejava com fome.

And Rostabal, looking at the sun, yawned with hunger.

Então Rui, que tirára o sombrero e lhe cofiava as vélhas plumas rôxas, começou a considerar, na sua fala avisada e mansa, que Guannes, nessa manhã, não quisera descer com êles à mata de Roquelanes.

Then Rui, who had taken off his hat and was smoothing its old purple feathers, began to reflect, in his prudent and gentle voice, that Guannes had not wanted to go down with them to the Roquelanes woods that morning.

E assim era a sorte ruim!

And such was bad luck!

Pois que se Guannes tivesse quedado em Medranhos, só êles dois teriam descoberto o cofre, e só entre êles dois se dividiria o oiro!

For if Guannes had stayed behind in Medranhos, only the two of them would have discovered the chest, and only between the two of them would the gold be divided!

Grande pena!

A great shame!

Tanto mais que a parte de Guannes seria em breve dissipada, com rufiões, aos dados, pelas tavernas.

All the more so since Guannes's share would soon be squandered with ruffians, over dice, in taverns.

--Ah!

"Ah!"

Rostabal, Rostabal!

Rostabal, Rostabal!

Se Guannes, passando aqui sòzinho, tivesse achado êste oiro, não dividia comnosco, Rostabal!

If Guannes, passing through here alone, had found this gold, he wouldn't have shared it with us, Rostabal!

O outro rosnou surdamente e com furor, dando um puxão às barbas negras:

The other growled darkly and furiously, giving a tug at his black beard:

--Não, mil raios!

"No, thousand thunders!"

Guannes é sôfrego...

Guannes is greedy...

Quando o ano passado, se te lembras, ganhou os cem ducados ao espadeiro de Fresno, nem me quis emprestar três para eu comprar um gibão novo!

When last year, if you remember, he won those hundred ducats from the Fresno swordsmith, he wouldn't even lend me three to buy a new doublet!

--Vês tu?--gritou Rui, resplandecendo.

“Do you see?” cried Rui, beaming.

Ambos se tinham erguido do pilar de granito, como levados pela mesma idea, que os deslumbrava.

Both had risen from the granite pillar, as if carried away by the same idea, which dazzled them.

E, através das suas largas passadas, as ervas altas silvavam.

And beneath their long strides, the tall grass hissed.

--E para quê?--prosseguia Rui,--¿Para que lhe serve todo o oiro que nos leva?

“And for what?” Rui continued. “What use to him is all the gold he takes from us?”

¿Tu não o ouves, de noite, como tosse?

“Don't you hear him coughing at night?”

Ao redor da palha em que dorme, todo o chão está negro do sangue que escarra!

Around the straw he sleeps on, the whole ground is black with the blood he spits up!

Não dura até às outras neves, Rostabal!

He won't last until the next snows, Rostabal!

Mas até lá terá dissipado os bons dobrões que deviam ser nossos, para levantarmos a nossa casa, e para tu teres ginetes, e armas, e trajes nobres, e o teu terço de solarengos, como compete, a quem é, como tu, o mais vélho dos de Medranhos...

But until then he will have squandered the good doubloons that should be ours, so that we might rebuild our house, and so you might have chargers, and armor, and noble attire, and your company of manorial vassals, as befits one who, like you, is the eldest of the Medranhos...

--Pois que morra, e morra hoje!--bradou Rostabal.

“Then let him die, and die today!” cried Rostabal.

--Queres?

“Will you do it?”

Vivamente, Rui agarrára o braço do irmão e apontava para a vereda de olmos, por onde Guannes partira cantando:

Quickly, Rui had seized his brother's arm and was pointing toward the path of elms, down which Guannes had departed singing:

--Logo adiante, ao fim do trilho, há um sítio bom, nos silvados.

“Just ahead, at the end of the trail, there is a good spot in the brambles.”

E hás-de ser tu, Rostabal, que és o mais forte e o mais destro.

“And it must be you, Rostabal, for you are the strongest and the most skillful.”

Um golpe de ponta pelas costas.

“A thrusting blow from behind.”

E é justiça de Deus que sejas tu, que muitas vezes, nas tavernas, sem pudor, Guannes te tratava de cerdo e de torpe, por não saberes a letra nem os numeros.

“And it is God's justice that it be you, for many times in the taverns, without shame, Guannes called you a pig and a fool because you knew neither letters nor numbers.”

--Malvado!

“Scoundrel!”

--Vem!

“Come!”

Foram.

They went.

Ambos se emboscaram por trás dum silvado, que dominava o atalho, estreito e pedregoso como um leito de torrente.

Both lay in ambush behind a thicket of brambles that overlooked the path, narrow and stony like a torrent bed.

Rostabal assolapado na vala, tinha já a espada nua.

Rostabal, hunkered down in the ditch, already held his bare sword.

