Tom arribà a casa tot abatut, i la primera cosa que la seva tia li digué li demostrà que havia dut ses malaurances a un mercat no gens prometedor:
TOM arrived at home in a dreary mood, and the first thing his aunt said to him showed him that he had brought his sorrows to an unpromising market:
-Tom, tinc ganes d'escorxar-vos de viu en viu.
"Tom, I've a notion to skin you alive!"
-Tieta, què he fet?
"Auntie, what have I done?"
-Heu fet prou i massa. He anat a veure Sereny Harper, com una vella bleda, esperant que li faria creure totes les beneiteries d'aquell somni, quan (ja us podeu ben amanir!) em trobo que ella havia esbrinat per Joe que vós fóreu aquí i sentíreu tota la nostra conversa d'aquella nit. Tom, no sé pas com acabarà un minyó capaç de fer aquestes coses! Em treu de test el pensar que heu pogut deixar-me visitar Sereny Harper, i fer-me fer aquest paper tan babau, i no dir-me'n una sola paraula.
"Well, you've done enough. Here I go over to Sereny Harper, like an old softy, expecting I'm going to make her believe all that rubbage about that dream, when lo and behold you she'd found out from Joe that you was over here and heard all the talk we had that night. Tom, I don't know what is to become of a boy that will act like that. It makes me feel so bad to think you could let me go to Sereny Harper and make such a fool of myself and never say a word."
Aquest era un nou aspecte de la cosa. A Tom, abans, la seva agudesa del matí li havia semblat una bella facècia, d'allò més enginyosa. Ara no semblava sinó roïna i miserable. Decantà el cap, i no se li acudí res a dir, per un moment. En acabat va fer:
This was a new aspect of the thing. His smartness of the morning had seemed to Tom a good joke before, and very ingenious. It merely looked mean and shabby now. He hung his head and could not think of anything to say for a moment. Then he said:
-Tia, voldria haver obrat altrament, però no hi vaig caure.
"Auntie, I wish I hadn't done it--but I didn't think."
-O, infant! Mai no caieu en res. Mai no caieu en res, sinó en vostre egoisme. Vau poder caure en fer de nit tot el camí de l'illa de Jackson fins aquí, per a riure-us de les nostres angúnies, i heu pogut caure en enganyar-me amb una mentida sobre un sommi; però no heu pogut caure mai en compadir-vos de nosaltres i estalviar-nos sofriments.
"Oh, child, you never think. You never think of anything but your own selfishness. You could think to come all the way over here from Jackson's Island in the night to laugh at our troubles, and you could think to fool me with a lie about a dream; but you couldn't ever think to pity us and save us from sorrow."
-Tieta, ara conec que ha estat una cosa lletja; però no volia pas fer-la, una cosa lletja; no ho volia, ben cert. I, a més, no vaig venir aquí per riure'm de vós, aquella nit.
"Auntie, I know now it was mean, but I didn't mean to be mean. I didn't, honest. And besides, I didn't come over here to laugh at you that night."
-Perquè vinguéreu, doncs?
"What did you come for, then?"
-Per dir-vos que no passéssiu pena per nosaltres, perquè no ens havíem ofegat.
"It was to tell you not to be uneasy about us, because we hadn't got drownded."
-Tom, Tom! Jo seria l'ànima més feliça del món si pogués creure que mai haguéssiu fet tan bon pensament com és aquest; però ja sabeu que mai el tinguéreu. I jo també ho sé, Tom.
"Tom, Tom, I would be the thankfullest soul in this world if I could believe you ever had as good a thought as that, but you know you never did--and I know it, Tom."
-En bona refè, i en bona refè que el vaig tenir: que mai més pugui estirar les cames si no és veritat.
"Indeed and 'deed I did, auntie--I wish I may never stir if I didn't."
-O Tom! No digueu mentida: sentiu? Això no fa sinó empitjorar les coses cent vegades.
"Oh, Tom, don't lie--don't do it. It only makes things a hundred times worse."
-No és pas mentida, tieta: és la veritat. Volia fer per manera que no patíssiu: només vaig venir per a això.
"It ain't a lie, auntie; it's the truth. I wanted to keep you from grieving--that was all that made me come."
