CLOSE upon the hour of noon the whole village was suddenly electrified with the ghastly news. No need of the as yet un-dreamed-of telegraph; the tale flew from man to man, from group to group, from house to house, with little less than telegraphic speed. Of course the schoolmaster gave holi-day for that afternoon; the town would have thought strangely of him if he had not.
Sur le coup de midi, l’horrible nouvelle se répandit dans le village comme une traînée de poudre. Point besoin de télégraphe, auquel d’ailleurs on ne songeait pas à l’époque où se passe ce récit. Bien entendu, le maître d’école donna congé à ses élèves pour l’après-midi. S’il ne l’avait pas fait, tout le monde l’eût regardé d’un mauvais œil.
A gory knife had been found close to the murdered man, and it had been recognized by somebody as belonging to Muff Potter--so the story ran. And it was said that a belated citizen had come upon Potter washing himself in the "branch" about one or two o'clock in the morning, and that Potter had at once sneaked off--suspicious circumstances, especially the washing which was not a habit with Potter. It was also said that the town had been ransacked for this "murderer" (the public are not slow in the matter of sifting evidence and arriving at a verdict), but that he could not be found. Horsemen had departed down all the roads in every direction, and the Sheriff "was confident" that he would be captured before night.
On avait retrouvé un couteau ensanglanté auprès du cadavre du docteur, et ce couteau avait été identifié : il appartenait à Muff Potter, disait-on. Circonstance aggravante pour ce dernier, un villageois attardé l’avait surpris vers les deux heures du matin en train de faire ses ablutions au bord d’un ruisseau, chose vraiment extraordinaire pour un gaillard aussi sale, et qui d’ailleurs s’était aussitôt éclipsé. On avait déjà fouillé tout le village, mais sans succès, pour mettre la main sur le « meurtrier » (le public a vite fait, comme on le voit, de faire son choix parmi les témoignages, et d’en tirer ses propres conclusions). Des cavaliers étaient partis à sa recherche dans toutes les directions et le shérif se faisait fort de l’arrêter avant le soir.
All the town was drifting toward the graveyard. Tom's heartbreak vanished and he joined the procession, not because he would not a thousand times rather go anywhere else, but because an awful, unaccountable fascination drew him on. Arrived at the dreadful place, he wormed his small body through the crowd and saw the dismal spectacle. It seemed to him an age since he was there before. Somebody pinched his arm. He turned, and his eyes met Huckleberry's. Then both looked elsewhere at once, and wondered if anybody had noticed anything in their mutual glance. But everybody was talking, and intent upon the grisly spectacle before them.
Tous les habitants de Saint-Petersburg se dirigèrent vers le cimetière. Oubliant ses peines, Tom se joignit à eux. Une sorte d’horrible curiosité le poussait. Il se faufila au milieu de la foule et aperçut l’effroyable spectacle. Il lui sembla qu’il s’était écoulé un siècle depuis qu’il avait visité ces lieux. Quelqu’un lui pinça le bras. Il se retourna et vit Huckleberry. Les deux garçons échangèrent un long regard. Puis ils eurent peur qu’on ne lût leurs pensées dans leurs yeux et ils se séparèrent. Mais chacun était bien trop occupé à échanger ses réflexions avec son voisin pour leur prêter attention.
"Poor fellow!" "Poor young fellow!" "This ought to be a lesson to grave robbers!" "Muff Potter'll hang for this if they catch him!" This was the drift of remark; and the minister said, "It was a judgment; His hand is here."
« Pauvre garçon ! Pauvre jeune homme ! Ça servira de leçon à ceux qui profanent les tombes !
– Muff Potter n’y coupera pas. Il sera pendu.
– C’est un châtiment envoyé par le Ciel ! » déclara le pasteur.
Now Tom shivered from head to heel; for his eye fell upon the stolid face of Injun Joe. At this moment the crowd began to sway and struggle, and voices shouted, "It's him! it's him! he's coming himself!"
Tom frissonna de la tête aux pieds. Son regard venait de se poser sur Joe l’Indien. À ce moment, un murmure courut dans la foule.
« Le voilà ! Le voilà ! C’est lui !
"Who? Who?" from twenty voices.
– Qui ? Qui ? firent plus de vingt voix.
"Muff Potter!"
– Muff Potter.
"Hallo, he's stopped!--Look out, he's turning! Don't let him get away!"
– Attention, il va s’échapper ! Ne le laissez pas partir !
People in the branches of the trees over Tom's head said he wasn't trying to get away--he only looked doubtful and perplexed.
"Infernal impudence!" said a bystander; "wanted to come and take a quiet look at his work, I reckon--didn't expect any company."
– Quelle audace diabolique ! remarqua un badaud. Il vient contempler son œuvre. Il ne devait pas s’attendre à trouver tant de monde. »
The crowd fell apart, now, and the Sheriff came through, ostentatiously leading Potter by the arm. The poor fellow's face was haggard, and his eyes showed the fear that was upon him. When he stood before the murdered man, he shook as with a palsy, and he put his face in his hands and burst into tears.
