# The Seven Madmen, The Whip

Los siete locos · Roberto Arlt · Part Two

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/arlt/el-latigo. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/arlt/el-latigo.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/arlt/<line id>.m4a.


La treta ideada por Erdosain y llevada a cabo por el Astrólogo tuvo éxito, y éste resolvió que el día miércoles se llevara a cabo la primera reunión en la que se conocerían los «jefes».  
The ploy conceived by Erdosain and carried out by the Astrologer was a success, and the latter decided that on Wednesday the first meeting would be held, at which the "chiefs" would meet one another.
> Imperfect subjunctive after «resolver que»: «resolvió que… se llevara a cabo» uses the imperfect subjunctive «llevara» because the main verb «resolver» ('to decide / resolve that') imposes a wish or order on what follows. «Llevar a cabo» is a fixed idiom meaning 'to carry out / accomplish'.

El día martes, a las cuatro de la tarde, Erdosain recibió la visita del Astrólogo, quien le avisó que el miércoles de esa semana, a las nueve de la mañana, se reunirían los jefes en Temperley.  
On Tuesday, at four in the afternoon, Erdosain received a visit from the Astrologer, who told him that on the Wednesday of that week, at nine in the morning, the chiefs would gather in Temperley.
> «quien» as a relative pronoun for people: «quien» ('who') introduces a non-restrictive relative clause referring to a person, here the Astrologer. After a comma it adds extra information, much like English 'who' in 'the Astrologer, who told him…'.

El Astrólogo permaneció en compañía de Erdosain unos minutos, y cuando éste bajaba la escalera, examinando sobresaltado su reloj, dijo a aquél:  
The Astrologer stayed in Erdosain's company a few minutes, and as Erdosain was going down the stairs, examining his watch with a start, he said to the Astrologer:
> «éste» vs. «aquél» (the latter / the former): Spanish uses «éste» ('this one', the latter — nearer in the text) and «aquél» ('that one', the former — farther back) to keep two people straight. The last-mentioned here is Erdosain, so «éste» is Erdosain going down the stairs, and «aquél» is the Astrologer he speaks to.

–Caramba... son las cuatro, tengo que ir a un montón de sitios... lo espero mañana a las nueve...  
–Good grief... it's four o'clock, I have to go to a heap of places... I'll expect you tomorrow at nine...
> «tener que» + infinitive (obligation): «tener que» followed by an infinitive expresses necessity or obligation: «tengo que ir» = 'I have to go'. It is the everyday way to say one must do something.

¡Ay! yo he pensado que el único que podía desempeñar el puesto de Jefe de Industrias era usted.  
Ah! I have thought that the only one who could fill the post of Chief of Industries was you.
> «desempeñar» — to perform / hold (a post): «desempeñar» means to carry out a role or hold an office: «desempeñar el puesto» = 'to fill / hold the position'. It is the standard verb for occupying a job or playing a part.

Bueno, mañana conversaremos... ¡Ah!, no se olvide de presentar... mejor dicho, de prepararse un proyecto sobre turbinas hidráulicas, un tipo para usina de montaña, sencillo.  
Well, tomorrow we'll talk... Ah!, don't forget to present... better said, to prepare a project on hydraulic turbines, a model for a mountain power plant, a simple one.
> Negative «usted» command with a pronoun: «no se olvide» is a negative formal command of «olvidarse» ('to forget'). In the negative the pronoun «se» comes before the verb: 'don't forget'. The verb uses the subjunctive form «olvide» for the «usted» imperative.
Sería para la colonia y los trabajos de electrometalurgia.  
It would be for the colony and the electrometallurgy works.

–¿Cuántos kilowats?  
–How many kilowatts?

–No sé... eso debe estudiarlo usted.  
–I don't know... that you must study yourself.
> Enclitic object pronoun on an infinitive: In «debe estudiarlo», the object pronoun «lo» ('it') is attached to the end of the infinitive «estudiar». With «deber» + infinitive the pronoun may ride on the infinitive («estudiarlo») or stand before «debe» («lo debe estudiar»).
Habrá hornos eléctricos... en fin, arrégleselas usted.  
There will be electric furnaces... anyway, you sort it out yourself.
> «arreglárselas» — to manage / cope: «arreglárselas» is an idiom meaning 'to manage', 'to get by', 'to sort things out for oneself'. The formal command «arrégleselas usted» tells Erdosain to figure it out on his own.
Además, ha llegado el Buscador de Oro, mañana él le dará detalles más concretos.  
Besides, the Gold Seeker has arrived; tomorrow he'll give you more concrete details.
Prepárese para que no lo sorprenda el asunto.  
Get yourself ready so the matter doesn't catch you off guard.
> «para que» + subjunctive (purpose): «para que» ('so that', 'in order that') always takes the subjunctive when the two clauses have different subjects. Here «sorprenda» is the present subjunctive of «sorprender» — 'so that the matter does not surprise you'.
Diablo, se hace tarde... hasta mañana... –arreglándose la chistera llamó a un chofer que pasaba y se acomodó en el automóvil.  
Devil, it's getting late... until tomorrow... –adjusting his top hat, he hailed a passing chauffeur and settled into the automobile.
> «hacerse» — to get / become: «hacerse» is a pronominal verb of change: «se hace tarde» = 'it is getting late'. The reflexive «se» turns «hacer» ('to make') into 'to become', describing a state coming on by itself.

Al día siguiente, Erdosain, caminando por las veredas de Temperley, observaba asombrado que hacía mucho tiempo que no gozaba de una emoción de sosiego semejante.  
The next day, Erdosain, walking along the sidewalks of Temperley, noticed in astonishment that it had been a long time since he had felt such a sense of calm.
> «vereda» — sidewalk (River Plate): In Argentina and Uruguay «vereda» means 'sidewalk / pavement', where most of the Spanish-speaking world says «acera». It is one of the everyday Río de la Plata words that color Arlt's Buenos Aires.
> «hacía… que» for elapsed time: «hacía mucho tiempo que no gozaba» = 'it had been a long time since he had enjoyed'. The construction «hacía + time + que» in the imperfect describes how long a situation had been going on in the past.

Caminaba despacio.  
He walked slowly.
Aquellos túneles vegetales le daban la sensación de un trabajo titánico y disforme.  
Those tunnels of greenery gave him the impression of a titanic, misshapen labor.
Miraba deleitado los senderos de grano rojo en los parques, que avanzaban sus láminas escarlatas hasta los prados, manteles verdes esmaltados de flores violáceas, amarillas y rojas.  
Delighted, he looked at the paths of red gravel in the parks, which pushed their scarlet sheets out toward the meadows, green tablecloths enameled with violet, yellow, and red flowers.
> Past participle as a predicate adjective: «deleitado» ('delighted') is a past participle used here as an adjective describing the subject as he acts: 'he looked, delighted'. It agrees with the masculine singular subject and adds the manner or mood of the action.
Y si levantaba los ojos, se encontraba con aguanosos pozales en el cenit, que le producían un vértigo de caída, pues de pronto el cielo desaparecía en sus pupilas y le dejaba en los ojos una negrura de ceguera, aclarándose el pensamiento en un furtivo mariposeo de átomos de plata, que a su vez se evaporaban, transformándose en terribles azulencos ásperos y secos, ahora en lo alto, como cavernas de azul metileno.  
And if he raised his eyes, he met watery pools at the zenith that gave him a vertigo of falling, for all at once the sky vanished in his pupils and left a blackness of blindness in his eyes, the mind clearing in a furtive fluttering of silver atoms that in turn evaporated, turning into terrible harsh, dry blues, now overhead, like caverns of methylene blue.
> «pues» — for / since (causal): Here «pues» means 'for' or 'since', introducing the reason for what came before: 'a vertigo of falling, for all at once the sky vanished'. In other contexts «pues» can also be a filler ('well…').
Y el placer que la mañana suscitaba en él, el goce nuevo, soldaba los trozos de su personalidad, rota por los anteriores sufrimientos del desastre, y sentía que su cuerpo estaba ágil para toda aventura.  
And the pleasure the morning stirred in him, the new joy, welded back the pieces of his personality, broken by the earlier sufferings of the disaster, and he felt that his body was nimble for any adventure.
> Imperfect for the sustained scene: The string of imperfects «suscitaba», «soldaba», «sentía» holds the whole morning open as an ongoing experience rather than a finished event. Arlt favors the imperfect to let these descriptions hover without closing.