-Daria tot el món per creure-ho: això serviria per a fer fonedissos una pila pila de pecats, Tom. Gairebé n'estaria contenta, aleshores, que haguéssiu fugit i obrat tan malament. Però això és una follia. I, vejam per què no m'ho vau dir, infant?
"I'd give the whole world to believe that--it would cover up a power of sins, Tom. I'd 'most be glad you'd run off and acted so bad. But it ain't reasonable; because, why didn't you tell me, child?"
-Perquè, veieu, tieta: quan us vau posar a parlar del funeral, vaig començar d'omplir-me de la idea de la nostra vinguda i el nostre amagament a l'església, i no podia, tanmateix, comportar d'espatllar-ho. Així és que vaig posar-me l'escorça altra vegada a la butxaca, i vaig fer muixoni.
"Why, you see, when you got to talking about the funeral, I just got all full of the idea of our coming and hiding in the church, and I couldn't somehow bear to spoil it. So I just put the bark back in my pocket and kept mum."
-Quína escorça?
"What bark?"
-L'escorça que havia escrit per fer-vos saber que havíem anat a fer de pirates. Desitjaria, ara, que us haguéssiu despertat, quan us vaig besar; ho desitjaria, en bona fe.
"The bark I had wrote on to tell you we'd gone pirating. I wish, now, you'd waked up when I kissed you--I do, honest."
Les dures línies de la faç de la tia es relaxaren, i una sobtada tendresa albejà en sos ulls.
The hard lines in his aunt's face relaxed and a sudden tenderness dawned in her eyes.
-Em besàreu, Tom?
"Did you kiss me, Tom?"
-Sí, que ho vaig fer!
"Why, yes, I did."
-Esteu segur que vau fer-ho, Tom?
"Are you sure you did, Tom?"
-Sí, vaig fer-ho, tieta: ben recert!
"Why, yes, I did, auntie--certain sure."
-Per què em besàreu, Tom?
"What did you kiss me for, Tom?"
-Perquè us estimava tant, i féieu aquella gemegor, i jo en tenia pena.
"Because I loved you so, and you laid there moaning and I was so sorry."
Les paraules tenien so de veritat. La vella senyora no pogué amagar un tremolor de sa veu en dir:
The words sounded like truth. The old lady could not hide a tremor in her voice when she said:
-Beseu-me altra vegada, Tom! I, ala, aneu a l'escola, ara, i no em feu més nosa.
"Kiss me again, Tom!--and be off with you to school, now, and don't bother me any more."
Al moment que ell va ésser fora, ella corregué a un recambró i tragué la ruïna d'un gec dins el qual Tom havia fet de pirata. Després va aturar-se, tenint-lo a la mà, i es digué a si mateixa:
The moment he was gone, she ran to a closet and got out the ruin of a jacket which Tom had gone pirating in. Then she stopped, with it in her hand, and said to herself:
-No, no goso, pobre minyó! Em penso que ha mentit, en això... però és una santa, santa mentida, pel consol que em donà. Espero que el Senyor... sé que el Senyor el perdonarà, pel seu bon cor en dir-la. Però no vull esbrinar si és una mentida: no ho miraré.
"No, I don't dare. Poor boy, I reckon he's lied about it--but it's a blessed, blessed lie, there's such a comfort come from it. I hope the Lord--I know the Lord will forgive him, because it was such good-heartedness in him to tell it. But I don't want to find out it's a lie. I won't look."
Deixà de banda el gec, i romangué per allà a la vora, pensívola, un minut. Dues vegades estengué la mà per pendre de bell nou la peça, i dues vegades es contingué. S'arriscà una vegada més, i aleshores es fortificà amb aquest pensament:
-És una mentida de bon ésser... és una mentida de bon ésser... No permetré que em sàpiga greu.- Així, doncs, cercà la butxaca del gec. Un moment després llegia el tros d'escorça de Tom entre un doll de llàgrimes i dient:
-Ara podria perdonar al noi, baldament hagués comès un milió de pecats!
She put the jacket away, and stood by musing a minute. Twice she put out her hand to take the garment again, and twice she refrained. Once more she ventured, and this time she fortified herself with the thought: "It's a good lie--it's a good lie--I won't let it grieve me." So she sought the jacket pocket. A moment later she was reading Tom's piece of bark through flowing tears and saying: "I could forgive the boy, now, if he'd committed a million sins!"