# The Seven Madmen, The Suicide

Los siete locos · Roberto Arlt · Part Two

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


Erdosain permaneció a los pies de la Coja quizá una hora.  
Erdosain stayed at the feet of the Lame Woman for perhaps an hour.
> Preterite of «permanecer»: «permaneció» is the preterite of «permanecer» ('to remain, to stay'). The preterite frames the hour as a single, bounded stretch of time now closed — 'he stayed', viewed as a completed whole.
Las anteriores emociones se disolvían en su actual modorra.  
His earlier emotions were dissolving into his present drowsiness.
> Imperfect + pronominal verb: «disolverse» is pronominal: the «se» turns 'to dissolve (something)' into 'to dissolve / melt away' on its own. The imperfect «disolvían» shows the process still underway — 'were dissolving', an unfinished backdrop rather than a single event.
Sentíase extraño a todo lo ocurrido en el transcurso del día.  
He felt himself a stranger to everything that had happened over the course of the day.
> Enclitic pronoun: «sentíase»: «Sentíase» = «se sentía» with the pronoun attached to the end of the verb. This enclitic placement is a literary, slightly old-fashioned style Arlt uses constantly; in everyday speech the pronoun comes first: «se sentía».
La angustia y la malevolencia se endurecían en su pecho como el fango bajo el sol.  
Anguish and ill will were hardening in his chest like mud under the sun.
Permanecía, sin embargo, inmóvil, sometido al poder de la somnolencia oscura que se desprendía de su cansancio.  
Still, he remained motionless, subject to the power of the dark sleepiness that rose off his exhaustion.
> «sin embargo» — 'however': «sin embargo» is a fixed connector meaning 'however, nevertheless'. Note it has nothing to do with «embarazo» ('pregnancy'); it is the standard adversative link between contrasting clauses.
Pero su frente se arrugaba.  
But his brow was furrowing.
Y a través de la niebla y de la oscuridad crecía su otra desesperación, el temor sin esperanza de verse perdido como un fantasma a la orilla de un dique de granito.  
And through the fog and the darkness his other despair was growing, the hopeless dread of finding himself lost like a ghost at the edge of a granite breakwater.
> «verse» + adjective: «verse» (the pronominal of «ver», 'to see') with an adjective means 'to find oneself / end up' in some state: «verse perdido» = 'to find oneself lost'. It describes how the subject perceives his own condition.
Las aguas grises trazaban franjas de distinta altura que corrían en opuesta dirección.  
The gray waters traced bands of different heights that ran in the opposite direction.
Chalupas de hierro llevaban borrosas gentes hacia remotos emporios.  
Iron launches carried blurred crowds toward remote trading ports.
Habían allí, además, una mujer acicalada como una cocotte, con un barboquejo de diamantes y que apoyaba los codos en la mesa de una taberna y se apretaba las mejillas entre los dedos enjoyados.  
There was also a woman done up like a cocotte, with a chin-strap of diamonds, who rested her elbows on a tavern table and pressed her cheeks between her bejeweled fingers.
> Existential «haber»: Standard grammar keeps existential «haber» invariable: the prescriptive form here is «Había allí». Arlt writes «habían» — a non-standard pluralization of existential «haber», very common in River Plate speech, where the verb is pulled toward the list of things that follow. It is not agreement with «una mujer», which is singular.
> «cocotte» — a kept woman: A French loanword used in Buenos Aires for a fashionable courtesan or kept woman. Arlt keeps the French spelling to evoke the cosmopolitan, slightly tawdry glamour of the period.
Y mientras ella hablaba, Erdosain se rascaba la punta de la nariz.  
And while she talked, Erdosain scratched the tip of his nose.
> Two imperfects in parallel: «mientras» ('while') pairs naturally with the imperfect: «hablaba» and «rascaba» are two ongoing past actions running side by side, neither finished — 'she was talking / he was scratching'.
Mas como esta actitud no era explicable, Erdosain recordó que habían aparecido cuatro mocitas con el vestido hasta las rodillas y el pelo amarillo desgreñado en torno de sus caras caballunas.  
But since this behavior could not be explained, Erdosain recalled that four young girls had appeared, with dresses down to the knee and tangled yellow hair around their horse-like faces.
> «mas» vs. «más»: Without an accent, «mas» is a literary conjunction meaning 'but' (= «pero»). Do not confuse it with «más» ('more'), which always carries the accent. Arlt favors the bookish «mas».
> «mocitas» — diminutive of «moza»: «mocita» is a diminutive of «moza» ('young woman, lass'). The -ita ending adds smallness and a tinge of pity or condescension — here, slight, pathetic young girls.
Y las cuatro mocitas, al pasar a su lado, alargaron un platillo.  
And the four girls, as they passed beside him, held out a little saucer.
> «al» + infinitive: «al» followed by an infinitive means 'on / as (doing something)': «al pasar» = 'as they passed'. It compresses a whole clause of time into two words — a very common Spanish construction.
Fue entonces cuando Erdosain se preguntó: «¿Es posible que puedan alimentarse haciendo sólo eso?»  
It was then that Erdosain asked himself: "Is it possible that they can feed themselves doing only that?"
> Subjunctive after «es posible que»: «es posible que» expresses possibility, not fact, so it triggers the subjunctive: «puedan» (not «pueden»). The subjunctive marks the clause as hypothetical, doubted, or merely entertained.
Entonces la estrella, la cocotte, que bajo la barbilla tenía una papada de brillantes, le respondió que sí, que las cuatro mocitas vivían limosneando, y comenzó a hablar de un príncipe ruso, con su voz más femenina, cuyo género de vida, aunque ella trataba de aparejarlo, no condecía con el que llevaba las cuatro mocitas.  
Then the star, the cocotte, who beneath her chin wore a double chin of diamonds, answered him yes, that the four girls lived by begging, and she began to speak of a Russian prince, in her most feminine voice, whose way of life, though she tried to liken it, did not match the one the four girls led.
> «limosnear» — to beg: «limosnear» means 'to beg for alms', from «limosna» ('alms, charity'). The gerund «limosneando» here means 'by begging' — «vivir + gerund» expresses the means of making a living.
Y recientemente entonces Erdosain pudo explicarse satisfactoriamente por qué razón se rascaba la punta de la nariz mientras la preciosa hablaba.  
And only then could Erdosain explain to himself satisfactorily why he had been scratching the tip of his nose while the lovely woman talked.
> Preterite «pudo» — managed to: «poder» in the preterite («pudo») often means not just 'could' but 'managed to / succeeded in': «pudo explicarse» = 'he managed to explain to himself'. The imperfect «podía» would have meant a general 'was able', without the sense of achievement.