–Augusto Remo Erdosain –tal como si pronunciar su nombre le produjera un placer físico, que duplicaba la energía infiltrada en sus miembros por el movimiento.  
–Augusto Remo Erdosain –just as if pronouncing his name gave him a physical pleasure, one that doubled the energy infiltrated into his limbs by the motion.
> «como si» + imperfect subjunctive: «como si» ('as if') always triggers the imperfect subjunctive, here «produjera». It frames a hypothetical, unreal comparison: 'as if saying his name gave him pleasure'.

Por las calles oblicuas, bajo los conos del sol, avanzaba sintiendo la potencia de su personalidad flamante: Jefe de Industrias.  
Through the slanting streets, beneath the cones of sunlight, he advanced, feeling the power of his brand-new identity: Chief of Industries.
> «flamante» — brand-new: «flamante» means 'brand-new', 'fresh', often with a shine of pride. Applied to «personalidad» it suggests Erdosain wears his new title like a gleaming new suit.
La frescura del camino botánico le enriquecía de grandores la conciencia.  
The freshness of the botanical path enriched his consciousness with grandeurs.
Y esta satisfacción lo aplomaba en las calles, como a esos muñecos de celuloide el lastre de plomo.  
And this satisfaction steadied him in the streets, the way a lead ballast steadies those celluloid dolls.
> «aplomar» — to steady / give poise: «aplomar» means to make something plumb, steady, or self-assured (the noun «aplomo» = 'composure'). The satisfaction gives Erdosain ballast, like the lead weight that keeps a toy doll upright.

Pensaba que se mostraría irónico en la reunión, y un desprecio malévolo le surgía para los débiles del mundo.  
He thought he would show himself ironic at the meeting, and a malevolent contempt rose in him for the weak of the world.
El planeta era de los fuertes, eso mismo, de los fuertes.  
The planet belonged to the strong, that's it, to the strong.
> «ser de» for possession: «ser de» expresses belonging or ownership: «el planeta era de los fuertes» = 'the planet belonged to the strong'. Literally 'was of the strong', it marks whose the planet is.
Arrasarían al mundo y se presentarían a la canalla que se encalla el trasero en las butacas de todas las oficinas, blindados de grandeza, semejantes a emperadores solitarios y crueles.  
They would lay the world waste and present themselves before the rabble who run aground their backsides in the armchairs of every office, armored with grandeur, like solitary and cruel emperors.
> «la canalla» — the rabble / scum: «la canalla» is a collective, contemptuous word for the mob, the riffraff, despicable people. Arlt's narrators hurl it at the timid office-bound multitude they dream of trampling.
Se imaginaban nuevamente en un desmesurado salón de muros encristalados cuyo centro lo ocupaba una mesa redonda.  
They imagined themselves once more in an enormous hall with glassed-in walls, the center of which was taken up by a round table.
> «cuyo» — whose (relative): «cuyo» is the relative possessive 'whose / of which', and it agrees with the thing possessed, not the owner. «cuyo centro» = 'the center of which', agreeing with masculine «centro».
Sus cuatro secretarios con papeles en las manos y las plumas tras de la oreja se acercaban a consultarle, mientras que en un rincón, con los sombreros en las manos, inclinadas las cabezas canosas, estaban los delegados de los obreros.  
His four secretaries, papers in their hands and pens behind their ears, would come up to consult him, while in a corner, hats in their hands, their gray heads bowed, stood the delegates of the workers.
Y Erdosain volviéndose hacia ellos les decía simplemente: «O mañana vuelven al trabajo o los fusilaremos».  
And Erdosain, turning toward them, would say to them simply: "Either you go back to work tomorrow or we'll shoot you."
> «o… o…» — either… or…: The paired «o… o…» frames an exclusive choice: 'either… or…'. Here it issues an ultimatum — go back to work, or be shot — with no third option.
> «fusilar» — to shoot (by firing squad): «fusilar» specifically means to execute by firing squad, not merely 'to shoot'. The word recurs through the chapter — «fusilamientos», «fusilamos» — as the keynote of Erdosain's fantasy of revolutionary power.
Eso era todo.  
That was all.
Hablaba poco y en voz baja, y su brazo estaba fatigado de firmar decretos.  
He spoke little and in a low voice, and his arm was weary from signing decrees.

Lo mantenía en pie la ferocidad de los tiempos que necesitaban el alma de un tigre para adornar los confines de todos los crepúsculos de siniestros fusilamientos.  
What held him upright was the ferocity of the times, which needed the soul of a tiger to adorn the edges of every twilight with sinister executions.
> «mantener en pie» — to keep standing: «mantener en pie» means 'to keep (something or someone) standing / on its feet'. The fronted object «Lo mantenía en pie la ferocidad» = 'the ferocity… kept him standing', with the real subject placed at the end for emphasis.

Avanzaba ahora hacia la quinta del Astrólogo con el corazón batiente de entusiasmo, repitiéndose la frase de Lenin, como una musiquita llena de voluptuosidad:  
He was now advancing toward the Astrologer's estate, his heart pounding with enthusiasm, repeating to himself Lenin's phrase like a little tune full of voluptuousness:
> «quinta» — country house / estate: A «quinta» is a country house or villa with grounds, on the outskirts of a city. The Astrologer's «quinta» in Temperley, a suburb south of Buenos Aires, is the secret headquarters of the conspiracy.

«–¡Qué diablo de revolución es ésta si no fusilamos a nadie!».  
"–What the devil kind of revolution is this if we shoot no one!"
> Double negative «no… nadie»: Spanish requires the double negative: «no fusilamos a nadie» = 'we shoot no one'. When a negative word like «nadie» follows the verb, «no» must precede the verb. The personal «a» appears before «nadie» as the human object.

Al llegar a la quinta y entreabrir una de las puertas, vio venir a su encuentro al Astrólogo, cubierto de un largo guardapolvo gris y un sombrero de paja.  
On reaching the estate and pushing one of the doors ajar, he saw the Astrologer coming to meet him, covered in a long gray duster and a straw hat.
> «Al» + infinitive (on doing): «Al» followed by an infinitive means 'on / upon doing something': «al llegar» = 'on arriving'. One «al» can govern two infinitives — «al llegar… y entreabrir» = 'on reaching… and pushing ajar' — compressing a clause of time into a few words.

Con amistad se estrecharon fuertemente las manos al tiempo que decía el Astrólogo:  
In friendship they shook hands firmly while the Astrologer said:
> Reciprocal «se» — to each other: «se estrecharon… las manos» uses the reciprocal «se» ('one another'): the two men shake each other's hands. The plural reflexive marks a mutual action between the subjects.

Barsut está tranquilo, ¿sabe?  
Barsut is calm, you know?
Yo creo que no va a oponer mucha resistencia para firmar el cheque.  
I think he won't put up much resistance to signing the check.
> «ir a» + infinitive (near future): «ir a» plus an infinitive expresses the near or intended future: «no va a oponer» = 'he is not going to put up'. It is the colloquial counterpart of the simple future tense.
Ya llegaron esos tipos, pero primero veremos a Barsut.  
Those fellows have already arrived, but first we'll see Barsut.
> «tipo» — guy / fellow: «tipo» is informal for 'guy', 'fellow', 'bloke'. «esos tipos» = 'those guys / those characters', a casual, slightly dismissive way to refer to the chiefs who have shown up.
¡Que esperen, qué diablo!  
Let them wait, what the devil!
> «Que» + subjunctive as a third-person command: «¡Que esperen!» = 'Let them wait!'. «Que» plus the present subjunctive expresses an indirect command or wish toward someone not present — the speaker orders the waiting chiefs at a distance.
¿Se da cuenta usted de mi situación?  
Do you realize my situation?
> «darse cuenta de» — to realize: «darse cuenta de» means 'to realize / become aware of'. The formal «¿se da cuenta usted?» = 'do you realize?', addressed with «usted». Do not confuse it with «dar cuenta de» ('to account for'), a different idiom.
Con ese dinero el mundo es nuestro.  
With that money the world is ours.

