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Chandler, Raymond ''The Big Sleep''-En-Sp-Sp.P65 Chandler’s Sleep tr. de J. L. López Muñoz tr. de J. A. Lara con alguna revisión The Big Sleep El sueño eterno (1939) by R. Chandler El Sueño Eterno de R.Chandler by Raymond Chandler Trad. de José Luis López Muñoz, 2001 trad. de J.A.Lara revisada en parte Alianza Editorial, S.A., Madrid, 2001 antes de aparecer la de J.L.L.M. 5 1 Uno I It was about eleven o’clock Eran más o menos las once de un día nu- Eran cerca de las once de la ma- in the morning, mid October, with 10 blado de mediados de octubre, y se tenía la ñana, a mediados de octubre. El sol the sun not shining and a look of sensación de que podía empezar a llover con no brillaba y en la claridad de las hard wet rain in the clearness of fuerza pese a la limpidez del cielo en las faldas de las colinas se apreciaba que the foothills. I was wearing my estribaciones de la sierra. Me había puesto el había llovido. Vestía mi traje azul powder-blue suit, with dark blue traje azul añil, con camisa azul marino, cor- plomizo con camisa azul oscuro, cor- shirt, tie and display handkerchief, 15 bata y pañuelo a juego en el bolsillo del pe- bata y vistoso pañuelo fuera del bol- black brogues, black wool socks cho, zapatos negros, calcetines negros de lana sillo, zapatos negros y calcetines de with dark blue clock, on them. I con dibujos laterales de color azul marino. Iba lana del mismo color adornados con ri- was neat, clean, shaved and sober, bien arreglado, limpio, afeitado y sobrio y no betes azul oscuro. Estaba aseado, lim- and I didn’t care who knew it. I was me importaba nada que lo notase todo el mun- pio, afeitado y sereno, y no me impor- everything the well-dressed private 20 do. Era sin duda lo que debe ser un detective taba que se notase. Era todo lo que un detective ought to be. I was calling privado bien vestido. Me disponía a visitar a detective privado debe ser. Iba a visitar on four million dollars. cuatro millones de dólares. cuatro millones de dólares. The main hallway of the El vestíbulo principal de la residencia El recibidor del chalet de los Sternwood place was two stories high. 25 Sternwood tenía una altura de dos pisos. Sternwood tenía dos desniveles. Encima Over the entrance doors, which would Sobre la doble puerta principal, que hu- de las puertas de entrada, capaces de per- have let in a troop of Indian elephants, biera permitido el paso de una manada de mitir el paso de un rebaño de elefantes there was a broad stained-glass panel elefantes indios, había una amplia vidrie- indios, había un vitral en el que figuraba showing a knight in dark armour ra que mostraba a un caballero de oscura un caballero con armadura antigua resca- rescuing a lady who was tied to a tree 30 armadura rescatando a una dama atada a tando una dama que se hallaba atada a un and didn’t have any clothes on but some un árbol y sin otra ropa que una cabellera árbol, sin más encima que una larga y muy very long and convenient hair. The muy larga y conveniente. El adalid había oportuna cabellera. Tenía levantada la vi- knight had pushed the vizor of his levantado la visera del casco para mostrar- sera de su casco, como muestra de so- helmet back to be sociable, and he was se sociable, y estaba tratando de deshacer ciabilidad, y manipulaba con las cuer- fiddling with the knots of the ropes that 35 los nudos que aprisionaban [7] a la dama, das que ataban a la dama, al parecer sin tied the lady to the tree and not getting pero sin conseguir ningún resultado prác- resultado alguno. Me detuve un mo- anywhere. I stood there and thought that tico. Me quedé allí parado y pensé que, si mento y pensé que de vivir yo en esta if I lived in the house, I would sooner viviera en la casa, antes o después tendría casa, tarde o temprano tendría que su- or later have to climb up there and help que trepar allí arriba para ayudarle. No bir allí y ayudarle, ya que parecía que him. He didn’t seem to be really trying. 