Blossoms in Autumn: II.

II.

II.

Jelovo brdo!

Fir Hill!

Ravno pod Blegošem tiči mala ta vasica sredi rodovitne ravnine, kjer prideluje prebivalstvo svoje življenjske potrebščine.

Nestling on level ground beneath Blegoš lies this little village, in the midst of a fertile plain where the inhabitants grow what they need to live.

Črešnja je glavno drevo in spomladi je krajina povita z belimi venci.

The cherry tree is the principal tree here, and in spring the countryside is wreathed in white garlands.

Tudi oreh je tu domačin in sad njegov slovi po vsem pogorju.

The walnut tree, too, is native to these parts, and its fruit is renowned throughout the mountain region.

V tem pogorju sem preživel otroška svoja leta, kakor živi mlada ptica v gnezdu.

It was in these mountains that I spent my childhood, just as a young bird lives in its nest.

Živeli smo, kakor kos narave, in še obleke nismo imeli.

We lived like creatures of nature itself, and did not even have proper clothes.

V tisti dobi je v našem pogorju še cvetela navada, da otročaj, dokler ga niso poklicali v šolo, ni dobil svojih hlačic.

In those days, an old custom still flourished in our mountain region: a child was not given his own little trousers until he was old enough to be sent to school.

Nosili smo dolge, do peta segajoče srajce, in kjer smo se igrali, je bilo videti iz dalje, kakor bi se na kupu valjale umazane vreče.

We wore long shirts reaching down to our heels, and from a distance, wherever we played, we looked like a heap of dirty sacks rolling about.

Če je sneg zapadel, so se valjale te vreče bose po snegu in tuintam podrgnile s krvavo kožo po ledu.

When snow fell, these sacks rolled barefoot through it, here and there scraping their bare skin bloody against the ice.

Ko je prišla rahla pomlad, staknili smo vsako ribo v vodi in v gozdu ga skoraj ni bilo gnezda, da bi ga ne zasačilo naše oko, bodisi na zemlji pod grivo, bodisi visoko na veji ob deblu.

When gentle spring arrived, we found every fish in the water, and there was scarcely a nest in the forest that escaped our watchful eyes, whether it lay on the ground beneath a thicket or high on a branch beside a tree trunk.

Pisani pinož, rumeni strnad in zlata taščica — pri nas pravijo tej drobni živalici „šmarnica“ — nobeden ni mogel skriti zakonske svoje posteljice pred nami. Bili smo del narave in nehote smo občutili, da pripadamo k zemlji, kakor pripada k tej zemlji jelka, ki zraste na slemenu Mladega vrha. Z naravo smo skupaj zrastli in eno smo se čutili ž njo! Zatorej me sili vse nazaj v rojstni svet in tja me bo sililo, dokler me bodo noge nosile! Kadar zopet pridem v rojstno krajino, me v hipu obdajo otroška leta. Niti najmanjši pripetljaj ni pozabljen in spominjam se vsakega kraja, kamor je nosila ptica svoje gnezdo, kjer smo kurili krese, kjer smo lovili rakekoščake ali tolkli kozo „pod novim cesarjem gori in doli“!

The colourful chaffinch, the yellow bunting and the golden robin—not one of them could hide its nuptial nest from us. (Here we call that little creature the „šmarnica“.) We were part of nature, and instinctively felt that we belonged to the earth, just as the fir tree growing on the ridge of Mount Mladi vrh belongs to this land. We grew up together with nature and felt ourselves to be one with it! That is why everything draws me back to the world of my birth, and will continue to draw me there for as long as my legs can carry me! Whenever I return to my native countryside, my childhood years immediately surround me. Not even the smallest incident has been forgotten, and I remember every place where a bird built its nest, where we lit bonfires, where we caught crayfish or played the game of „up and down beneath the new emperor“!

Vsi ti spomini ti mrgole pred dušo, telesu pa je, kakor bi se kopalo v bistri in okrepčevalni vodi.

All these memories swarm before your mind, while your body feels as though it were bathing in clear, invigorating water.

Ravno tako je bilo tisti dan, ko sem hodil proti Jelovemu brdu.

