(din Cap.

IX)
Moierul ls cuitul i furculia din mn i se uit uimit la fiul su, nefiind suficient
de ager la minte ca s ghiceasc ce a putut pricinui o att de ciudat modificare a
relaiilor dintre tat i fiu, nct biatul su s-i spun c-i pltete o sut de lire.
THE SQUIRE HAD LAID DOWN HIS KNIFE AND FORK,AND WAS STARING AT HIS SON
IN AMAZEMENT,NOT BEING SUFFICIENTLY QUICK OF BRAIN TO FORM A PROBABLY
GUESS AS TO WHAT COULD CAUSED SO STRANGE AN INVERSION OF THE PATERNAL
AND FILIAL RELATION AS THIS PROPOSITION OF HIS SON TO PAY HIM A HUNDRED
POUNDS. Adevrat este, i-mi pare foarte ru c sunt vinovat, spuse Godfrey, c
Fowler a pltit suta de lire.The truth is,sir-Im very sorry-I was quite to blame,said
Godfrey." Mi-a pltit-o mie cnd am trecut pe acolo, luna trecut. i Dunsey m-a
scit s-i dau banii i i-am dat, deoarece speram s i-i pot nmna nainte de
ntmplarea asta."Fowler did pay that hundred pounds. He paid it to me, when I was
over there one day last month. And Dunsey bothered me for the money, and I let
him have it, because I hoped I should be able to pay it you before this. Moierul se
nroi de mnie, nainte ca fiul su s isprveasc de vorbit, i-i veni greu s-i
gseasc cuvintele. The Squire was purple with anger before his son had done
speaking, and found utterance difficult.I-ai dat lui Dunsey? "You let Dunsey have it,
sir? i de cnd tu i Dunsey ai ajuns att de neobrzai, c v nelegei s-mi furai
banii? And how long have you been so thick with Dunsey that you must collogue
with him to embezzle my money? Vrei s-mi spui c eti un punga? Are you turning
out a scamp? Ascult-m, asta nu permit. I tell you I won't have it. Dau toat
leahta asta afar din cas i m nsor din nou. I'll turn the whole pack of you out of
the house together, and marry again.Trebuie s-i amintesc c nu-s obligat s las
motenire proprietatea mea; de pe vremea bunicului, cei din neamul Cass fac ce vor
cu pmntul lor. I'd have you to remember, sir, my property's got no entail on it;
since my grandfather's time the Casses can do as they like with their land. S-i
intre bine-n cap asta, domnule. Remember that, sir. Auzi, s-i dai banii lui Dunsey!
Let Dunsey have the money! De ce s-i dai lui Dunsey? Why should you let Dunsey
have the money?Minciuna e esut cu a albThere's some lie at the bottom of
it."Nu-i nici o minciun, domnule, rspunse Godfrey. Eu nsumi n-a fi cheltuit banii
dac Dunsey nu m-ar fi scit, i am fost un prost c i-am dat. Dar vroiam s-i
pltesc, chiar dac el mi-i napoia sau nu. Asta-i tot. Niciodat nu m-am gndit s
fur bani i nu sunt omul care s fac lucrul sta. Niciodat nu m-ai prins cu vreo
pugie, domnule. "There's no lie, sir," said Godfrey. "I wouldn't have spent the
money myself, but Dunsey bothered me, and I was a fool, and let him have it. But I
meant to pay it, whether he did or not.That's the whole story. I never meant to
embezzle money, and I'm not the man to do it. You never knew me do a dishonest
trick, sir." Unde-i Dunsey, atunci? Ce stai i vorbeti? Du-te i-l adu pe Dunsey
imediat i s-mi dea socoteal ce-a fcut cu ei. O s-i par ru. O s-l alung. Am
spus c aa fac i am s-o fac. N-o s m nfrunte. Du-te i-l ad. "Where's Dunsey,
then? What do you stand talking there for?Go and fetch Dunsey, as I tell you, and
let him give account of what he wanted the money for, and what he's done with it.

