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«Señor Marcial—dijo ésta con redoblado furor:—si quiere usted ir a la escuadra a que le den la última mano, puede embarcar cuando quiera; pero lo que es este no irá. Sir|||||doubled|fury|||||||||||give|||hand||to board|||||||this||will go "Mr. Martial," she said with redoubled rage: "If you want to go to the squad to have your last hand, you can embark at any time;" but what is this will not go.

—Bueno—contestó el marinero, que se había sentado en el borde de una silla, ocupando sólo el espacio necesario para sostenerse—: iré yo solo. |||sailor|||had|sitting|||edge|||chair|occupying||||||to hold on|I will go|| "Well," answered the sailor, who had sat on the edge of a chair, occupying only enough space to support himself, "I'll go alone." El demonio me lleve, si me quedo sin echar el catalejo a la fiesta.» |devil||take|||stay||to throw||telescope||| The devil takes me, if I remain without throwing the spyglass at the party.

Después añadió con expresión de júbilo: |||||joy Then he added with an expression of joy:

«Tenemos quince navíos, y los francesitos veinticinco barcos. |fifteen||||little Frenchmen|| «We have fifteen ships, and the French twenty-five ships. Si todos fueran nuestros, no era preciso tanto... ¡Cuarenta buques y mucho corazón embarcado!» ||were|||||||ships|||heart|embarked If all were ours, it was not necessary so much ... Forty ships and much heart embarked! »

Como se comunica el fuego de una mecha a otra que está cercana, así el entusiasmo que irradió del ojo de Marcial encendió los dos, ya por la edad amortiguados, de mi buen amo. Like||communicates|||||wick|a||||near|like||||radiated||eye|||ignited|||||||dampened|||| As the fire from one wick is communicated to another that is close, so the enthusiasm that radiated from Marcial's eye lit the two, already muffled by age, of my good master.

«Pero el  Señorito —continuó Medio-hombre—, traerá muchos también. ||Young gentleman||||will bring||too "But the Lord," Half-man continued, "will bring many too." Así me gustan a mí las funciones: mucha madera donde mandar balas, y mucho  jumo de pólvora que caliente el aire cuando hace frío.» ||||||||wood|where|to send|bullets|||fume||gunpowder|||||when|makes|cold That's how I like the functions: a lot of wood where to send bullets, and a lot of gunpowder that heats the air when it's cold.

Se me había olvidado decir que Marcial, como casi todos los marinos, usaba un vocabulario formado por los más peregrinos terminachos, pues es costumbre en la gente de mar de todos los países desfigurar la lengua patria hasta convertirla en caricatura. ||||||Marcel||almost||||used|||||||pilgrims|terms|||custom||||||||||to distort|||homeland||to turn it||caricature I had forgotten to say that Marcial, like almost all sailors, used a vocabulary made up of the most unusual endings, since it is customary for seafarers of all countries to disfigure the native language to the point of turning it into a caricature. Observando la mayor parte de las voces usadas por los navegantes, se ve que son simplemente corruptelas de las palabras más comunes, adaptadas a su temperamento arrebatado y enérgico, siempre propenso a abreviar todas las funciones de la vida, y especialmente el lenguaje. ||||||||||navigators||see||||corruptions||||||||||impulsive||energetic||prone to||to abbreviate||||||||||language Observing most of the voices used by sailors, it is seen that they are simply corruptions of the most common words, adapted to their rapturous and energetic temperament, always prone to abbreviating all the functions of life, and especially language. Oyéndoles hablar, me ha parecido a veces que la lengua es un órgano que les estorba. Hearing them||||like||||||||organ|||hindrance Listening to them speak, it has sometimes seemed to me that the tongue is an organ that interferes with them.

Marcial, como digo, convertía los nombres en verbos, y éstos en nombres, sin consultar con la Academia. |as|say|converted||||verbs||these||names||to consult||| Marcial, as I say, converted nouns into verbs, and these into nouns, without consulting the Academy. Asimismo aplicaba el vocabulario de la navegación a todos los actos de la vida, asimilando el navío con el hombre, en virtud de una forzada analogía entre las partes de aquél y los miembros de éste. Likewise|applied|||||||||||||assimilating||ship|||||virtue|||forced|analogy|||||that one||||| It also applied the vocabulary of navigation to all acts of life, assimilating the ship with man, by virtue of a forced analogy between its parts and its members. Por ejemplo, hablando de la pérdida de su ojo, decía que había cerrado el  portalón de estribor ; y para expresar la rotura del brazo, decía que se había quedado sin la  serviola de babor . ||||||||||||closed||big door||starboard|||||break|||||||stayed|||sailboat part||port For example, speaking of the loss of his eye, he said that he had closed the starboard gate; and to express the broken arm, he said that he had run out of the port awl. Para él el corazón, residencia del valor y del heroísmo, era el  pañol de la pólvora , así como el estómago el  pañol del viscocho . |||||||||heroism|||storehouse|||gunpowder||||||storehouse||biscuit For him the heart, residence of courage and heroism, was the gun of gunpowder, as was the stomach the cloth of viscocho. Al menos estas frases las entendían los marineros; pero había otras, hijas de su propia inventiva filológica, de él sólo conocidas y en todo su valor apreciadas. |||||understood||||there was||daughters||||inventiveness|philological|||||||all|||valued At least these phrases were understood by sailors; but there were others, daughters of his own philological inventiveness, of him only known and in all their value appreciated. ¿Quién podría comprender lo que significaban  patigurbiar, chingurria y otros feroces nombres del mismo jaez? Who||||||to patigurbiate|fierce names|||ferocious||||type or kind Who could understand what patigurbiar, chingurria and other fierce names of the same jaez mean? Yo creo, aunque no lo aseguro, que con el primero significaba dudar, y con el segundo tristeza. ||although|||||||first|meant|doubt||||| I believe, although I do not assure you, that with the first it meant doubting, and with the second sadness. La acción de embriagarse la denominaba de mil maneras distintas, y entre éstas la más común era  ponerse la casaca , idiotismo cuyo sentido no hallarán mis lectores, si no les explico que, habiéndole merecido los marinos ingleses el dictado de  casacones , sin duda a causa de su uniforme, al decir  ponerse la casaca por emborracharse, quería significar Marcial una acción común y corriente entre sus enemigos. |||to get drunk||called||||||||||||to get (or to put on)||jacket|idiotism|whose|||they will find||||||||having earned it|deserved|||||dictation||jackets|||||||uniform||say|get||jacket||to get drunk||mean||||||common and ordinary||| The act of getting drunk called it in a thousand different ways, and among these the most common was to put on the coat, idiotism whose meaning will not be found by my readers, if I do not explain to them that, having deserved the English sailors the dictation of casacones, no doubt because of his uniform, when he said putting on his coat for getting drunk, he wanted to mean Martial a common action among his enemies. A los almirantes extranjeros los llamaba con estrafalarios nombres, ya creados por él, ya traducidos a su manera, fijándose en semejanzas de sonido. ||admirals|foreign||called||strange|||created||||translated||||noticing||similarities|| He called foreign admirals with bizarre names, already created by him, already translated in his own way, paying attention to sound similarities. A Nelson le llamaba el  Señorito , voz que indicaba cierta consideración o respeto; a Collingwood el tío Calambre , frase que a él le parecía exacta traducción del inglés; a Jerwis le nombraba como los mismos ingleses, esto es,  viejo zorro ; a Calder el  tío Perol , porque encontraba mucha relación entre las dos voces; y siguiendo un sistema lingüístico enteramente opuesto, designaba a Villeneuve, jefe de la escuadra combinada, con el apodo de  Monsieur Corneta , nombre tomado de un sainete a cuya representación asistió Marcial en Cádiz. |Nelson|||||||||consideration||||Collingwood|||Cramp||||||||||||||named||||||||||Pot|||Aunt Pot|||||||||||||||opposite|designated||Corneta||||||||nickname||Mister|Cornet|||||farce||||attended|||Cádiz Nelson was called the Lord, a voice that indicated some consideration or respect; to Collingwood Uncle Calambre, a phrase that seemed to him to be an exact translation from English; Jerwis was named as the English themselves, that is, old fox; to Calder Uncle Perol, because he found a lot of relationship between the two voices; and following an entirely opposite linguistic system, he appointed Villeneuve, head of the combined squad, with the nickname of Monsieur Corneta, name taken from a sainete whose representation was attended by Martial in Cádiz. En fin, tales eran los disparates que salían de su boca, que me veré obligado, para evitar explicaciones enojosas, a sustituir sus frases con las usuales, cuando refiera las conversaciones que de él recuerdo. |||||nonsense||were coming out||||||I will see|obliged||||annoying||to substitute|||||usual||refer|||||| In short, such were the nonsense that came out of his mouth, that I will be forced, to avoid annoying explanations, to substitute his phrases with the usual ones, when I refer to the conversations that I remember of him.

