Chapter 5 carmen--five

Fives There was really nothing to surprise me about her.When I found her, I didn't know whether to be happy or sad.A tall English servant with powdered hair stood at the door and led me into a magnificent hall.Carmen immediately said to me in Basque: "You pretend you don't understand Spanish, and you pretend you don't know me." Then she turned to the Englishman and said: "Didn't I say it earlier? I can spot a Basque at a glance; you can hear right away how weird their dialect is. He looks so stupid, doesn't he? He's almost caught in a cupboard." A cat."

"And you," I said in Basque, "you look like a shameless shrew. I would like to slash your face twice in front of your lover." "My lover?" she said. "Well, you can figure it out! Are you still jealous with such an idiot? You are more stupid than we were before we spent that night in the Street of Lamps. You fool, don't you see Am I doing Egyptian business at this time, and doing well? The house is mine, and the lobster's gold shall be mine; I lead him by the nose, and I'll lead him to his eternal return. Go where you didn't come." "As for me," I said to her, "if you continue to do business in Egypt in this way, I will tell you never to do it again."

"Tut, tut! Are you my Roma, dare to order me? As long as the one-eyed man thinks it's good, it's none of your business! You are the only one who can be called my lover now, aren't you satisfied?" "What did he say?" asked the Englishman. "He said he had a dry mouth and wanted something to drink," answered Carmen. She fell back on a sofa, laughing at her own translation. Sir, you can't talk to her about reason when the girl laughs.Everyone laughed along with her.The tall Englishman laughed too, like an idiot, and asked someone to bring me something to drink.

While I was drinking, she said: "Did you see the ring on his finger?" I can give it to you if you want it. " I replied: "I'd rather drop a finger than take your rich Englishmen to the mountains and compare them with makiras." -------- ①The original text minchorro means lover, or temporary lover. ——Original note. ②See note ⑤ on the first 360 pages. "Makila? What does that mean?" asked the Englishman. "Makira," Carmen said, laughing, "is a sweet orange. Isn't it weird to call a sweet orange that? He said he wanted to treat you to a makira."

"Is that so?" said the Englishman. "All right! Send me some makira tomorrow." While we were talking, a servant came in to say that supper was ready.So the Englishman stood up, gave me a dollar, and looked at Carmen's arm as if she couldn't walk alone.Carmen always smiled and said to me: "I can't buy you supper, my boy; come here tomorrow with your oranges as soon as you hear the parade drum. You'll find a better furnished room than the one in Lamp Street, and you'll see." Am I still your dear Carmen. Then let's talk about the Egyptian business."

I didn't answer, and when I got out into the street the Englishman called out to me: "Bring me some makira tomorrow!" I heard Carmen laugh again. I didn't know what to do when I came out.I couldn't sleep and the next morning I was so mad at this slut I decided to leave Gibraltar immediately and never see her again.But at the sound of the drum all my courage was gone: I took the basket of oranges and went straight to Carmen.Her shutters were half open, and I saw her large black eyes peering at me.The footman with the powdered head immediately led me in; Carmen sent him off to work.When it was just the two of us, she put her arms around my neck and let out a crocodile laugh.I have never seen her so beautiful.She was dressed like a Madonna, sprayed with perfume...the furniture was covered with silk, embroidered curtains...and I, a robber, dressed like a robber.

"My darling!" said Carmen, "I'd like to smash this place up, set fire to the house, and flee to the mountains." Then there is all kinds of tenderness!Another burst of laughter! . . . She danced and tore the hem of her gown, and even the monkeys could not dance, grimace, or mischief as she did.When she had regained her composure, she said to me: "Listen, it's about the Egyptian trade. I want him to take me to Ronda, where I have a sister who's a nun (here she laughs again). We're going through a place, I'll have someone tell you the name of the place later. Then you'll jump on him and do an emergency robbery! It's best to end his life, but," she said with a grin on her face. Just came out, and no one wants to learn it, "Do you know what to do? You want Cyclops to lead. You stand back a little; because this lobster is brave and smart, and he has a good pistol. . . you Understand?"

