CHAPTER XV. BUB'S HOBBY CAPITOLO XV. IL PASSATEMPO DI BUB

When their visitor had departed Mary Louise turned to her friend.

"Now, Irene, tell me about that queer letter," she begged. "Ora, Irene, parlami di quella strana lettera", la pregò. "Not yet, dear. I'm sure it isn't important, though it's curious to find such an old letter tucked away in a book Uncle Peter bought at an auction in New York—a letter that refers to your own people, in days long gone by. Sono sicuro che non è importante, anche se è curioso trovare una lettera così vecchia nascosta in un libro che lo zio Peter ha comprato a un'asta a New York - una lettera che si riferisce alla vostra gente, in tempi ormai lontani. In fact, Mary Louise, it was written so long ago that it cannot possibly interest us except as proof of the saying that the world's a mighty small place. In realtà, Mary Louise, è stato scritto così tanto tempo fa che non può interessarci se non come prova del detto che il mondo è un posto molto piccolo. When I have nothing else to do I mean to read that old epistle from start to finish; then, if it contains anything you'd care to see, I'll let you have a look at it." With this promise Mary Louise was forced to be content, for she did not wish to annoy Irene by further pleadings. Con questa promessa Maria Luisa fu costretta ad accontentarsi, perché non voleva infastidire Irene con ulteriori suppliche. It really seemed, on reflection, that the letter could be of little consequence to anyone. So she put it out of mind, especially as just now they spied Bub sitting on the bench and whittling as industriously as ever.

"Let me go to him first," suggested Irene, with a mischievous smile. "He doesn't seem at all afraid of me, for some reason, and after I've led him into conversation you can join us." So she wheeled her chair over to where the boy sat. He glanced toward her as she approached the bench but made no movement to flee. Guardò verso di lei mentre si avvicinava alla panchina, ma non fece alcun movimento per fuggire.

"We've had a visitor," said the girl, confidentially; "a lady who has taken the Bigbee house for the summer." Bub nodded, still whittling. Bub annuì, continuando a sbiancare.

"I know; I seen her drive her car up the grade on high," he remarked, feeling the edge of his knife-blade reflectively. "Lo so; l'ho vista guidare la sua auto su per la salita", osservò lui, tastando il filo del suo coltello in modo riflessivo. "Seems like a real sport—fer a gal—don't she?" "Sembra una ragazza davvero sportiva, non è vero?". "She isn't a girl; she's a grown woman." "To me," said Bub, "ev'rything in skirts is gals. The older they gits, the more ornery, to my mind. A mio avviso, più sono vecchi e più sono irritabili. Never seen a gal yit what's wuth havin' 'round." Non ho mai visto una ragazza che valga la pena di avere intorno". "Some day," said Irene with a smile, "you may change your mind about girls." "Un giorno", disse Irene con un sorriso, "potresti cambiare idea sulle ragazze". "An' ag'in," said Bub, "I mayn't. "E poi", disse Bub, "potrei non farlo. Dad says he were soft in the head when he took up with marm, an' Talbot owned a wife once what tried ter pizen him; so he giv 'er the shake an' come here to live in peace; but Dad's so used to scoldin's thet he can't sleep sound in the open any more onless he lays down beside the brook where it's noisiest. Papà dice che era un po' rammollito quando si è messo con la mamma, e che Talbot aveva una moglie che cercava di farlo arrabbiare; così le ha dato una scrollata ed è venuto qui a vivere in pace; ma papà è così abituato ai rimproveri che non riesce più a dormire tranquillo all'aperto, a meno che non si sdrai vicino al ruscello, dove c'è più rumore. Then it reminds him o' marm an' he feels like he's to home. Poi gli ricorda la mamma e si sente come se fosse a casa. Gals think they got the men scared, an' sometimes they guess right. Le ragazze pensano di aver spaventato gli uomini e a volte ci azzeccano. Even Miss' Morrison makes Will toe the mark, an' Miss' Morrison ain't no slouch, fer a gal." Persino la signorina Morrison fa sì che Will si adegui, e la signorina Morrison non è certo un'incapace". This somewhat voluble screed was delivered slowly, interspersed with periods of aimless whittling, and when Irene had patiently heard it through she decided it wise to change the subject. Questo discorso un po' volubile fu pronunciato lentamente, intervallato da periodi di sbianchettamento senza scopo, e quando Irene lo ebbe ascoltato pazientemente decise che era saggio cambiare argomento.

