| They ran down through the ravine at a swift rush, all laughing, jostling, all elbows and ankles, all steamy snort and roustabout, to stop in collision when Tom Skelton stopped and pointed up the path. | Protrčali su kroz klanac u hitroj navali, svi u smijehu, sudarajući se, pretvoreni u lakte i gležnjeve, svi u maglenom dahtanju i gurkanju, da bi se zaustavili u sudaru, u trenutku kad je Tom Skelton najednom zastao i pokazao prstom niza stazu. |
| “There,” he whispered. “There’s the only house in town worth visiting on Halloween! There!” | "Tamo", prošaptao je. "To je jedina kuća koju se isplati posjetiti u Noći vještica. Tamo!" |
| “Yeah!” said everyone. | "Tako je!" rekli su svi odreda. |
| For it was true. The house was special and fine and tall and dark. There must have been a thousand windows in its sides, all shimmering with cold stars. It looked as if it had been cut out of black marble instead of built out of timbers, and inside? who could guess how many rooms, halls, breezeways, attics. Superior and inferior attics, some higher than others, some more filled with dust and webs and ancient leaves or gold buried above ground in the sky but lost away so high no ladder in town could take you there. | Jer to je bila istina. Kuća je bila doista posebna, i lijepa i visoka i mračna. Po zidovima je imala tisuću prozora, i na svima su svjetlucale studene zvijezde; Činilo se da je isklesana od crnoga mramora, a ne istesana od drveta, a unutra? tko da nasluti koliko soba, hodnika, natkrivenih staza, tavana. Viši i niži tavani, neki viši od drugih, drugi ispunjeniji prašinom i paučinom i prastarim lišćem ili zlatom zakopanim iznad tla u nebu no tako izgubljeno visoko da te do njega ne bi dovele ni najviše ljestve u gradu. |
| The house beckoned with its towers, invited with its gummed-shut doors. Pirate ships are a tonic. Ancient forts are a boon. But a house, a haunted house, on All Hallows’ Eve? Eight small hearts beat up an absolute storm of glory and approbation. | Kuća je vabila svjetionicima svojih tornjića, zvala svojim vratima kao gumom zalijepljenim. Gusarski brod je super. Stare tvrđave su banja. Ali kuća, opsjednuta kuća, uoči Noći vještica? Osam je srdašaca zabubnjalo svesilni tuš slave i odobravanja. |
| “Come on.” | "Idemo." |
| But they were already crowding up the path. Until they stood at last by a crumbling wall, looking up and up and still farther up at the great tombyard top of the old house. For that’s what it seemed. The high mountain peak of the mansion was littered with what looked like black bones or iron rods, and enough chimneys to choke out smoke signals from three dozen fires on sooty hearths hidden far below in the dim bowels of this monster place. With so many chimneys, the roof seemed a vast cemetery, each chimney signifying the burial place of some old god of fire or enchantress of steam, smoke, and firefly spark. Even as they watched, a kind of bleak exhalation of soot breathed up out of some four dozen flues, darkening the sky still more, and putting out some few stars. | No već su se gužvali na prilaznoj stazi. Sve dok se napokon nisu našli kraj trošnoga zida, podižući pogled sve više i više i više sve do veličajnoga grobljanskoga vrha stare kuće. Jer baš je tako izgledao. Visoki planinski vrhunac kurije bio je posut nečim nalik na crne kosti ili željezne šipke, i dovoljnim brojem dimnjaka da odašilju dimne signale s trideset vatara na čađavim ognjištima skrivenim duboko dolje u mračnoj utrobi te čudovišne kućerine. S toliko dimnjaka, krov je nalikovao golemome groblju, i svaki je dimnjak obilježavao grobište nekog starog boga vatre ili čarobnice pare, dima ili krijesnice - iskre. Još dok su gledali, četrdesetak je dimnih cijevi izdahnulo sumorni čađavi dah, od čega je nebo još jače potamnjelo, a nekoliko se zvijezda ugasilo. |
