The Upstarts: III

III

III

Svetilka pod stropom Kračeve gosposke sobe je že slabo brlela; gost tobakov dim ji je jemal zadnjo moč, toda adjunkt in notar sta še vedno vztrajala.

The lamp beneath the ceiling of Krač's drawing room was already flickering faintly; the thick tobacco smoke was sapping what little strength it had left, yet the deputy district officer and the notary still lingered.

» Tine, kje pa je sedaj Julka? « vpraša zdajci adjunkt Pavel.

"Tine, where is Julka nowadays?" the deputy district officer Pavel suddenly asked.

» Glej, ravno tako radoveden sem bil sam pred nekaterimi dnevi! Ne da bi ne bil vedel, kaj je, ampak vprašal sem, kje le in koliko let ima sedaj? Tebi je itak znano, da je šla po Orlovi smrti Veselka pod boben. Gospa je kmalu umrla, Marušo je vzel tisti suhi kapitanuš in oba živita ne vem, ali dobro ali slabo doli na Dolenjskem. Saj veš, kako smo se tudi mi razpršili po svetu — vsi znanci in sosedje in sorodniki — moja setra Veronika biva sedaj v Galiciji z možem majorjem, ki ga je vzela po neumnosti, Golovi pa šivarita v Ljubljani — stari gospodični, kaj hočeš? Drugo starejše je pomrlo in tudi izmed nas mlajših nekaj! Ej — kje so vsi, kar nas je bilo tedaj na Kremenu! «

"Well, you see, I was just as curious myself a few days ago! Not that I didn't know what had become of her, but I wondered where she was and how old she was now. You know well enough that after Orlov's death, the Vesel family went bankrupt. The lady died soon afterwards, that skinny little captain took Maruša, and the two of them live somewhere down in Lower Carniola, whether comfortably or otherwise, I couldn't say. You know how we, too, have scattered all over the world—all our acquaintances, neighbours and relatives. My sister Veronika now lives in Galicia with her husband, a major whom she foolishly married, while the Gol family are sewing in Ljubljana—the two old maids, you know how it is! The other older folk have died, and a few of us younger ones as well! Ah, where are they all, those of us who were at Kremen back then!"

» Pa Julka? « ponovi adjunkt.

"But what about Julka?" the deputy district officer repeated.

» Oh, Julka! Pozabil sem skoro! Pravil sem pa, da sem bil minule dni nekoč tudi tako radoveden kakor ti danes. «

"Oh, Julka! I'd almost forgotten! But I was telling you that just the other day I was once as curious as you are today."

Notar Valentin pl.

Notary Valentin von

Mali je imel navado ob svojem pripovedovanju, da je segal daleč nazaj in naokrog v minulost in sedanjost, preden je izustil tako utemeljen odgovor.

Mali had a habit, when telling a story, of ranging far back and all around through past and present before finally delivering an answer that was actually to the point.

» Vedi, prijatelj,« nadaljeval je počasi, zažigajoč novo smotko, »tam v Zagorici napravljajo novo šolo in treba je bilo delati pogodbe in mimo vsega — župan neče, župnik neče, krajni šolski svet neče — no, pa o vsem tem govoriva kdaj drugič! Prošnjikov učiteljev je tudi že nekaj — vsaj govori se o njih —«

"You see, my friend," he continued slowly, lighting a fresh cigar, "they're building a new school over there in Zagorica, and contracts had to be drawn up, and besides that—the mayor doesn't want it, the parish priest doesn't want it, the local school board doesn't want it—well, we'll talk about all that another time! There are already a few teachers applying for posts, too—or at least, that's what people are saying—"

» Pa vendar — Julka? « hiti Pavel.

"But still—Julka?" Pavel pressed impatiently.

» Ne bodi tako nestrpen! Julka je tudi med njimi. Učiteljica je tam nekje na Krasu in pravijo, da prosi službe na novi šoli v Zagorici. «

"Don't be so impatient! Julka is among them, too. She's a teacher somewhere on the Karst, and they say she's applying for a position at the new school in Zagorica."

» Ah! « vzklikne adjunkt na pol neverjetno.

"Ah!" exclaimed the deputy district officer, sounding almost incredulous.