Sigamos ahora. Let's go|now Let's continue now. Doña Francisca, haciéndose cruces, dijo así: ||making the sign of the cross|crosses|| Doña Francisca, making crosses, said thus:

«¡Cuarenta navíos! "Forty ships! Eso es tentar a la Divina Providencia. ||to tempt|||| That is tempting Divine Providence. ¡Jesús!, y lo menos tendrán cuarenta mil cañones, para que estos enemigos se maten unos a otros. ||||they will have|||||||||kill||| Jesus! And they will have at least forty thousand cannons, so that these enemies can kill each other.

—Lo que es como Mr. Corneta tenga bien provistos los pañoles de la pólvora—contestó Marcial señalando al corazón—, ya se van a reír esos señores casacones. ||||Mr||have (subjunct||supplied||powder magazines|||gunpowder|||pointing||||||||||bigwigs "What is like Mr. Corneta have the gunpowder cloths well stocked," Marcial said, pointing to the heart, "those gentlemen casacones are going to laugh." No será ésta como la del cabo de San Vicente. ||||||cape||| This will not be like that of the end of San Vicente.

—Hay que tener en cuenta—dijo mi amo con placer, viendo mencionado su tema favorito—, que si el almirante Córdova hubiera mandado virar a babor a los navíos  San José y  Mejicano , el Sr. ||||||||||seeing|mentioned|||||||admiral||would have||to turn||port||||||||| - It is necessary to take into account - my master said with pleasure, seeing mentioned his favorite subject - that if Admiral Córdova had sent to port the ships San José and Mejicano, Mr. de Jerwis no se habría llamado  Lord Conde de San Vicente . ||||||Lord|||| de Jerwis would not have styled himself the Lord Earl of Saint Vincent. De eso estoy bien seguro, y tengo datos para asegurar que con la maniobra a babor, hubiéramos salido victoriosos. |||||||||to ensure||||maneuver|||we would have||victorious I am quite sure of that, and I have data to ensure that with the maneuver to port, we would have been victorious.

—¡Victoriosos!—exclamó con desdén Doña Francisca—. Victorious|||contempt|Lady| "Victorious!" Doña Francisca exclaimed disdainfully. Si pueden ellos más... Estos bravucones parece que se quieren comer el mundo, y en cuanto salen al mar parece que no tienen bastantes costillas para recibir los porrazos de los ingleses. |||||bullies||||||||||||||||||enough|ribs||receive||blows||| If they can more... These bullies seem to want to eat the world, and as soon as they go out to sea it seems that they don't have enough ribs to receive the blows of the English.

—¡No!—dijo Medio-hombre enérgicamente y cerrando el puño con gesto amenazador—. ||||||closing||fist|||threatening "No!" Half-man said energetically, clenching his fist threateningly. ¡Si no fuera por sus muchas astucias y picardías!... ||||||tricks and cunning||mischiefs If it weren't for his many cunning and mischievous things! ... Nosotros vamos siempre contra ellos con el alma a un largo, pues, con nobleza, bandera izada y manos limpias. |||||||||||||nobility||raised||| We always go against them with a long soul, then, with nobility, flag raised and clean hands. El inglés no se  larguea , y siempre ataca por sorpresa, buscando las aguas malas y las horas de cerrazón. |||it|sneaks around|||attacks||surprise|||||||||foggy conditions The English does not go away, and always attacks by surprise, looking for bad waters and hours of closure. Así fue la del Estrecho, que nos tienen que pagar. |||||||||to pay This was that of the Strait, which we have to pay. Nosotros navegábamos confiados, porque ni de perros herejes moros se teme la traición,  cuantimás de un inglés que es  civil y al modo de cristiano. |we were sailing|confident|||||heretics|Moors||fear||betrayal|the more|||||||||||Christian We sailed confidently, because neither heretical Moorish dogs are afraid of betrayal, quantimás of an Englishman who is civilian and Christian mode. Pero no: el que ataca a traición no es cristiano, sino un salteador de caminos. ||||||betrayal||||||highwayman|| But no: the one who treacherously attacks is not a Christian, but a highway robber. Figúrese usted, señora—añadió dirigiéndose a Doña Francisca para obtener su benevolencia—, que salimos de Cádiz para auxiliar a la escuadra francesa que se había refugiado en Algeciras, perseguida por los ingleses. Imagine||||addressing|||||||||we left||||to assist||||||||refugee||Algeciras|pursued||| Imagine, ma'am," he added, addressing Doña Francisca to obtain her benevolence, "that we left Cádiz to help the French squadron that had taken refuge in Algeciras, persecuted by the English.