"To-morrow we are going to ride in Miss Lord's automobile," she remarked. Bub grunted.

"She says she can easily run it up to our door. Do you believe that!" "Why not?" he inquired. "Don't Will Morrison have a car? It's over there in the shed now." Ora è laggiù nel capannone". "Could it be used?" quietly asked Mary Louise, who had now strolled up behind the bench unperceived. chiese a bassa voce Mary Louise, che nel frattempo si era avvicinata alla panchina senza farsi notare.

Bub turned a scowling face to her, but she was looking out across the bluff. Bub le rivolse un viso corrucciato, ma lei stava guardando oltre la scogliera. And she had broached a subject in which the boy was intensely interested. E aveva affrontato un argomento a cui il ragazzo era intensamente interessato.

"Thet thar car in there is a reg'lar hummer," he asserted, waving the knife in one hand and the stick in the other by way of emphasis. "Quell'auto lì dentro è una vera Hummer", affermò, agitando il coltello in una mano e il bastone nell'altra per enfatizzare. "Tain't much fer looks, ye know, but looks cuts no figger with machinery, s'long's it's well greased. "L'aspetto non è molto bello, sapete, ma l'aspetto non conta con le macchine, purché siano ben lubrificate. On a hill, thet car's a cat; on a level stretch, she's a jack-rabbit. Su una collina, l'auto è un gatto; in piano, è un coniglio. I've seen Will Morrison take 'er ter Millbank an' back in a hour—jus' one lonesome hour!" Ho visto Will Morrison portarla a Millbank e tornare in un'ora, solo un'ora di solitudine!". "That must have been in its good days," observed Mary Louise. "The thing hasn't any tires on it now." "La cosa non ha più pneumatici". "Will takes the tires off ev'ry year, when he goes away, an' puts 'em in the cellar," explained Bub. "They's seven good tires down cellar now; I counted 'em the day afore ye come here." "In cantina ci sono sette buone gomme; le ho contate il giorno prima che veniste qui". "In that case," said Mary Louise, "if any of us knew how to drive we could use the car." "In questo caso", disse Mary Louise, "se qualcuno di noi sapesse guidare potremmo usare la macchina". "Drive?" said Bub scornfully. disse Bub sprezzante. "That's nuth'n'." "Non è niente". "Oh. Do you know how?" "Me? I kin drive any car thet's on wheels. Two years ago, afore Talbot come, I used ter drive Will Morrison over t' Millbank ev'ry week t' catch the train; an' brung the car home ag'in; an' went fer Will when he come back." "You must have been very young, two years ago," said Irene. "Shucks. "Accidenti. I'm goin' on fifteen this very minnit. Sto per compiere quindici anni proprio in questo momento. When I were 'leven I druv the Higgins car fer 'em an' never hit the ditch once. Young! Wha'd'ye think I am—a KID?" So indignant had he become that he suddenly rose and slouched away, nor could they persuade him to return. Si era talmente indignato che si alzò di colpo e si allontanò, né riuscirono a convincerlo a tornare.

"We're going to have a lot of fun with that boy, once we learn how to handle him," predicted Irene, when the two girls had enjoyed a good laugh at Bub's expense. "He seems a queer mixture of simplicity and shrewdness." "Sembra uno strano miscuglio di semplicità e astuzia". The next day Agatha Lord appeared in her big touring car and after lifting Irene in and making her quite comfortable on the back seat they rolled gayly away to Millbank, where they had lunch at the primitive restaurant, visited the post-office in the grocery store and amused themselves until the train came in and brought Peter Conant, who was loaded down with various parcels of merchandise Aunt Hannah had ordered. Il giorno successivo Agatha Lord si presentò con la sua grande auto da turismo e, dopo aver fatto salire Irene e averla messa a suo agio sul sedile posteriore, si avviarono allegramente verso Millbank, dove pranzarono al ristorante primitivo, visitarono l'ufficio postale nel negozio di alimentari e si divertirono fino a quando non arrivò il treno con Peter Conant, carico di vari pacchi di merce che zia Hannah aveva ordinato.