Um vento leve arripiou na encosta as fôlhas dos álamos--e sentiram o repique leve dos sinos de Retortilho.

A light wind rustled the poplar leaves on the hillside—and they heard the soft peal of the bells of Retortilho.

Rui, coçando a barba, calculava as horas pelo sol, que já se inclinava para as serras.

Rui, scratching his beard, calculated the hours by the sun, which was already sinking toward the mountain ranges.

Um bando de córvos passou sôbre êles, grasnando.

A flock of crows passed over them, cawing.

E Rostabal, que lhes seguira o vôo, recomeçou a bocejar, com fome, pensando nos empadões e no vinho que o outro trazia nos alforges.

And Rostabal, who had watched their flight, began to yawn again, hungry, thinking of the meat pies and wine the other man carried in his saddlebags.

Emfim!

At last!

Àlerta!

On guard!

Era, na vereda, a cantiga dolente e rouca, atirada aos ramos:

Along the path came a mournful, husky song, tossed up into the branches:

Olé!

Olé!

olé!

olé!

Sale la crus de la iglesia Toda vestida de negro...

Sale la cruz de la iglesia toda vestida de negro...

Rui murmurou:--

Rui whispered:

«Na ilharga! Mal que passe!»

“In the flank! As soon as he passes!”

O chouto da égua bateu o cascalho, uma pluma num sombrero vermelhejou por sôbre a ponta das silvas.

The mare’s trot struck the gravel, and a feather on a sombrero flashed red over the top of the brambles.

Rostabal rompeu de entre a sarça por uma brecha, atirou o braço, a longa espada;--e toda a lâmina se embebeu molemente na ilharga de Guannes, quando ao rumor, bruscamente, êle se virára na sela.

Rostabal burst out through a gap in the bushes, thrust out his arm and long sword;—and the whole blade sank softly into Guannes’s flank, just as he turned sharply in his saddle at the sound.

Com um surdo arranco, tombou de lado, sôbre as pedras.

With a dull lurch, he fell sideways onto the stones.

Já Rui se arremessava aos freios da égua:--Rostabal, caíndo sôbre Guannes, que arquejava, de novo lhe mergulhou a espada, agarrada pela fôlha como um punhal, no peito e na garganta.

Rui was already lunging for the mare’s reins:—Rostabal, falling upon the gasping Guannes, plunged the sword into his chest and throat once more, gripping it by the blade like a dagger.

--A chave!--gritou Rui.

“The key!” shouted Rui.

E arrancada a chave do cofre ao seio do morto, ambos largaram pela vereda--Rostabal adiante, fugindo, com a pluma do sombrero quebrada e torta, a espada ainda nua entalada sob o braço, todo encolhido, arripiado com o sabor de sangue que lhe espirrára para a bôca; Rui, atrás, puxando desesperadamente os freios da égua, que, de patas fincadas no chão pedregoso, arreganhando a longa dentuça amarela, não queria deixar o seu amo assim estirado, abandonado, ao comprido das sebes.

And snatching the key to the chest from the dead man’s breast, both fled down the path—Rostabal ahead, running, the feather in his sombrero broken and crooked, his bare sword still tucked under his arm, huddled up, shivering with the taste of blood that had splattered into his mouth; Rui behind, pulling desperately at the reins of the mare, who, with hooves planted firmly on the stony ground and baring her long yellow teeth, refused to leave her master stretched out like that, abandoned beside the hedges.

Teve de lhe espicaçar as ancas lazarentas com a ponta da espada:--e foi correndo sôbre ela, de lâmina alta, como se perseguisse um mouro, que desembocou na clareira onde o sol já não doirava as fôlhas.

He had to prick her mangy haunches with the point of his sword:—and running at her with blade raised, as if chasing a Moor, he came out into the clearing where the sun no longer gilded the leaves.

Rostabal arremessára para a relva o sombrero e a espada; e debruçado sôbre a lage escavada em tanque, de mangas arregaçadas, lavava, ruidosamente, a face e as barbas.

Rostabal had thrown his sombrero and sword onto the grass; and leaning over the stone slab hollowed out into a basin, with sleeves rolled up, he was noisily washing his face and beard.

A égua, quieta, recomeçou a pastar, carregada com os alforges novos que Guannes comprára em Retortilho.

The mare, quiet now, began to graze again, laden with the new saddlebags Guannes had bought in Retortilho.

Do mais largo, abarrotado, surdiam dois gargalos de garrafas.

From the larger, stuffed one, two bottle necks protruded.

Então, Rui tirou, lentamente, do cinto, a sua larga navalha.

Then, Rui slowly drew his broad clasp-knife from his belt.

Sem um rumor na relva espessa, deslizou até Rostabal, que resfolgava, com as longas barbas pingando.

Without a sound in the thick grass, he crept up to Rostabal, who was panting, his long beard dripping.