Hace de esto cuatro años, y  entavía tengo tal coraje que la sangre se me emborbota cuando lo recuerdo. It has||||||still|||courage||||||boils||| Four years ago, and I still have such courage that my blood gets drunk when I remember it. Yo iba en el  Real Carlos , de 112 cañones, que mandaba Ezguerra, y además llevábamos el  San Hermenegildo , de 112 también; el  San Fernando , el  Argonauta , el  San Agustín y la fragata  Sabina . |||||Carlos||||commanded|Ezguerra|||we were carrying|||Saint Hermenegildo|||||||Argonaut|||Augustin|||frigate|Sabina I was in the Real Carlos, with 112 guns, which Ezguerra commanded, and we also had the San Hermenegildo, with 112 guns as well; the San Fernando, the Argonauta, the San Agustín and the Sabina frigate. Unidos con la escuadra francesa, que tenía cuatro navíos, tres fragatas y un bergantín, salimos de Algeciras para Cádiz a las doce del día, y como el tiempo era flojo, nos anocheció más acá de punta Carnero. United|||||||four|||frigates|||brigantine|we left||||Cádiz|||||||||||light||it got dark||this side||point|Ram United with the French squad, which had four ships, three frigates and a brig, we left Algeciras for Cádiz at twelve o'clock in the day, and as the weather was lazy, we got dark here at Punta Carnero. La noche estaba más negra que un barril de chapapote; pero como el tiempo era bueno, no nos importaba navegar a obscuras. |||||||bar||tar oil||||||||||||in the dark The night was blacker than a barrel of tar; but as the weather was fine, we did not mind sailing in the dark. Casi toda la tripulación dormía: me acuerdo que estaba yo en el castillo de proa hablando con mi primo Pepe Débora, que me contaba las perradas de su suegra, y desde allí vi las luces del San Hermenegildo , que navegaba a estribor como a tiro de cañón. |||crew|||remember||was||||castle||bow||||cousin||Deborah|||||dog things|||mother-in-law||from|there|||lights|||Saint Hermenegildo||was sailing||starboard|||shot||cannon Almost the entire crew slept: I remember I was on the forecastle talking to my cousin Pepe Débora, who was telling me about his mother-in-law's pranks, and from there I saw the lights of the San Hermenegildo, which was sailing to starboard about a shot away. Canyon. Los demás barcos iban delante. |other|||in front of The other boats went ahead. Pusque lo que menos creíamos era que los casacones habían salido de Gibraltar tras de nosotros y nos daban caza. Because||||we believed||||hunting jackets|||||after||||||hunting Pusque what we least believed was that the cabins had left Gibraltar behind us and hunted us.

¿Ni cómo los habíamos de ver, si tenían apagadas las luces y se nos acercaban sin que nos percatáramos de ello? |||we had|||||turned off||||||||||realized||it Or how were we to see them, if the lights were out and they approached us without us noticing it? De repente, y  anque la noche estaba muy obscura, me pareció ver... yo siempre he tenido un  farol como un lince... me pareció que un barco pasaba entre nosotros y el  San Hermenegildo . |sudden||although|||||dark|||to see||||had||lantern|||lighthouse||||||||||||Saint Hermenegild Suddenly, and although the night was very dark, I thought I saw... I've always had a lantern like a lynx... it seemed to me that a ship was passing between us and the San Hermenegildo. «José Débora—dije a mi compañero—; o yo estoy viendo  pantasmas , o tenemos un barco inglés por estribor». |||||||||seeing|ghosts|||||||starboard "José Débora," I said to my companion. or I am seeing swamps, or we have an English ship to starboard.

José Débora miró y me dijo: ||looked||| José Débora looked at me and said:

«Que el palo mayor se caiga por la fogonadura y me parta, si hay por estribor más barco que el  San Hermenegildo . ||mast|||falls|||hatchway|||break|||||||||| «Let the main stick fall through the stove and split me, if there is a starboard more ship than the San Hermenegildo.

—Pues por sí o por no—dije—, voy a avisarle al oficial que está de cuarto». |||||||||to notify him|||||| "Well, yes or no," I said, "I'm going to let the officer know he's in the room."

No había acabado de decirlo, cuando pataplús... sentimos el  musiqueo de toda una andanada que nos soplaron por el costado. ||finished||||bang or crash|we felt||music||||barrage|||blew at us|||side He hadn't finished saying it, when we kicked our feet ... we felt the music of a whole volley that blew us from the side. En un minuto la tripulación se levantó... cada uno a su puesto... ¡Qué batahola, señora Doña Francisca! ||||crew|||||||position||commotion||| In a minute the crew rose ... each one to his position ... What a great job, Mrs. Doña Francisca! Me alegrara de que usted lo hubiera visto para que supiera cómo son estas cosas. |would make happy|||||would have||||knew|||| I would be glad you had seen it so that I knew what these things are like. Todos jurábamos como demonios y pedíamos a Dios que nos pusiera un cañón en cada dedo para contestar al ataque. |we swore||||we asked|||||put (subjunct|||||finger|||| We all swore like demons and asked God to put a cannon on each finger to fight back. Ezguerra subió al alcázar y mandó disparar la andanada de estribor... ¡ zapataplús ! Ezguerra|climbed||fortress||sent|to fire||broadside|||bang Ezguerra went up to the quarterdeck and ordered the starboard broadside to be fired... Zapapplus! La andanada de estribor disparó en seguida, y al poco rato nos contestaron... Pero en aquella trapisonda no vimos que con el primer disparo nos habían soplado a bordo unas endiabladas materias  comestibles (combustibles quería decir), que cayeron sobre el buque como si estuviera lloviendo fuego. |broadside||starboard|fired||right away||||moment||they answered||||scuffle|||||||shot|||blown||on board||devilish||edibles|fuels|wanted|||fell|||ship|||was|raining| The starboard broadside fired immediately, and in a short time they answered us... But in that treacherous act we did not see that with the first shot some devilish edible matter (he meant fuel) had been blown on board, which fell on the ship as if It was raining fire. Al ver que ardía nuestro navío, se nos redobló la rabia y cargamos de nuevo la andanada, y otra, y otra. |||burned|our||||doubled||rage||we loaded||||broadside|and||| Seeing that our ship was burning, our rage redoubled and we loaded the barrage again, and another, and another. ¡Ah, señora Doña Francisca! Ah, Mrs. Francisca! ¡Bonito se puso aquello!... ||got (or became)| Nice put that on! ... Nuestro comandante mandó meter sobre estribor para atacar al abordaje al buque enemigo. |commander||to put||starboard||||boarding action||ship| Our commander ordered to go to starboard to attack the enemy ship. Aquí te quiero ver... Yo estaba en mis glorias... En un guiñar del ojo preparamos las hachas y picas para el abordaje... el barco enemigo se nos venía encima, lo cual me encabrilló (me alegró) el alma, porque así nos enredaríamos más pronto... Mete, mete a estribor... ¡qué julepe! ||||||||glories|||wink|||we prepared||axes||pikes|||boarding||||||was coming|||||made me happy||made me happy||||||we would get tangled|||get|Put||starboard|what|scare Here I want to see you ... I was in my glories ... In a wink of the eye we prepared the axes and pikes for the boarding ... the enemy ship was coming on top of us, which brought me (my happiness) the soul, because that's how we get tangled up sooner ... Get in, put on starboard ... what a julep! Principiaba a amanecer: ya los penoles se besaban; ya estaban dispuestos los grupos, cuando oímos juramentos españoles a bordo del buque enemigo. It was beginning||dawn|||pennants||were kissing|||ready||||we heard|oaths|||||| It was beginning at dawn: the yardarms were already kissing; The groups were already ready when we heard Spanish oaths on board the enemy ship. Entonces nos quedamos todos tiesos de espanto, porque vimos que el barco con que nos batíamos era el mismo  San Hermenegildo . ||we stayed||stiff||terror|||||||||were fighting||||| Then we were all stiff with fear, because we saw that the ship with which we were fighting was the same San Hermenegildo.

—Eso sí que estuvo bueno—dijo Doña Francisca mostrando algún interés en la narración—. "That was good," said Mrs. Francisca, showing some interest in the story. ¿Y cómo fueron tan burros que uno y otro...? ||||donkeys|||| And how were they so donkeys that one and the other ...?