| “Boy,” said Tom Skelton, “Pipkin sure knows what he’s talking about!” | "Dečki," rekao je Tom Skelton, "Pipkin je sasvim sigurno znao što govori!" |
| “Boy,” said all, agreeing. | "Ljudi", odgovorili su svi, suglasni s njim. |
| They crept along a weed-infested path toward the crumpled front porch. | Zapuzali su korovom prekritom stazom prema trošnim ulaznim vratima. |
| Tom Skelton, alone, itched his bony foot up on the first porch-step. The others gasped at his bravery. So, now, finally in a mob, a compact mass of sweating boys moved up on the porch amid fierce cries of the planks underfoot, and shudderings of their bodies. Each wished to pull back, swivel about, run, but found himself trapped against the boy behind or in front or to the side. So, with a pseudo-pod thrust out here or there, the amoebic form, the large perspiration of boys leaned and made a run and a stop to the front door of the house which was as tall as a coffin and twice as thin. | Tom Skelton, samo on, koščatim je stopalom, punim mravaca, dotakao prvu stubu pred vratima. Drugi su na njegovo junaštvo samo zinuli. A onda su, napokon, kao rulja, u kompaktnoj masi oznojenih dječaka, krenuli uza stube, sred divlje krike dasaka pod nogama i treperenja vlastitih tijela. Svaki je od njih želio ustuknuti, okrenuti se na peti, pobjeći, no svaki je bio zarobljen dječakom iza sebe, sprijeda ili sa strane. I tako se, izbacujući sad tu, sad tamo pseudopode, taj amebalni oblik, ta velika oznojenost dječaka, nagnula prema naprijed, potrčala i stala pred ulaznim vratima kuće, vratima visokim kao mrtvački sanduk i dva puta tanjim. |
| They stood there for a long moment, various hands reaching out like the legs of an immense spider as if to twist that cold knob or reach up for the knocker on that front door. Meanwhile, the wooden floorings of the porch sank and wallowed beneath their weight, threatening at every shift of proportion to give way and fling them into some cockroach abyss beneath. The planks, each tuned to an A or an F or a C, sang out their uncanny music as heavy shoes scraped on them. And if there had been time and it were noon, they might have danced out a cadavers tune or a skeleton’s rigadoon, for who can resist an ancient porch which, like a gigantic xylophone, only wants to be jumped on to make music? | Ostali su tako jedan dugi trenutak, a razne su ruke posezale poput nogu golemoga pauka, kao da žele zakrenuti hladnu kvaku ili dohvatiti zvekir na ulaznim vratima. U međuvremenu, drveni se pod ulaznoga trijema uvijao i stenjao pod njihovom težinom, prijeteći da će pri svakom pomaku tereta popustiti i baciti ih u nekakav žoharima ispunjeni bezdan pod sobom. Daske, ugođene na A ili F ili C, pjevale su svoju sablasnu pjesmu dok su ih greble teške cipele. I da je bilo vremena, i da je bilo podne, možda bi i zaplesali mrtvačevu pjesmicu ili kosturov rigadon (Društveni ples iz 17. i 18. stoljeća, potekao od plesa provansalskih lađara. op.prev.), jer tko bi se mogao othrvati pradrevnom pritrijemku po kojem je, kao po kakvom orijaškom ksilofonu, trebalo samo skakati i već bi se stvorila glazba? |
| But they were not thinking this. | Ali oni na to nisu ni pomišljali. |
| Henry-Hank Smith (for that’s who it was), hidden inside his black Witch’s costume, cried: “Look!” | Henry-Hank Smith (jer to je bio baš on), skriven u kostimu crne vještice, najednom je uskliknuo: "Vidi ovo!" |
| And all looked at the knocker on the door. Tom’s hand trembled out to touch it. | I sad su svi pogledali zvekir na vratima. Tom je ispružio drhtavu ruku i dotakao ga. |
| “A Marley knocker!” | "Marleyjev zvekir!" |
| “What?” | "Što?" |
