There is many and many a legend told about this old tower. A rumor5 exists that it has a secret chamber6 into which none is permitted to enter, except the head of the family. Some great secret is concealed7 in the tower-room, and when the first-born son of the Orzo family becomes of age his father takes him there and reveals it. And the effect of the revelation is such that every young man who enters that room comes out with gray hair.
As to what the secret might be, there was much conjecturing8. One legend had it that once some Orzo imprisoned9 his enemies in the tower and starved them until the unfortunates ate each other in their crazed suffering.
According to another story Kelemen Orzo ordered his faithless wife Krisztina Olaszi to be plastered into the wall of the room. Every night since, sobbing10 is heard from the tower.
Another runs that every hundred years a child with a dog's face is born in the Orzo family and that this little monster has to perish in the tower-room, so as to hide the disgrace of the family.
Another conjecture11 was that once the notorious Menyhart Orzo, who was supreme12 under King Rudolph in the castle, played a game of checkers with his neighbor, Boldizsar Zomolnoky. They commenced to play on a Monday and continued the game and drank all week until Sunday morning dawned upon them. Then Menyhart Orzo's confessor came and pleaded with the gamblers. He begged them to stop the game on the holy day of Sunday, when all true Christians13 are in church praising the Lord. But Menyhart, bringing his fist down on the table in such rage that all the wine glasses and bottles danced, cried: "And if we have to sit here till the world comes to an end, we won't stop till we have finished this game!"
Scarcely had he uttered his vow14 when, somewhere from the earth, or from the wall, a thundering voice was heard promising15 to take him at his word—that they would continue playing till the end of the world. And ever since, the checkers are heard rattling16, and the two damned souls are still playing the game in the tower-room.
When we were boys, the secret did not give us any rest, and we were always discussing and plotting as to how we could discover it. We made at least a hundred various plans, but all failed. It was an impossibility to get into the tower, because of a heavy iron-barred oaken door. The windows were too high to be reached. We had to satisfy ourselves with throwing a well-aimed stone, which hit the room through the window. Such an achievement was somewhat of a success, for oftentimes we drove out an alarmed flock of birds.
One day I decided17 that the best way would be to find out the secret of the tower from Balint's father himself. "He is the head of the family," I thought, "and if any light is to be had on the mystery, it is through him." But Balint didn't like the idea of approaching the old man; he knew his father's temper.
However, once he ventured the question, but he was sorry for it afterwards, for the older Orzo flew into a passion, and scolded and raged, ending by telling him that he must not listen to such nursery-tales; that the tower was moldering and decaying with age; that the floor timbers and staircase were so infirm that it would fall to pieces should anyone approach it; and that this was why no one could gain admittance.
But curiosity was incessantly19 working within us, and one evening Balint solemnly vowed20 to me that as soon as he became of age and had looked into the room, he would call for me, should I be even at the end of the world, and would let me into the secret. In order to make it more solemn, we called this a "blood-contract."
With this vow we parted. My parents sent me to college; Balint had a private tutor and was kept at home in the castle. After that we only met at vacation time.
Eight years passed before I saw the Orzo home again. At Balint's urgent, sudden invitation I had hurriedly journeyed back to my rocky fatherland.
I had scarcely stepped on the wide stone stairway leading from the terrace in the front of the castle, when someone shouted that the honorable master was near! He came galloping21 in on a foaming22 horse. I looked at him and started, as if I had seen a ghost, for this thin, tall rider was the perfect resemblance of his father. The same knotty23 hair and bearded head, the same densely24 furrowed25 face, the same deep, calm, gray eyes. And his hair and beard were almost as white as his father's!
He came galloping through the gate, pulled the bridle26 with a sudden jerk, and the next moment was on the paving; then with one bound he reached the terrace, and had me in his strong arms. With wild eagerness he showed me into the castle and at the same time kept talking and questioning me without ceasing. Then he thrust me into my room and declared that he gave me fifteen minutes—no more—to dress.
The time had not even expired, when he came, like a whirlwind, embraced me again and carried me into the dining-room. There chandeliers and lamps were already lit; the table was elaborately decorated, and bore plenty of wine.
At the meal he spoke again. Nervously27 jerking out his words, he was continually questioning me on one subject and then another, without waiting for the answer. He laughed often and harshly. When we came to the drinking, he winked28 to the servants, and immediately five Czigany musicians entered the room. Balint noticed the astonishment29 on my face, and half evasively said:
"I have sent to Iglo for them in honor of you. Let the music sound, and the wine flow; who knows when we will see each other again?"
He put his face into his palm. The Cziganys played old Magyar songs. Balint glanced at me now and then, and filled the glasses; we clinked them together, but he always seemed to be worried.
It was dawning. The soft sound of a church bell rose to us.
"Do you know how my father died?" he asked in a husky voice. "He killed himself."
"Do you remember my father?" he asked me. Of course; while I looked at him it seemed as if his father were standing32 before me. The very fibrous, skinny figure, the muscles and flesh seeming peeled off. Even through his coat arm I felt the naked, unveiled nerves.
"I always admired and honored my father, but we were never true intimates; I knew that he loved me, but I felt as if it was not for my own sake; as if he loved something in my soul that was strange to me. I never saw him smile; sometimes he was so harsh that I was afraid of him; at another time he was unmanageable.