—Diré a usted: no tuvimos tiempo de andar con palabreo. I will say||||we had|||walk||small talk "I will say to you: we did not have time to talk." El fuego del  Real Carlos se pasó al  San Hermenegildo , y entonces... ¡Virgen del Carmen, la que se armó! |fire||Royal|||||||||||||||was unleashed The fire of Real Carlos was passed to San Hermenegildo, and then ... Virgin of Carmen, the one who armed himself! ¡A las lanchas!, gritaron muchos. ||boats|they shouted| To the boats! many shouted. El fuego estaba ya ras con ras con la  Santa Bárbara , y esta señora no se anda con bromas... Nosotros jurábamos, gritábamos insultando a Dios, a la Virgen y a todos los santos, porque así parece que se desahoga uno cuando está lleno de coraje hasta la escotilla. ||||barely visible||with|||Saint|||||||mess around||jokes||we swore||insulting||||||||||saints||||||vents frustration||||full|||||hatch The fire was already flush with the Santa Bárbara, and this lady doesn't mess around with jokes... We swore, we shouted insulting God, the Virgin and all the saints, because that's how it seems that one unburdens oneself when one is full of courage to the hatch.

—¡Jesús, María y José!, ¡qué horror!—exclamó mi ama—. |||||horror||| "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! How horrible!" my mistress exclaimed. ¿Y se salvaron? ||they saved And were they saved?

—Nos salvamos cuarenta en la falúa y seis o siete en el chinchorro: éstos recogieron al segundo del  San Hermenegildo . |we save|forty|||small boat|||||||fishing boat|these|they picked up|||||Saint Hermenegild —Forty of us were saved in the barge and six or seven in the dinghy: they picked up the second from the San Hermenegildo. José Débora se aferró a un pedazo de palo y arribó más muerto que vivo a las playas de Marruecos. |||clung|||piece||stick||arrived|||||||||Morocco José Débora clung to a piece of stick and arrived more dead than alive on the beaches of Morocco.

—Los demás... la mar es grande y en ella cabe mucha gente. |others||||||||fits|| —The others... the sea is big and many people can fit in it. Dos mil hombres  apagaron fuegos aquel día, entre ellos nuestro comandante Ezguerra, y Emparán el del otro barco. |||put out|fires||||||commander|||Emparán|||| Two thousand men put out fires that day, including our commander Ezguerra, and Emparán from the other ship.

—Válgame Dios—dijo Doña Francisca—. Goodness gracious|||| "God help me," said Dona Francisca. Aunque bien empleado les está, por andarse en esos juegos. Although||employee|to them|||to mess around|||games Although well employed, for being in those games. Si se estuvieran quietecitos en sus casas como Dios manda... |||little quiet||||||commands If they were quiet in their homes as God commands...

—Pues la causa de este desastre—dijo Don Alonso, que gustaba de interesar a su mujer en tan dramáticos sucesos—, fue la siguiente. |||||disaster|||||||to interest||||||dramatic|events||| "Well, the cause of this disaster," said Don Alonso, who liked to interest his wife in such dramatic events, "was the following. Los ingleses, validos de la obscuridad de la noche, dispusieron que el navío  Soberbio , el más ligero de los que traían, apagara sus luces y se colocara entre nuestros dos hermosos barcos. ||valid|||darkness||||they arranged||||Sublime|||lightweight||||brought|would extinguish|||||would position||||beautiful| The English, valid from the darkness of the night, arranged for the Superb ship, the lightest of those they brought, to turn off their lights and place themselves between our two beautiful ships. Así lo hizo: disparó sus dos andanadas, puso su aparejo en facha con mucha presteza, orzando al mismo tiempo para librarse de la contestación. ||did|shot|||barrages|put||rigging||shape|||readiness|heeling|||||to free oneself|||response So he did: he fired his two volleys, he rigged his tackle very quickly, luffing at the same time to get rid of the reply. El  Real Carlos y el  San Hermenegildo , viéndose atacados inesperadamente, hicieron fuego; pero se estuvieron batiendo el uno contra el otro, hasta que cerca del amanecer y estando a punto de abordarse, se reconocieron y ocurrió lo que tan detalladamente te ha contado Marcial. |Royal||||||seeing themselves|attacked|unexpectedly|they fired|||||battling||||||||||dawn||||||to board||recognized||||||detailed|||counted| Real Carlos and San Hermenegildo, seeing themselves attacked unexpectedly, made fire; but they were beating each other, until near dawn and about to approach, they recognized each other and what Martial has told you so in detail.

—¡Oh!, ¡y qué bien os la jugaron!—dijo la dama—. ||||you all|||||lady "Oh! And how good they played you!" Said the lady. Estuvo bueno, aunque eso no es de gente noble. It was good, although that is not for noble people.

—Qué ha de ser—añadió Medio-hombre—. "What has to be," said Half-man. Entonces yo no los quería bien; pero  dende esa noche... Si están ellos en el Cielo, no quiero ir al Cielo,  manque me condene para toda la  enternidad ... |||||||since then|||||||||||go|||even if||condemn||||eternity So I didn't like them well; But from that night ... If they are in Heaven, I don't want to go to Heaven, so I condemn myself for all intents and purposes ...

—¿Pues y la captura de las cuatro fragatas que venían del Río de la Plata?—dijo D. Alonso animando a Marcial para que continuara sus narraciones. |||capture||||frigates|||||||||||encouraging|||||he/she/it will||narrations "Well, what about the capture of the four frigates that came from the Río de la Plata?" D. Alonso said, encouraging Marcial to continue his narratives.

—También en esa me encontré—contestó el marino—, y allí me dejaron sin pierna. |||||||||||they left||leg "I also found myself there," replied the sailor, "and there they left me without a leg." También entonces nos cogieron desprevenidos, y como estábamos en tiempo de paz, navegábamos muy tranquilos, contando ya las horas que nos faltaban para llegar, cuando de pronto... |||caught|unprepared||||||||||calm|counting||||||were missing|for|to arrive|||suddenly Then, too, they caught us off guard, and since we were in peacetime, we were sailing very calmly, already counting the hours until we arrived, when suddenly...