» No, ako te še kaj zanima, podam ti jutri tisti imenitni učiteljski šematizem, iz katerega se lahko uveriš tudi o natančni starosti naše Julke. Glej, tu sem bil radoveden, kar sem že prej poudarjal — in našel sem, da je Julka že davno prekoračila trideseto leto. Kako hiti čas! «

"Well, if you're still interested, I'll show you that splendid teachers' directory tomorrow, from which you can also establish our Julka's exact age. You see, this is where my curiosity came in, as I've already mentioned—and I discovered that Julka passed her thirtieth birthday quite some time ago. How quickly time flies!"

Oba sta zamišljeno molčala nekoliko trenutkov.

Both men sat in thoughtful silence for a few moments.

» Čudno, čudno — Julka in —« deje prvi adjunkt. »— Vrbanoj!

"Strange, very strange—Julka and—" the deputy district officer began. "—Vrbanoj!"

« pristavi z glasnim smehom lahkoživi notar. »

the light-hearted notary added with a hearty laugh.

Kar se je zamudilo, popravi se lahko sedaj. Zagorica in mi nismo tako narazen in stara ljubezen ne zarjavi! Da je le pri tebi zarjavela! « pristavi z nekoliko zlobnim naglasom in postranskim pogledom na svojega tovariša.

"What's been missed can still be made up for now. Zagorica isn't so far away from us, and old love never rusts! Unless, of course, yours has rusted!" he added with a slightly malicious tone, casting a sidelong glance at his companion.

» Ha — jaz sem že prestar! «

"Ha! I'm already too old!"

» Nesrečnež, toliko kakor jaz ali, recimo: eno, dve leti mlajši od Vrbanoja! «

"You poor wretch! You're no older than I am—or, let's say, just one or two years younger than Vrbanoj!"

V molku, ki je zopet nastal, čuti je bilo le tikanje ure v prednji sobi in dihanje Ančke, ki je bila zaspala pri peči.

In the silence that followed, the only sounds were the ticking of the clock in the front room and the breathing of Ančka, who had fallen asleep beside the stove.

» Toda kako je bilo vendar tedaj na Kremenu s teboj in z Julko in z Vrbanojem? « vpraša notar resno.

"But what really happened back then at Kremen, between you, Julka and Vrbanoj?" the notary asked seriously.

» Nič ni bilo! «

"Nothing happened!"

» Vem, da ni bilo! A nekaj je bilo vendarle! In pozneje sta se razšla, vsi ste se razšli: ti in Vrbanoj in Julka in vidva! Kako je vendar to, kako se je to zgodilo? «

"I know nothing happened! But there was something, all the same! And afterwards you went your separate ways, all of you: you, Vrbanoj and Julka, and the two of you! How did that come about? How on earth did it happen?"

Oba sta bila sedaj v položaju, ko se človeku odpira srce in jezik, ko stopa na dan čisto in resnično čustvo, katerega ne more več odeti noben ozir in noben pomislek.

Both men had now reached that point at which a person's heart and tongue begin to open, when genuine and heartfelt emotion comes to the surface, no longer to be concealed by any consideration or reservation.

In vendar je v Pavlu, kar se tiče onih nekdanjih dogodkov, prevladalo še nekaj kakor sramežljivost. » Ej, neumnost, neumnost!

And yet, when it came to those events of long ago, something resembling embarrassment still held sway in Pavel. "Oh, foolishness, foolishness!"

« hitel je. »

"He was in a hurry."

Toda vedi, Tine, lična deklica je bila ona Orlova Julka! Nekoliko tako — navzgor, kar pa ne škodi, ako je omejeno, pri tem pa duhovita, da smo se je kar bali; saj si jo poznal sam! «

But you must understand, Tine, that Orlov's Julka was a pretty girl! A little inclined to be high and mighty—which does no harm if kept within bounds—and so sharp-witted that we were almost afraid of her. You knew her yourself, after all!"

» Oh, kolikokrat sem bil v zadregi! Toda — mladi smo bili —«

"Oh, how many times she put me in an awkward position! But—we were young—"

» In takrat na Kremenu! Ali se še spominjaš, kako si pritiral onega osla pred Slamarjevo hišo, kako je Maruša klicala in tekla za teboj, da nikar ne trpinči njenega sivca, kako je oni ,nebodigatreba' in vendar ,povsodtreba', oni izpiti stric Pepe kuril na ravni pod cerkvijo in pekel krompir, kako smo mi z onim kaplanom — gospod Blaž je bil menda in sedaj pase ovčice tam v idrijskih hribih — kako smo ž njim vred lovili slepo miš? Ali se še spominjaš? «

"And back then at Kremen! Do you still remember how you drove that donkey in front of Slamar's house, how Maruša shouted and ran after you, begging you not to torment her grey donkey; how that 'good-for-nothing' and yet 'needed-everywhere' fellow, that tipsy Uncle Pepe, made a fire on the level ground below the church and roasted potatoes; how we, together with that chaplain—Mr Blaž, I believe his name was, and now he tends his little flock of sheep somewhere in the Idrija hills—how we played blind man's buff with him? Do you remember?"