Mas su tristeza creció cuando vio la silenciosa gente, volver la cabeza, subir a los vagones de un convoy largo, que tenía todas las persianas bajas.  
But his sadness grew when he saw the silent people turn their heads and climb into the cars of a long train, whose blinds were all drawn down.
> Preterite for the turning point: «creció» ('grew') and «vio» ('saw') are preterites marking sudden, completed events that move the scene forward, in contrast to the imperfect «tenía» ('had / were'), which describes the lasting state of the train.
Nadie preguntaba por itinerarios ni estaciones.  
No one asked about timetables or stations.
> Double negation: Spanish uses negatives in series without canceling them: «Nadie... ni... ni» = 'No one... neither... nor'. Where English allows only one negative, Spanish piles them up to reinforce the negation.
A veinte pasos de allí, un desierto de polvo extendía su confín oscuro.  
Twenty paces away, a desert of dust stretched out its dark frontier.
No se divisaba la locomotora, pero sí escuchó el doloroso rechinar de las cadenas al aflojarse los frenos.  
The locomotive could not be made out, but he did hear the painful screech of the chains as the brakes loosened.
> Impersonal / passive «se»: «se» + a verb in the third person forms an impersonal or passive construction: «no se divisaba la locomotora» = 'the locomotive could not be made out / one could not make out the locomotive'. The agent is left unnamed.
Podía correr, el tren se deslizaba despacio, alcanzarlo, trepar por la escalerilla y quedarse un instante en la plataforma del último vagón, viendo cómo el convoy adquiría velocidad.  
He could run — the train was sliding along slowly — catch it, climb up the little ladder and stay an instant on the platform of the last car, watching how the train picked up speed.
Erdosain estaba aún a tiempo para alejarse de esa soledad gris sin ciudades oscuras... pero inmovilizado por su enorme angustia, quedóse allí mirando con un sollozo detenido en la garganta, el último vagón con las ventanillas rigurosamente cerradas.  
Erdosain was still in time to escape that gray solitude without dark cities... but immobilized by his enormous anguish, he stayed there gazing, with a sob caught in his throat, at the last car with its windows rigorously shut.
> Enclitic pronoun: «quedóse»: «quedóse» = «se quedó», with the reflexive pronoun attached to the verb. «quedarse» ('to stay, remain') is pronominal; the enclitic style is one of Arlt's literary habits. In speech you would say «se quedó».