E, serenamente, como se pregasse uma estaca num canteiro, enterrou a fôlha toda no largo dorso dobrado, certeira sôbre o coração.

And serenely, as if driving a stake into a garden bed, he buried the entire blade into the broad, bent back, straight through the heart.

Rostabal caíu sôbre o tanque, sem um gemido, com a face na água, os longos cabelos flutuando na água.

Rostabal fell over the basin without a groan, his face in the water, his long hair floating on the surface.

A sua vélha escarcela de coiro ficára entalada sob a côxa.

His old leather pouch was wedged under his thigh.

Para tirar de dentro a terceira chave do cofre, Rui solevou o corpo--e um sangue mais grosso jorrou, escorreu pela borda do tanque, fumegando.

To get the third key to the chest from inside, Rui lifted the body—and a thicker stream of blood gushed out, running down the edge of the basin, steaming.

III

III

Agora eram dêle, só dêle, as três chaves do cofre!...

Now all three keys to the chest were his, and his alone!...

E Rui, alargando os braços, respirou deliciosamente.

And Rui, spreading his arms wide, took a delicious breath.

Mal a noite descesse, com o oiro metido nos alforges, guiando a fila das éguas pelos trilhos da serra, subiria a Medranhos e enterraria na adega o seu tesoiro!

As soon as night fell, with the gold packed in the saddlebags, leading the line of mares along the mountain tracks, he would go up to Medranhos and bury his treasure in the cellar!

E quando ali na fonte, e alêm rente aos silvados, só restassem, sob as neves de dezembro, alguns ossos sem nome, êle seria o magnífico senhor de Medranhos, e na capela nova do solar renascido, mandaria dizer missas ricas pelos seus dois irmãos mortos...

And when there by the spring, and over by the brambles, under the December snows, only a few nameless bones remained, he would be the magnificent lord of Medranhos, and in the new chapel of the reborn manor, he would order grand masses to be said for his two dead brothers...

Mortos, como?

Dead, how?

Como devem morrer os de Medranhos--a pelejar contra o Turco!

As the men of Medranhos ought to die—fighting against the Turk!

Abriu as três fechaduras, apanhou um punhado de dobrões, que fez retinir sôbre as pedras.

He unlocked the three locks and scooped up a handful of doubloons, making them clink upon the stones.

Que puro oiro, de fino quilate!

What pure gold, of fine karat!

E era o seu oiro!

And it was his gold!

Depois foi examinar a capacidade dos alforges--e encontrando as duas garrafas de vinho, e um gordo capão assado, sentiu uma imensa fome.

Then he went to inspect the capacity of the saddlebags—and finding the two bottles of wine and a plump roasted capon, he felt an immense hunger.

Desde a véspera só comera uma lasca de peixe sêco.

Since the day before he had eaten only a strip of dried fish.

E há quanto tempo não provava capão!

And how long it had been since he last tasted capon!

Com que delícia se sentou na relva, com as pernas abertas, e entre elas, a ave loura, que rescendia, e o vinho côr de ámbar!

With what delight he sat on the grass, legs spread, and between them, the golden bird, fragrant and smelling sweet, and the amber-colored wine!

Ah!

Ah!

Guannes fôra bom mordomo--nem esquecera azeitonas.

Guannes had been a good steward—he had not even forgotten olives.

¿Mas, porque trouxera êle, para três convivas, só duas garrafas?

But why had he brought only two bottles for three guests?

Rasgou uma asa do capão: devorava a grandes dentadas.

He tore off a wing of the capon, devouring it with huge bites.

A tarde descia, pensativa e doce, com nuvemsinhas côr de rosa.

The afternoon was fading, pensive and sweet, with little pink clouds.

Para alêm, na vereda, um bando de corvos grasnava.

Further off, along the path, a flock of crows cawed.

As éguas fartas dormitavam, com o focinho pendido.

The well-fed mares dozed, heads hanging low.

E a fonte cantava, lavando o morto.

And the spring sang on, washing the dead man.

Rui ergueu à luz a garrafa de vinho.

Rui raised the bottle of wine to the light.

Com aquela côr vélha e quente, não teria custado menos de três maravedis.

With that old, warm color, it could not have cost less than three maravedis.

E pondo o gargalo à bôca, bebeu em sorvos lentos, que lhe faziam ondular o pescoço peludo.

And putting the neck to his mouth, he drank in slow gulps that made his hairy neck ripple.

Oh vinho bemdito, que tam prontamente aquecia o sangue!

Oh blessed wine, that so quickly warmed the blood!

Atirou a garrafa vazia--destapou outra.

He tossed aside the empty bottle—and uncorked the other.

Mas, como era avisado, não bebeu, porque a jornada para a serra, com o tesoiro, requeria firmeza e acêrto.