Le diré a usted cómo fue, señora Doña Francisca, para que vea las mañas de esa gente. |I will say||||||||||see||tricks||| I'll tell you how it went, Senora Doña Francisca, so you can see the tricks of those people. Después de lo del Estrecho, me embarqué en la  Fama para Montevideo, y ya hacía mucho tiempo que estábamos allí, cuando el jefe de la escuadra recibió orden de traer a España los caudales de Lima y Buenos Aires. ||||||embarked|||Fame||Montevideo||||||||||||||||||to bring||||funds||Lima||| After the Strait, I embarked on the Fama for Montevideo, and we had been there for a long time, when the commander of the squadron received the order to bring to Spain the funds from Lima and Buenos Aires. El viaje fue muy bueno, y no tuvimos más percance que unas calenturillas, que no mataron ni tanto así de hombre... Traíamos mucho dinero del Rey y de particulares, y también lo que llamamos la  caja de soldadas , que son los ahorrillos de la tropa que sirve en las Américas. |||||||we had||mishap|||fevers|||killed||||||We brought||||||||||||||||soldiers||||savings|||troops|||||Americas The trip was very good, and we had no more mishap than some heaters, which did not kill so much as a man ... We brought a lot of money from the King and individuals, and also what we call the welded box, which are the savings of the troop that serves in the Americas. Por junto, si no me engaño, eran cosa de cinco millones de pesos, como quien no dice nada, y además traíamos pieles de lobo, lana de vicuña, cascarilla, barras de estaño y cobre y maderas finas... Pues, señor, después de cincuenta días de navegación, el 5 de Octubre, vimos tierra, y ya contábamos entrar en Cádiz al día siguiente, cuando cátate que hacia el Nordeste se nos presentan cuatro señoras fragatas. |||||deception|||||||dollars|||||||||skins|||wool||vicuña wool|bark|bars||tin||copper||woods|||||||||||||we saw||||we were counting||||||||surprise||||Northeast|||present to us||ladies|frigates All in all, if I'm not mistaken, it was about five million pesos, as someone who doesn't say anything, and besides we brought wolf skins, vicuña wool, husk, tin and copper bars and fine wood... Well, sir, After fifty days of navigation, on October 5, we saw land, and we were already planning to enter Cádiz the next day, when we noticed that four frigate ladies appeared to us towards the Northeast.

Anque era tiempo de paz, y nuestro capitán, D. Miguel de Zapiaín, parecía no tener maldito recelo, yo, que soy perro viejo en la mar, llamé a Débora y le dije que el tiempo me olía a pólvora... Bueno: cuando las fragatas inglesas estuvieron cerca, el general mandó hacer zafarrancho; la  Fama iba delante, y al poco rato nos encontramos a tiro de pistola de una de las inglesas por barlovento. Although|||||||||||Zapiaín||||damned|suspicion|||||old||||I called||||||||||smelled like||gunpowder|||||English|||||||battle stations||Fame||in front of||||moment||||shot|||||||||windward Anque was a time of peace, and our captain, Mr. Miguel de Zapiaín, seemed to have no damn misgivings, I, who am an old dog in the sea, called Deborah and told him that time smelled like gunpowder ... Well: when the English frigates were close, the general ordered a ditch; Fame was ahead, and soon we were at gunpoint of one of the English by windward.

Entonces el capitán inglés nos habló con su bocina y nos dijo... ¡pues mire usted que me gustó la franqueza!... ||||||||horn|||||||||||frankness Then the English captain spoke to us with his horn and told us... well, look, I liked the frankness!... nos dijo que nos pusiéramos en facha porque nos iba a atacar. us|said|||we put||position|||was going|| He told us to put ourselves in front because he was going to attack us. Hizo mil preguntas; pero le dijimos que no nos daba la gana de contestar. He did|||||we said|||||||| He asked a thousand questions; but we told him that we didn't feel like answering. A todo esto, las otras tres fragatas enemigas se habían acercado a las nuestras, de tal manera que cada una de las inglesas tenía otra española por el costado de sotavento. ||||||||||approached||||||way||every|||||had|||||side||leeward Meanwhile, the other three enemy frigates had approached ours, in such a way that each of the English had another Spanish on the leeward side.

—Su posición no podía ser mejor—apuntó mi amo. ||||||pointed out|| "Your position couldn't be better," my master pointed out.

—Eso digo yo—continuó Marcial—. "That's what I say," continued Marcial. El jefe de nuestra escuadra, D. José Bustamante, anduvo poco listo, que si hubiera sido yo... Pues, señor, el  comodón (quería decir el comodoro) inglés envió a bordo de la  Medea un oficialillo de estos de cola de abadejo, el cual, sin andarse en chiquitas, dijo que  anque no estaba declarada la guerra, el  comodón tenía orden de apresarnos. |||||||Bustamante|walked|||||would have|||Well|||commodore||||commodore||sent|||||Medea||little officer||||tail||codfish||which||to mess around||little things||||||declared||||commodore||||capture us The head of our squadron, D. José Bustamante, wasn't very smart, if it had been me... Well, sir, the English commodore (he meant the commodore) sent aboard the Medea one of these little officers with the tail of a haddock , who, without beating around the bush, said that although war had not been declared, the comodon had orders to arrest us. Esto sí que se llama ser inglés. This is called being English. El combate empezó al poco rato; nuestra fragata recibió la primera andanada por babor; se le contestó al saludo, y cañonazo va, cañonazo viene... lo cierto del caso es que no metimos en un puño a aquellos herejes  por mor de que el demonio fue y pegó fuego a la Santa Bárbara de la  Mercedes , que se voló en un suspiro, ¡y todos con este suceso, nos afligimos tanto, sintiéndonos tan apocados...!, no por falta de valor, sino por aquello que dicen... en  la moral ... pues...  denque el mismo momento nos vimos perdidos. |||||||frigate||||barrage||port side|||answered||||cannon shot|||||||||||put|||apuro|||heretics||for the sake of||||demon|||set on fire||||||||the Mercedes|||blew up|||sigh|||||suceso||we were saddened||feeling so||timid|||||||||||||||since|||||saw| The combat began shortly after; our frigate received the first volley on the port side; the greeting was answered, and a cannon shot goes, a cannon shot comes... the truth of the matter is that we did not put those heretics in a fist because the devil went and set fire to Santa Bárbara de la Mercedes, which blew up in a sigh, and all of us with this event, we are so afflicted, feeling so diffident...!, not for lack of courage, but for what they say... in morals... well... give the same moment we were lost. Nuestra fragata tenía las velas con más agujeros que capa vieja, los cabos rotos, cinco pies de agua en bodega, el palo de mesana tendido, tres balazos a flor de agua y bastantes muertos y heridos. ||had||sails|||holes||cloak|||lines|broken||||||hold or storage||mast||mizzen|down||gunshots||level||||quite a few|||injured Our frigate had more holes in its sails than old skin, broken ropes, five feet of water in the hold, the mizzen mast stretched out, three shots at the surface of the water and quite a few dead and wounded. A pesar de esto, seguíamos la  cuchipanda con el inglés; pero cuando vimos que la  Medea y la  Clara , no pudiendo resistir la chamusquina, arriaban bandera, forzamos de vela y nos retiramos defendiéndonos como podíamos. |spite|||we kept||feast or party||||||||||||||being able|||smoke|lowered the flag||we set sail||sail|||we withdrew|defending ourselves|| Despite this, we continued to chat with the English; but when we saw that the Medea and the Clara, unable to resist the singe, were lowering their flag, we forced sail and retired, defending ourselves as best we could. La maldita fragata inglesa nos daba caza, y como era más velera que la nuestra, no pudimos zafarnos y tuvimos también que arriar el trapo a las tres de la tarde, cuando ya nos habían matado mucha gente, y yo estaba medio muerto sobre el sollao porque a una bala le dio la gana de quitarme la pierna. |damn|||||hunting|||||sailing|||||we couldn't|get away||we had|||lower the sail||sail|||||||||||||||||||||deck||||bullet||gave||||take away|| The damned English frigate was chasing us, and as it was more sailboat than ours, we couldn't get away and we also had to lower the rag at three in the afternoon, when many people had already killed us, and I was half dead on the sollao because a bullet wanted to take my leg off. Aquellos condenados nos llevaron a Inglaterra, no como presos, sino como detenidos; pero carta va, carta viene entre Londres y Madrid, lo cierto es que se quedaron con el dinero, y me parece que cuando a mí me nazca otra pierna, entonces el Rey de España les verá la punta del pelo a los cinco millones de pesos. |condemned people|||||||prisoners|||detained||||letter|||||||||||||||||||||||is born||leg|||||||will see||tip||hair|||||| Those condemned took us to England, not as prisoners, but as detainees; but letter goes, letter comes between London and Madrid, the truth is that they kept the money, and it seems to me that when I grow another leg, then the King of Spain will see the end of their hair at five million pesos .