She stopped and laughed again, and I shuddered. "No," I said to her, "I hate García, but he's my partner. I'll kill the guy for you one day, but I'm going to settle the score with him according to the rules of my hometown. I To be an Egyptian, by chance; to some things, I will always be a Navarro, as the saying goes." She added: "You are a fool, a fool, a real alien, and you spit far away like that dwarf and think you are tall. You don't love me, so go away." She said to me: You go, I can't go away.I promised to start, and go back to my companions to wait for the Englishman; and she, for her part, promised me to pretend to be sick till I left Gibraltar for Ronda.I stayed in Gibraltar for two more days.She had the courage to disguise herself and come to the hotel to see me.I set off with a plan in mind.I returned to our agreed place, knowing where and when the Englishman and Carmen were going to pass.I found Gambler and Garcia, who were waiting for me.We spent the night in a wood, and built a fire of pine nuts, which burned very well.I suggested to Garcia a game of cards.He accepted.When I told him in the second game that he was stealing cards, he answered me with a big laugh.I threw the cards in his face.He wanted to take his pistol, but I put my foot on it and said to him: "I heard that you are as good at knives as the fighters in Malaga. Would you like to compare with me?" thought the gambler. pull us apart.I punched Garcia two or three times.Anger made him brave, he drew his knife and I drew mine.The two of us said to the gamblers together, give up the space and let us fight it out.Seeing that he couldn't pull us away, he had to stand aside.Garcia bent over like a cat about to pounce on a mouse.In his left hand he holds his hat for a shield, and holds his knife in front of him.This is Andalusia's defensive posture.I took the Navarro pose, standing straight in front of him, with my left arm raised, my left leg forward, and the knife resting on my right thigh.I feel like I'm stronger than giants.He rushed at me like an arrow, and I turned my left foot, and he missed him; but my knife penetrated his throat so deep that my hand touched his chin.I turned the knife hard, but it broke.That's the end of it.A stream of blood as thick as an arm sprayed out from the wound, bringing out the blade as well.

-------- ① Bohemian proverb, meaning: The bravery of a dwarf is manifested in his ability to spit far. ——Original note. ② Refers to people who like to quarrel, people who like to make trouble, and reckless people. He fell to the ground, straight as a log. "What do you see you have done?" said the gambler to me. "Listen," I said to him, "we can't live together. I love Carmen and I want to have her all to myself. And Garcia is a villain, and I still remember how he treated the freckled one. We just There are two people left, but we are all heroes. Tell me, are you willing to form a life-and-death friendship with me?"

The gambler held out his hand.He's a guy in his 50s. "To hell with the love affairs!" he cried. "If you ask him for Carmen, and you give him a dollar, he'll sell her to you. There's only two of us now. What about tomorrow? " "Leave me alone," I answered him, "the whole world is out of my sight now." We buried Garcia and moved to a lodging 200 steps away.The next day, Carmen and her Englishman came with two donkey drivers and a servant.I said to the gambler: "I'll deal with the British. You frighten the rest, they don't have arms."

