| 22 | |
| It was about ten-thirty when the little yellow-sashed Mexican orchestra got tired of playing a low-voiced, prettied-up rumba that nobody was dancing to. The gourd player rubbed his fingertips together as if they were sore and got a cigarette into his mouth almost with the same movement. The other four, with a timed simultaneous stoop, reached under their chairs for glasses from which they sipped, smacking their lips and flashing their eyes. Tequila, their manner said. It was probably mineral water. The pretense was as wasted as the music. Nobody was looking at them. | Bilo je oko deset i pol kad se mali žuto ešarpirani mek-sikanski orkestar umorio od sviranja poluglasne, uljepšane rumbe koju nitko nije plesao. Svirač bendža protrljao je vrhove prstiju kao da su ga zaboljeli i gotovo istim pokretom stavio cigaretu u usta. Ostala četvorica, s tempiranim istovremenim naklonom, posegnula su pod stolice za čašama iz kojih su zatim srknuli, pa potom mljacnuli ustima i bljesnuli očima. Tekila, govorilo je njihovo ponašanje. Vjerojatno je bila mineralna voda. To je prenemaganje bilo promašeno koliko i glazba. Nitko ih nije gledao. |
| The room had been a ballroom once and Eddie Mars had changed it only as much as his business compelled him. No chromium glitter, no indirect lighting from behind angular cornices, no fused glass pictures, or chairs in violent leather and polished metal tubing, none of the pseudo-modernistic circus of the typical Hollywood night trap. The light was from heavy crystal chandeliers and the rose-damask panels of the wall were still the same rose damask, a little faded by time and darkened by dust, that had been matched long ago against the parquetry floor, of which only a small glass-smooth space in front of the little Mexican orchestra showed bare. The rest was covered by a heavy old-rose carpeting that must have cost plenty. The parquetry was made of a dozen kinds of hardwood, from Burma teak through half a dozen shades of oak and ruddy wood that looked like mahogany, and fading out to the hard pale wild lilac of the California hills, all laid in elaborate patterns, with the accuracy of a transit. | Prostorija je svojedobno bila plesna dvorana, a Eddie Mars ju je izmijenio samo toliko koliko ga je na to natjerao posao. Bez bljeskanja kroma, bez indirektnog osvjetljenja iza četvrtastih karniša, bez slika od staljenog stakla ili stolica od ljubičaste kože i uglačanih metalnih cijevi, bez svih tih pseudomodernističkih cirkusa tipične holivudske noćne upadaljke. Svjetlo je dolazilo iz masivnih kristalnih lustera, a zidne obloge od crvenog damasta bile su one iste, iako pomalo izblijedjele od dugovječnosti i potamnjele od prašine, koje su prije mnogo vremena usklađene s parke-tiranim podom, od kojeg se sada vidio samo ogoljeli, kao staklo ravan, komad ispred maloga meksikanskog orkestra. Ostatak je bio prekriven teškim karminskim sagom koji je morao stajati čitavo bogatstvo. Parket je bio izrađen iz desetak vrsti tvrdog drveta, od burmanske tikovine do pola tuceta nijansi hrastovine i crvenkastog drveta sličnog mahagoniju, da bi se na koncu ta skala boja završila blijedim divljim ljiljanima s kalif ornijskih brda; sve je bilo složeno u pomno izrađen uzorak s precizno izvedenim prijelazima. |
| It was still a beautiful room and now there was roulette in it instead of measured, old-fashioned dancing. There were three tables close to the far wall. A low bronze railing joined them and made a fence around the croupiers. All three tables were working, but the crowd was at the middle one. I could see Vivian Regan’s black head close to it, from across the room where I was leaning against the bar and turning a small glass of Bacardi around on the mahogany. | Još i sad je to bila lijepa prostorija, no u njoj su bili ruleti umjesto odmjerenog, starovjekog plesa. Uz dalji zid su bila tri stola. Povezivala ih je niska brončana rešetka što je tvorila ogradu oko krupjea. Sva su tri stola bila u pogonu, no gužva je bila na srednjemu. U njegovoj sam blizini mogao vidjeti crnu glavu Vivian Regan, gledajući preko prostorije s bara na koji sam se naslonio vrteći čašicu ba-kardija po mahagoniju. |