Cuando lo vio entrar en la curva de los entrerrieles que cubría la muralla de niebla, comprendió que se había quedado sólo para siempre en el desierto de ceniza, que el tren no retornaría jamás, que siempre continuaría deslizándose taciturno, con todas las persianas de sus vagones estrictamente cerradas.  
When he saw it enter the curve between the rails that the wall of fog was hiding, he understood that he had been left alone forever in the desert of ash, that the train would never return, that it would go on sliding away in silence forever, with all the blinds of its cars strictly shut.
> Pluperfect: «se había quedado»: The pluperfect («había» + past participle) marks an action completed before another past moment: 'he had been left' — already true at the instant he understood it. «jamás» reinforces «no retornaría», 'would never return'.

Lentamente retiró el rostro de las rodillas de Hipólita.  
Slowly he lifted his face from Hipólita's knees.
Había dejado de llover.  
It had stopped raining.
> «dejar de» — to stop doing: «dejar de» + an infinitive means 'to stop / cease doing something': «dejar de llover» = 'to stop raining'. Here in the pluperfect, «había dejado de llover» = 'it had stopped raining'.
Sus piernas estaban heladas, le dolían las articulaciones.  
His legs were frozen; his joints ached.
> «doler» like «gustar»: «doler» ('to hurt') works like «gustar»: the body part is the grammatical subject and the person is an indirect object. «le dolían las articulaciones» literally is 'the joints hurt to him' = 'his joints ached'. The verb agrees with «articulaciones» (plural), hence «dolían».
Miró un instante el rostro de la mujer dormida, esfumado en la claridad azulada que entraba por los cristales, y con extraordinaria precaución se puso de pie.  
He looked for an instant at the sleeping woman's face, blurred in the bluish light coming through the windowpanes, and with extraordinary care he got to his feet.
> «ponerse de pie» — to stand up: «ponerse de pie» is a set phrase for 'to stand up, rise to one's feet'. «ponerse» (pronominal of «poner») broadly means 'to put oneself / become', and combines with many such expressions.
Las cuatro mocitas de rostro caballuno y el pelo amarillo encrespado, estaban aún en él.  
The four girls with horse-like faces and frizzy yellow hair were still inside him.
Pensó:  
He thought:

«Debía matarme... –Mas al observar el cabello rojo de la mujer dormida, sus ideas tomaron otro giro más pesado–: Debe ser cruel.  
"I ought to kill myself... –But on noticing the red hair of the sleeping woman, his ideas took another, heavier turn–: She must be cruel.
> «deber» — obligation vs. supposition: «deber» + infinitive can mean obligation ('ought to'): «debía matarme» = 'I ought to kill myself'. Without «de» it can also express supposition: «debe ser cruel» = 'she must be cruel'. The imperfect «debía» softens the obligation into a brooding 'I really should'.
Y podría matarla, sin embargo –apretó el cabo del revólver en el bolsillo–.  
And yet I could kill her –he gripped the butt of the revolver in his pocket–.
> Conditional: «podría»: «podría» is the conditional of «poder» — 'could / would be able to'. The conditional names a hypothetical possibility rather than a fact: 'I could kill her (if I chose to)'.
Bastaría un tiro en el cráneo.  
One shot to the skull would be enough.
> «bastar» — to be enough: «bastar» means 'to suffice, be enough' and is used impersonally: «basta un tiro» = 'one shot is enough'. In the conditional, «bastaría» = 'would be enough', continuing the hypothetical murder in his mind.
La bala es de acero y sólo haría un agujerito.  
The bullet is steel and would make only a tiny hole.
> Diminutive: «agujerito»: «agujerito» is the diminutive of «agujero» ('hole'). The -ito ending shrinks it to 'a tiny little hole' — chillingly casual given the context, which is part of Arlt's effect.
Eso si, se le saltarían los ojos de las órbitas y quizá la nariz echara sangre.  
Even so, her eyes would pop out of their sockets, and her nose might bleed.
> Subjunctive after «quizá»: «quizá» ('perhaps') can take the subjunctive to stress uncertainty: «echara» (imperfect subjunctive of «echar») = 'might bleed'. The doubt sits inside the verb form.
¡Pobre alma!  
Poor soul!
Y debe haber sufrido mucho.  
And she must have suffered a great deal.
> «deber haber» + participle: «deber» + «haber» + past participle expresses past supposition: «debe haber sufrido» = 'she must have suffered'. It infers about the past from present evidence.
Pero debe ser cruel».  
But she must be cruel".

Una malevolencia cautelosa lo inclinó sobre ella.  
A cautious malevolence bent him over her.
A medida que miraba a la dormida sus ojos adquirían una fijeza de enajenado, mientras con la mano en el bolsillo levantaba el percutor, apretando el gatillo.  
As he watched the sleeping woman, his eyes were taking on the fixed stare of a madman, while with his hand in his pocket he raised the hammer, squeezing the trigger.
> «a medida que» — as / in step with: «a medida que» means 'as / in proportion as', linking two processes that unfold together. It naturally takes the imperfect («miraba», «adquirían») to show both actions developing in parallel.
Un trueno retumbó a lo lejos, y esa extraña incoherencia que envolvía como un velo su cerebro se apartó de él; entonces con numerosas precauciones cogió su perramus, cerró los postigos evitando que crujieran las bisagras, y salió.  
A thunderclap boomed in the distance, and that strange incoherence which veiled his brain drew away from him; then with great care he took up his raincoat, closed the shutters to keep the hinges from creaking, and went out.
> Subjunctive after «evitar que»: Verbs of preventing, like «evitar que» ('to keep / prevent from'), take the subjunctive: «crujieran» (imperfect subjunctive of «crujir», 'to creak'). The hinges creaking is the unwanted outcome he acts against, so the verb is subjunctive.

Al bajar las escaleras reconoció con alegría que tenía hambre.  
As he went down the stairs he realized with joy that he was hungry.
> «tener hambre» — to be hungry: Spanish expresses many bodily states with «tener» ('to have') plus a noun: «tener hambre» = literally 'to have hunger' = 'to be hungry'. Likewise «tener frío» ('to be cold'), «tener sueño» ('to be sleepy').

Se dirigió a una de las tantas churrasquerías que hay junto al mercado Spineto, y apresuradamente recorrió algunas cuadras.  
He headed for one of the many grill-houses near the Spineto market, and hurriedly walked a few blocks.
> «cuadra» — a city block: In Latin American Spanish a «cuadra» is a 'city block' (the stretch of street between two corners). In Spain the usual word is «manzana». «churrasquería» is a steakhouse or grill-house, central to Argentine eating life.