The British are brave.If Carmen hadn't pushed his arm a little, he'd have killed me.All in all, the day I got Carmen again, my first words were to tell her that she was a widow.After she knew what had happened, she said to me: "You'll always be an idiot! Garcia should have killed you. Your Navarro defensive posture is worthless, he sent many people better than you to the west. It's just that his death time has come. Yours too Not far away." "Your time is near," I answered, "if you won't be my Romy." "That's fine," she said. "I've read in the coffee grounds more than once that we're going to die together. Let it go! Fate!" She rapped on the castanets, which she did whenever she wanted to forget some unpleasant thought. When a person talks about himself, he gets carried away.These trivialities must tire you, but I'm almost done.Our lives go on for quite some time.The gambler and I recruited a few more reliable people than the first batch. We mostly did smuggling, and sometimes, to tell you the truth, we also stopped and robbed, but only when there was no other way to go as a last resort.In addition, we only take belongings and do not hurt passengers.For a few months, I was happy with Carmen; she was still very hard on our activities.Often tip us off a good deal.Sometimes she was in Malaga, sometimes in Córdoba, sometimes in Grenada; but at a word from me, she dropped everything and came to meet me in a secluded inn, and sometimes we even slept in the open.Only once, in Malaga, did she make me feel a little uneasy, knowing that she had her eye on a very rich businessman on whom she wanted to play the Gibraltar trick again.Despite the persuasion of the gamblers, I entered Malaga in broad daylight.I found Carmen and brought her back at once.We had a big fight. "Do you know," she said to me, "that since you have been my husband, I have not loved you as much as I did when you were my lover. I do not want to be entangled, especially not ordered. I want What you want is freedom, to do what you like. You have to be careful not to push people too much. If I hate you, I will find another good guy to deal with you, just like you did with the one-eyed dragon." The Gambler made our peace; but some of the things we said to each other stayed in our hearts, and it was never the same again.Not long after, we had a bad luck.The army raided us, and the gambler was killed, as were two other comrades, and two more were taken prisoner.I was badly wounded, and would have fallen into the hands of the army had it not been for my good horse.Exhausted and with a bullet in my body, I took refuge in the woods with the only remaining companion.I passed out when I dismounted, and I thought I was going to die in the bushes like a shot rabbit.My partner carried me to a cave we were familiar with, and then went to find Carmen.She is in Grenada and will be coming soon.For half a month, she never left me for a minute.She kept her eyes open and took care of me deftly and attentively. Never before has a woman cared for the man she loves so thoughtfully.As soon as I was able to get up, she took me to Grenada without anyone noticing.Bohemian women find safe hiding places everywhere, and I lived for a month and a half in a house two doors from the judge's, while the judge was searching for me.More than once I watched him go by from behind the shutters.In the end, I was fully recovered; lying in bed suffering I had thought long and hard about changing my life.I told Carmen that I was going to leave Spain and live a real life in the New World.Carmen laughed at me. "We are not made to grow cabbages," she said, "but our destiny is to support ourselves with the advice of foreigners. Listen, I have made a deal with Nathan ben Joseph of Gibraltar. A deal. He's got some cotton just waiting for you to try to get it. He knows you're alive. He's counting on you. If you break your word, what will our contact in Gibraltar say?" I was persuaded by her again to return to my dirty old business. When I was hiding in Grenada, there were a few bullfights there, and Carmen went to see them.When she came back, she gushed about a clever bullfighter named Lucas.She knew the name of his horse, and she knew how much that embroidered coat he used was worth.I paid no attention to her words.A few days later, my remaining companion, Juan Jr., told me that he had seen Carmen and Lucas in a shop in Sagadan.I just started to be wary.I asked Carmen how and why she came to know the matador. "He's a lad who can help us with a deal," she said to me, "a river that makes noise, water or stones, and he made twelve hundred reals in the bullring. Or we rob or if he's a good rider and a brave lad, we'll take him in, it's one of the two. When one of us dies, another dies, you've got to find someone to fill the place .Let's get him in." -------- ① This is a Bohemian proverb. ——Original note. ② Real is a Spanish silver coin, each worth 23 centimes. "I want neither his money," I answered, "nor his people, and I forbid you to speak to him." "Be careful," she said to me, "if I am forbidden to do something, I will do it right away." Luckily the matador had gone to Malaga, and I set about smuggling in the Jewish cotton.I was busy day and night about it, and Carmen was just as busy, so I forgot Lucas, and maybe she forgot him, at least temporarily.It was during this time, sir, that I met you, first at Montilla and then at Cordoba.I need not repeat to you the circumstances of our last meeting; you probably know better than I do.Carmen has stolen your watch, and she wants your money, and especially the ring you are wearing, which, according to her, is a magic ring and she must keep it for herself.We had a big fight about it and I hit her.She turned pale and cried.It was the first time I saw her cry, and I couldn't help being shocked.I begged her to forgive me, but she was angry with me, and ignored me all day, and when I started for Montilla she still wouldn't kiss me.I am very sad.Three days later, she suddenly beamed like a goldfinch and came to me with a smile.All the old things are forgotten, we are like a pair of newly married lovers.When we parted, she said to me: "There is a competition in Cordoba. I will go and see who has money on them, and I will notify you." I let her go.When I was alone, I thought about the tournament and Carmen's change of mood.I thought to myself: she took the initiative to come to me first, she must have taken revenge.A farmer told me that there was a bullfight in Córdoba, and my blood boiled, and like a madman, I set off to the bullring.People pointed out to me who Lucas was, and I also saw Carmen sitting across the railing.I need only look at her for a minute to confirm what I suspect.Lucas, as expected, only waited for the first cow to appear before he began to show his courtesies.He took the rosette off the bull and offered it to Carmen, who immediately put it on her head.The bull avenged me: Lucas was hit in the chest with horse and man, fell off, and was trampled over by him.I look at Carmen, she is no longer in her place.My seat did not allow me to come out, and I had to wait until the end of the show.Then I went