40 daba la impresión de esforzarse mucho. él, realmente, no lo intentaba. There were french doors at Había puertas—ventanas al fondo del La parte trasera del vestíbulo tenía the back of the hall, beyond them vestíbulo y, más allá, una amplia exten- puertaventanas; tras ellas, un gran tapiz a wide sweep of emerald grass to sión de césped color esmeralda que llega- de césped esmeralda se extendía delan- a white garage, in front of which 45 ba hasta un garaje muy blanco, delante del cual te de un garaje blanco, ante el cual el a slim dark young chauffeur in un joven chófer, esbelto y moreno, con relu- chófer, joven, moreno y esbelto, con bri- shiny black leggings was dusting cientes polainas negras, limpiaba un Packard llantes polainas negras, limpiaba un maroon : castaño, marrón, reddish a maroon Packard convertible. descapotable de color granate. Más allá del Packard descapotable, color castaño. De- Beyond the garage were some garaje se alzaban algunos árboles ornamen- trás del garaje había árboles recortados decorative trees trimmed as 50 tales, arreglados con tanto cuidado como si tan cuidadosamente como el pelaje de carefully as poodle dogs. Beyond fueran caniches. Y todavía quedaba sitio los perros de lanas, y después de ellos, them a large greenhouse with a para un invernadero de grandes dimensio- un inmenso invernadero con techo en domed roof. Then more trees and nes con techo abovedado. Finalmente más forma de cúpula. A continuación había beyond everything the solid, un- árboles y, al fondo de todo, la línea sólida, más árboles y, completamente al fondo, se even, comfortable line of the 55 desigual y cómoda de las últimas veían las líneas sólidas, desiguales y apaci- foothills. estribaciones de la sierra. bles de las faldas de las colinas. 2 Chandler’s Sleep tr. de J. L. López Muñoz tr. de J. A. Lara con alguna revisión On the east side of the hall a En el lado este del vestíbulo una escalera En el lado este del edificio, una es- free staircase, tile-paved, rose to a exenta, con suelo de azulejos, se alzaba hasta calera pavimentada con baldosines gallery with a wrought-iron railing una galería con una barandilla de hierro for- daba a un balcón corrido con baran- and another piece of stained-glass jado y otra historia caballeresca recogida en dilla de hierro forjado y un vitral, con romance. Large hard chairs with 5 vidriera. Por todo el perímetro, grandes si- otra escena romántica. Enormes si- rounded red plush seats were backed llas de respaldo recto con asientos redondos llas, con asiento redondo de felpa into the vacant spaces of the wall de felpa roja ocupaban espacios vacíos a lo roja, adosadas a la pared, en los es- round about. They didn’t look as if largo de las paredes. No parecía que nadie pacios vacíos, daban la sensación de anybody had ever sat in them. In the se hubiera sentado nunca en ellas. En el cen- que nunca se hubiese sentado nadie middle of the west wall there was a 10 tro de la pared orientada hacia el oeste ha- en ellas. En medio de la pared oeste big empty fireplace with a brass bía una gran chimenea vacía con una panta- había una enorme chimenea con pan- screen in four hinged panels, and over lla de latón dividida en cuatro paneles por talla de cobre formada por cuatro pa- the fireplace a marble mantel with medio de bisagras y, encima de la chime- neles unidos con bisagras, y en aqué- cupids at the corners. Above the nea, una repisa de mármol con cupidos en lla una repisa de mármol en cuyas es- mantel there was a large oil portrait, 15 los extremos. Sobre la repisa colgaba un re- quinas había cupidos. En la repisa ha- and above the portrait two bullet-torn trato al óleo de grandes dimensiones y, encima bía un gran retrato al óleo, y encima or moth-eaten cavalry pennants del cuadro, cruzados en el interior de un mar- de éste dos gallardetes de caballería, crossed in a glass frame. The portrait co de cristal, dos gallardetes de caballería agu- agujereados con bala o comidos por was a stiffly posed job of an officer in jereados por las balas o comidos por la polilla. la polilla, cruzados dentro de un mar- full regimentals of about the time of 20 El retrato era de un oficial en una postura muy co de cristal. El retrato era el de un the Mexican War. The officer had a rígida y con uniforme de gala, aproximada- rígido oficial con uniforme de la épo- neat black imperial, black mustachios, mente de la época de la guerra entre México y ca de la guerra contra México. El hot hard coal-black eyes, and the Estados Unidos. El militar tenía bigote y mos- hombre del retrato tenía perilla y bi- general look of a man it would pay to ca negros, ojos duros y ardientes también ne- gotes negros y, en conjunto, el aspec- get along with. I thought this might 25 gros como el carbón y todo el aspecto de al- to de un hombre con el que convenía be General Sternwood’s grandfather.
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