Rodaba la luna sobre la violácea cresta de una nube, las veredas a trechos, bajo la luz lunar, diríanse cubiertas de planchas de zinc, los charcos centelleaban profundidades de plata muerta, y con atorbellinado zumbido corría el agua, lamiendo los cordones de granito.  
The moon rolled over the violet crest of a cloud; the sidewalks here and there, under the moonlight, looked as if sheeted in zinc; the puddles glittered with depths of dead silver, and with a whirling murmur the water ran, licking the granite curbstones.
> «vereda» — sidewalk: In the River Plate and much of South America, «vereda» means 'sidewalk / pavement'; in Spain it instead means 'path' and the sidewalk is the «acera». «diríanse» = «se dirían» ('one would say / they looked like'), enclitic again.
Tan mojada estaba la calzada, que los adoquines parecían soldados por reciente fundición de estaño.  
So wet was the roadway that the cobblestones seemed welded by a fresh casting of tin.
> «tan... que» — so... that: «tan» + adjective + «que» expresses degree and result: «tan mojada estaba... que» = 'it was so wet... that'. Fronting «tan mojada» before the verb is a literary inversion for emphasis.

Erdosain entraba y salía de las sombras celestes que oblicuamente cortaban las fachadas.  
Erdosain passed in and out of the sky-blue shadows that slanted across the façades.
El olor a mojado comunicaba a la soledad matutina cierta desolación marítima.  
The smell of wetness lent the morning solitude a certain seaside desolation.
> «olor a» — smell of: To say what something smells of, Spanish uses «olor a» + noun: «olor a mojado» = 'smell of wetness / of damp'. The preposition is always «a», never «de», after «olor».

Indudablemente, no se encontraba en sus cabales.  
Undoubtedly, he was not in his right mind.
> «estar en sus cabales» — to be in one's right mind: «estar en sus cabales» is an idiom meaning 'to be of sound mind, in full possession of one's senses'. «no se encontraba en sus cabales» = 'he was not in his right mind'.
Lo preocupaban aún las cuatro mocitas de cara caballuna, y el mar siniestro con sus olas de hierro.  
He was still preoccupied by the four girls with horse-like faces, and the sinister sea with its waves of iron.
El pesado hedor de aceite quemado que vomitaba la puerta amarilla de una lechería, le causó náuseas, y entonces, cambiando de idea, se dirigió a un prostíbulo que recordó había en la calle Paso, más cuando llegó, la puerta estaba ya cerrada y desconcertado, tiritando de frío, la boca con sabor a sulfato de cobre, entró a un café donde acababan de levantar las cortinas metálicas.  
The heavy stench of burnt oil belching from the yellow door of a dairy shop turned his stomach, and so, changing his mind, he headed for a brothel he remembered there being on Calle Paso; but when he arrived, the door was already shut, and bewildered, shivering with cold, his mouth tasting of copper sulfate, he went into a café where the metal shutters had just been raised.
> «acabar de» — to have just done: «acabar de» + infinitive means 'to have just done something': «acababan de levantar las cortinas» = 'they had just raised the shutters'. In the imperfect it sets a just-completed action as backdrop.
Después de larga espera, le sirvieron el té que había pedido.  
After a long wait, they served him the tea he had ordered.

Pensó en la mujer dormida.  
He thought about the sleeping woman.
> «pensar en» — to think about: «pensar en» means 'to think about / of' someone or something present to the mind. Compare «pensar de» ('to have an opinion about') and «pensar que» ('to think that'). Here the preposition «en» gives 'thought about the woman'.
Entrecerró los ojos, y apoyando la cabeza en el muro, se entregó con más desconsuelo a sus penas.  
He half-closed his eyes, and resting his head against the wall, he gave himself over with deeper despondency to his sorrows.