to the house you know, and there I waited in silence until midnight.Carmen came back around 2 o'clock in the morning and was a little surprised to see me. "Come with me," I said to her. "Okay!" she said, "Let's go!" I went to fetch the horse and told her to sit on the back, and we didn't say a word until dawn.At dawn we stopped at a lonely inn not far from a priory.I went there and said to Carmen: "Listen, I've forgotten everything, and I won't say anything to you. But you must swear to me that you will go with me to America, and live in peace there." "No," she said crossly, "I don't want to go to America. I think it's fine here." "That's because you are with Lucas; but please think about it, even if he is cured, he will not live long. Besides, why should I hate him? I killed your lover already Tired of killing; now I want to kill you." She looked at me with her wild eyes and said to me: "I have often thought that you would kill me. The first time I saw you, I met a priest at my door. Did you not see anything last night, leaving Cordoba? A rabbit crossing the road, from Between your horse's feet. It's foreordained." -------- ①Rowknot is a knot made of silk ribbon. The color of the knot indicates which pasture the cow came from.This knot is hung on a hook on the ox, and if it can be taken off a live ox and presented to a woman, it is the most coquettish act. ——Original note. ② Seeing priests and seeing rabbits are both folk superstitions, which are considered to be harbingers of disasters. "Dear Carmen," I asked her, "don't you love me anymore?" She said nothing, sat cross-legged on a mat, and drew lines on the ground with her fingers. "Change your life, Carmen," I begged her distressedly, "and live in a place where we can never be separated. You know we're not far from here and there's 120 taels of gold buried under an oak tree... besides , we still have money with the Jew Ben Joseph." She smiled and said to me: "I die first, and you last. I knew it was going to happen." "Think about it," I added, "my patience and courage are at the end of my rope; make up your mind, or I'll have mine." I left her alone to think, and wandered over to the Priory by myself.I found the hermit praying.I'll wait until he's done praying; I'd love to pray myself, but I won't.When he stood up, I walked over. "Father," I said to him, "will you pray for a man in great distress?" "My prayers are with all those who are suffering," he said. "Can you hold a Mass for a soul who may be about to meet the Creator?" "Okay," he stared at me intently. Seeing my strange expression, he wanted to tease me to talk more. "I seem to have seen you somewhere before," he said. I put a dollar on his bench. "When do you celebrate Mass?" I asked him. "In half an hour the son of the innkeeper will be the altar. Tell me, young man, is there something in your conscience that troubles you? Will you take a Christian's advice?" I feel like I'm about to cry.I told him I would come again and left.I ran and lay down on the grass, and did not approach the monastery until I heard the bell, but did not enter.After mass, I went back to the inn, hoping that Carmen had escaped; she might have ridden away on my horse... But I saw her again.She didn't want people to say that she was scared away by me.While I was away, she undid the welt of the coat and took out the lead bars it contained.She was sitting at a table at the time, looking at the lead in a bowl full of water, which she had melted and thrown back into it.She was so engrossed in her magic that she didn't even realize I was back.Now she took a piece of lead and turned it over and over with a mournful air, and now she sang magical songs and begged Maria Padilla to see her.This Maria Padilla was the mistress of Don Pedro, who was said to be the great queen of the Bohemians. -------- ①It is said that Maria Padilla charmed Don Pedro with magic.Traditional folklore recounts that she once gave the White Queen of Bourbon a golden girdle that appeared to the enchanted king to be a living snake.Therefore he always had a distaste for the queen. ——Original note. "Carmen," I said to her, "will you come with me?" She got up, threw away her bowl, wrapped her turban, and was ready to go.People took my horse and she sat behind me and we rode away. "Then, my Carmen," I said to her after we had gone a little way, "you will still follow me, won't you?" "Follow you to death, I am willing, but I don't want to live with you." We came to a lonely ravine; I reined in the horse. "Is it here?" she asked. She jumped to the ground in one jump.She took off her kerchief, threw it to her feet, and stood there with one fist in her waist, staring at me intently. "You want to kill me, I know it," she said. "It's fate, but you can't make me give in." "I beg you," I said to her, "please be reasonable. Listen to me! It's all over. But, you know, you ruined my life; it's for you I became a robber and a murderer. Carmen! My Carmen! Let me save you, myself and you." "Jose," she answered, "you are asking the impossible from me. I don't love you anymore; and you still love me, and that's why you're killing me. I can also tell you but I will not do it now. It is all over between us. As my Roma, you have the right to kill your Romy. But Carmen is always free; Gary ghost." "So do you love Lucas?" I asked her. "Dear, I loved him, as I loved you, for a while, maybe a little longer. Now, I don't love anything, and I hate that I loved you." I knelt at her feet, grabbed her hand, and poured tears on it.I asked her to think back to the happy moments we used to have together.In order to please her, I suggested to her that I should continue to be a robber.Everything, sir, everything; everything I promise to give to her, so long as she continues to love me! she said to me: "It's impossible to continue loving you. I don't want to live with you." I couldn't help being angry.I drew the knife, hoping that she would be frightened and beg for mercy, but this woman was a demon. "One last time," I said aloud, "will you stay with me?" "No! No! No!" she stamped. She took a ring I had given her off her finger, and threw it into the bushes. I cut her twice, with Cyclops' knife, mine was broken.When the second knife fell, she fell down without a sound.I still seem to see her big black eyes staring at me until now, and then her eyes gradually clouded and her eyelids closed.I sat in front of the corpse in a daze for a full hour.Then I remembered that Carmen used to tell me she liked being buried in the woods.I dug a hole with a knife and put her in it.I spent a long time looking for her ring again, and finally found it.I put it in the pit, next to her, and put a little cross.I may have misplaced the cross①.Then I mounted my horse and ran as far as Cordoba, and surrendered myself into the first guard post I encountered.I told them I had killed Carmen, but I would not say where her body was.The hermit was a man of morals.He had prayed for her, had offered a mass for her soul... Poor girl!The fault was with those Calais, who had brought her up like that. -------- ① Bohemians do not believe in Catholicism, so crosses should not be placed.