| “You know, Scrooge and Marley, a Christmas Carol!” whispered Tom. | "Mislim, Scrooge i Marley, Dickens, Božična pjesma!" prošaptao je Tom. |
| And indeed the face that made up the knocker on the door was the face of a man with a dread toothache, his jaw bandaged, his hair askew, his teeth prolapsed, his eyes wild. Dead-as-a-doornail Marley, friend to Scrooge, inhabiter of lands beyond the grave, doomed to wander this earth forever until… | I doista, lice od kojeg je bio sazdan taj zvekir na vratima, bilo je lice čovjeka sa strašnom zuboboljom, zavijene čeljusti, razbarušene kose, ispaloga zubala, divljega pogleda. Marley, mrtav kao daska, prijatelj onoga Scroogea, stanovnik zemlje onkraj groba, osuđen da luta zemljom sve dok... |
| “Knock,” said Henry-Hank. | "Pokucaj", rekao je Henry-Hank. |
| Tom Skelton took hold of old Marley’s cold and grisly jaw, lifted it, and let it fall. | Tom Skelton je dohvatio hladnu i jezovitu čeljust staroga Marleyja, podigao je, i pustio da padne. |
| All jumped at the concussion! | Kad je prasnula, svi su poskočili! |
| The entire house shook. Its bones ground together. Shades snap-furled up so that windows blinked wide their ghastly eyes. | Čitava se kuća zatresla. Njezine su kosti zastrugale jedna o drugu. Roleti su se u trenutku ufrkali, i prozori su zažmirkali svojim širokim, sablasnim očima. |
| Tom Skelton cat-leaped to the porch rail, staring up. | Tom Skelton je poput mačke skočio na ogradu trijema i zapiljio se u vis. |
| On the rooftop, weird weathercocks spun. Two-headed roosters whirled in the sneezed wind. A gargoyle on the western rim of the house erupted twin snorts of rain-funnel dust. And down the long snaking serpentine rainspouts of the house, after the sneeze had died and the weathercocks ceased spinning, vagrant wisps of autumn leaf and cobweb fell gusting out onto the dark grass. | Na vrhu krova, sablasni se pijevci okretahu. Dvoglavi pijetlovi divlje su se vrtjeli u kihanju vjetra. Iz garguja na zapadnome rubu kuće eruptirali su dvostruki mlazovi prašine, dovedeni cijevlju za odvod kišnice. A duž dugačke zmijolike guje kišnoga oluka, nakon što je zapuh vjetra zamro i limeni se pijevci prestali okretati, zalutalo pramenje jesenskoga lišća i paučine izlijetalo je u zapusima i padalo na mračnu travu. |
| Tom whirled to look at the faintly shuddering windows. Moonlit reflections trembled in the glass like schools of disturbed silver minnows. Then the front door gave a shake, a twist of its knob, a grimace of its Marley knocker, and flung itself wide. | Tom se naglo okrenuo i pogledao u slabašno zatreptale prozore. U staklu su drhtali mjesečinom osvijetljeni odrazi, nalik na plove uznemirenih srebrenih kljenaka. A onda su se ulazna vrata zatresla, zakrenula kvakom, uputila im grimasu s Marleyjeva zvekira, i širom se rastvorila. |
| The wind made by the suddenly opening door almost knocked the boys off the porch. They seized one another’s elbows, yelling. | Vjetar što ga je stvorilo naglo otvaranje vrata gotovo je zbacio dječake s trijema. Uhvatili su se za mišice i zakričali. |
| Then the darkness within the house inhaled. A wind sucked through the gaping door. It pulled at the boys, dragging them across the porch. They had to lean back so as not to be snatched into the deep dark hall. They struggled, shouted, clutched the porch rails. But then the wind ceased. | A onda je tama u kući udahnula. Kroz razjapljena vrata usisala je zrak. I on je povukao dječake, i potegao ih preko trijema. Morali su se nagnuti prema natrag da ih zapuh ne ubaci u duboko tamno predvorje. Otimali su se, vikali, grčevito se hvatali ograde trijema. No onda je vjetar stao. |
| Darkness moved within darkness. | U tami se pokrenula tama. |