| The bartender leaned beside me watching the cluster of well-dressed people at the middle table. “She’s pickin’ ‘em tonight, right on the nose,” he said. “That tall black headed frail.” | Barmen se nagnuo kraj mene i promatrao grozd dobro odjevenih ljudi na srednjem stolu. — Kupi im danas, kupi ravno ispred nosa — reče. — Onaj crni visoki curičak. |
| “Who is she?” | — Tko je ta? |
| “I wouldn’t know her name. She comes here a lot though.” | Ne znam kako se zove. Iako ovamo mnogo dolazi. |
| “The hell you wouldn’t know her name.” | — Đavola ne znate. |
| “I just work here, mister,” he said without any animosity. “She’s all alone too. The guy was with her passed out. They took him out to his car.” | — Ja ovdje samo radim — rekao je bez neprijateljstva. — I ona je sasvim sama. Momak s kojim je bila ispustio je dušu. Odvukli su ga drvenog u kola. |
| “I’ll take her home,” I said. | — Ja ću je otpratiti kući — rekoh. |
| “The hell you will. Well, I wish you luck anyways. Should I gentle up that Bacardi or do you like it the way it is?” | — Đavola hoćete. Ipak, želim vam mnogo sreće. Da vam sredim malo taj bakardi, ili ga volite kakav jest? |
| “I like it the way it is as well as I like it at all,” I said. | — Volim ga takvog kakav jest, ako ga uopće volim — rekoh. |
| “Me, I’d just as leave drink croup medicine,” he said. | — A ja, ja bih se radije odrekao ricinusova ulja — odgovorio je on. |
| The crowd parted and two men in evening clothes pushed their way out and I saw the back of her neck and her bare shoulders in the opening. She wore a low-cut dress of dull green velvet. It looked too dressy for the occasion. The crowd closed and hid all but her black head. The two men came across the room and leaned against the bar and asked for Scotch and soda. One of them was flushed and excited. He was mopping his face with a black-bordered handkerchief. The double satin stripes down the side of his trousers were wide enough for tire tracks. | Gomila se razdvojila i dva su se muškarca u večernjim odijelima progurala napolje, pa sam mogao vidjeti njenu šiju i gola ramena u nastalom prolazu. Imala je na sebi duboko izrezanu haljinu od tamnozelenog velura. Izgledala je suviše upicanjeno za ovakvu zgodu. Gomila se zatvorila i sakrila joj sve osim crne kose. Ona su dva muškarca prešla prostoriju, naslonila se na bar i zatražila skoč i sodu. Jedan je od njih bio crven i uzbuđen. Otirao je lice crno obrubljenom maramicom. Dvostruka rebra na njegovim sam taštim hlačama bila bi dovoljno široka za automobilsku gumu. |
| “Boy, I never saw such a run,” he said in a jittery voice. “Eight wins and two stand-offs in a row on that red. That’s roulette, boy, that’s roulette.” | — Stari, nikad nisam vidio takvu rundu — rekao je živčanim glasom. — Osam dobitaka i dva nikom ništa za redom, na tom crvenom. To je pravi rulet, stari, to je rulet. |
| “It gives me the itch,” the other one said. “She’s betting a grand at a crack. She can’t lose.” They put their beaks in their drinks, gurgled swiftly and went back. | — Sad i mene hvata svrab — rekao je drugi. — Kladi se u kilju po bacanju. Ne može izgubiti. — Gurnuli su kljunove u pića, brzo ga izgrgljali i vratili se. |
| “So wise the little men are,” the barkeep drawled. “A grand a crack, huh. I saw an old horse face in Havana once—” | — Što su pametni ti mali — razvukao je bardžija. — Kilja po bacanju, ha. Jednom sam u Havani sreo nekog starog s konjskom facom... |
| The noise swelled over at the middle table and a chiseled foreign voice rose above it saying: “If you will just be patient a moment, madam. The table cannot cover your bet. Mr. Mars will be here in a moment.” | Zamor se prelio preko srednjeg stola, a iznad njega se digao dorađeni stranjski glas i rekao: — Ako biste samo na trenutak imali strpljenja, madam. Stol ne može pokriti vaš ulog. Gospodin Mars će biti ovdje za trenutak. |
| I left my Bacardi and padded across the carpet. The little orchestra started to play a tango, rather loud. No one was dancing or intending to dance. I moved through a scattering of people in dinner clothes and full evening dress and sports clothes and business suits to the end table at the left. It had gone dead. Two croupiers stood behind it with their heads together and their eyes sideways. One moved a rake back and forth aimlessly over the empty layout. They were both staring at Vivian Regan. | Ostavio sam bakardi i zatapao preko tepiha. Mali je orkestar počeo svirati tango, i to prilično glasno. Nitko nije ni plesao a ni namjeravao zaplesati. Pomakao sam se kroz raspršene ljude u smokinzima i klasičnim odijelima do krajnjeg stola lijevo. Taj više nije davao znakove života. Dva su krupjea stajala za njim sa skupljenim glavama i očima skrenutim u stranu. Jedan je besciljno vukao grab-Ijice naprijed i natrag preko prazne ploče. Obojica su zurila u Vivian Regan. |