That was exactly how I felt on the day I was walking towards Fir Hill.

Mehki spomini so me objemali, in ko sem dospel do Tominčevega hrastja pod Lovskim brdom, ni vrag, da bi ne bila zapela vuga?

Gentle memories embraced me, and when I reached Tominč's oak grove beneath Hunting Hill, surely enough, the golden oriole began to sing!

In pognala je zlati svoj glas v zeleno dolino!

And it sent its golden voice soaring into the green valley!

Vuga?

The golden oriole?

Malo pozno je že bilo zanjo.

It was already a little late in the season for it.

Meni pa se je vendar zdelo, da je le bil „stric Matije“, ki prišiva svoje gnezdo na rogovilico pri veji, da mu giblje sapa mladiče v tej zračni zibelki. Ej, škoda, samo enkrat v življenju sem vedel za tako gnezdo, a še to je viselo na tako šibki veji, da nisem mogel do njega! Nad Lovskim brdom je pričel kazati svoj obraz stari naš Blegoš, a tik njega je čepel okrogli Koprivnik, izza katerega se tako radi privlečejo črni oblaki, da namočijo polje, kadar je najmanj treba. Takrat je v ozadje stopila Ljubljana in vstran so stopile vse skrbi, ki grenijo življenje samcem po mestih! Hotel sem sesti pri poti v šumeče resje ter se zagledati v plešasti Blegoš, če me morda še pozna? A pri poti sta že dva sedela. Pred mano sta že bila prelezla klance do Lovskega brda. Sedaj sta čepela v resju, podobna kupu nesreče, in meni sta se videla kakor omlačena dva snopa. Mož je pokazal z roko na Blegoš: „Lep je! Na vrhu je v senci, po bregovih pa ga solnce obseva!“

Yet I could not help thinking it must have been „Uncle Matija“, stitching his nest into the fork of a branch, with the breeze rocking his young in that airy cradle. Ah, what a pity! Only once in my life had I known of such a nest, and even that one hung from a branch so slender that I could not reach it! Above Hunting Hill, our old Blegoš was beginning to show his familiar face, while right beside it crouched rounded Koprivnik, behind which dark clouds so often come creeping to soak the fields at the most inconvenient time. At that moment Ljubljana receded into the background, and all the worries that make life bitter for bachelors in the cities fell away! I wanted to sit down beside the path in the rustling heather and gaze at bare-headed Blegoš, wondering whether it might still remember me. But two men were already sitting beside the path. They had climbed the slopes to Hunting Hill before I arrived. Now they were crouching in the heather, looking like a heap of misery, and to me they resembled two threshed sheaves of grain. One of the men pointed towards Blegoš: „How beautiful it is! The summit is in shadow, but the sunlight is shining on its slopes!“

In res je takrat nad goro plaval velik oblak, ki je jemal vase solnčne žarke, tako da je bil vrh teman.

And indeed, a great cloud was floating above the mountain at that moment, swallowing up the sun's rays and leaving the summit dark.

„Lep je,“ — k meni je obrnil izmučeni svoj obraz, — „in če je človek šestnajst let bil notri, se ga komaj nagleda.“

„It is beautiful,“ he said, turning his exhausted face towards me. „When a man has spent sixteen years inside, he can hardly feast his eyes on it enough.“

Zagledal se je v goro.

He gazed at the mountain.

Pričelo se mi je svitati, kdo bi bil ta človek.

I began to realise who this man might be.

Dolgi zapor mu je bil razoral lice in izpadli so mu bili tudi lasje na glavi.

His long imprisonment had ravaged his face, and he had lost the hair on his head as well.

Ni ga bilo lahko spoznati.

He was not easy to recognise.

Nekdaj je naše gorovje le o tem govorilo, kako sta se kočar Skalar in gruntar Kalar trgala zaradi male njivice, ki je bila last beračeva, po kateri pa je hotel bogatin vlačiti posekani les iz svojega gozda, ki je ležal ravno nad omenjeno njivico.