Ahora habían entrado al escritorio y el Astrólogo, haciendo girar el anillo con la piedra violeta y mirando el mapa de Estados Unidos, prosiguió:  
By now they had entered the study, and the Astrologer, turning the ring with the violet stone and looking at the map of the United States, went on:
> Pluperfect — an action before the past: «habían entrado» is the pluperfect (past perfect): 'they had entered'. It places this action before the main past narration that follows, setting the scene that is already in place when the Astrologer speaks.

–Conquistaremos la tierra, realizaremos nuestra «idea»... podemos instalar un prostíbulo en San Martín o en Ciudadela, y la colonia de los Santos en la montaña.  
–We will conquer the earth, we will realize our "idea"... we can set up a brothel in San Martín or in Ciudadela, and the colony of the Saints in the mountains.
> The simple future tense: «conquistaremos» and «realizaremos» are simple futures ('we will conquer', 'we will realize'), formed by adding endings (-emos) to the infinitive. The Astrologer uses the grand future to lay out the megalomaniac plan.
¿Quién más apto para regentear el prostíbulo que el Rufián Melancólico?  
Who is more fit to run the brothel than the Melancholy Ruffian?
> «regentear» — to manage / run: «regentear» means to manage or run an establishment, often with a sense of presiding over it. Here it is the brothel that the Melancholy Ruffian (a pimp character) is judged best suited to operate.
Le nombraremos Gran Patriarca Prostibulario.  
We will name him Grand Brothel Patriarch.

Erdosain se acercó a la ventana...  
Erdosain went up to the window...
Los rosales vertían un perfume potentísimo, agudo, todo el espacio se poblaba de una fragancia roja, fresca como un caudal de agua.  
The rosebushes poured out a most powerful, sharp perfume; the whole space filled with a red fragrance, cool as a flow of water.
> Absolute superlative «-ísimo»: The suffix «-ísimo» forms the absolute superlative: «potentísimo» = 'extremely / most powerful', without comparing to anything else. It intensifies the adjective the way English 'very / utterly' would.
Moscardones de alas de cristal revoloteaban en torno de las manchas escarlatas de los granados.  
Blowflies with crystal wings fluttered around the scarlet patches of the pomegranate trees.
Erdosain permaneció algunos segundos así.  
Erdosain stayed like that for some seconds.
El espectáculo lo retrotrajo a la idéntica tarde aquella en que había estado allí, en el mismo lugar.  
The sight carried him back to that very same afternoon when he had been there, in the same place.
> «retrotraer» — to carry back (in time): «retrotraer» means to take or carry something back to an earlier point, especially in time or memory. «lo retrotrajo a… aquella tarde» = 'carried him back to that afternoon'. It is irregular like «traer» («retrotrajo» in the preterite).
Y sin embargo, no se imaginaba que la noche lo esperaba con la sorpresa de la partida de Elsa.  
And yet, he did not imagine that the night awaited him with the surprise of Elsa's departure.
> «sin embargo» — nevertheless / and yet: «sin embargo» is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning 'however', 'nevertheless', 'and yet'. It introduces a contrast — the calm sight versus the catastrophe the night holds in store.

El verdor multiforme penetraba por sus ojos, pero él no lo veía.  
The many-shaped greenery entered through his eyes, but he did not see it.
Allá en el fondo de su existencia, con la mejilla apoyada en los pezones violetas de un cuadrado pecho masculino, estaba su esposa, lánguida, la mirada floja, los labios entreabiertos para la obscena boca del otro.  
There in the depths of his existence, her cheek resting on the violet nipples of a square male chest, was his wife, languid, her gaze slack, her lips parted for the obscene mouth of the other man.
> «con» + noun + past participle: «con la mejilla apoyada» = 'with her cheek resting / leaning'. This «con» + noun + past participle pattern describes a posture or accompanying state; «apoyada» agrees with feminine «mejilla».

Un pájaro pasó ante sus ojos, y Erdosain volviéndose al Astrólogo, dijo con voz forzadamente suave:  
A bird passed before his eyes, and Erdosain, turning to the Astrologer, said in a forcedly gentle voice:

–Hombre, haga usted lo que quiera.  
–Man, do whatever you want.
> Subjunctive after «lo que» (whatever): «lo que quiera» = 'whatever you want'. The present subjunctive «quiera» turns the relative «lo que» into an open, unspecified 'whatever', leaving the choice undetermined.
–Luego sentóse, encendió un cigarrillo y observándolo al otro, que con un compás marcaba un círculo en un mapa azul, preguntó–: ¿Pero qué piensa hacer usted?  
–Then he sat down, lit a cigarette, and watching the other man, who with a compass was drawing a circle on a blue map, asked–: But what do you intend to do?
> Enclitic pronoun on a finite verb: «sentóse» is «se sentó» ('he sat down') with the reflexive pronoun attached to the end of the conjugated verb — a literary inversion Arlt favors. The accent on «sentóse» keeps the original stress.
¿El Rufián Melancólico se prestará para administrar los prostíbulos?  
Will the Melancholy Ruffian be willing to manage the brothels?
> «prestarse a/para» — to be willing / lend oneself: «prestarse a/para» means 'to be willing to', 'to lend oneself to (doing) something'. «¿se prestará para administrar?» asks whether the Ruffian will agree to run the brothels.

–Sí, de eso no hay cuidado y Barsut no va a oponer mayor resistencia.  
–Yes, no worry about that, and Barsut won't put up much resistance.
> «no hay cuidado» — no need to worry: «no hay cuidado» is a set phrase meaning 'there's nothing to worry about', 'rest easy'. «de eso no hay cuidado» = 'no worries on that score'.

–¿Siempre está en la cochera?  
–Is he still in the coach house?
> «cochera» — coach house / garage: A «cochera» is a coach house or garage — the outbuilding where carriages or cars are kept. In this scene it adjoins the stable («caballeriza») where Barsut is held prisoner.

–Me pareció prudente secuestrarlo.  
–It seemed prudent to me to kidnap him.
Lo encadené en la caballeriza.  
I chained him up in the stable.
> «caballeriza» — stable: A «caballeriza» is a stable for horses (from «caballo», 'horse'). The Astrologer chooses it as the one solid place to chain Barsut.

–¿En la caballeriza?  
–In the stable?

–Era el único lugar sólido donde lo podía guardar.  
–It was the only solid place where I could keep him.
Además, en una pieza arriba de la cochera duerme el Hombre que vio a la Partera...  
Besides, in a room above the coach house sleeps the Man Who Saw the Midwife...
> «pieza» — room (River Plate): In River Plate Spanish «pieza» commonly means 'room', especially a bedroom — where Spain would more often say «habitación» or «cuarto». «una pieza arriba de la cochera» = 'a room above the coach house'.

–¿Qué es eso?  
–What is that?

–Algún día le contaré.  
–Some day I'll tell you.
Vio la partera y no puede dormir de noche.  
He saw the midwife and can't sleep at night.
Bueno, yo había pensado que usted...  
Well, I had thought that you...

–¿Cómo, voy a ser el que...?  
–What, am I to be the one who...?

–Déjeme hablar.  
–Let me speak.
> «dejar» + infinitive (to let): «dejar» + infinitive means 'to let / allow someone do something'. «Déjeme hablar» is the formal «usted» command of «dejar» with «me» attached: 'let me speak'.
Que usted lo viera y tratara de convencerlo para que firmara, en fin, que le expusiera nuestras ideas...  
That you should see him and try to convince him to sign, in short, that you should lay out our ideas to him...
> A chain of imperfect subjunctives: «viera», «tratara», «firmara», «expusiera» are all imperfect subjunctives expressing what the Astrologer wishes Erdosain to do. The wish reaches back through «yo había pensado que…», so every subordinate verb stays in the subjunctive.

–Va a haber que hacerlo firmar a la fuerza...  
–We're going to have to make him sign by force...
> «haber que» — impersonal obligation: «hay que» / «haber que» + infinitive states an impersonal necessity: 'one must / it is necessary to'. «va a haber que hacerlo firmar» = 'it's going to be necessary to make him sign'. «a la fuerza» = 'by force'.