» I, seveda! Pa tudi to mi je še v spominu, da smo zdajci, ko smo pojedli krompir in mrzlo pečenko ter pili tisti cviček, ki je bil zaradi imenitnosti zabit v starodavne šampanjske buteljke — da smo hipoma pogrešili tebe in Julko in Vrbanoja. Tudi strica Pepeta ni bilo nikjer, dasi se po navadi ni ganil od steklenic, dokler so bile polne. Pozneje ste prišli vsi, toda vsi ste bili nekam razvneti, samo stric Pepe ne, in pozneje, pozneje — oh, nikdar več nismo bili tako skupaj! Ti si odšel skoro, menda v nekaterih dnevih, in Vrbanoja tudi ni bilo več videti. Vsak je imel svoj izgovor; naša dekleta so ugibala to in ono, ali gotovega ni vedel nihče. I jaz sem hodil tedaj drugam; kaj mi je bilo do tega, koga in kako ljubijo drugi, sam s seboj sem imel dovolj in s svojo — no, kaj bi govoril! Danes je moja žena in srečen sem in vesel, da jo le vidim! «

"Oh, of course! I also remember how, just as we had finished eating the potatoes and cold roast meat and drinking that Cviček wine, which had been grandly poured into ancient champagne bottles for the occasion, we suddenly noticed that you, Julka and Vrbanoj were missing. Uncle Pepe was nowhere to be seen either, although he usually never left the bottles while there was anything left in them. Later you all came back, but you were all rather worked up, except Uncle Pepe. And afterwards, afterwards—oh, we were never all together like that again! You left soon afterwards, within a few days, I think, and Vrbanoj was never seen again either. Everyone had an excuse; our girls speculated about one thing and another, but nobody knew anything for certain. I, too, was going elsewhere at the time. What did I care whom other people loved, or how they loved them? I had quite enough to occupy me in my own affairs and with my own—well, why say more! Today she's my wife, and I'm happy, and glad just to look at her!"

Rekši, natoči Tinče svoj kozarec in ga dvigne, a Pavel ga ujame s svojim.

Having said this, Tine filled his glass and raised it, while Pavel clinked his own against it.

» Bog jo živi! « vzklikneta oba. » Da da, takrat na Kremenu!

"God bless her!" they both exclaimed. "Yes, yes, back then at Kremen!"

« povzame Pavel naglo. »

Pavel quickly took up the story. "

Saj nisem pravil še nikomur — kaj bi tudi? Zaljubljen sem bil — tako — no, tako, kakor je sploh človek v onih letih. Sedaj se mi vidi kaj takega nemogoče, preneumno bi bilo tudi! Tačas pa je bilo lepó! Vi ste skakali okrog žerjavice in kaplan Blaž vam je pomagal z gabrovim ključem vleči krompir iz pepela. Stari gospod Orel je tlačil svojo pipo, oni kapitanuš pa je kazal gospem po bližnjih gričih planote in mesta, od koder bi se najbolje streljalo na sovražnika, ako bi prikorakal po šentrupertski dolini. Julka in jaz sva hodila okoli cerkvice, čitala na belih stenah imena in napise, kar so jih pustili tamkaj obiskovalci po staroslavni šegi — menda sva se tudi ovekovečila sama — in potem sva krenila v breg na vam nasprotni strani. Bukve in smreke so rasle tam in iz mahu in listja so gledali rdeči zvonci korčkov. Julka jih je trgala, jaz pa nisem gledal ni cvetic ni na pot pod seboj niti goste veličastne šume okrog naju; videl sem le ono vitko ljubeznivo deklico in najsi mi je nasmehoma velevala: ,Pomagajte vendar, da prineseva več cvetic tja gor', — nabrati nisem mogel večjega šopka! Vzdramilo me je le, ko je rekla: ,Sedaj bode dovolj, vrniti se morava!'