He shall repent it. I'll turn him out. I said I would, and I'll do it. He shan't brave me.
Go and fetch him." Dunsey nu s-a ntors, domnule. Ce, i-a rupt i el gtul?
Rosti moierul uor dezgustat de ideea c-n cazul acesta nu-i mai putea pune n
aplicare ameninarea. Nu, nu cred c a fost rnit, deoarece calul a fost gsit mort
i probbabil Dunsey a plecat. Cred c nu-l vom vedea curnd. Nu tiu unde este.
"Dunsey isn't come back, sir.""What! did he break his own neck, then?" said the
Squire, with some disgust at the idea that, in that case, he could not fulfil his threat.
Nu, nu cred c a fost rnit, deoarece calul a fost gsit mort i probbabil Dunsey a
plecat. Cred c nu-l vom vedea curnd. Nu tiu unde este. "No, he wasn't hurt, I
believe, for the horse was found dead,and Dunsey must have walked off. I daresay
we shall see him again by-and-by. I don't know where he is." i de ce i-ai dat banii
mei? Rspunde-mi, spuse moierul categoric, atacndu-l din nou pe Godfrey,
deoarece Dunsey era prea departe. Nu tiu, rspunse Godfrey ezitnd. Era o
ncercare nereuit de a scpa, dar lui Godfrey nu-i plcea s mint i netiind nc
bine c nici o duplicitate nu poate nflori fr ajutorul minciunii, nu avea nici un
motiv pregtit. "And what must you be letting him have my money for? Answer me
that," said the Squire, attacking Godfrey again, since Dunsey was not within
reach."Well, sir, I don't know," said Godfrey, hesitatingly. That was a feeble evasion,
but Godfrey was not fond of lying, and, not being sufficiently aware that no sort of
duplicity can long flourish without the help of vocal falsehoods, he was quite
unprepared with invented motives. Nu tii? i spun eu, domnule. Ai fcut cine tie
ce i l-ai mituit s-i in gura, spuse moierul cu o neateptat agerime a minii,
ce-l fcu pe Godfrey s tresar. i simi inima btnd cu putere cnd vzu ct de
aproape de adevr era tatl su. Teama brusc l oblig s mai fac un pas, un
impuls ct de mic e de ajuns ca s porneti la vale. "You don't know? I tell you what
it is, sir. You've been up to some trick, and you've been bribing him not to tell," said
the Squire, with a sudden acuteness which startled Godfrey, who felt his heart beat
violently at the nearness of his father's guess. The sudden alarm pushed him on to
take the next stepa very slight impulse suffices for that on a downward road.
tii, spuse el, strduindu-se s vorbeasc cu uurin, a fost o chestiune mrunt
ntre mine i Dunsey; nu intereseaz e nimeni. Nu merit s se preocupe nimeni de
nebuniile tinerilor: pentru dumneata n-ar fi nsemnat nimic, domnule, dac n-a fi
avut ghinionul s-l pierd pe Wildfire. A fi pltit banii. "Why, sir," he said, trying to
speak with careless ease, "it was a little affair between me and Dunsey; it's no
matter to anybody else. It's hardly worth while to pry into young men's fooleries: it
wouldn't have made any difference to you, sir, if I'd not had the bad luck to lose
Wildfire. I should have paid you the money." Nebunii! Pfui! Ar fi timpul s isprvii
cu nebuniile, spuse moierul ncruntndu-se i zvrlindu-i fiului su o privire
furioas. N-o s mai am mult vreme bani pentru ritmul vostru de via. Uite la
bunicul meu, ce grajduri cu cai avea i ce cas inea, chiar i-n vremuri rele; i eu a
avea dac n-a ine patru vljgani buni de nimic, care m sug ca nite cpue. Am
fost un tat prea bun pentru voi toi, asta e. Dar ntorc eu foaia, domnule.
"Fooleries! Pshaw! it's time you'd done with fooleries. And I'd have you know, sir,

you must ha' done with 'em," said the Squire, frowning and casting an angry glance
at his son. "Your goings-on are not what I shall find money for any longer. There's
my grandfather had his stables full o' horses, and kept a good house, too, and in
worse times, by what I can make out;and so might I, if I hadn't four good-for-nothing
fellows to hang on me like horse-leeches. I've been too good a father to you all
that's what it is. But I shall pull up, sir." Godfrey tcea.Nu era prea ager la minte, dar
totdeauna i dduse seama c n spatele indulgenei tatlui su nu se ascunsese
buntatea i tnjise dup o severitate care s nu-l fi lsat s greeasc i s-i fi
ntrit voina. Godfrey was silent. He was not likely to be very penetrating in his
judgments, but he had always had a sense that his father's indulgence had not been
kindness, and had had a vague longing for some discipline that would have checked
his own errant weakness and helped his better will. Moierul mnc n grab carne
cu pine, lu o nghiitur mare de bere, apoi i mpinse scaunul de lng mas i
ncepu s vorbeasc din nou.The Squire ate his bread and meat hastily, took a deep
draught of ale, then turned his chair from the table, and began to speak again.