–Pero, ¿cómo?  
–But how so?
Yo, naturalmente, soy enemigo de la violencia, pero usted me entiende.  
I, naturally, am an enemy of violence, but you understand me.
Nuestra idea está por encima de todo sentimentalismo, de eso es lo que usted debe enterarlo a Barsut, en fin, que nosotros no quisiéramos vernos en la obligación de tostarle los pies u otra cosa peor... para que nos firmara el cheque.  
Our idea stands above all sentimentality; that is what you must make Barsut aware of — in short, that we would not want to find ourselves obliged to roast his feet or something worse... to get him to sign the check for us.
> «por encima de» — above / over: «por encima de» means 'above', 'over', or figuratively 'beyond / superior to': «está por encima de todo sentimentalismo» = 'stands above all sentimentality'.
> Imperfect subjunctive as soft conditional: «no quisiéramos» ('we would not want') is the imperfect subjunctive of «querer» used to soften a statement, like a conditional. It makes the menace politely hypothetical — 'we wouldn't want to have to roast his feet'.

–¿Y usted está dispuesto?  
–And are you prepared to?
> «estar dispuesto a» — to be willing / ready: «estar dispuesto (a)» means 'to be willing / ready / prepared (to)'. «¿está dispuesto?» asks whether the Astrologer is ready to go through with the torture.

–Sí, nosotros estamos dispuestos porque no podemos perder esta única oportunidad.  
–Yes, we are prepared, because we cannot lose this one and only chance.
Yo contaba con su invento de la rosa de cobre, pero eso es lento.  
I was counting on your invention of the copper rose, but that is slow.
> «contar con» — to count on / rely on: «contar con» means 'to count on', 'to rely on', or 'to have available'. «yo contaba con su invento» = 'I was counting on your invention'. Do not read «contar» here as 'to tell' or 'to count numbers'.
Al Rufián Melancólico no conviene pedirle dinero.  
It's not advisable to ask the Melancholy Ruffian for money.
> «convenir» — to be advisable: «convenir» here means 'to be advisable / suitable'. Used impersonally, «no conviene pedirle dinero» = 'it is not advisable to ask him for money'. The fronted «Al Rufián Melancólico» marks the indirect object echoed by «le».

Si no lo tiene lo pondremos en un apuro, y si lo tiene y no nos lo quiere dar, perderemos un amigo.  
If he doesn't have it we'll put him in a tight spot, and if he has it and won't give it to us, we'll lose a friend.
> «apuro» — a tight spot / jam: «apuro» means a difficulty, predicament, or jam: «poner en un apuro» = 'to put in a tight spot / embarrass'. In some regions «apuro» also means 'haste', but here it is the bind they would put the Ruffian in.
El hecho de que haya sido generoso con usted no quiere decir que lo sea con nosotros.  
The fact that he has been generous with you doesn't mean he'll be so with us.
> «el hecho de que» + subjunctive: «el hecho de que» ('the fact that') normally takes the subjunctive — «haya sido» (present perfect subjunctive). «no quiere decir que lo sea» again forces the subjunctive «sea» after a negated 'mean that'.
Además, es un neurasténico que no sabe lo que da de sí.  
Besides, he's a neurasthenic who doesn't know what he's good for.
> «dar de sí» — to be capable of / yield: «dar de sí» is an idiom meaning 'to yield', 'to stretch', or figuratively 'to be capable of': «no sabe lo que da de sí» = 'doesn't know what he's capable of / what he has in him'.

Erdosain miraba por los cuadriláteros formados por los hierros de la ventana, las manchas escarlatas en las copas verdes de los granados.  
Erdosain looked, through the quadrangles formed by the iron bars of the window, at the scarlet patches in the green crowns of the pomegranate trees.
Una franja amarilla de sol cortaba el muro en lo alto de la estancia.  
A yellow band of sun cut across the wall high up in the room.
> «estancia» — room (here): «estancia» can mean a stay/sojourn, or in Argentina a large ranch, but here it simply means 'room / chamber' — the study where the two men talk. Context decides which sense is meant.
Una tristeza enorme pasó por su corazón.  
An enormous sadness passed through his heart.
¿Qué es lo que había hecho de su vida?  
What was it that he had made of his life?
> «¿Qué es lo que…?» — what is it that…: «¿Qué es lo que…?» is an emphatic way to ask 'what?', literally 'what is it that…?'. It adds weight to the question. «había hecho» is the pluperfect — 'had made / done'.

El astrólogo reparó en su silencio y dijo:  
The Astrologer noticed his silence and said:
> «reparar en» — to notice: «reparar en» means 'to notice', 'to take note of': «reparó en su silencio» = 'he noticed his silence'. Without «en», «reparar» means 'to repair / mend', a quite different verb.

–Vea, Erdosain.  
–Look here, Erdosain.
> «Vea» — formal command of «ver»: «Vea» is the «usted» imperative of «ver» ('to see'), used here as a discourse marker: 'Look', 'Look here', 'See now'. It signals the start of an argument the speaker wants you to attend to.
No nos queda otro remedio que afrontar todo o abandonar.  
We have no choice left but to face everything or give up.
> «no quedar otro remedio que» — no choice but: «no quedar otro remedio que» is an idiom: 'to have no other choice / no alternative but to'. «no nos queda otro remedio que afrontar» = 'we have no choice but to face up to it'.
La vida es así, triste... ¿pero qué quiere que hagamos?  
Life is like that, sad... but what do you want us to do?
> «querer que» + subjunctive: «querer que» ('to want that') takes the subjunctive in the subordinate clause: «¿qué quiere que hagamos?» = 'what do you want us to do?'. «hagamos» is the present subjunctive of «hacer».
Yo también sé que lo agradable sería hacer las cosas sin sacrificios.  
I too know that the pleasant thing would be to do things without sacrifices.
> «lo» + adjective (the … thing): «lo» plus a masculine-singular adjective forms an abstract noun: «lo agradable» = 'the pleasant thing', 'what is pleasant'. Spanish uses this «lo» + adjective pattern constantly to talk about a quality in the abstract.

–Es que en este caso el sacrificio es otro...  
–The thing is, in this case the sacrifice is a different one...
> «Es que» — the thing is / it's that: «Es que» introduces an explanation or excuse: 'the thing is', 'it's just that'. It softens the reply and frames what follows as the real reason.

–Y nosotros, Erdosain, y nosotros que nos jugamos la cárcel y la libertad por tiempo indeterminado.  
–And us, Erdosain, and us who are gambling prison and our freedom for an indefinite time.
> «jugarse» — to risk / gamble: The pronominal «jugarse» means 'to risk', 'to stake', 'to put on the line': «nos jugamos la cárcel y la libertad» = 'we are risking prison and freedom'. Stronger than plain «jugar» ('to play').
¿Usted no ha leído las «Vidas Paralelas» de Plutarco?  
Have you not read Plutarch's "Parallel Lives"?

–No...  
–No...

–Pues se las voy a regalar para que leyéndolas aprenda que la vida humana vale menos que la de un perro, si para imprimir un nuevo rumbo a la sociedad, hay que destruir esa vida.  
–Well, I'm going to give them to you as a gift, so that, reading them, you learn that human life is worth less than a dog's, if to impress a new course on society one must destroy that life.
> «se las» — two object pronouns: «se las» combines the indirect object 'to you' and the direct object 'them'. When two third-person pronouns meet, the indirect «le/les» becomes «se», so «le las» → «se las» = 'them to you'.
¿Sabe usted cuántos asesinatos cuesta el triunfo de un Lenin o de un Mussolini?  
Do you know how many murders the triumph of a Lenin or a Mussolini costs?
A la gente no le interesa eso.  
People aren't interested in that.
> «interesar» like «gustar»: «interesar» works like «gustar»: the thing that interests is the grammatical subject. «A la gente no le interesa eso» = 'that does not interest people' / 'people aren't interested in that', with «le» referring back to «la gente».
¿Por qué no le interesa?  
Why aren't they interested?
Porque Lenin y Mussolini triunfaron.  
Because Lenin and Mussolini triumphed.
Eso es lo esencial, lo que justifica toda causa injusta o justa.  
That is the essential thing, what justifies every cause, unjust or just.