I have never told anyone—not that there was any reason to! I was in love—well—in the way a man is in love at that age. Now such a thing seems impossible to me; it would be far too foolish, too! But back then it was beautiful! You were all jumping about the glowing embers, and Chaplain Blaž was helping you pull potatoes out of the ashes with a hornbeam stick. Old Mr Orel was stuffing his pipe, while that little captain was pointing out to the ladies the nearby hills, the plateau and the town, explaining where one could best fire upon the enemy if he should come marching up the Šentrupert valley. Julka and I were walking around the little church, reading the names and inscriptions on its white walls, left there by visitors according to an ancient custom—we probably immortalised ourselves there, too—and then we turned uphill on the opposite side from where you were. Beeches and firs grew there, and red bells of the korček flowers peeped out from the moss and fallen leaves. Julka was picking them, while I looked neither at the flowers nor at the path beneath my feet, nor at the dense, magnificent forest surrounding us. I saw only that slender, charming girl, and although she smiled and told me, 'Do help me, so that we can take more flowers up there,' I could not manage to gather a larger bouquet! I only came to my senses when she said, 'That will be enough now; we must go back!'

Stala sva tedaj — še danes bi našel mesto — na ostrem ovinku gozdnega pota, pod katerim se je odpiral globok jarek z globokim prepadom na desno in levo stran, vodec v širno dolino; pred nama na nasprotni strani onkraj doline pa je vstajalo zopet visoko, gosto obraščeno gorovje.

We were standing then—I could still find the very spot today—at a sharp bend in the forest path. Below it lay a deep ravine, with steep precipices on either side, descending into a broad valley; beyond the valley, directly opposite us, rose another high mountain range, thickly covered with vegetation.

Julka se je hotela obrniti v breg nazaj na najkrajši pot k vam drugim.

Julka wanted to turn back uphill by the shortest path to where the rest of you were.

Ali tedaj sem jo prijel za roke in govoril — danes ne vem več kaj in morda tudi tedaj nisem vedel, kaj govorim; toliko pa vem, da je bilo takrat vse resno in resnično, strastno in kipeče prav iz dna srca.

But just then I took her hands and began to speak—I no longer remember what I said, and perhaps even then I did not know what I was saying. But this much I know: everything at that moment was serious and sincere, passionate and surging straight from the depths of my heart.

Ako bi mi velela, naj se vznak prevrnem v prepad za menoj, gotovo bi se bil — toda danes, danes, ha ha — kako brezumno se mi vidi vse to!

If she had told me to throw myself backwards into the precipice behind me, I surely would have done so—but today, today, ha, ha! How utterly senseless it all seems to me!

In ona, Julka, stala je pred menoj, rdeča, povešenih oči, niti ganila se ni niti poskusila oprostiti svojih rok.

And there she stood before me, Julka, blushing, her eyes lowered, neither moving nor even attempting to free her hands.

Dasi tedaj nisem mislim sic!

Although I certainly wasn't thinking of anything of the sort at the time!

o tem, ali tisti trenutek mi je šinilo navzlic duševni moji razburjenosti nekaj v glavo, o čemer sem premišljal šele pozneje, prevzela me je misel: Ti, deklica — ti ugiblješ!

But at that very moment, despite my emotional turmoil, a thought flashed through my mind, something I only reflected upon later: You, my girl—you are hesitating! You are weighing it up!

Ti tehtaš!,Gospod Pavel,' rekla je mehko in hotela pristaviti še nekaj.

"You are weighing it up, Mr Pavel," she said softly, and wanted to add something more.

A bilo ji ni več mogoče, zakaj — Andrej Vrbanoj je stal poleg naju.,Haha!'

But she could not, for—Andrej Vrbanoj was standing beside us. "Ha, ha!"

zasmejal se je hripavo, v lice pa je bil bled kakor nova stena.

he laughed hoarsely, his face as pale as a freshly whitewashed wall.

Izpustil sem Julkine roke in, kakor se mi dozdeva, nisem prebledel, ampak če je bilo mogoče, zardel sem le še bolj in v grlu sem čutil potrebo, oglasiti se tudi z nekakim ,haha!'.,Gospod Pavel je danes silno ljubezniv, kakor ni bil nikoli!'

I let go of Julka's hands and, as I recall, I did not turn pale but, if anything, blushed even more deeply. I felt compelled to respond with a sort of "ha, ha!" myself. "Mr Pavel is extraordinarily charming today, more so than he has ever been!"

reče Julka in videl sem, kako se takisto sili na posmeh. ,Gori nas gotovo čakajo,' pristavi in vtem že steče po strmi stezi vkreber.

Julka said, and I could see that she, too, was forcing a mocking smile. "They must surely be waiting for us up there," she added, and immediately ran up the steep path.