Once, the only thing people talked about in our mountain region was the quarrel between Skalar, a poor cottager, and Kalar, a prosperous landowner. They were fighting over a small field belonging to the beggar, across which the rich man wanted to drag timber felled in his forest, which lay directly above the said field.

Kalar, ki je bil z vso vasjo v sorodu, je imel torej vso vas na svoji strani.

Kalar, who was related to practically everyone in the village, therefore had the whole village on his side.

Imel je pa na svoji strani še različne odvetnike, ki so mu denarnico puščali, da je pravda več stala, nego sta bila njivica in gozd skupaj vredna.

He also had various lawyers on his side, who kept emptying his purse until the lawsuit cost more than the field and the forest were worth together.

Skalar je vsled tega imel proti sebi vso vas in mnogo odvetnikov, ali vzlic temu je končno zmagal v pravdi.

As a result, Skalar had the entire village and many lawyers against him, yet despite everything, he eventually won the case.

Lahko si mislite, kako sovraštvo je nastalo med Kalarjem in Skalarjem.

You can imagine what hatred arose between Kalar and Skalar.

Bogatin je besnel, in bil je — kakor pravimo — vedno pripravljen, revnemu kočarju „s sekirico dobro jutro voščiti“. Temno sem se spomnil, kako se je govorilo, da sta se v nekem robovju na Blegošu srečala, se spopadla, in da se je pri tem Kalar do smrti ponesrečil. Potem je bila dolga razprava in — če sem se prav spominjal — je bil Skalar za vse življenje obsojen v Gradiško. Pri teh spominih sem spoznal Šimna Skalarja, s katerim sva v otročjih letih ovce skupaj pasla, kateri je pa bil videti sedaj za najmanj trideset let starejši od mene. Zopet je ječal: „Lemoj, šestnajst let! In noben dan nisem videl ne Koprivnika, ne Mladega vrha in ne Starega vrha. Posušil sem se kot kopriva — ej, huda je bila!“

The rich man was furious and, as the saying goes, was always ready to „wish the poor cottager good morning with his little axe“. I vaguely remembered hearing that the two men had met in some scrubland on Blegoš, had fought, and that Kalar had suffered a fatal accident in the struggle. There had then been a lengthy trial and—as far as I recalled—Skalar had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Gradiška. These memories made me recognise Šimen Skalar, with whom I had herded sheep in our childhood, although now he looked at least thirty years older than I was. He groaned again: „Good Lord, sixteen years! And not a single day have I seen Koprivnik, Mladi vrh or Stari vrh. I've dried up like a nettle—oh, how terrible it was!“

Ko je nekaj časa molčal, je iztegnil koščeno roko ter pokazal na kraj, kjer se je iz zelenega bukovja kazal bel rob na bregu, katerega obrača Blegoš proti Jelovemu brdu.

After remaining silent for a while, he stretched out his bony hand and pointed to a spot where a white rocky ledge showed through the green beech woods on the slope that Blegoš faces towards Fir Hill.

„Vid’š, tam za robom je bilo!

„You see, it happened just beyond that ridge!

Na ozki stezi me je srečal, sekiro je vzdignil in k meni je rinil.

He met me on the narrow path, raised his axe and came charging towards me.

Ker pa je bilo deževalo, se mu je spodrsnilo.

But it had been raining, and he slipped.

Truplo in sekira sta pela po skalovju navzdol, in kakor je Bog v nebesih: jaz se ga z roko nisem dotaknil!

His body and his axe went tumbling down the rocks, and, as God is my witness, I never laid a hand on him!

Vid’š, tako je Kalar umrl!“

You see, that's how Kalar died!“

Vprašam: „Kako, da so te obsodili?“

I asked, „How did they come to sentence you?“

„Njegov brat je pričal.

„His brother testified against me.

Skrit za grmovjem, je hotel videti, kako sem Kalarja pograbil in ga potisnil čez rob.

Hidden behind a bush, he claimed to have seen me seize Kalar and push him over the edge.

Krivico mi je delal in šestnajst let mi je ukradel!“

He did me an injustice and stole sixteen years of my life!“

Dosedaj Simnova žena, Luca, ni bila spregovorila.

Until then, Šimen's wife, Luca, had not spoken.