–¿Y quién lo va a asesinar a Barsut?  
–And who is going to murder Barsut?
> Redundant object pronoun: River Plate speech often doubles the object: «lo va a asesinar a Barsut» repeats Barsut both as the pronoun «lo» and as the full noun with personal «a». English just says 'murder Barsut'.

–Bromberg, el que vio a la partera...  
–Bromberg, the one who saw the midwife...
> «el que» — the one who: «el que» means 'the one who / that': «el que vio a la partera» = 'the one who saw the midwife'. It picks out a specific person already known in context, here Bromberg.

–Usted no me había dicho...  
–You hadn't told me...

–Ni había objeto, porque de ese lado todo estaba resuelto.  
–There was no point, either, because on that side everything was settled.
> «ni» — not even / nor: «ni» negates and adds: 'nor', 'not even'. «Ni había objeto» = 'there wasn't even any point'. It connects to the unspoken idea that there was no reason to tell him.
Una ráfaga de perfume se volcó en la estancia.  
A gust of perfume spilled into the room.
Se hizo nítido el ruido del agua que caía en el tonel.  
The sound of the water falling into the cask grew distinct.
> «hacerse» + adjective (to become): «hacerse» + adjective means 'to become / grow': «se hizo nítido el ruido» = 'the sound grew distinct'. The verb-first word order («se hizo nítido el ruido») is a common literary inversion.

–Así que el asunto ya lo conocemos...  
–So we already know about the matter...
> «así que» — so / therefore: «así que» introduces a consequence: 'so', 'therefore'. «Así que el asunto ya lo conocemos» = 'so we already know about the affair', drawing a conclusion from the preceding exchange.

–Usted, yo y Bromberg...  
–You, I, and Bromberg...

–Demasiada gente para un secreto...  
–Too many people for a secret...
> «demasiado» agreeing as an adjective: Before a noun, «demasiado» behaves as an adjective and agrees in gender and number: «demasiada gente» (feminine) = 'too much / too many people'. As an adverb («demasiado tarde») it stays invariable.

–No, porque Bromberg es mi esclavo, es esclavo de sí mismo, que es lo peor.  
–No, because Bromberg is my slave, he is a slave of himself, which is the worst thing.
> «sí mismo» — himself (reflexive): «sí» is the reflexive pronoun after a preposition, reinforced by «mismo»: «esclavo de sí mismo» = 'a slave of himself'. It refers back to the subject, Bromberg.

–Perfectamente, pero usted me va a entregar a mí un documento firmado en el que usted y Bromberg se confiesen autores del crimen.  
–Very well, but you are going to hand me a signed document in which you and Bromberg confess yourselves the authors of the crime.
> Subjunctive in a relative clause of intent: «un documento… en el que… se confiesen» uses the subjunctive «confiesen» because the document does not yet exist — Erdosain describes the kind of paper he requires, not a real one. The reflexive «se confiesen» = 'confess themselves (to be)'.

–¿Y para qué quiere usted eso?  
–And what do you want that for?
> «¿para qué?» vs. «¿por qué?»: «¿para qué?» asks 'for what purpose / what for?', looking forward to a goal, while «¿por qué?» asks 'why?', looking back to a cause. Here the Astrologer wants Erdosain's purpose in demanding the document.

–Para estar seguro que no me engaña.  
–To be sure you're not deceiving me.

Con gesto maquinal el Astrólogo acomodó su galera, cogió su mongólico rostro entre sus gruesos dedos, y caminó hasta el centro de la estancia, así, con el codo apoyado en la palma de la otra mano, y dijo:  
With a mechanical gesture the Astrologer adjusted his top hat, took his Mongoloid face between his thick fingers, and walked to the center of the room, like that, his elbow propped in the palm of his other hand, and said:
> «galera» — top hat (River Plate): In Argentina a «galera» is a top hat — the same head-piece called «chistera» elsewhere in the chapter. Both words name the Astrologer's signature top hat.

–No tengo inconvenientes en darle lo que usted me pide, pero no se olvide de esto.  
–I have no objection to giving you what you ask of me, but don't forget this.
> «tener inconveniente en» — to mind / object: «tener inconveniente en» means 'to have an objection to', 'to mind' doing something. «No tengo inconvenientes en darle» = 'I have no objection to giving you', 'I don't mind giving you'.
Yo vivo exclusivamente para realizar mi idea.  
I live exclusively to realize my idea.
Vienen tiempos extraordinarios.  
Extraordinary times are coming.
> Verb-before-subject word order: «Vienen tiempos extraordinarios» places the verb before the subject — literally 'come extraordinary times'. With verbs of arriving and existing, Spanish often fronts the verb; English needs 'are coming'.
Yo no podría explicarle todos los prodigios que van a ocurrir porque no tengo tiempo ni ganas de discutir.  
I couldn't explain to you all the wonders that are going to happen, because I have neither the time nor the wish to argue.
> «ganas» — desire / inclination: «ganas» means 'desire', 'the urge / wish' to do something — «tener ganas de» = 'to feel like'. «no tengo tiempo ni ganas» = 'I have neither time nor any wish'.
Vienen sin duda tiempos nuevos.  
New times are coming, without a doubt.
¿Quienes los conocerán?  
Who will know them?
Los elegidos.  
The chosen ones.
> Past participle as a noun: «elegidos» is the past participle of «elegir» ('to choose') used as a noun: «los elegidos» = 'the chosen ones', 'the elect'. Spanish freely turns participles into nouns this way.
El día que yo encuentre un hombre capaz de substituirme y la empresa esté encaminada, me retiraré a meditar a la montaña.  
The day I find a man capable of replacing me and the enterprise is well under way, I will retire to meditate in the mountains.
> Subjunctive for a future time clause: After a time expression pointing to the future, Spanish uses the subjunctive: «el día que yo encuentre… y la empresa esté encaminada» = 'the day I find… and the enterprise is under way'. The event hasn't happened yet, so «encuentre» and «esté» stay subjunctive.
En tanto, todos los que me rodean me deben absoluta obediencia.  
In the meantime, all those who surround me owe me absolute obedience.
> «en tanto» — meanwhile / as long as: «en tanto» means 'meanwhile / in the meantime' here. It can also mean 'as long as' (with a verb). The Astrologer demands total obedience until the day he finds a successor.
Esto debe entenderlo usted si no quiere seguir el camino del otro...  
This you must understand, if you don't want to follow the road of the other man...
> Fronted object echoed by «lo»: «Esto debe entenderlo usted» fronts the object «esto» for emphasis, then repeats it with the pronoun «lo» attached to the infinitive — 'this you must understand'. The doubling is normal once the object is moved to the front.

–Esa no es forma de hablar.  
–That's no way to talk.

–Sí, es forma, porque yo le voy a firmar a usted el documento que me pide.  
–Yes, it is a way, because I am going to sign for you the document you ask me for.

–No lo preciso...  
–I don't need it...
> «precisar» — to need: «precisar» commonly means 'to need' (a synonym of «necesitar»), especially in the River Plate: «no lo preciso» = 'I don't need it'. It can also mean 'to specify' in other contexts.

–¿Va a necesitar dinero usted?  
–Are you going to need money?

–Sí, unos dos mil pesos para...  
–Yes, about two thousand pesos for...
> «unos» — approximately: Before a number, «unos» (or «unas») means 'about / approximately': «unos dos mil pesos» = 'around two thousand pesos'. It is not the article 'some' here but an approximator.

–No me diga... Se le entregará...  
–You don't say... It will be handed to you...
> Impersonal / passive «se»: «Se le entregará» uses the impersonal-passive «se»: 'it will be handed over to you', with no stated agent. «le» marks the recipient (you). The construction avoids naming who does the giving.

–Además, no quiero tener nada que ver con el asunto de los prostíbulos...  
–Besides, I want nothing to do with the business of the brothels...
> «tener que ver con» — to have to do with: «tener que ver con» means 'to have to do with', 'to be connected to': «no quiero tener nada que ver con» = 'I want nothing to do with'. The «nada» reinforces the refusal.