Les gens s’écartèrent et le shérif apparut poussant devant lui le pauvre Potter. Des quidams juchés dans les arbres au-dessus de Tom firent remarquer qu’il ne cherchait pas à se sauver. Il était seulement indécis et perplexe. Il avait le visage décomposé et ses yeux exprimaient l’épouvante. Lorsqu’il se trouva en présence du cadavre, il se mit à trembler et, se prenant la tête à deux mains, éclata en sanglots.
"I didn't do it, friends," he sobbed; "'pon my word and honor I never done it."
« Ce n’est pas moi qui ai fait cela, mes amis, dit-il entre deux hoquets. Je vous le jure sur ce que j’ai de plus cher, ce n’est pas moi.
"Who's accused you?" shouted a voice.
– Qui vous accuse ? » lança une voix.
This shot seemed to carry home. Potter lifted his face and looked around him with a pathetic hopelessness in his eyes. He saw Injun Joe, and exclaimed:
Le coup parut porter. Potter releva la tête et jeta autour de lui un regard éperdu. Il aperçut Joe l’Indien et s’exclama :
"Oh, Injun Joe, you promised me you'd never--"
« Oh ! Joe, tu m’avais promis de ne rien…
"Is that your knife?" and it was thrust before him by the Sheriff.
– C’est bien ton couteau ? » lui demanda le shérif en lui présentant l’arme du crime.
Potter would have fallen if they had not caught him and eased him to the ground. Then he said:
Potter serait tombé si on ne l’avait pas retenu.
"Something told me 't if I didn't come back and get--" He shuddered; then waved his nerveless hand with a vanquished gesture and said, "Tell 'em, Joe, tell 'em--it ain't any use any more."
« Quelque chose me disait bien que si je ne revenais pas le chercher… » balbutia-t-il. Alors il fit un geste de la main et se tourna vers le métis. « Raconte-leur ce qui s’est passé, Joe… Raconte… Maintenant ça ne sert plus à rien de se taire. »
Then Huckleberry and Tom stood dumb and staring, and heard the stony-hearted liar reel off his serene statement, they expecting every moment that the clear sky would deliver God's lightnings upon his head, and wondering to see how long the stroke was delayed. And when he had finished and still stood alive and whole, their wavering impulse to break their oath and save the poor betrayed prisoner's life faded and vanished away, for plainly this miscreant had sold himself to Satan and it would be fatal to meddle with the property of such a power as that.
Muets de stupeur, Tom et Huckleberry écoutèrent le triste personnage raconter à sa manière ce qui s’était passé au cimetière. Ils s’attendaient d’une minute à l’autre à ce que la foudre lui tombât sur la tête pour le punir, mais, voyant qu’il n’en était rien, ils en conclurent que le misérable avait vendu son âme au diable et que en rompant leur serment ils ne pourraient rien contre lui. Du même coup, Joe devint pour eux l’objet le plus intéressant qu’ils eussent jamais contemplé, et ils se proposèrent intérieurement de suivre tous ses faits et gestes, dans la mesure du possible, afin de surprendre le secret de son commerce avec le maître des enfers.
"Why didn't you leave? What did you want to come here for?" somebody said.
« Pourquoi n’es-tu pas parti ? demanda-t-on à Potter.
"I couldn't help it--I couldn't help it," Potter moaned. "I wanted to run away, but I couldn't seem to come anywhere but here." And he fell to sobbing again.
– Je ne pouvais pas faire autrement, gémit celui-ci. Je voulais me sauver, mais tout me ramenait ici. » Et il se remit à sangloter…
Injun Joe repeated his statement, just as calmly, a few minutes afterward on the inquest, under oath; and the boys, seeing that the lightnings were still withheld, were confirmed in their belief that Joe had sold himself to the devil. He was now become, to them, the most balefully interesting object they had ever looked upon, and they could not take their fascinated eyes from his face.
They inwardly resolved to watch him nights, when opportunity should offer, in the hope of getting a glimpse of his dread master.
Injun Joe helped to raise the body of the murdered man and put it in a wagon for removal; and it was whispered through the shuddering crowd that the wound bled a little! The boys thought that this happy circumstance would turn suspicion in the right direction; but they were disappointed, for more than one villager remarked:
Joe l’Indien répéta sous serment sa déclaration précédente, puis il aida à poser le corps de sa victime sur une charrette. On chuchota dans la foule que la blessure s’était rouverte et avait saigné un peu. Les deux garçons espérèrent que cet indice allait aiguiller les soupçons dans la bonne direction mais, encore une fois, il n’en fut rien et quelqu’un remarqua même :
"It was within three feet of Muff Potter when it done it."
« C’est en passant devant Potter que le cadavre a saigné. »
Tom's fearful secret and gnawing conscience disturbed his sleep for as much as a week after this; and at breakfast one morning Sid said:
Pendant une semaine, Tom fut tellement rongé par le remords que son sommeil s’en ressentit et que Sid déclara un matin au petit déjeuner :
"Tom, you pitch around and talk in your sleep so much that you keep me awake half the time."
