世紀文學經典:《百年孤獨》第7章Part 1
THE WAR was over in May. Two weeks before the government made the official announcement in a high-sounding proclamation, which promised merciless punishment for those who had started the rebellion, Colonel Aureliano Buendía fell prisoner just as he was about to reach the western frontier disguised as an Indian witch doctor. Of the twenty-one men who had followed him to war, fourteen fell in combat, six were wounded, and only one accompanied him at the moment of final defeat: Colonel Gerineldo Márquez. The news of his capture was announced in Macondo with a special proclamation. "He's alive," úrsula told her husband. "Let's pray to God for his enemies to show him clemency." After three days of weeping, one afternoon as she was stirring some sweet milk candy in the kitchen she heard her son's voice clearly in her ear. "It was Aureliano, " she shouted, running toward the chestnut tree to tell her husband the news. "I don't know how the miracle took place, but he's alive and we're going to see him very soon."She took it for granted. She had the floors of the house scrubbed and changed the position of the furniture. One week later a rumor from somewhere that was not supported by any proclamation gave dramatic confirmation to the prediction. Colonel Aureliano Buendía had been condemned to death and the sentence would be carried out in Macondo as a lesson to the population. On Monday, at tenthirty in the morning, Amaranta was dressing Aureliano José when she heard the sound of a distant troop and the blast of a cornet one second before úrsula burst into the room with the shout: "They're bringing him now!" The troop struggled to subdue the overflowing crowd with their rifle butts. úrsula and Amaranta ran to the corner, pushing their way through, and then they saw him. He looked like a beggar. His clothing was torn, his hair and beard were tangled, and he was barefoot. He was walking without feeling the burning dust, his hands tied behind his back with a rope that a mounted officer had attached to the head of his horse. Along with him, also ragged and defeated, they were bringing Colonel Gerineldo Márquez.
They were not sad. They seemed more disturbed by the crowd that was shouting all kinds of insults at the troops.
"My son!" úrsula shouted in the midst of the uproar, and she slapped the soldier who tried to hold her back. The officer's horse reared. Then Colonel Aureliano Buendía stopped, tremulous, avoided the arms of his mother, and fixed a stern look on her eyes.
"Go home, Mama," he said. "Get permission from the authorities to come see me in jail."
He looked at Amaranta, who stood indecisively two steps behind úrsula, and he smiled as he asked her, "What happened to your hand?" Amaranta raised the hand with the black bandage. "A burn," she said, and took úrsula away so that the horses would not run her down. The troop took off. A special guard surrounded the prisoners and took them to the jail at a trot.
At dusk úrsula visited Colonel Aureliano Buendía in jail. She had tried to get permission through Don Apolinar Moscote, but he had lost all authority in the face of the military omnipotence. Father Nicanor was in bed with hepatic fever. The parents of Colonel Gerineldo Márquez, who had not been condemned to death, had tried to see him and were driven off with rifle butts. Facing the impossibility of finding anyone to intervene, convinced that her son would be shot at dawn, úrsula wrapped up the things she wanted to bring him and went to the jail alone.
"I am the mother of Colonel Aureliano Buendía," she announced.
五月裏，戰爭結束了。政府在言過其實的公告中正式宣佈了這個消息，說要嚴懲叛亂的禍首；在這之前兩個星期，奧雷連諾上校穿上印第安巫醫的衣服，幾乎已經到達西部邊境，但是遭到了逮捕。他出去作戰的時候，帶了二十一個人，其中十四人陣亡，六人負傷，在最後一次戰鬥中跟他一起的只有一個人——格林列爾多·馬克斯上校。奧雷連諾上校被捕的消息是特別在馬孔多宣佈的。“他還活着，”烏蘇娜向丈夫說。“但願敵人對他發發慈悲。”她爲兒子痛哭了三天，到了第四天下午，她在廚房裏製作奶油蜜餞時，清楚地聽到了兒子的聲音。“這是奧雷連諾，”她一面叫，一面跑去把消息告訴丈夫。“我不知道這個奇蹟是咋個出現的，可他還活着，咱們很快就會見到他啦。”烏蘇娜相信這是肯定的。她吩咐擦洗了家裏的地板，重新佈置了傢俱。過了一個星期，不知從哪兒來的消息（這一次沒有發表公告），可悲地證實了她的預言。奧雷連諾已經判處死刑，將在馬孔多執行，藉以恐嚇該鎮居民。星期一早上，約莫十點半鐘，阿瑪蘭塔正在給奧雷連諾·霍塞穿衣服，亂七八糟的喧譁聲和號聲忽然從遠處傳到她耳裏，過了片刻，烏蘇娜衝進屋來叫道：“他們把他押來啦！”在蜂擁的人羣中，士兵們用槍托開闢道路，烏蘇娜和阿瑪蘭塔擠過密集的人羣，到了鄰近的一條街上，便看見了奧雷連諾。奧雷連諾象個叫花子，光着腳丫，衣服襤樓，滿臉鬍子，蓬頭垢面。他行進的時候，並沒感到灼熱的塵土燙腳。他的雙手是用繩子捆綁在背後的，繩端攥在一個騎馬的軍官手裏。跟他一起押着前進的是格林列爾多·馬克斯上校，也是衣衫破爛、骯裏骯髒的樣子。
他們並不垂頭喪氣，甚至對羣衆的行爲感到激動，因爲人們都在臭罵押解的士兵。
“我的兒子！”在一片嘈雜中發出了烏蘇娜的號陶聲。她推開一個打算阻擋她的士兵。軍官騎的馬直立起來。奧雷連諾上校戰慄一下，就停住腳步，避開母親的手，堅定地盯着她的眼睛。
“回家去吧，媽媽，，他說。”請求當局允許，到牢裏去看我吧。“
他把視線轉向躊躇地站在烏蘇娜背後的阿瑪蘭塔身上，向她微微一笑，問道：“你的手怎麼啦？”阿瑪蘭塔舉起纏着黑色繃帶的手。“燒傷，”她說，然後把烏蘇娜拖到一邊，離馬遠些。士兵們朝天開了槍。騎兵隊圍着俘虜，朝兵營小跑而去。
傍晚，烏蘇娜前來探望奧雷連諾上校。她本想在阿·摩斯柯特先生幫助下預先得到允許，可是現在全部僅力都集中在軍人手裏，他的話沒有任何分量。尼康諾神父肝病發作，已經躺在牀上了。格林列爾多。 馬克斯上校沒有判處死刑，他的雙親算看望兒子，但是衛兵卻用槍托把他倆趕走了。烏蘇娜看出無法找中間人幫忙，而且相信天一亮奧雷連諾就會處決，於是就把她想給他的東西包上，獨個兒前往兵營。
“我是奧雷連諾上校的母親，”烏蘇娜重說一遍。