Prejkone je bila v dvomih, ali me naj tika ali vika. — Pri nas so tiste dni imeli samo ožehjeni pravico, da so jih vikali; če si vikal neoženjenega, štel ti je to v zlo.

She was probably unsure whether to address me informally or formally. In those days, where we came from, only married men were entitled to be addressed formally; if you used the formal form with an unmarried man, he took it as an insult.

Žalibog je tudi ta lepa navada v pogorju ponehala, in kmalu doživimo, da se bodo dekleta iz različnih far med seboj vikala!

Sadly, this fine custom has also died out in our mountain region, and before long we shall live to see girls from different parishes addressing one another formally!

Pa Luca se predolgo časa vendarle ni mogla krotiti.

But Luca could not keep herself restrained for much longer.

Imela je jokajoč, stepen glas, kakor ga ima zajec, če si ga slabo zadel.

Her voice was plaintive and broken, like that of a hare that has been wounded but not killed outright.

Povzdignila je ta glas.

She raised that voice.

„Toliko sem vekala,“ je zastokala, in njene oči so v resnici bile podobne studencu, kadar zgubi vodo v poletju, „toliko sem vekala, ko so mi moža odpeljali. Sosedje me niso pogledali, in če bi Presečnika ne bilo, vzela bi bila konec od lakote. Drugi me tako ni vzel na delo! Dobro leto potem je umrla Špelica — od stradanja! Toliko sem vekala!“

„How much I wept,“ she moaned, and her eyes truly resembled a spring that has run dry in summer, „how much I wept when they took my husband away. The neighbours wouldn't even look at me, and if it hadn't been for Presečnik, I would have starved to death. No one else would give me work! A little over a year later, Špelica died—from starvation! How much I wept!“

Pri nas ljudje ne jokajo, pri nas vse „veka“, tako otrok v zibeli, kakor žalujoči pri pogrebu. Zatorej je tudi Luca „vekala“, ko so ji moža vzeli in ko je umrlo otroče. Pa tudi brez vekanja bi bil človek tej ženski verjel, da je veliko trpela pod božjim solncem. V teku tega trpljenja se je je oprijela bolezen, da je s suhim svojim obrazom migala neprestano semintja, kakor petelin na vrhu cerkvene strehe, kadar je dvojna sapa v zraku. Ta uboga glava je brez odloga kakor nihalo premikala se od leve na desno in od desne na levo, prav kakor da bi hotela sproti zanikavati, kar je govorila z jokajočim in stepenim svojim glasom. Vse to je napravljalo vtis smešnosti, ali ravno ta smešnost je nehote povišavala — če si nosil kaj človeškega srca v sebi — vtis žalosti, katera je bila materi Luči v toliki meri prisojena.

Where we come from, people do not cry; they all „wail“, whether it is a child in its cradle or someone mourning at a funeral. So Luca had „wailed“ when her husband was taken away and when her little girl died. Yet even without her wailing, anyone with a human heart would have believed that this woman had suffered greatly under God's sun. During all that suffering, an illness had taken hold of her, causing her gaunt head to sway constantly from side to side, like a rooster on the roof of a church when the wind blows from two directions at once. The poor woman's head moved incessantly like a pendulum, from left to right and from right to left, almost as though it wished to contradict, as she spoke, everything her plaintive, broken voice was saying. All this made her appear somewhat comical; yet that very comicality only deepened, involuntarily, the impression of sorrow in anyone who had a human heart. Such sorrow had been allotted to poor Mother Luca in such abundance.

„Tako je tudi Špelica umrla!

„That's how Špelica died, too!

Pa še tružice mi niso hoteli napraviti v vasi!

And the people in the village wouldn't even make me a little coffin!

Morilci in ubijalci nismo imeli nobene pravice!“

We murderers and killers had no rights at all!“

Radoveden sem postal.

I grew curious.