—¡Pobre hombre!... -Poor man!... ¿y entonces perdiste la pata?—le dijo compasivamente Doña Francisca. ||you lost||leg|||compassionately|| And then you lost your leg?—said Doña Francisca compassionately.

—Sí señora: los ingleses, sabiendo que yo no era bailarín, creyeron que tenía bastante con una. |||||||||dancer|believed||||| —Yes, ma'am: the English, knowing that I wasn't a dancer, thought I had enough with one. En la travesía me curaron bien: en un pueblo que llaman  Plinmuf (Plymouth) estuve seis meses en el pontón, con el petate liado y la patente para el otro mundo en el bolsillo... Pero Dios quiso que no me fuera a pique tan pronto: un físico inglés me puso esta pierna de palo, que es mejor que la otra, porque aquélla me dolía de la condenada reúma, y ésta, a Dios gracias, no duele aunque la echen una descarga de metralla. ||voyage||they cured|||||||Plymouth|Plymouth||||||barracks ship|||sleeping mat|wrapped|||patent|||||||pocket|||wanted||||||sink||||physical|||||leg||leg||||||||||hurt|||damned|rheumatism|||||||hurts|||throw||blast||shrapnel On the voyage they healed me well: in a town called Plinmuf (Plymouth) I spent six months on the pontoon, with the bundled backpack and the patent for the other world in my pocket... But God wanted me not to sink so soon: an English physicist put this wooden leg on me, which is better than the other, because that one hurt me from the damned rheumatism, and this one, thank God, doesn't hurt even if they shoot it with shrapnel. En cuanto a dureza, creo que la tiene,  aunque entavía no se me ha puesto delante la popa de ningún inglés para probarla. |As||hardness||||||still|||||put|in front of||stern|||||to test it As for toughness, I think it has it, although it has not been put before me the stern of any English to prove it.

—Muy bravo estás—dijo mi ama—; quiera Dios no pierdas también la otra. |angry||||||||lose||| "You are very brave," said my mistress; God willing, don't lose the other one too. «El que busca el peligro...» "He who seeks danger..."

Concluida la relación de Marcial, se trabó de nuevo la disputa sobre si mi amo iría o no a la escuadra. Concluded||||||got stuck|||||||||would go||||| Martial's relationship concluded, the dispute arose again as to whether or not my master would go to the squadron. Persistía Doña Francisca en la negativa, y D. Alonso, que en presencia de su digna esposa era manso como un cordero, buscaba pretextos y alegaba toda clase de razones para convencerla. She persisted||||||||||||||worthy|||gentle|||||excuses||was arguing||||||to convince her Doña Francisca persisted in her refusal, and D. Alonso, who in the presence of his worthy wife was meek as a lamb, looked for pretexts and gave all kinds of reasons to convince her.

«Iremos sólo a ver, mujer; nada más que a ver—decía el héroe con mirada suplicante. We will go||||||||||||||look|pleading «We will go just to see, woman; nothing more than to see—said the hero with a pleading look.

—Dejémonos de fiestas—le contestaba su esposa—. Let's stop||parties|||| "Let's stop partying," his wife answered. Buen par de esperpentos estáis los dos. |||monstrosities|you are|| Good pair of grotesque you are both.

—La escuadra combinada—dijo Marcial—, se quedará en Cádiz, y ellos tratarán de forzar la entrada. The||||||will stay|||||they will try||to force|| "The combined squadron," said Marcial, "will stay in Cadiz, and they will try to force their way in."

—Pues entonces—añadió mi ama—, pueden ver la función desde la muralla de Cádiz; pero lo que es en los barquitos... Digo que no y que no, Alonso. |then||||can||||||wall|||||||||little boats||||||| "Well then," my mistress added, "you can see the performance from the Cádiz wall; but what is in the little boats... I say no and no, Alonso. En cuarenta años de casados no me has visto enojada (la veía todos los días); pero ahora te juro que si vas a bordo... haz cuenta de que Paquita no existe para ti. |||||||||angry||saw|||||||I swear||||||make||||||||you In forty years of marriage you have not seen me angry (I saw her every day); but now I swear to you that if you go on board... realize that Paquita doesn't exist for you.

—¡Mujer!—exclamó con aflicción mi amo—. |||affliction|| "Woman!" exclaimed my master with sorrow. ¡Y he de morirme sin tener ese gusto! |||die||have||pleasure And I must die without having that taste!

—¡Bonito gusto, hombre de Dios! "Nice taste, man of God!" ¡Ver cómo se matan esos locos! |||kill|| See how those crazy people kill themselves! Si el Rey de las Españas me hiciera caso, mandaría a paseo a los ingleses y les diría: «Mis vasallos queridos no están aquí para que ustedes se diviertan con ellos. |||||Spains||would listen||I would send||walk||||||I would say||vassals|dear||||||||have fun|| If the King of Spain listened to me, he would tell the English to go for a walk and tell them: «My dear vassals are not here for you to have fun with them. Métanse ustedes en faena unos con otros si quieren juego». Get involved|||work|||||| Get involved with each other if you want to play. ¿Qué creen? What do you think? Yo, aunque tonta, bien sé lo que hay aquí, y es que el Primer Cónsul, Emperador, Sultán, o lo que sea, quiere acometer a los ingleses, y como no tiene hombres de alma para el caso, ha embaucado a nuestro buen Rey para que le preste los suyos, y la verdad es que nos está fastidiando con sus guerras marítimas. |although|silly|well|||||||||||Consul||||||||to attack|||||||||||||||duped||||||||lend||his||||||||annoying||||maritime I, although stupid, know well what is here, and it is that the First Consul, Emperor, Sultan, or whatever, wants to attack the English, and since he does not have men of soul for that matter, he has duped our good King to lend him his, and the truth is he's bugging us with his sea wars. Díganme ustedes: ¿a España qué le va ni le viene en esto? Tell me||||||||||| You guys tell me: what's wrong with Spain in this? ¿Por qué ha de estar todos los días cañonazo y más cañonazo por una simpleza? ||||||||cannon shot||||||simplicity Why should there be a cannonade every day and more cannonade for a simple thing? Antes de esas picardías que Marcial ha contado, ¿qué daño nos habían hecho los ingleses? |||mischiefs||||told||harm||||| Before those pranks that Marcial has recounted, what damage had the English done to us? ¡Ah, si hicieran caso de lo que yo digo, el señor de Bonaparte armaría la guerra solo, o si no que no la armara! ||they would do|||||||||||would start||||||||||would start Ah, if they listened to what I say, Monsieur Bonaparte would start the war alone, or else he would not start it at all!