The lawyer was greatly pleased to find a car waiting to carry him to the Lodge and after being introduced to Miss Lord, whose loveliness he could not fail to admire, he rode back with her in the front seat and left Mary Louise to sit inside with Irene and the packages. L'avvocato fu molto contento di trovare un'auto che lo aspettava per portarlo alla Loggia e, dopo essere stato presentato alla signorina Lord, di cui non poté fare a meno di ammirare la bellezza, tornò indietro con lei sul sedile anteriore e lasciò Mary Louise a sedersi all'interno con Irene e i pacchi. Bill Coombs didn't approve of this method of ruining his stage business and scowled at the glittering auto as it sped away across the plain to the mountain. Bill Coombs non approvava questo metodo per rovinare la sua attività di palcoscenico e guardò l'auto scintillante mentre sfrecciava via attraverso la pianura verso la montagna. On this day Miss Lord proved an exceedingly agreeable companion to them all, even Irene forgetting for the time the strange expression she had surprised on Agatha's face at the time she found the letter. Quel giorno la signorina Lord si dimostrò una compagna estremamente piacevole per tutti, e persino Irene dimenticò per il momento la strana espressione che aveva sorpreso sul volto di Agatha quando aveva trovato la lettera. Mary Louise seemed to have quite forgotten that letter, for she did not again refer to it; but Irene, who had studied it closely in the seclusion of her own room that very night, had it rather persistently in mind and her eyes took on an added expression of grave and gentle commiseration whenever she looked at Mary Louise's unconscious face. Mary Louise sembrava aver dimenticato quella lettera, perché non vi fece più riferimento; ma Irene, che l'aveva studiata da vicino nell'intimità della sua stanza quella stessa notte, la ricordava piuttosto insistentemente e i suoi occhi assumevano un'ulteriore espressione di grave e gentile commiserazione ogni volta che guardava il volto inconsapevole di Mary Louise. "It is much more fun," observed Peter Conant at breakfast the nest morning, "to ride to and from the station in a motor car than to patronize Bill Coombs' rickety, slow-going omnibus. "È molto più divertente", osservò Peter Conant a colazione la mattina del nido, "andare e tornare dalla stazione in un'autovettura piuttosto che servirsi dello sgangherato e lento omnibus di Bill Coombs. But I can't expect our fair neighbor to run a stage line for my express accommodation." Ma non posso pretendere che la nostra bella vicina gestisca una linea teatrale per mia espressa volontà". "Will Morrison's motor car is here in the shed," said Mary Louise, and then she told of their conversation with Bub concerning it. "He says he has driven a car ever since he was eleven years old," she added. "I wondered what that boy was good for," asserted the lawyer, "yet the very last thing I would have accused him of is being a chauffeur." "Mi sono chiesto a cosa servisse quel ragazzo", ha affermato l'avvocato, "eppure l'ultima cosa di cui l'avrei accusato è di essere un autista". "Why don't you put on the tires and use the car?" asked Aunt Hannah.

"H-m. Morrison didn't mention the car to me. I suppose he forgot it. But I'm sure he'd be glad to have us use it. I'll talk with the boy." Bub was found near the Talbot cottage in the gully. Bub è stato trovato vicino al cottage Talbot nel burrone. When Mr. Conant and Mary Louise approached him, soon after finishing their breakfast, he was—as usual—diligently whittling.

"They tell me you understand running Mr. Morrison's car," began the lawyer. Bub raised his eyes a moment to the speaker's face but deemed an answer unnecessary. Bub alzò un attimo gli occhi sul volto dell'interlocutore, ma non ritenne necessaria una risposta. "Is that true?" with an impatient inflection.

"Kin run any car," said Bub. "Very well. Show me where the tires are and we will put them on. I want you to drive me to and from Millbank, hereafter." Voglio che mi accompagni da e per Millbank, d'ora in poi". Bub retained his seat and whittled. Bub rimase al suo posto e sbiancò.

"Hev ye got a order from Will Morrison, in writin'?" he demanded.