„Lemojte“ — pa se je takoj popravila — Jemoj, zdaj sem te spoznala! Brada ti rase, pa si vendar Kosmov! — Zjutraj je umrla, in povem ti, od stradanja! Na svetu je komaj tri leta bila. Pa nikjer nisem mogla dobiti desk, da bi jo bila spravila, kot se spodobi človeku. Zvečer, ko se je luna prikazala za Goro, sem jo naložila v košek, s katerim smo travo vozili, če smo imeli kravo pri hiši. Takrat je sadje cvetelo. Naložila in odpeljala sem jo po noči. Nekaj jablanovih vejic sem položila k nji, da je šla v cvetju od doma.“

„Good heavens!“—then she immediately corrected herself—„My goodness, now I recognise you! You've grown a beard, but you're a Kosmov, after all! She died in the morning, and I tell you, it was from starvation! She had been in this world barely three years. And nowhere could I get any boards to make her a proper coffin, as a human being deserves. In the evening, when the moon appeared behind the mountain, I loaded her into the little cart we used to carry grass in when we had a cow at home. The fruit trees were in blossom then. I loaded her up and drove off through the night. I laid a few little apple-tree branches beside her, so that she would leave home surrounded by blossoms.“

Sedaj si predstavljajte to revo, ko je svojega mrtvega otroka v pozni noči vozila po slabih gorskih potih!

Now imagine that poor woman, driving her dead child along rough mountain tracks late at night!

Vam, mestne gospe, kdo naj verjame, da sploh veste, kaj je trpljenje na svetu? —

You ladies from the city—who could believe that you even know what suffering there is in this world?—

„Povedati ne morem, kako mi je bilo tisto noč.

„I cannot tell you how I felt that night.

Tak pogreb, in nedolžen otrok, ki nikomur nič hudega storil ni!

Such a funeral, and for an innocent child who had never harmed anyone!

O Jezus!

Oh, Jesus!

O Jezus!“

Oh, Jesus!“

Nekaj časa je vzdihovala, nakar je še dostavila:

She sighed for a while, then added:

„Ali brez pogrebcev moja Špelica ni ostala.

„But my little Špelica was not left without mourners.

Ko jo pod Malenskim vrhom pripeljem do prvega ovinka v gozdu, pogledam na tratino pod seboj, pa ti jo primaha tam doli rujav in kosmat zajček.

When I brought her beneath Malenski vrh to the first bend in the forest, I looked down at the little meadow below, and there came hopping towards her a brown, furry hare.

Kak streljaj od mene skoči na pot.

It jumped onto the path just a stone's throw away from me.

Prav nič se ni bal mojega mrtvega otroka.

It was not in the least afraid of my dead child.

Sredi pota se vsede, prav čudno maha z ušesi in si mane z nožico kuštravo glavo.

It sat down in the middle of the path, wiggled its ears in a most peculiar way and rubbed its shaggy head with its little paw.

Oči si briše, sem si mislila.

It's wiping its eyes, I thought.

Na vse to izgine v bukovje, a povem ti, še trikrat je žival prekrižala pot; vselej je obsedela in si brisala gobček.

Then it disappeared into the beech woods. But I tell you, the creature crossed our path three more times; each time it sat down and wiped its little face.

In vidiš, Bog je poslal tega pogrebca, ker ni bilo ljudi!

And you see, God sent that mourner because there were no people!

O Jezus, jaz sem kaj prestala tisto noč!“

Oh, Jesus, what I went through that night!“

Še mnogo sta mi potožila, ali Luca je potem vodila prvo besedo.

They told me many more of their troubles, but after that Luca did most of the talking.

„Otroka sem pokopala, moža so imeli v Gradiški, fantiček pa je moral v službo, ker ga doma preživiti nisem mogla.

„I buried my child, my husband was imprisoned in Gradiška, and my little boy had to go into service because I could not afford to keep him at home.

Bila sem zapuščena, kot zapuščena ptica po zimi.

I was abandoned, like a bird left to fend for itself in winter.

Leta so tekla, nato pa sem šla k cesarju.“

The years went by, and then I went to see the Emperor.“

Vprašam: „Na Dunaj?“

I asked, „To Vienna?“

„Tje, kjer je cesar.

“Yes, where the Emperor is.