But, cautious as he was, he did not drink, for the journey to the mountains with the treasure demanded steady resolve and precision.

Estendido sôbre o cotovelo, descansando, pensava em Medranhos coberto de telha nova, nas altas chamas da lareira por noites de neve, e o seu leito com brocados, onde teria sempre mulheres.

Propped on his elbow, resting, he thought of Medranhos covered in new tiles, of the tall flames in the hearth on snowy nights, and of his brocaded bed, where he would always have women.

De repente, tomado de uma ansiedade, teve pressa de carregar os alforges.

Suddenly, seized by anxiety, he was in a hurry to pack the saddlebags.

Já, entre os troncos, a sombra se adensava.

Already, between the tree trunks, the shadows were deepening.

Puxou uma das éguas para junto do cofre, ergueu a tampa, tomou um punhado de oiro...

He pulled one of the mares up to the chest, raised the lid, and took a handful of gold...

Mas oscilou, largando os dobrões que retilintaram no chão, e levou as duas mãos aflitas ao peito.

But he swayed, dropping the doubloons, which clinked on the ground, and pressed both hands to his chest in anguish.

¿Que é, D. Rui?

What is it, D. Rui?

Raios de Deus!

God’s thunderbolts!

era um lume, um lume vivo, que se lhe acendera dentro, lhe subia até às guelas.

it was a fire, a living fire, that had ignited inside him, rising to his throat.

Já rasgára o gibão, atirava os passos incertos, e, a arquejar, com a língua pendente, limpava as grossas bagas de um suor horrendo que o regelava como neve.

He had already torn open his doublet, taking uncertain steps, and, gasping with his tongue hanging out, he wiped away large beads of a dreadful sweat that froze him like snow.

Oh Virgem Mãe!

Oh Virgin Mother!

Outra vez o lume, mais forte, que alastrava, o roía!

Once more the fire, stronger now, spreading and gnawing at him!

Gritou: --Socorro!

He screamed: “Help!

Alguêm!

Someone!

Guannes!

Guannes!

Rostabal!

Rostabal!”

Os seus braços torcidos batiam o ar desesperadamente.

His twisted arms thrashed the air desperately.

E a chama dentro galgava--sentia os ossos a estalarem como as traves duma casa em fogo.

And the flame within surged higher—he felt his bones snapping like the beams of a burning house.

Cambaleou até à fonte para apagar aquela labareda, tropeçou sôbre Rostabal; e foi com o joelho fincado no morto, arranhando a rocha, que êle, entre uivos, procurava o fio de água, que recebia sôbre os olhos, pelos cabelos.

He stagggered to the spring to extinguish that blaze, tripping over Rostabal; and with his knee planted on the dead man, clutching at the rock, he sought the trickle of water amidst his howls, receiving it over his eyes and through his hair.

Mas a água mais o queimava, como se fôsse um metal derretido.

But the water only burned him more, as if it were molten metal.

Recuou, caíu para cima da relva que arrancava aos punhados, e que mordia, mordendo os dedos, para lhe sugar a frescura.

He recoiled, falling onto the grass, pulling it out by the handful and biting it, biting his own fingers to suck out any freshness.

Ainda se ergueu, com uma baba densa a escorrer-lhe nas barbas: e de repente, esbogalhando pavorosamente os olhos, berrou, como se compreendesse emfim a traição, todo o horror:

He managed to stand up once more, thick drool running down his beard; and suddenly, his eyes bulging terrifyingly, he roared out, as if at last understanding the full horror of the treachery:

--É veneno!

“It’s poison!

Oh!

Oh,

D. Rui, o avisado, era veneno!

D. Rui, the cautious one, it was poison!

Porque Guannes, apenas chegára a Retortilho, mesmo antes de comprar os alforges, correra cantando a uma viela, por detrás da catedral, a comprar ao vélho droguista judeu o veneno que, misturado ao vinho, o tornaria a êle, a êle sómente, dono de todo o tesoiro.

For Guannes, as soon as he had arrived in Retortilho, even before buying the saddlebags, had run singing to an alley behind the cathedral to buy from the old Jewish apothecary the poison that, mixed with the wine, would make him, and him alone, the master of the entire treasure.

Anoiteceu.

Night fell.

Dois corvos de entre o bando que grasnava, alêm nos silvados, já tinham pousado sôbre o corpo de Guannes.

Two crows from the flock cawing over in the brambles had already landed on Guannes' body.

A fonte, cantando, lavava o outro morto.

The spring, singing, washed the other dead man.

Meio enterrada na erva negra, toda a face de Rui se tornára negra.

Half-buried in the dark grass, all of Rui's face had turned black.

Uma estrelinha tremeluzia no céu.

A little star twinkled in the sky.

O tesoiro ainda lá está, na mata de Roquelanes.

The treasure is still there, in the woods of Roquelanes.