No sufría por él, el hombre inscripto con un nombre en el registro civil, sino que su conciencia, apartándose del cuerpo, lo miraba como al de un extraño, y se decía:  
He did not suffer for himself — the man entered under a name in the civil registry — but rather his consciousness, drawing apart from the body, looked at it as at a stranger's, and said to itself:
> «sino que» — but rather: After a negative, 'but' is «sino» (not «pero») when it corrects or replaces: 'not X but rather Y'. Before a full conjugated clause, it becomes «sino que»: «no sufría... sino que su conciencia... lo miraba».

–¿Quién tendrá piedad del hombre?  
–Who will have pity on man?
> Future of «tener»: «tendrá» is the irregular future of «tener» ('to have'). The future here is rhetorical and anguished — 'who will (ever) have pity?' — rather than a literal prediction.

Y estas palabras, que acertaba a recoger su pensamiento, lo turbaban llenándolo de dolorosa ternura por invisibles prójimos.  
And these words, which his mind managed to gather up, troubled him, filling him with a painful tenderness for invisible fellow men.
> «acertar a» + infinitive: «acertar a» + infinitive means 'to manage / happen to do something': «acertaba a recoger» = 'managed to gather up'. It conveys a not-quite-deliberate success, fitting his dazed state.

–Caer... caer siempre más bajo.  
–To fall... to fall ever lower.
Y sin embargo, otros hombres son felices, encuentran el amor, pero todos sufren.  
And yet other men are happy, they find love, but everyone suffers.
Lo que ocurre es que unos se dan cuenta y otros no.  
What happens is that some realize it and others don't.
> «darse cuenta» — to realize: «darse cuenta (de)» is a fixed pronominal idiom meaning 'to realize, become aware'. «unos se dan cuenta» = 'some realize it'. Do not confuse it with «dar cuenta de» ('to account for / finish off').
Algunos lo atribuyen a lo que no tienen.  
Some attribute it to what they do not have.
Pero qué sueño estúpido ése.  
But what a stupid dream that is.
Sin embargo, la cara de ella era linda.  
Still, her face was pretty.
> «lindo/a» — pretty: «lindo/a» means 'pretty, lovely, nice' and is far more common in Latin America (especially the River Plate) than in Spain, where «bonito» or «guapo» dominate. A small marker of the Argentine register.
Lo que tenía de lógica era lo que decía respecto al príncipe aventurero.  
What there was of logic in her was what she said about the adventuring prince.
¡Ah! poder dormir en el fondo del mar, en una pieza de plomo con vidrios gruesos.  
Ah! to be able to sleep at the bottom of the sea, in a room of lead with thick glass.
> «pieza» — room: In River Plate Spanish «pieza» commonly means 'room / bedroom' (a use that sounds dated or regional elsewhere). Here it is the imagined lead chamber on the sea floor.
Dormir años y años mientras la arena se amontona, y dormir.  
To sleep years and years while the sand piles up, and to sleep.
Por eso tiene razón el Astrólogo.  
That is why the Astrologer is right.
> «tener razón» — to be right: «tener razón» (literally 'to have reason') is the idiom for 'to be right / correct'. «el Astrólogo tiene razón» = 'the Astrologer is right'. The opposite is «no tener razón» ('to be wrong').
Día vendrá en que la gente hará la revolución, porque les falta un Dios.  
A day will come when people will make the revolution, because they lack a God.
> «faltar» like «gustar»: «faltar» ('to be lacking / missing') patterns like «gustar»: the thing lacking is the subject, the person an indirect object. «les falta un Dios» = literally 'a God is lacking to them' = 'they lack a God'.
Los hombres se declararán en huelga hasta que Dios no se haga presente.  
Men will declare themselves on strike until God makes himself present.
> Subjunctive after «hasta que»: «hasta que» referring to a future, not-yet-real moment takes the subjunctive: «se haga presente» (present subjunctive of «hacerse») = 'until God makes himself present'. The «no» here is an expletive (untranslated) common in this idiom.