Dohtar“ — tu je v moje veliko zadoščenje imenovala našega prijatelja Karte — „mi je vse lepo napisal in v posebnem listu je prosil vse kristjane, naj mi gredo na roko, ker ne govorim nemškega jezika. Nič mi ni računal in še nekaj za pot mi je dal. Hvala Bogu, da so še dobri ljudje na svetu!“

The doctor”—here, to my great satisfaction, she referred to our friend Karte—“wrote everything out nicely for me and, in a separate letter, asked all Christians to help me along, since I do not speak German. He charged me nothing and even gave me some money for the journey. Thank God there are still good people in the world!”

Na dolgo in široko mi je pripovedovala, kako se je vozila na Dunaj, kako je ondi cesarja iskala, kako so ji vzeli prošnjo, da cesarja ni videla, da pa ji je ta vendar le pomilostil moža.

At great length she told me how she had travelled to Vienna, how she had sought the Emperor there, how they had taken her petition from her, and how she had not seen the Emperor, yet he had nevertheless pardoned her husband.

„Zdaj, zdaj imam moža,“ je končala. „Obleko sem mu kupila, da se je napravil, kakor vidiš.“ Ponosno je migala z glavo: „Ali ni čeden?“ Čeden sicer ni bil, ker je nova obleka visela na njem, kakor na plotu, a pritrdil sem, da je čeden. Tiho je dodala: „Doma pa mu nimam kaj skuhati. Ni pšena, ni moke in drugega nič. Prvo noč bo moral v posteljo brez večerje.“

“Now, now I have my husband back,” she concluded. “I bought him a suit so that he could make himself presentable, as you can see.” She nodded her head proudly. “Isn't he handsome?” He certainly was not, for the new suit hung on him like clothes on a fence, but I agreed that he was handsome. She added quietly: “But I have nothing to cook for him at home. There's no millet, no flour, nothing at all. His first night back, he'll have to go to bed without supper.”

Obmolknila je ter me kimaje gledala od nog do glave.

She fell silent and nodded as she looked me up and down.

Nato je vprašala:

Then she asked:

„Ali kaj prida zaslužiš?“

“Do you earn a decent amount?”

Videl sem, da je s strahom pričakovala mojega odgovora.

I could see that she awaited my answer anxiously.

„Nekaj že.“

“Enough to get by.”

„Toliko, da lahko živiš?“

“Enough to live on?”

„Prav lahko!“

“Quite comfortably!”

Sedaj je trepetala vsaka črta na upadlem obrazu, dokler ni polagoma iztisnila iz sebe, da bi jima kaj posodil in, pri ljubem Bogu!

Now every line in her gaunt face trembled, until at last she slowly managed to bring herself to ask whether I might lend them something and, for God's sake!

ne podaril.

not give it to them as a gift.

Kmalu smo bili edini, da jima posodim, da si bosta imela s čim kupiti živeža na Malenskem vrhu in da si potem tudi kravo kupita, brez katere jima ni bilo izhajati.

We soon agreed that I would lend them some money, so that they could buy provisions at Malenski Vrh and then also purchase a cow, without which they could not make ends meet.

Res smo nato pri Posevčniku na Malenskem vrhu nakupili moke in drugih potrebščin.

And so we went to Posevčnik's at Malenski Vrh and bought flour and other necessities.

Trgovec pa nam je pridal vrečico, katero smo napolnili in katero je potem ves srečen nosil Skalarjev Šimen.

The shopkeeper also gave us a little sack, which we filled and which Šimen Skalar then carried with great happiness.

Pri odhodu je Posevčnik omenjal, da je vsa vas v ognju in da bi morda ne kazalo, da bi se danes domov vračala.

As we were leaving, Posevčnik remarked that the whole village was up in arms and that perhaps it would not be wise for us to return home that day.