| Her long lashes twitched and her face looked unnaturally white. She was at the middle table, exactly opposite the wheel. There was a disordered pile of money and chips in front of her. It looked like a lot of money. She spoke to the croupier with a cool, insolent, ill-tempered drawl. | Duge su joj se trepavice trzale, a lice djelovalo neprirodno bijelo. Bila je za srednjim stolom, točno nasuprot kolu. Ispred nje je bila izneređena gomila novca i žetona. Djelovalo je kao hrpa love. Obraćala se krupjeu hladnim, drskim i prgavim glasom, razvlačeći samoglasnike. |
| “What kind of a cheap outfit is this, I’d like to know. Get busy and spin that wheel, high pockets. I want one more play and I’m playing table stakes. You take it away fast enough I’ve noticed, but when it comes to dishing it out you start to whine.” | — Kakva je ovo jeftina prčvarnica, htjela bih znati. Pljunite u šake i zavrtite kolo, dugajse. Hoću još jednu rundu, i to protiv kuće. Kada treba pokupiti, onda ste jako brzi, kako sam vidjela, a kada treba pljunuti lovu, odmah se rascmoljite. |
| The croupier smiled a cold polite smile that had looked at thousands of boors and millions of fools. His tall dark disinterested manner was flawless. He said gravely: “The table cannot cover your bet, madam. You have over sixteen thousand dollars there.” | Krupje se nasmiješio hladnim uljudnim smiješkom čovjeka koji je vidio već tisuće seljaka i milijune bedaka. Njegove su visoke, tamne, nezainteresirane manire bile bez pogreške. Rekao je dostojanstveno: — Stol ne može pokriti vaš ulog, madam. Imate preko šesnaest tisuća dolara. |
| “It’s your money,” the girl jeered. “Don’t you want it back?” | — To je vaš novac — podrugnula se cura. — Da ga ne želite natrag? |
| A man beside her tried to tell her something. She turned swiftly and spat something at him and he faded back into the crowd red-faced. A door opened in the paneling at the far end of the enclosed place made by the bronze railing. Eddie Mars came through the door with a set indifferent smile on his face, his hands thrust into the pockets of his dinner jacket, both thumbnails glistening outside. He seemed to like that pose. He strolled behind the croupiers and stopped at the corner of the middle table. He spoke with lazy calm, less politely than the croupier. | Neki muškarac kraj nje pokušao joj je nešto reći. Okrenula se brzo i odbrusila mu; ovaj se crvena lica ras- plinuo u gomili. Na kraju prostora ograđenog brončanom rešetkom otvorila su se vrata u zidnoj oblozi. Kroz njih je ušao Eddie Mars s namještenim ravnodušnim smiješkom na licu, rukama zabijenim u džepove smokinga, i s bljeskom oba nokta palčeva što su ostali napolju. Činilo se da mu se dopadala ta poza. Prošetao se iza krupjea i zaustavio se na uglu srednjeg stola. Govorio je s lijenom mirnoćom, manje uljudno od krupjea. |
| “Something the matter, Mrs. Regan?” | — Nešto bilo, gospođo Regan? |
| She turned her face to him with a sort of lunge. I saw the curve of her cheek stiffen, as if with an almost unbearable inner tautness. She didn’t answer him. | Okrenula mu je lice kao da je zamahnula mačem. Vidio sam kako joj se linija obraza ukrućuje, kao od nekakve nepodnošljive unutrašnje napetosti. Nije mu odgovorila. |
| Eddie Mars said gravely: “If you’re not playing any more, you must let me send someone home with you.” | Eddie Mars je rekao dostojanstveno: — Ako više ne igrate, morate mi dopustiti da pošaljem nekog s vama kući. |
| The girl flushed. Her cheekbones stood out white in her face. Then she laughed off-key. She said bitterly: | Cura se zarumenila. Lične su joj kosti, ostavši bijele, iskočile iz obraza. Tad se nasmijala na falš notu. Rekla je s gorčinom u glasu: |
| “One more play, Eddie. Everything I have on the red. I like red. It’s the color of blood.” | — Još jednu rundu, Eddie. Imam sve na crvenom. Volim crveno. To je boja krvi. |
