Huck digué:
-Tom, si trobéssim una corda vindria bé d'escapar-nos: la finestra no és gaire alta.
HUCK said: "Tom, we can slope, if we can find a rope. The window ain't high from the ground."
-Brocs! Per què us voleu escapar?
"Shucks! what do you want to slope for?"
-Bé, no hi estic avesat, a aquesta mena de gentada: no puc comportar-ho. No hi baixaré pas, allí, Tom.
"Well, I ain't used to that kind of a crowd. I can't stand it. I ain't going down there, Tom."
-Oh! No em vingueu amb romansos! És una cosa de no-res. A mi no m'importa gens ni mica. Ja en tindré esment, de vós.
"Oh, bother! It ain't anything. I don't mind it a bit. I'll take care of you."
Sid aparegué.
Sid appeared.
-Tom- digué: -la tieta us ha estat esperant tota la tarda. Mary us havia deixat el vestit dels diumenges a punt, i tothom s'impacientava per vós. Escolteu: no és greix i argila, això que teniu a la roba?
"Tom," said he, "auntie has been waiting for you all the afternoon. Mary got your Sunday clothes ready, and everybody's been fretting about you. Say--ain't this grease and clay, on your clothes?"
-Ep, senyor Siddy! Capteniu-vos de vós mateix! A què ve, tota aquesta festassa?
"Now, Mr. Siddy, you jist 'tend to your own business. What's all this blowout about, anyway?"
-És una recepció de la vídua, de les que ella sol dar. Aquesta vegada és per al gal·lès i els seus fills, que aquella nit la van treure del mal pas. I escolteu: puc dir-vos una cosa, si voleu saber-ho?
"It's one of the widow's parties that she's always having. This time it's for the Welshman and his sons, on account of that scrape they helped her out of the other night. And say--I can tell you something, if you want to know."
-Bé, què?
"Well, what?"
-Veureu: el vell Jones es proposa donar una sorpresa a la gent que avui s'ha aplegat aquí. Jo tanmateix he pogut sentir còm en parlava amb la tieta, en secret: però em penso que ara, de secret, ja no n'és gaire. Tothom ho sap, i la vídua es veu que també, pel molt que dóna entenent que no ho sap. Oh! El senyor Jones necessitava que Huck fos aquí: no podia amollar el seu gran secret sense Huck: sabeu?
"Why, old Mr. Jones is going to try to spring something on the people here tonight, but I overheard him tell auntie today about it, as a secret, but I reckon it's not much of a secret now. Everybody knows--the widow, too, for all she tries to let on she don't. Mr. Jones was bound Huck should be here--couldn't get along with his grand secret without Huck, you know!"
-Secret de quina cosa, Sid?
"Secret about what, Sid?"
-El seguiment dels lladres, fins al tros de la vídua, que va fer Huck. Em penso que el senyor Jones es prometia dar-se una bella estona amb la seva sorpresa, però em jugo qualsevol cosa que se li tornarà aiguapoll.
"About Huck tracking the robbers to the widow's. I reckon Mr. Jones was going to make a grand time over his surprise, but I bet you it will drop pretty flat."
Sid cloquejà una rialleta amb molt de contentament i satisfacció.
Sid chuckled in a very contented and satisfied way.
-Sid: sóu vós, qui ho ha dit?
"Sid, was it you that told?"
-Oh! Tant se val, qui hagi estat: algú ho ha dit, i amb això n'hi ha prou.
"Oh, never mind who it was. Somebody told--that's enough."
-Sid, no hi ha sinó una persona, en aquest poble, prou roïna per a fer això: i sóu vos. Si us haguéssiu trobat com va trobar-se Huck, us hauríeu esquitllat turó avall, i no n'hauríeu dit un mot a ningú, dels lladres. No podeu fer sinó coses roïnes, i no podeu comportar de veure lloat a ningú per fer-ne de bones. Vet-ho aquí: no regracieu, com diu la vídua.- I Tom malmenà a cop de punys les orelles de Sid, i l'empenyé cap a la porta amb un cert nombre de puntades de peu. -Ara aneu i digueu-ho a la tieta, si goséssiu, i demà ja veurem quína sumanta!
"Sid, there's only one person in this town mean enough to do that, and that's you. If you had been in Huck's place you'd 'a' sneaked down the hill and never told anybody on the robbers. You can't do any but mean things, and you can't bear to see anybody praised for doing good ones. There--no thanks, as the widow says"--and Tom cuffed Sid's ears and helped him to the door with several kicks. "Now go and tell auntie if you dare--and tomorrow you'll catch it!"
Alguns minuts després els invitats de la vídua eren a la taula, tot sopant, i una dotzena de minyons estaven davant les tauletes laterals de la mateixa cambra, segons l'estil d'aquella terra i d'aquell temps. A l'hora oportuna el senyor Jones féu son petit parlament, en el qual regraciava la vídua per l'honor que els feia, a ell i a sos fills; però digué que hi havia una altra persona, la modèstia de la qual...