Pa smo jo le odrinili proti Jelovemu brdu, kjer je bilo splošno mnenje, da „morilec“ ne sme v vas. Približali smo se Drvim hišam. Čuli smo vpitje in opazili smo, da so ljudje vihteli kole in vile. Razlegal se je krik: Živ ne bo prišel v vas! Če je oni pod zemljo, naj gre ta za njim!“ V prvi vrsti je divjal Kalar, ki je v rokah nosil zakrivljene gnojne vile. Tudi nekaj žensk je kričalo vmes, in še celo otročaji so tiščali količe v slabotnih rokah. Ta dva sta obstala in od groze sta skoraj okamenela. „Moli, v Luca!“ je zaječal Šimen. Krčevito je tiščal vrečico k sebi, snel črni svoj slamniček z glave, z desnico pa pričel delati velike križe čez potno svoje čelo. Zadonela je veličastna molitev o Kristovem trpljenju, in stepeni in jokajoči glas kimajoče Luce je presegal vpitje množice. — Kakor veste nisem bil nikdar posebno vnet za molitev, ali ta prilika me je preobvladala in razoglav sem korakal za onima, ki sta v silnih stiskah iskala pomoči pri Njem, ki je nekdaj trpel za solzni naš svet. Že smo dospeli do sovražne tolpe. Za Blegošem je solnce zatonilo in senca je legala po krajini. Kakor jok je bilo čuti Luce skrhani glas: „ki je za nas krvavo bičan bil, ki je za nas s trnjem kronan bil, ki je za nas križan bil.“ Preplašena ženska ni ostala pri enem; vse skupaj je mešala, tako da je sedaj molila k Onemu, ki je za nas križan bil, potem pa zopet k Onemu, ki je za nas s trnjem kronan bil. Presunilo me je tako, da sem skoraj videl, kakor bi stopal s trnjem ovenčani in krvavo prebičani Odrešenik s svojim križem pred nami. In ta dva sta nosila križ z Njim! Ljudstvo je obmolknilo. Že je nekaj količev odletelo v stran. Matere so pograbile po otrocih in tudi možje so izginjali. Zadnji je odstopil še Kalar in vile je treščil na tlak pred hlevom. V hipu ni bilo videti žive duše več. Ostal sem sam sredi vasi. Onadva pa sta odkorakala proti svoji podrti koči, in še iz dalje se je čul stepeni in jokajoči glas Luce: „ki je za nas križan bil“. —

Nevertheless, we set off towards Jelovo Brdo, where the general feeling was that the “murderer” must not be allowed into the village. We approached the Drvi houses. We heard shouting and saw people brandishing clubs and pitchforks. A cry rang out: “He won't enter the village alive! If the other one is underground, let this one follow him!” At the front of the mob was Kalar, raging and carrying a crooked manure fork in his hands. A few women were shouting too, and even the little children were clutching sticks in their feeble hands. The two of them stopped, almost petrified with terror. “Pray, Luca, pray!” Šimen groaned. He clutched the little sack tightly against himself, took his black straw hat off his head, and with his right hand began making large crosses over his sweaty forehead. A solemn prayer on the suffering of Christ rang out, and the faltering, tearful voice of the nodding Luca rose above the shouting crowd. — As you know, I was never particularly devoted to prayer, but this sight overwhelmed me, and bareheaded I walked behind those two, who in their terrible distress were seeking help from Him who had once suffered for our tearful world. We had already reached the hostile crowd. The sun had set behind Mount Blegoš, and shadows were spreading across the landscape. Luca's broken voice could be heard like a lament: “who was scourged for us until He bled, who was crowned with thorns for us, who was crucified for us.” The frightened woman did not stick to just one part of the prayer; she mixed them all together, so that now she prayed to Him who was crucified for us, and then again to Him who was crowned with thorns for us. I was so deeply moved that I could almost see the Saviour, crowned with thorns and scourged until He bled, walking before us with His cross. And those two were carrying the cross with Him! The people fell silent. A few sticks had already been flung aside. Mothers grabbed their children, and the men too began to disappear. Kalar was the last to retreat, hurling his pitchfork onto the paving in front of the stable. In an instant, not a living soul remained in sight. I stood alone in the middle of the village. The two of them, meanwhile, walked on towards their ruined little cottage, and even from a distance Luca's faltering, tearful voice could still be heard: “who was crucified for us.” —

Tako sem prišel tisti večer na Jelovo brdo.

And so I arrived at Jelovo Brdo that evening.