—Es verdad—dijo mi amo—, que la alianza con Francia nos está haciendo mucho daño, pues si algún provecho resulta es para nuestra aliada, mientras todos los desastres son para nosotros. |||||||alliance|||||doing||harm||||benefit|||||ally||||disasters||| "It's true," said my master, "that the alliance with France is doing us a lot of damage, because if any profit results, it is for our ally, while all the disasters are for us."

—Entonces, tontos rematados, ¿para qué se os calientan las pajarillas con esta guerra? |fools|foolish idiots|||||heat up||little birds||| "So, you stupid fools, why are your birds getting hot in this war?"

—El honor de nuestra nación está empeñado—contestó D. Alonso—, y una vez metidos en la danza, sería una mengua volver atrás. ||||||at stake|||||||involved|||dance|||diminution||back "The honor of our nation is in jeopardy," D. Alonso answered, "and once involved in the dance, it would be a waste to go back." Cuando estuve el mes pasado en Cádiz en el bautizo de la hija de mi primo, me decía Churruca: «Esta alianza con Francia, y el maldito tratado de San Ildefonso, que por la astucia de Bonaparte y la debilidad de Godoy se ha convertido en tratado de subsidios, serán nuestra ruina, serán la ruina de nuestra escuadra, si Dios no lo remedia, y, por tanto, la ruina de nuestras colonias y del comercio español en América. |was||month||||||baptism||||||||||||||||damned|treaty|||Ildefonso||||cunning|||||weakness||Godoy|||||||subsidies|||ruin|||||||||||fixes|||so much|||||||||||America When I was in Cadiz last month at the baptism of my cousin's daughter, Churruca told me: "This alliance with France, and the damned treaty of San Ildefonso, which due to Bonaparte's cunning and Godoy's weakness has become treaty of subsidies, they will be our ruin, they will be the ruin of our fleet, if God does not remedy it, and, therefore, the ruin of our colonies and of Spanish trade in America. Pero, a pesar de todo, es preciso seguir adelante». ||spite|||||to move|forward But, in spite of everything, it is necessary to move on.

—Bien digo yo—añadió doña Francisca—, que ese Príncipe de la Paz se está metiendo en cosas que no entiende. ||||lady||||||||||getting involved|||||understands "I'm right," Doña Francisca added, "that Prince of Peace is getting involved in things he doesn't understand." Ya se ve, ¡un hombre sin estudios! ||||||studies You see, a man without studies! Mi hermano el arcediano, que es partidario del príncipe Fernando, dice que ese señor Godoy es un alma de cántaro, y que no ha estudiado latín ni teología, pues todo su saber se reduce a tocar la guitarra y a conocer los veintidós modos de bailar la gavota. |||archdeacon|||supporter|||||||||||fool||jughead||||||||theology||||||reduces||||guitar|||||twenty-two|||||gavotte My brother the archdeacon, who is a supporter of Prince Fernando, says that Mr. Godoy is a pitcher of soul, and that he has not studied Latin or theology, since all his knowledge is reduced to playing the guitar and knowing the twenty-two ways of dancing the gavotte. Parece que por su linda cara le han hecho, primer ministro. It seems that because of his pretty face they have made him prime minister. Así andan las cosas de España; luego, hambre y más hambre... todo tan caro... la fiebre amarilla asolando a Andalucía... Está esto bonito, sí, señor... Y de ello tienen ustedes la culpa—continuó engrosando la voz y poniéndose muy encarnada—, sí señor, ustedes que ofenden a Dios matando tanta gente; ustedes, que si en vez de meterse en esos endiablados barcos, se fueran a la iglesia a rezar el rosario, no andaría Patillas tan suelto por España haciendo diabluras. |are running||||||||||||expensive||fever||devastating||Andalusia||||||||it||||||growing||||getting very||embarrassed|||||offend|||killing|so much||you||||||get involved|||devilish|||were|||church||to pray||rosary||wouldn't be|a nickname||loose||||mischief This is how things are going in Spain; then, hunger and more hunger... everything so expensive... the yellow fever ravaging Andalusia... This is beautiful, yes, sir... And you are to blame for that—he continued, his voice deepening and becoming very red —, yes sir, you who offend God by killing so many people; you, that if instead of getting into those devilish boats, you went to church to pray the rosary, Patillas wouldn't be so loose in Spain doing mischief.

—Tú irás a Cádiz también—dijo D. Alonso ansioso de despertar el entusiasmo en el pecho de su mujer—; irás a casa de Flora, y desde el mirador podrás ver cómodamente el combate, el humo, los fogonazos, las banderas... Es cosa muy bonita. |you will go|||||||anxious|||||||chest||||||||Flora||||viewpoint|||comfortably||||smoke||flashes|||||| "You will go to Cadiz too," said D. Alonso, anxious to arouse the enthusiasm in his wife's chest. You will go to Flora's house, and from the viewpoint you will be able to comfortably see the combat, the smoke, the flashes, the flags... It is a very beautiful thing.

—¡Gracias, gracias! Me caería muerta de miedo. |would fall||| I would be scared to death. Aquí nos estaremos quietos, que el que busca el peligro en él perece. ||we will be|still|||||||||perishes Here we will be quiet, that he who seeks danger in him perishes.

Así terminó aquel diálogo, cuyos pormenores he conservado en mi memoria, a pesar del tiempo transcurrido. |finished||||details||preserved|||||spite|||elapsed Thus ended that dialogue, the details of which I have preserved in my memory, despite the time that has elapsed. Mas acontece con frecuencia que los hechos muy remotos, correspondientes a nuestra infancia, permanecen grabados en la imaginación con mayor fijeza que los presenciados en edad madura, y cuando predomina sobre todas las facultades la razón. |happens|||||||remote|corresponding to|||childhood|they remain|engraved||||||fixity|||witnessed||age|mature|||dominates|||the|faculties|| But it often happens that very remote events, corresponding to our childhood, remain engraved in the imagination with greater fixity than those witnessed in mature age, and when reason prevails over all the faculties.

Aquella noche D. Alonso y Marcial siguieron conferenciando en los pocos ratos que la recelosa Doña Francisca los dejaba solos. ||||||they kept|talking||||moments|||jealous||||let| That night D. Alonso and Marcial continued conferring in the few moments that the suspicious Doña Francisca left them alone. Cuando ésta fue a la parroquia para asistir a la novena, según su piadosa costumbre, los dos marinos respiraron con libertad como escolares bulliciosos que pierden de vista al maestro. |||||parish||to attend|||novena|according to||pious|custom||||breathed||||schoolchildren|noisy||lose|||| When she went to the parish to attend the novena, according to her pious custom, the two sailors breathed freely like noisy schoolchildren who lose sight of the teacher. Encerráronse en el despacho, sacaron unos mapas y estuvieron examinándolos con gran atención; luego leyeron ciertos papeles en que había apuntados los nombres de muchos barcos ingleses con la cifra de sus cañones y tripulantes, y durante su calurosa conferencia, en que alternaba la lectura con los más enérgicos comentarios, noté que ideaban el plan de un combate naval. They locked themselves|||office|they took|||||examining them|||||they read|certain|||||written down|||||||||number|||||crew members||||heated|conference|||alternated||reading||||energetic||I noticed||they were devising|||||| They shut themselves up in the office, took out some maps and examined them with great attention; then they read certain papers in which the names of many English ships with the number of their cannons and crews had been noted, and during their heated conference, in which the reading alternated with the most energetic comments, I noticed that they were devising the plan of a naval combat.