–Muy bien, llevará la contabilidad, pero ¿sabe ahora lo que nos hace falta?  
–Very well, you'll keep the accounts, but do you know now what we need?
> «hacer falta» — to be needed: «hacer falta» means 'to be needed / lacking', and works like «gustar»: «lo que nos hace falta» = 'what we need / what is needed by us', with «nos» as the one who needs.
Es descubrir un símbolo vulgar para entusiasmar al populacho...  
It's to discover a vulgar symbol to excite the rabble...
> «populacho» — the mob (pejorative): «populacho» is a contemptuous word for the common crowd, the mob, the rabble. It derives from the Latin stem popul- (as in «popular» / Latin populus) + the pejorative suffix «-acho», not from the Spanish word «pueblo». Note that «pueblo + -acho» produces «pueblacho», an unrelated word for a sorry little village. It fits the Astrologer's scorn for the masses he means to manipulate.

–Lucifer.  
–Lucifer.

–No, ése es un símbolo místico... intelectual... Hay que descubrir algo grosero y estúpido... algo que entre por los sentidos de la multitud como la camisa negra...  
–No, that's a mystical symbol... intellectual... We have to find something coarse and stupid... something that enters through the senses of the multitude like the black shirt...
> Subjunctive after an indefinite antecedent: «algo que entre por los sentidos» uses the subjunctive «entre» because «algo» is indefinite — they are still searching for a symbol that does not yet exist. With a known, real antecedent it would be the indicative «entra».
Ese diablo ha tenido talento.  
That devil has had talent.
Descubrió que la psicología del pueblo italiano era una psicología de barbero y tenor de opereta...  
He discovered that the psychology of the Italian people was a psychology of a barber and an operetta tenor...
En fin, veremos, ya tengo pensada una jerarquía, algo interesante... lo hablaremos otro día... puede que resulte...  
Anyway, we'll see, I already have a hierarchy worked out, something interesting... we'll talk it over another day... maybe it'll work out...
> «puede que» + subjunctive (maybe): «puede que» means 'it may be that / maybe' and always takes the subjunctive: «puede que resulte» = 'maybe it'll work out'. «tengo pensada una jerarquía» uses «tener» + participle for 'I have a hierarchy thought out'.

–El caso es que podamos sostenernos...  
–The point is that we can keep ourselves going...
> «el caso es que» + subjunctive of need: «el caso es que» normally means 'the fact is that' with the indicative, but here it carries a sense of 'what matters is that…', so it takes the subjunctive «podamos» — 'the point is that we should be able to keep going'.

–Eso se descuenta... los prostíbulos van a dar... ¿pero va a ir a verlo a Barsut?  
–That's a given... the brothels are going to pay... but are you going to go see Barsut?
> «eso se descuenta» — that goes without saying: «descontar» literally means 'to discount / deduct', but «eso se descuenta» is used idiomatically for 'that's taken for granted', 'that goes without saying'. «los prostíbulos van a dar» = 'the brothels are going to yield (a profit)'.
¿Sabe lo que le dirá?  
Do you know what you'll say to him?

–Sí...  
–Yes...

Erdosain salió en dirección a la cochera, en donde estaban instaladas las caballerizas.  
Erdosain went out toward the coach house, where the stables were installed.
Era aquélla una casona de gruesas paredes y con piso alto donde había numerosas piezas vacías, recorridas de ratas.  
It was a great rambling house with thick walls and an upper floor where there were numerous empty rooms, overrun with rats.
> «-ón / -ona» augmentative: «casona» is «casa» plus the augmentative «-ona»: a big, rambling old house. The augmentative suffix «-ón/-ona» enlarges a noun the way «-ito/-ita» shrinks it.

En una de ellas vivía, o mejor dicho, dormía, el siniestro Bromberg, a quien Erdosain había visto el día del secuestro.  
In one of them lived, or rather slept, the sinister Bromberg, whom Erdosain had seen on the day of the kidnapping.
> «a quien» — whom: «a quien» is the object relative for people, 'whom': «a quien Erdosain había visto» = 'whom Erdosain had seen'. The personal «a» marks the human object even inside the relative clause.

Comprendía que ahora iba en camino hacia un hundimiento del cual no se imaginaba de qué forma saldría maltrecha su vida, y esta incertidumbre así como su absoluta falta de entusiasmo por los proyectos del Astrólogo, le causaba la impresión de que estaba obrando en falso, creándose gratuitamente una situación absurda.  
He understood that he was now on his way toward a collapse from which he could not imagine in what shape his life would come out battered, and this uncertainty, as well as his utter lack of enthusiasm for the Astrologer's projects, gave him the impression that he was acting falsely, gratuitously creating an absurd situation for himself.
> Conditional inside an indirect question: «no se imaginaba de qué forma saldría maltrecha su vida» = 'he couldn't imagine in what shape his life would come out battered'. The conditional «saldría» reports a future-in-the-past inside the embedded question, and «maltrecha» agrees with feminine «vida».
«Todo había hecho bancarrota en mí», diríase más tarde; mas sobreponiéndose a su cansancio e indiferencia marchaba hacia la cochera.  
"Everything had gone bankrupt in me," he would say later; but, overcoming his weariness and indifference, he marched toward the coach house.
> «diríase» — one would say: «diríase» is the impersonal «se diría» ('one would say', 'it would be said') with the pronoun attached. «mas» (without accent) is a literary 'but', equivalent to «pero».
Su corazón golpeaba fuertemente al saber que se encontraría «con el enemigo».  
His heart beat hard at knowing that he would meet "the enemy".
A instantes arrugaba el ceño y su rencor era evidente.  
At moments he furrowed his brow and his rancor was plain.
> «arrugar / fruncir el ceño» — to frown: «arrugar el ceño» (also «fruncir el ceño») means 'to frown / knit one's brow'. «el ceño» is the brow or the space between the eyebrows; wrinkling it signals displeasure.

Abrió el candado, descorrió la cadena y súbitamente encurioseado empujó una de las hojas del portón.  
He opened the padlock, drew back the chain, and, suddenly seized with curiosity, pushed one of the leaves of the gate.
> «hoja» — leaf (of a door): Besides 'leaf' or 'sheet', «hoja» names one of the swinging panels of a double door or gate: «las hojas del portón» = 'the leaves / panels of the gate'.

El prisionero se disponía a comer, desnudos los brazos en el círculo de la luz amarilla que sobre una mesa de pino extendía la lámpara de kerosene.  
The prisoner was getting ready to eat, his arms bare in the circle of yellow light that the kerosene lamp spread over a pine table.
> «disponerse a» — to get ready to: «disponerse a» means 'to get ready / be about to' do something: «se disponía a comer» = 'he was getting ready to eat'. «desnudos los brazos» = 'his arms bare', an absolute construction with the noun after the adjective.

Estaba Barsut sentado bajo el triángulo de la pesebrera metálica, entre los muros de madera de un box, y al verlo a Erdosain arrugando la frente, detuvo por un segundo la aceitera con que regaba un trozo de carne rodeada de patatas; luego, sin decir palabra que revelara su sorpresa, se engolfó nuevamente en su nutricio trabajo.  
Barsut was sitting beneath the triangle of the metal manger, between the wooden walls of a stall, and on seeing Erdosain frowning, he stopped for a second the oil cruet with which he was drizzling a piece of meat surrounded by potatoes; then, without a word that might reveal his surprise, he plunged back into his nourishing work.
> «al» + infinitive with a doubled object: «al verlo a Erdosain» = 'on seeing Erdosain'. «al» + infinitive marks the moment ('on seeing'), and the object is doubled — pronoun «lo» plus the noun «a Erdosain», a River Plate habit.
> Subjunctive in a negated relative: «sin decir palabra que revelara su sorpresa» uses the imperfect subjunctive «revelara» because the word is hypothetical and negated — there was no such word. A real, existing word would take the indicative.
Alargando el brazo y cogiendo entre sus dedos una pizca de sal espolvoreó las patatas.  
Stretching out his arm and taking a pinch of salt between his fingers, he sprinkled the potatoes.
Guardaba compostura sombría a pesar de que un agujero de su camiseta rosa dejaba ver su sobaco negro.  
He kept a somber composure despite the fact that a hole in his pink undershirt let his blackened armpit show.
> «a pesar de (que)» — despite / in spite of: «a pesar de» + noun, or «a pesar de que» + clause, means 'despite / in spite of (the fact that)'. Here it concedes the undignified detail against Barsut's careful composure.