Obrnil sem se za njo, ali Vrbanoj me je siloma potegnil nazaj.

I turned to follow her, but Vrbanoj forcibly pulled me back.

Govoril ni ničesar, toda oklenil se me je kakor maček.

He said nothing, but clung to me like a cat.

Tudi jaz nisem zinil besede.

I did not utter a word either.

Ob strmem prepadu sva krčevito držala drug drugega, oba mladostno močna, oba v divje vzbujeni, nebrzdani strasti!

At the edge of the steep precipice, we clutched each other fiercely, both young and strong, both consumed by a wild, unrestrained passion!

Toda njega strast je bila silovitejša od moje.

But his passion was more violent than mine.

Zdelo se mi je, da me hoče pahniti v prepad.

I felt as though he meant to hurl me into the precipice.

In v tem tihem ruvanju, ko sem jaz le silil od roba — danes še me izprehaja mrzla polt — vtem se je zdajci prikazal, meni kakor angel iz neba, stric Pepe in naju razdružil.

And in that silent struggle, as I desperately tried to get away from the edge— even today, the memory sends a chill down my spine—Uncle Pepe suddenly appeared, like an angel from heaven to me, and pulled us apart.

Tistega pijanca — saj veš, bil je brat, ponesrečen brat gospe Orlove, bivši častnik — nikdar nisem rad videl, ali tedaj ——— no, ljubi Tinče, sedaj veš tisti dogodek!

That drunkard—you know, he was Mrs Orel's unfortunate brother, a former officer—I had never liked the sight of him, but on that occasion—well, dear Tine, now you know what happened!

Prišli smo vsi zopet h kremenski cerkvici, razvneti, kakor si rekel, toda molčali smo o tem, kar je bilo.

We all returned to the little church at Kremen, worked up, as you said, but we kept silent about what had happened.

Saj je imel vsak dovolj vzrokov, samo stric Pepe ne; a tega je menda potolažila Julka.

Everyone had plenty of reasons to be upset, except Uncle Pepe; but Julka presumably consoled him.

Ko smo se vračali domov, govoril sem in hodil samo z Marušo ter pozvedel iz nje blebetanja, da je bilo nekaj ljubezni med Vrbanojem in Julko.

On our way home, I walked and talked only with Maruša, and from her chatter I gathered that there had been some love affair between Vrbanoj and Julka.

Drugega ti ne bodem pravil.

I shall tell you nothing more.

Odrinil sem od vas in tvoje gostoljubne hiše, Andreja tudi menda ni bilo več na Veselko.

I left you and your hospitable home, and Andrej, too, apparently stopped visiting the Vesel family.

Pozneje pa smo itak hodili vsak svoj pot.«

After that, we each went our own way anyway."

» Mladostne neumnosti! « meni Tinče.

"Youthful foolishness!" Tine remarked.

» Res; toda semper aliquid haeret —in tudi taki, recimo, smelo-otročji dogodki puščajo viden sled za vse življenje. Takrat sem bil zaljubljen — da rabim vulgaren izraz — res zaljubljen — potem pa nikdar več tako. «

"True; but semper aliquid haeret—and even such, shall we say, boldly childish incidents leave a visible mark for a lifetime. I was in love then—to use a vulgar expression—truly in love—and never again in quite the same way."

» In Andrej? «

"And what about Andrej?"

» Ne vem! Slišal sem, da se ogiblje ženske družbe, kar itak sam veš! «

"I don't know! I've heard that he avoids women's company, as you know yourself!"

» No — ako pride Julka v Zagorico? « pošali se notar.

"Well, what if Julka comes to Zagorica?" the notary joked.

» Naj pride; z Andrejem ali s komerkoli se zaradi ženske ne bodem več tepel! Ančka, Ančka — plačam! A še skoro za vas bi se ne tepel, Ančka, ali ni res? «

"Let her come. I shall never fight with Andrej, or anyone else, over a woman again! Ančka, Ančka—let me pay! Why, I wouldn't even fight for you nowadays, Ančka, would I?"

» Res! « reče Ančka in si mane zaspane oči. Vedela pa ni, kaj je trdil adjunkt v svoji šali; ta pa takisto sam ni znal, da mnogokrat tudi taka ali enaka lahkomiselna in nepomembna beseda govornika postavi na laž!

"Quite right!" said Ančka, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She had no idea what the deputy district officer was claiming in jest; nor did he himself realise that words as thoughtless and seemingly insignificant as these often end up proving the speaker wrong!