Marcial imitaba con los gestos de su brazo y medio la marcha de las escuadras, la explosión de las andanadas; con su cabeza, el balance de los barcos combatientes; con su cuerpo, la caída de costado del buque que se va a pique; con su mano, el subir y bajar de las banderas de señal; con un ligero silbido, el mando del contramaestre; con los porrazos de su pie de palo contra el suelo, el estruendo del cañón; con su lengua estropajosa, los juramentos y singulares voces del combate; y como mi amo le secundase en esta tarea con la mayor gravedad, quise yo también echar mi cuarto a espadas, alentado por el ejemplo, y dando natural desahogo a esa necesidad devoradora de meter ruido que domina el temperamento de los chicos con absoluto imperio. |imitated|||||||||||||squadrons|||||barrages|||head||balance||||fighters|||||fall||side||ship|||||sink|||||to rise|||||||signal|||light|whistle||command||bosun|||thumps|||||leg|||floor||ruckus||||||ragged||oaths||singular||||and|||||to assist|||task|||||I wanted|||throw||quarter||espadas|encouraged|||||giving||release outlet||||devouring||make noise|noise||||||||||empire With the gestures of his arm and a half, Marcial imitated the march of the squads, the explosion of the volleys; with his head, the balance of the fighting ships; with his body, the falling side of the sinking ship; with his hand, the raising and lowering of the signal flags; with a slight whistle, the bosun's command; with the blows of his wooden foot against the ground, the roar of the cannon; with his scruffy tongue, the oaths and singular voices of combat; and as my master seconded him in this task with the greatest seriousness, I also wanted to throw my room into the sword, encouraged by example, and giving natural outlet to that devouring need to make noise that dominates the temperament of boys with absolute empire. Sin poderme contener, viendo el entusiasmo de los dos marinos, comencé a dar vueltas por la habitación, pues la confianza con que por mi amo era tratado me autorizaba a ello; remedé con la cabeza y los brazos la disposición de una nave que ciñe el viento, y al mismo tiempo profería, ahuecando la voz, los retumbantes monosílabos que más se parecen al ruido de un cañonazo, tales como ¡bum, bum, bum!... |to contain myself|contain|||||||||||turns|||||||||||||treated||authorized|||mimicked|||||||||||ship||beats to wind|||||||uttered|hollowing out||||rumbling|monosyllables||||||noise|||cannon shot|||boom|| Without being able to contain myself, seeing the enthusiasm of the two sailors, I began to walk around the room, because the trust with which I was treated by my master authorized me to do so; I imitated with my head and arms the disposition of a ship that girds the wind, and at the same time I uttered, hollowing my voice, the resounding monosyllables that most resemble the noise of a cannon shot, such as boom, boom, boom! .. Mi respetable amo, el mutilado marinero, tan niños como yo en aquella ocasión, no pararon mientes en lo que yo hacía, pues harto les embargaban sus propios pensamientos. ||||mutilated|sailor|||as||||||didn't pay|you lie|||||was doing||enough||were occupying||| My respectable master, the mutilated sailor, as young as I was at that time, did not stop thinking about what I was doing, because their own thoughts were too much for them.

¡Cuánto me he reído después recordando aquella escena, y cuán cierto es, por lo que respecta a mis compañeros en aquel juego, que el entusiasmo de la ancianidad convierte a los viejos en niños, renovando las travesuras de la cuna al borde mismo del sepulcro! |||laughed||remembering||||||||||regards|||||||||||||turns into||||||renewing||mischiefs|||crib||edge|||tomb How much I laughed after remembering that scene, and how true it is, as far as my companions in that game are concerned, that the enthusiasm of old age turns old people into children, renewing the pranks of the cradle to the very edge of the sepulchre. !

Muy enfrascados estaban ellos en su conferencia, cuando sintieron los pasos de Doña Francisca que volvía de la novena. |engrossed|||||||they felt|||||||was returning|||ninth (or nov They were very involved in their conference, when they heard the footsteps of Doña Francisca who was returning from the novena.

«¡Qué viene!—exclamó Marcial con terror. |||Martial|| "What's coming!" Marcial exclaimed with terror.

Y al punto guardaron los planos, disimulando su excitación, y pusiéronse a hablar de cosas indiferentes. |||they hid||plans|hiding||excitement|||||||indifferent things And immediately they put away the plans, concealing their excitement, and began to talk about indifferent things. Pero yo, bien porque la sangre juvenil no podía aplacarse fácilmente, bien porque no observé a tiempo la entrada de mi ama, seguí en medio del cuarto demostrando mi enajenación con frases como éstas, pronunciadas con el mayor desparpajo: ¡la mura a estribor!... ||||||youthful|||calm down|||||I observed||||||||I kept|||||demonstrating||alienation|||||pronounced||||effrontery||wall||starboard But I, either because the youthful blood could not be easily appeased, or because I did not observe my mistress's entrance in time, continued in the middle of the room demonstrating my alienation with phrases like these, pronounced with the greatest self-confidence: the starboard wall! ... ¡orza!... hurry up luff!... ¡la andanada de sotavento!... |barrage||lee side the lee barrage!... ¡fuego!... fire!... ¡bum, bum!... Ella se llegó a mí furiosa, y sin previo aviso me descargó en la popa la andanada de su mano derecha con tan buena puntería, que me hizo ver las estrellas. ||came|||||||notice||unloaded|||stern||||||||||aim|||made|see|| She came up to me in a rage, and without warning unloaded the volley of her right hand on the stern with such good aim that it made me see the stars.

«¡También tú!—gritó vapuleándome sin compasión—. |||beating me||compassion "You too!" he shouted, beating me mercilessly. Ya ves—añadió mirando a su marido con centelleantes ojos—: tú le enseñas a que pierda el respeto... ¿Te has creído que estás todavía en la Caleta, pedazo de zascandil? ||||||husband||sparkling||||you teach|||lose|||||conceited||||||cove|piece||rascal You see," she added, looking at her husband with sparkling eyes, "you teach him to lose respect... Do you think you're still in La Caleta, you piece of zascandil?

La zurra continuó en la forma siguiente: yo caminando a la cocina, lloroso y avergonzado, después de arriada la bandera de mi dignidad, y sin pensar en defenderme contra tan superior enemigo; Doña Francisca detrás dándome caza y poniendo a prueba mi pescuezo con los repetidos golpes de su mano. |beating|||||||||||tearful||embarrassed|||lowering||||||||||to defend myself|||||||behind|giving me|hunting||putting||test||neck|||repeated|hits||| The spanking continued in the following way: me walking to the kitchen, tearful and ashamed, after lowering the flag of my dignity, and without thinking of defending myself against such a superior enemy; Doña Francisca behind, chasing me and testing my neck with the repeated blows of her hand. En la cocina eché el ancla, lloroso, considerando cuán mal había concluido mi combate naval. |||I threw||anchor|tearful||how||had|finished||| In the galley I dropped anchor, tearful, considering how badly my naval combat had ended.