Los ojos fijos en el fiambre, certificaban que Barsut le daba más importancia a su vianda que a Erdosain, detenido a tres pasos de allí.  
His eyes fixed on the cold cut certified that Barsut gave more importance to his food than to Erdosain, halted three steps away.
> «más… que» — comparison of inequality: «más… que» forms the comparison 'more… than': «le daba más importancia a su vianda que a Erdosain» = 'he gave more importance to his food than to Erdosain'. «fiambre» specifically denotes cold cuts or cold cooked food; «vianda» means food or provisions in general, with no inherent sense of 'cold'.
El resto del establo permanecía en la oscuridad.  
The rest of the stable remained in darkness.
Por los intersticios de los muros entraban oblicuas saetas de sol que dejaban en el polvo del suelo porosos discos de oro.  
Through the chinks in the walls came slanting arrows of sun that left porous discs of gold in the dust of the floor.

Barsut no se dignaba ver nada.  
Barsut did not deign to look at anything.
> «dignarse» — to deign / condescend: «dignarse» means 'to deign / condescend to' do something: «no se dignaba ver nada» = 'he did not deign to look at anything'. It conveys haughty refusal, fitting Barsut's contempt.
Apretó el pan en la tabla de la mesa, cortó enérgicamente una rebanada, se sirvió soda, no sin previamente lanzar un chorro contra el piso para limpiar la boquilla, y luego se inclinó para leer un libraco al costado de su plato, mientras masticaba una mezcla de carne, pan y patatas.  
He pressed the bread against the board of the table, energetically cut a slice, served himself soda, not without first shooting a jet against the floor to clean the spout, and then leaned over to read a fat old book beside his plate while he chewed a mix of meat, bread, and potatoes.
> «no sin» — not without: «no sin» = 'not without': «no sin previamente lanzar un chorro» = 'not without first shooting a jet'. The double negative quietly adds the careful preliminary action. «libraco» is «libro» plus the pejorative «-aco» — a big shabby book.

Erdosain se apoyó en una pilastra que soportaba el techo, mareado del olor a pasto seco, y con los ojos entrecerrados distinguió a Barsut, que tenía medio rostro iluminado por la verdosa claridad de la pantalla, mientras sus maxilares se movían en la luz cruda que arrojaba el mechero de la lámpara.  
Erdosain leaned against a pillar that held up the roof, dizzy from the smell of dry hay, and with half-closed eyes made out Barsut, half of whose face was lit by the greenish glow of the shade, while his jaws moved in the raw light cast by the lamp's burner.
> «olor a» — smell of: To say what something smells of, Spanish uses «olor a» + noun (no article): «olor a pasto seco» = 'smell of dry hay / grass'. The same «a» appears with «saber a» (to taste of) and «sonar a» (to sound like).
En estas circunstancias giró la cabeza y distinguió un látigo colgado en la pared.  
In these circumstances he turned his head and made out a whip hanging on the wall.
> «látigo» — whip: «látigo» is the word in the chapter's title, 'whip'. Later the same object is called «la fusta» (riding crop) and «el rebenque» (the gaucho's lash, here as «rebencazo», a lash-blow) — three names for the lash that suddenly fixes Erdosain's attention.

Erdosain se sobresaltó.  
Erdosain gave a start.
Tenía el mango largo y la lonja corta, y Barsut, que ahora seguía su mirada, frunció el labio despectivamente.  
It had a long handle and a short lash, and Barsut, who now followed his gaze, curled his lip contemptuously.
Erdosain miró sucesivamente al hombre y al látigo y sonrió nuevamente.  
Erdosain looked in turn at the man and at the whip and smiled again.
Se dirigió hacia el rincón y descolgó la fusta.  
He headed toward the corner and took down the riding crop.
> «dirigirse hacia/a» — to head toward: «dirigirse a/hacia» means 'to head / make one's way toward': «se dirigió hacia el rincón» = 'he headed toward the corner'. The same verb «dirigirse a alguien» can also mean 'to address someone'.
Ahora Barsut se había puesto de pie y con los ojos terriblemente fijos en Erdosain, echaba el cuerpo afuera del box.  
Now Barsut had risen to his feet, and with his eyes terribly fixed on Erdosain, he leaned his body out of the stall.
> «ponerse de pie» — to stand up: «ponerse de pie» means 'to stand up / get to one's feet'. The pluperfect «se había puesto de pie» = 'he had risen to his feet', already standing by the time Erdosain notices.
Las venas del cuello se le dilataron extraordinariamente.  
The veins of his neck swelled extraordinarily.
> Dative of possession with body parts: Spanish marks whose body part it is with a dative pronoun rather than a possessive: «las venas del cuello se le dilataron» = 'his neck veins swelled (on him)'. The «le» tells us the veins are Barsut's.
Iba a hablar, pero el orgullo le impedía pronunciar una sola palabra.  
He was going to speak, but pride prevented him from uttering a single word.
> «impedir» + infinitive (to prevent): «impedir» means 'to prevent / stop': «el orgullo le impedía pronunciar» = 'pride prevented him from uttering'. It is followed directly by the infinitive, with «le» as the one prevented.
Sonó un chasquido seco.  
A dry crack rang out.
Erdosain había descargado un rebencazo en la madera para probar la flexibilidad del cuero, luego se encogió de hombros y la oblicua solar que cortaba las tinieblas fue atravesada por una raya negra, y el látigo cayó entre el pasto.  
Erdosain had brought down a lash-stroke on the wood to test the flexibility of the leather; then he shrugged his shoulders, and the slanting sunbeam that cut through the darkness was crossed by a black streak, and the whip fell among the hay.
> «rebencazo» — a blow with a lash: A «rebenque» is the gaucho's short leather whip; «rebencazo» (with the blow-suffix «-azo») is a stroke or lash given with it. «encogerse de hombros» = 'to shrug one's shoulders'.

Erdosain se paseaba en silencio por el establo.  
Erdosain paced in silence about the stable.
> «pasearse» — to pace / stroll: The pronominal «pasearse» means 'to stroll / pace about' for its own sake: «se paseaba por el establo» = 'he paced about the stable'. The plain «pasear» can also mean 'to take (someone) for a walk'.
Pensaba que aquella vida estaba en sus manos, que nadie podía arrebatársela, mas este sentimiento no lo hacía más feliz.  
He thought that that life was in his hands, that no one could snatch it from him, but this feeling did not make him any happier.
> Two pronouns on an infinitive: «arrebatársela» attaches both «se» (to him) and «la» (it = the life) to the infinitive «arrebatar» ('to snatch'): 'to snatch it from him'. «mas» here is again the literary 'but'.
Barsut encima de la divisoria de madera observaba el campo soleado, por la hendija que dejaba el portalón.  
Barsut, up over the wooden partition, watched the sunlit field through the gap left by the big gate.

Habían cambiado los tiempos.  
The times had changed.
Eso era todo.  
That was all.
Lo miró con rencor a Barsut:  
He looked at Barsut with rancor:
> Doubled object again: «Lo miró con rencor a Barsut» repeats the object as both the pronoun «lo» and the full «a Barsut» — the River Plate doubling seen throughout the chapter. English simply says 'he looked at Barsut'.

–¿Vas a firmar el cheque o no?  
–Are you going to sign the check or not?
> «vos / tú» — the shift to «vas»: Here Erdosain switches to the familiar form, «¿Vas a firmar?» ('Are you going to sign?'), dropping the «usted» he uses with the Astrologer. With Barsut, his rival, the tone is intimate and hostile.