"I did not understand him, but the older I became the better did I feel that there was a sad secret germinating33 in the bottom of his soul, where it grew like a spreading tree, the branches of which crept up to the castle and covered the walls, little by little overshadowed the sunlight, absorbed the air, and darkened everyone's heart. I gritted34 my teeth in vain; I could not work; I could not start to accomplish anything. I struggled with hundreds and hundreds of determinations; to-day I prepared for this or that; tomorrow for something else; ambition pressed me within; I could not make up my mind. Behind every resolution I made, I noticed my father's countenance35, like a note of interrogation. The old fables36 that we heard together in our childhood were renewed in my memory. Little by little the thought grew within me, like a fixed37 delusion38, that my father's fatal secret was locked up in the tower room. After that I lived by the calendar and dwelt on the passing of time on the clock. And when the sun that shone on me when I was born arose the twenty-fourth time, I pressed my hand on my heart and entered my father's room—this very room.
"'Father,' I said, 'I became of age to-day, everything may be opened before me, and I am at liberty to know everything.' Father looked at me and pondered over this.
"'Oh, yes!' he whispered, 'this is the day.'
"'I may know everything now,' continued I;' I am not afraid of any secrets. In the name of our family tradition, I beg of you, please open the tower-room.'
"Father raised his hand, as if he wanted to make me become silent.
His face was as white as a ghost.
"'Very well,' he murmured, 'I will open the tower-room for you.'
"'Here is the tower-room, my boy!' did he whisper in a husky voice. 'Here is the tower-room, and within our family secret. Do you see it?'
"That is all he said, but when I looked at him I immediately perceived the secret; everything was clear before me and I had a presentiment40 that something was nearing its end, something about to break.
"Father walked up and down; and then he stopped and pointed to this picture; to this very picture.
"'Did you ever thoroughly41 look at your ancestors? They are all from the Orzos. If you scrutinize42 their faces you will recognize in them your father, yourself, and your grandfather; and if you ever read their documents, which were left to us—there they are in the box—then you will know that they are just the same material as we are. Their way of thinking was the same as ours and so were their desires, their wills, their lives, and deaths. We had among them soldiers, clergymen, scientists, but not even one great, celebrated43 man, although their talent, their strength almost tore them asunder44.
"'In every one of them the family curse took root: not one of them could be a great man, neither my father nor yours.'
"Then I felt as if something horrible was coming from his lips. My breath almost ceased. Father did not finish what he was going to say, but stopped and listened for a minute.
"'I was my father's only hope,' he went on after a while; 'I too was born talented and prepared for great things, but the Orzos' destiny overtook me, and you see now what became of me. I looked into the tower-room. You know what it contains? You know what the name of our secret is? He who saw this secret lost faith in himself. For him it would have been better not to have come into this world at all. But I loved to live and did not want to abandon all my hopes. I married your mother; she consoled me until you were born, and then I regained45 my delight in life. I knew what I had to keep before my eyes to bring up my son to be such a man as his father could not be.
"'I acquiesced46 when you left for the foreign countries; then your letters came. I made a special study of every sentence and of every word of it, for I did not want to trust my reason. I thought the first time that the fault was in me; that I saw unnecessary phantoms47. But it wasn't so, for what I read out of your words was our destiny, the curse of the Orzos; from the way of your thinking, I found out that everything is in vain; you too turned your head backward, you too looked into yourself and noticed there the thing that makes the perceiver sterile48 forever. You did not even notice what you have done; you could not grasp it with your reason, but the poison is already within you.'
"'It cannot be, father!' I broke out, terrified.
"But he sadly shook his head. 'I am old; I cannot believe in anything now. I wish you were right, and would never come to know what I know. God bless you, my son; it is getting late, and I am getting tired.'
"It struck me that he was trying to cover his disbelief with sarcasm49. Both of us were without sleep that night. At dawn there was silence in his room. I bitterly thought, 'When will I go to rest?' When I went into his room in the morning he was lying in his bed. All was over. He had taken poison, and written his farewell on a piece of paper. His last wish was that no one should ever know under what circumstances he died."
Balint left off speaking and gazed with outstretched eyes toward the window in the darkness. I slowly went to him and put my hand upon his shoulder. He started at my touch.
"I more than once thought of the woman who could be the mother of my son. How many times have I been tempted50 to fulfill51 my father's last wish! But at such a time it has always come to my mind that I too might have such a son, who would cast into his father's teeth that he was a coward and a selfish man; that he sacrificed a life for his illusive52 hopes.
"No! I won't do it. I won't do it. I am the last of the Orzos. With me this damned family will die out. My fathers were cowards and rascals53. I do not want anybody to curse my memory."
I kissed Balint's wet forehead; I knew that this was the last time I would see him. The next day I left the castle, and the day after, his death was made public. He committed suicide, like his father. He was the last Orzo, and I turned about the coat of arms above his head.
The End
The End
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1
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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2
notched
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| a.有凹口的，有缺口的 | |
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3
shingled
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| adj.盖木瓦的；贴有墙面板的v.用木瓦盖(shingle的过去式和过去分词形式) | |
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4
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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5
rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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6
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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7
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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8
conjecturing
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| v. & n. 推测，臆测 | |
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9
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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11
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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12
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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13
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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14
vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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15
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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16
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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17
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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18
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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19
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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20
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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21
galloping
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| adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式 | |
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22
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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knotty
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| adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的 | |
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densely
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| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
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25
furrowed
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| v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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27
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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28
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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29
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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30
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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31
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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32
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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33
germinating
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| n.& adj.发芽（的）v.（使）发芽( germinate的现在分词 ) | |
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34
gritted
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| v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的过去式和过去分词 )；咬紧牙关 | |
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35
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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36
fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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40
presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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41
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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42
scrutinize
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| n.详细检查，细读 | |
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43
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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44
asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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45
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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46
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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48
sterile
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| adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的 | |
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49
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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50
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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51
fulfill
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| vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意 | |
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52
illusive
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| adj.迷惑人的，错觉的 | |
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53
rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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