Some minutes later the widow's guests were at the supper-table, and a dozen children were propped up at little side-tables in the same room, after the fashion of that country and that day. At the proper time Mr. Jones made his little speech, in which he thanked the widow for the honor she was doing himself and his sons, but said that there was another person whose modesty--
I va seguir, i va anar-se estenent. Revelà son secret sobre la participació de Huck en la aventura, amb la més bella faisó dramàtica que sabia; però la sorpresa que motivà era, en gran part, estrafeta, i no pas tan clamorosa i efusiva com hauria estat sota més venturoses circumstàncies. Tanmateix la vídua va fer una ostentació d'espalmament d'allò més bonica; i amuntegà tants de compliments i tanta de gratitud damunt Huckleberry, que ell gairebé oblidà la incomoditat quasi intolerable de son nou vestit per la incomoditat totalment intolerable d'ésser ofert com una rodella a l'esguard i a les lloances de tothom.
And so forth and so on. He sprung his secret about Huck's share in the adventure in the finest dramatic manner he was master of, but the surprise it occasioned was largely counterfeit and not as clamorous and effusive as it might have been under happier circumstances. However, the widow made a pretty fair show of astonishment, and heaped so many compliments and so much gratitude upon Huck that he almost forgot the nearly intolerable discomfort of his new clothes in the entirely intolerable discomfort of being set up as a target for everybody's gaze and everybody's laudations.
La vídua digué que es proposava donar a Huck la seva casa per llar, i fer-lo instruir; i que quan tingués el diner estalviat el faria entrar en els negocis, modestament. L'avinentesa de Tom era arribada. Digué:
The widow said she meant to give Huck a home under her roof and have him educated; and that when she could spare the money she would start him in business in a modest way. Tom's chance was come. He said:
-Huck no ho necessita: és ric!
"Huck don't need it. Huck's rich."
Sols un considerable esforç de la cortesia dels invitats contingué la rialla de justa i escaient satisfacció que es mereixia aquesta gustosa facècia; però el silenci era una mica desmanegat. Tom el va rompre:
Nothing but a heavy strain upon the good manners of the company kept back the due and proper complimentary laugh at this pleasant joke. But the silence was a little awkward. Tom broke it:
-Huck té diners, avui. Potser no us ho creieu, però en té una pila. Oh! No cal que us en rigueu: em penso que us els puc mostrar. Espereu-vos un minut.
"Huck's got money. Maybe you don't believe it, but he's got lots of it. Oh, you needn't smile--I reckon I can show you. You just wait a minute."
Tom se n'anà cap a fora. Els invitats es miraven l'un a l'altre amb un interès perplex, i miraven interrogativament Huck, bocaclòs.
Tom ran out of doors. The company looked at each other with a perplexed interest--and inquiringly at Huck, who was tongue-tied.
-Sid: què li passa, a Tom?- digué la tia Polly. -Ell... Bé, mai hi ha manera de saber-ne el què, d'aquest minyó. Jo mai...
"Sid, what ails Tom?" said Aunt Polly. "He--well, there ain't ever any making of that boy out. I never--"
Tom entrà, havent-se-les amb el pes del saquet, i la tia Polly no acabà la seva frase. Tom escampà el bé de Déu de monedes d'or damunt la taula, i digué:
Tom entered, struggling with the weight of his sacks, and Aunt Polly did not finish her sentence. Tom poured the mass of yellow coin upon the table and said:
-Veieu, què us deia? La meitat és de Huck, i l'altra meitat és meva!
"There--what did I tell you? Half of it's Huck's and half of it's mine!"
L'espectacle va trencar l'alè a tothom: tothom era bocabadat; ningú parlava, per un moment. Després hi hagué una demanadissa unànime d'explicacions. Tom digué que podia dar-ne, i ho féu. La història va ésser llarga, però xarbotant d'interès. Amb prou feines hi hagué una interrupció de ningú que trenqués l'encís de son doll. Quan Tom hagué acabat, el senyor Jones digué:
The spectacle took the general breath away. All gazed, nobody spoke for a moment. Then there was a unanimous call for an explanation. Tom said he could furnish it, and he did. The tale was long, but brimful of interest. There was scarcely an interruption from any one to break the charm of its flow. When he had finished, Mr. Jones said:
-Em creia haver manegat una petita sorpresa per a aquesta ocasió, però ara ja no val res. Aquesta altra la fa d'allò més migrada: ho reconec.
"I thought I had fixed up a little surprise for this occasion, but it don't amount to anything now. This one makes it sing mighty small, I'm willing to allow."
El diner fou comptat: la suma passava una mica de dotze mil dòlars. Era més del que ningú dels presents hagués vist mai en una sola vegada, encara que allí hi havia diverses persones que tenien molt més en propietat.
The money was counted. The sum amounted to a little over twelve thousand dollars. It was more than any one present had ever seen at one time before, though several persons were there who were worth considerably more than that in property.