Barsut se encogió de hombros y Erdosain no volvió a preguntar.  
Barsut shrugged his shoulders and Erdosain did not ask again.
> «volver a» + infinitive (to do again): «volver a» + infinitive means 'to do something again': «no volvió a preguntar» = 'he did not ask again'. Literally 'returned to asking', it is the standard way to say 'again' with a verb.
Quizás él se encontrara algún día y a esa misma hora en una celda oscura mientras que su memoria evocaría en aquel mismo instante el espectáculo de una cancha con piso de polvo de ladrillo, a la orilla del río, y las raquetas reticulando el cielo, de algunas chicas jugando al tenis.  
Perhaps he himself would find himself some day, at that very hour, in a dark cell, while his memory would summon up at that same instant the sight of a court with a floor of brick dust, by the riverbank, and the rackets netting the sky, of some girls playing tennis.
> «quizás» + subjunctive (perhaps): «quizás» ('perhaps / maybe') takes the subjunctive to mark genuine uncertainty: «quizás él se encontrara» = 'perhaps he would find himself'. The imperfect subjunctive «encontrara» projects the doubt into a possible future-in-the-past.
> «cancha» — court / pitch (River Plate): «cancha» is the general River Plate word for a sports court, field, or pitch: «una cancha con piso de polvo de ladrillo» is a court surfaced in brick dust — the classic clay court. Read the following «de algunas chicas jugando al tenis» with «el espectáculo», not with «cancha»: what memory summons is the sight *of some girls playing tennis*.
Y sin poderse contener exclamó no tanto dirigiéndose a Barsut, como hablándose a sí mismo:  
And, unable to contain himself, he exclaimed, not so much addressing Barsut as speaking to himself:
> «no tanto… como» — not so much… as: «no tanto… como» frames a contrast of degree: 'not so much… as'. «no tanto dirigiéndose a Barsut, como hablándose a sí mismo» = 'not so much addressing Barsut as speaking to himself'.

–¿Te acordás?  
–Do you remember?
> «voseo» — «acordás» for «acuerdas»: «acordás» is the «vos» form of «acordarse» ('to remember'), used instead of «tú te acuerdas». The «voseo» — «vos» plus stressed endings like «-ás», «-és», «callate» — is the everyday second-person of Buenos Aires speech.
Yo tenía para vos cara de infeliz.  
To you I had the face of a poor wretch.
> «vos» — the River Plate 'you': «vos» replaces «tú» as the familiar 'you' throughout Argentina and Uruguay: «para vos» = 'for you / to you'. «infeliz» literally 'unhappy' here means a poor wretch, a hapless nobody.
No hables.  
Don't talk.
> Negative familiar command: A negative «tú/vos» command uses the present subjunctive: «no hables» = 'don't talk'. Note the contrast with the affirmative «voseo» command «callate» ('shut up') two sentences later, which keeps the «vos» stress.
Y vos no sabías lo que yo estaba sufriendo.  
And you didn't know what I was suffering.
Ni vos ni ella.  
Neither you nor she.
> «ni… ni…» — neither… nor…: The paired «ni… ni…» means 'neither… nor…': «Ni vos ni ella» = 'neither you nor she'. It bundles two negated subjects — neither Barsut nor Elsa understood his suffering.
Callate.  
Shut up.
> «voseo» command — «callate»: «callate» is the affirmative «vos» command of «callarse» ('to be quiet'), stressed on the last-but-one syllable, where «tú» would give «cállate». It is the live Buenos Aires imperative: 'shut up / be quiet'.
¿Te pensás que me interesa tu dinero?  
Do you think your money interests me?
> «voseo» — «pensás» with reflexive: «pensás» is the «vos» form of «pensar» ('to think'). The extra reflexive «te» in «¿Te pensás?» is colloquial River Plate emphasis — roughly 'do you reckon (to yourself)?'.
No, hombre.  
No, man.
Lo que hay es que estoy triste.  
The thing is that I'm sad.
> «lo que hay es que» — the thing is that: «lo que hay es que» is a colloquial framing phrase, 'the thing is that / what's going on is that'. It introduces the real explanation: «estoy triste» = 'I'm sad'.
Vos y ella me han llevado a todo esto.  
You and she have brought me to all this.
No sé ni por qué hablo.  
I don't even know why I'm talking.
> «ni» — not even: «ni» here means 'not even': «No sé ni por qué hablo» = 'I don't even know why I'm talking'. It heightens the negation, stressing how lost in himself Erdosain has become.
Lo único que sé es que estoy cansado.  
The only thing I know is that I'm tired.
> «lo único que» — the only thing that: «lo único que» = 'the only thing that': «lo único que sé» = 'the only thing I know'. The neuter «lo» + «único» + «que» picks out a single fact, much like «lo que» ('what') with «único» added.
Pero para qué hablar... –Y se disponía a salir cuando el Astrólogo entró.  
But what's the use of talking... –And he was getting ready to leave when the Astrologer came in.
> «para qué» + infinitive — what's the use: «para qué» + a bare infinitive asks 'what's the use / point of (doing)?': «¿para qué hablar?» = 'what's the use of talking?'. The infinitive leaves the subject general and weary.
Barsut le revisó las manos con la mirada y el Astrólogo, removiendo la chistera en la cabeza, tomó la lámpara, la apagó y sentándose en un cajón, dijo:  
Barsut went over his hands with his gaze, and the Astrologer, shifting the top hat on his head, took the lamp, put it out, and, sitting down on a crate, said:
> «revisar con la mirada» — to scan: «revisar» means 'to check / inspect'; «revisar con la mirada» = 'to look over, scan with the eyes'. Barsut checks the Astrologer's hands by sight, with the dative «le» marking whose hands.

–Venía a verlo para que arregláramos esa cuestión del cheque.  
–I was coming to see you so that we might settle that matter of the check.
> «para que» + imperfect subjunctive: «para que» ('so that') takes the subjunctive; because the main verb «venía» is past, it pulls the imperfect subjunctive «arregláramos» — 'so that we might settle'. The tense agreement is automatic.
Usted sabrá que por eso lo secuestramos.  
You must be aware that that's why we kidnapped you.
> Future of probability: The future «sabrá» here does not state a future fact but a present conjecture: «Usted sabrá» = 'you surely know / you must be aware'. Spanish often uses the future tense to express probability about the present.
Claro está que yo no le hablaría a usted de esta forma si en la libreta que le encontramos en el bolsillo y que Erdosain quiso quemar, impidiéndolo yo, no hubiera leído un pensamiento sencillamente formidable: «El dinero convierte al hombre en un dios.  
Of course I wouldn't be speaking to you this way if, in the notebook we found in your pocket and that Erdosain wanted to burn — I preventing it — I had not read a thought that was quite simply tremendous: "Money turns a man into a god.
> Contrary-to-fact conditional: This is an unreal conditional: «no le hablaría… si… no hubiera leído» = 'I wouldn't be speaking… if I had not read'. The «si» clause takes the pluperfect subjunctive «hubiera leído» and the main clause the conditional «hablaría».
Luego Ford, es un dios.  
Therefore Ford is a god.
> «luego» — therefore (logical): Besides 'then / later', «luego» can be a logical connector, 'therefore / hence', as in syllogisms: 'Money makes a man a god. Therefore Ford is a god.' The mock-logic is Barsut's grandiose joke quoted back at him.
Si es un dios puede destruir la luna».  
If he is a god he can destroy the moon."

Aquello era mentira, pero Barsut no se conmovió.  
That was a lie, but Barsut was not moved.
> «conmoverse» — to be moved: «conmoverse» means 'to be moved / stirred (emotionally)': «no se conmovió» = 'he was not moved'. The plain «conmover» means 'to move (someone) emotionally'; the pronominal form turns it inward.

Erdosain observaba el impenetrable rostro romboidal del Astrólogo.  
Erdosain watched the impenetrable rhomboid face of the Astrologer.
Era evidente que éste estaba ejecutando una comedia y que en ella Barsut no creía, seguro de que el otro le engañaba.  
It was evident that the latter was performing a comedy, and that Barsut did not believe in it, certain that the other man was deceiving him.
> Past progressive «estar» + gerund: «estaba ejecutando» is the past progressive, «estar» (imperfect) + gerund: 'was performing'. It frames the Astrologer's act as an ongoing performance, with «éste» ('the latter') pointing back to the Astrologer just named.
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Source text: public domain (Roberto Arlt, d. 1942). English translation: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC — original draft, pending editorial review. NOTE: this is a minimal seed excerpt to make the app target runnable; full verified content is authored through the content pipeline.