« Tom, tu as le sommeil si agité que tu m’empêches de dormir. »
Tom blanched and dropped his eyes.
Tom baissa les yeux.
"It's a bad sign," said Aunt Polly, gravely. "What you got on your mind, Tom?"
« C’est mauvais signe, remarqua tante Polly. Qu’est-ce que tu peux bien avoir derrière la tête, Tom ?
"Nothing. Nothing 't I know of." But the boy's hand shook so that he spilled his coffee.
– Rien, rien du tout, ma tante. » Pourtant, les mains de Tom tremblaient tellement qu’il renversa son café.
"And you do talk such stuff," Sid said. "Last night you said, 'It's blood, it's blood, that's what it is!' You said that over and over. And you said, 'Don't torment me so--I'll tell!' Tell what? What is it you'll tell?"
– « Et tu rêves tout haut, ajouta Sid. Tu en racontes des choses ! L’autre nuit, tu as dit : « C’est du sang, du sang. Voilà ce que c’est ! » Tu as dit aussi : « Ne me torturez pas comme ça… Je dirai tout. » Qu’est-ce que tu as donc à dire, hein ? »
Everything was swimming before Tom. There is no telling what might have happened, now, but luckily the concern passed out of Aunt Polly's face and she came to Tom's relief without knowing it. She said:
Tom se crut perdu, mais tante Polly vint inopinément à son secours.
"Sho! It's that dreadful murder. I dream about it most every night myself. Sometimes I dream it's me that done it."
« Je sais bien ce que c’est, moi, dit-elle. C’est cet horrible crime. J’en rêve toutes les nuits, je rêve même quelquefois que c’est moi qui l’ai commis. »
Mary said she had been affected much the same way. Sid seemed satisfied. Tom got out of the presence as quick as he plausibly could, and after that he complained of toothache for a week, and tied up his jaws every night. He never knew that Sid lay nightly watching, and frequently slipped the bandage free and then leaned on his elbow listening a good while at a time, and afterward slipped the bandage back to its place again. Tom's distress of mind wore off gradually and the toothache grew irksome and was discarded. If Sid really managed to make anything out of Tom's disjointed mutterings, he kept it to himself.
Mary déclara qu’elle aussi en avait des cauchemars, et Sid parut satisfait. À la suite de cet incident, Tom se plaignit, pendant une huitaine, de violents maux de dents, et, la nuit, se banda la mâchoire pour ne pas parler. Il ne sut jamais que Sid épiait souvent son sommeil et déplaçait le bandage. Petit à petit, le chagrin de Tom s’estompa. Il abandonna même l’alibi du mal de dents qui devenait gênant. En tout cas, si son frère apprit quelque chose, il le garda soigneusement pour lui.
It seemed to Tom that his schoolmates never would get done holding inquests on dead cats, and thus keeping his trouble present to his mind. Sid noticed that Tom never was coroner at one of these inquiries, though it had been his habit to take the lead in all new enterprises; he noticed, too, that Tom never acted as a witness--and that was strange; and Sid did not overlook the fact that Tom even showed a marked aversion to these inquests, and always avoided them when he could. Sid marvelled, but said nothing. However, even inquests went out of vogue at last, and ceased to torture Tom's conscience.
Après l’assassinat du docteur, ce fut la grande mode à l’école de se livrer à une enquête en règle lorsqu’on découvrait un chat mort. Sid remarqua que Tom refusait toujours d’y participer malgré son goût pour les jeux nouveaux. Enfin, les garçons se fatiguèrent de ce genre de distractions et Tom commença à respirer.
Every day or two, during this time of sorrow, Tom watched his opportunity and went to the little grated jail-window and smuggled such small comforts through to the "murderer" as he could get hold of. The jail was a trifling little brick den that stood in a marsh at the edge of the village, and no guards were afforded for it; indeed, it was seldom occupied. These offerings greatly helped to ease Tom's conscience.
Tous les jours, ou tous les deux jours, Tom saisissait une occasion favorable pour se rendre devant la fenêtre grillagée de la prison locale et passer en fraude à l’« assassin » tout ce qu’il pouvait. La prison était une espèce de cahute en briques construite en bordure d’un marais, à l’extrémité du village, et il n’y avait personne pour la garder. En fait, il était rare d’y rencontrer un prisonnier. Ces offrandes soulageaient la conscience de Tom.
The villagers had a strong desire to tar-and-feather Injun Joe and ride him on a rail, for body-snatching, but so formidable was his character that nobody could be found who was willing to take the lead in the matter, so it was dropped. He had been careful to begin both of his inquest-statements with the fight, without confessing the grave-robbery that preceded it; therefore it was deemed wisest not to try the case in the courts at present.
Les gens du village avaient bonne envie de faire un mauvais parti à Joe l’Indien pour avoir déterré le cadavre de Hoss Williams, mais il effrayait tout le monde et personne n’osait prendre une initiative quelconque à son égard. D’ailleurs, il avait pris soin de commencer ses deux dépositions par le récit du combat, sans parler du vol de cadavre qui l’avait précédé. On trouva plus sage d’attendre avant de porter le procès devant les tribunaux.