"No, but he will be glad to have me use the machine. He said everything at the Lodge was at my disposal." "Cars," said Bub, "ain't like other things. "Le auto", ha detto Bub, "non sono come le altre cose. A feller'll lend his huntin'-dog, er his knife, er his overcoat; but he's all-fired shy o' lendin' his car. Un uomo presterà il suo cane da caccia, il suo coltello, il suo cappotto; ma è assolutamente restio a prestare la sua auto. Ef I runned it for ye, Will might blame ME." Mr. Conant fixed his dull stare on the boy's face, but Bub went on whittling. Il signor Conant fissò il suo sguardo spento sul volto del ragazzo, ma Bub continuò a sbiancare. However, in the boy's inmost heart was a keen desire to run that motor car, as had been proposed. Tuttavia, nel cuore del ragazzo c'era il desiderio di guidare quell'auto a motore, come era stato proposto. So he casually remarked: Così ha osservato con disinvoltura:

"Ef ye forced me, ye know, I'd jus' hev to do it. Even Will couldn't blame me ef I were forced." Mr. Conant was so exasperated that the hint was enough. Il signor Conant era talmente esasperato che l'accenno era sufficiente. He seized the boy's collar, lifted him off the stump and kicked him repeatedly as he propelled his victim toward the house. Ha afferrato il collare del ragazzo, lo ha sollevato dal ceppo e lo ha preso a calci ripetutamente mentre spingeva la sua vittima verso la casa. "Oh, Uncle Peter!" cried Mary Louise, distressed; but Peter was obdurate and Bub never whimpered. gridò Mary Louise, angosciata; ma Peter era ostinato e Bub non piagnucolava mai. He even managed to close his knife, between kicks, and slip it into his trousers pocket.

When they came to the garage the lawyer halted, more winded than Bub, and demanded sharply: Quando arrivarono al garage, l'avvocato si fermò, più stanco di Bub, e chiese bruscamente:

"What is needed to put the car in shape to run?" "Tires, gas'line, oil 'n' water." "The tires are in the cellar, you say? Get them out or I'll skin you alive." Tirali fuori o ti spello vivo". Bub nodded, grinning. Bub annuì, sorridendo.

"Forcin' of me, afore a witness, lets me out," he remarked, cheerfully, and straightway went for the tires. Irene wheeled herself out and joined Uncle Peter and Mary Louise in watching the boy attach the tires, which were on demountable rims and soon put in place. Irene si mise a rotelle e si unì allo zio Peter e a Mary Louise per guardare il ragazzo che montava le gomme, che erano su cerchioni smontabili e che furono presto montati. All were surprised at Bub's sudden exhibition of energy and his deft movements, for he worked with the assurance of a skilled mechanic. Tutti furono sorpresi dall'improvvisa dimostrazione di energia e dall'abilità dei movimenti di Bub, che lavorava con la sicurezza di un meccanico esperto. "Now, we need gasoline," said Mr. Conant. "I must order that from Millbank, I suppose." "Onless ye want to rob Will Morrison's tank," agreed Bub. "A meno che non vogliate rubare il serbatoio di Will Morrison", concordò Bub. "Oh; has he a tank of gasoline here?" Bub nodded.

"A undergroun' steel tank. I dunno how much gas is in it, but ef ye forced me I'd hev to measure it." Peter picked up a stick and shook it threateningly, whereat Bub smiled and walked to the rear of the garage where an iron plug appeared just above the surface of the ground. Peter prese un bastone e lo agitò minacciosamente, mentre Bub sorrideva e si dirigeva verso il retro del garage, dove una spina di ferro appariva appena sopra la superficie del terreno. This he unscrewed with a wrench, thrust in a rod and drew it out again. Lo svitò con una chiave inglese, vi infilò un'asta e la estrasse di nuovo.

"'Bout forty gallon," he announced. "Circa quaranta galloni", annunciò. "Thet's 'nough fer a starter, I guess." "È abbastanza per un antipasto, credo". "Then put some of it into the machine. Is there any oil?" "Plenty oil." Half an hour later Bub started the engine and rolled the car slowly out of its shed to the graveled drive in the back yard. Mezz'ora dopo Bub accese il motore e fece uscire lentamente l'auto dalla rimessa fino al vialetto di ghiaia del cortile posteriore.

"All right, mister," he announced with satisfaction. "I dunno what Will'll say to this, but I kin prove I were forced. Want to take a ride now?" "No," replied Mr. Conant, "I merely wanted to get the car in shape. You are to take me to the station on Monday morning. Under the circumstances we will not use Morrison's car for pleasure rides, but only for convenience in getting from here to the trains and back. He surely cannot object to that." Bub seemed disappointed by this decision. He ran the car around the yard two or three times, testing its condition, and then returned it to its shed. Mr. Conant got his rod and reel and departed on a fishing excursion. Il signor Conant prese la sua canna e il suo mulinello e partì per un'escursione di pesca.