Un amargo olor de cianuro llegó hasta él; y percibiendo a través de los párpados la lechosa claridad de la mañana, sintióse diluido como si se hallara en el fondo del mar y la arena subiera indefinidamente sobre su chozo de plomo.  
A bitter smell of cyanide reached him; and perceiving through his eyelids the milky brightness of the morning, he felt himself dissolved, as if he were at the bottom of the sea and the sand kept rising endlessly over his little lead hut.
> «como si» + imperfect subjunctive: «como si» ('as if') always takes the imperfect (or pluperfect) subjunctive: «como si se hallara» = 'as if he were'. The construction frames a hypothetical, contrary-to-fact comparison.
Alguien le tocó la espalda.  
Someone touched his back.
> Indirect object for body parts: For actions on the body, Spanish uses an indirect-object pronoun plus the definite article instead of a possessive: «le tocó la espalda» = literally 'touched the back to him' = 'touched his back'. English would say 'his back'.

Abrió los ojos al tiempo que el mozo del café le decía:  
He opened his eyes just as the café waiter said to him:
> «mozo» — waiter: «mozo» here means 'waiter' (in a café or restaurant), the standard term in Argentina. The word can also mean 'young man / lad' depending on context; the café setting fixes it as 'waiter'.

–Aquí no se puede dormir.  
–You can't sleep here.
> Impersonal «se puede»: «se puede» + infinitive is an impersonal 'one can / you can': «aquí no se puede dormir» = 'one can't sleep here / no sleeping here'. The «se» leaves the subject general, like English 'you' meaning 'anyone'.

Iba a replicar, mas el criado se apartó para ir a despertar a otro durmiente.  
He was about to reply, but the servant moved off to go wake another sleeper.
> «ir a» + infinitive (past): «ir a» + infinitive expresses an intended or imminent action. In the imperfect, «iba a replicar» = 'he was about to reply / was going to reply' — an intention cut off by what follows.
Era éste un hombre grueso, que había dejado caer la calva cabeza sobre los brazos cruzados encima de la tabla de la mesa.  
This one was a heavy man, who had let his bald head drop onto his crossed arms on top of the tabletop.

Pero el durmiente no respondía a las voces del mozo, y entonces extrañado se aproximó el patrón, un hombre que tenía bigotes tan enormes como manubrios de bicicleta, y de tal forma lo sacudió a su parroquiano, que éste quedó doblado sobre la silla, sin caer porque lo afirmaba el canto de la mesa.  
But the sleeper did not respond to the waiter's calls, and so, puzzled, the owner came over — a man with mustaches as enormous as bicycle handlebars — and he shook his patron in such a way that the man ended up doubled over the chair, kept from falling only because the edge of the table held him up.
> «patrón» — boss / proprietor: «patrón» means 'boss, owner, proprietor' — here the owner of the café. «parroquiano» (next) is a 'regular customer / patron'. The redundant «lo sacudió a su parroquiano» (object pronoun plus noun) is a River Plate trait.

Erdosain se levantó extrañado, mientras que patrón y mozo, mirándose, observaban de reojo al singular cliente.  
Erdosain stood up, puzzled, while owner and waiter, exchanging glances, watched the strange customer out of the corner of their eyes.
> «de reojo» — sidelong: «de reojo» is an idiom meaning 'out of the corner of one's eye, sidelong'. «observaban de reojo» = 'watched sidelong / askance' — a wary, half-hidden look.

El durmiente permaneció en posición absurda.  
The sleeper stayed in an absurd position.
La cabeza caída sobre un hombro, dejaba ver su cara chata, mordida de viruelas con los círculos negros de unas gafas ahumadas.  
His head fallen on one shoulder, it left visible his flat face, pitted with smallpox scars, with the black circles of a pair of tinted glasses.
Un hilo de baba rojiza manchaba su corbata verde, escapando de entre los labios azulados.  
A thread of reddish drool stained his green tie, escaping from between his bluish lips.
El codo del desconocido apretaba en la mesa una hoja de papel escrito.  
The stranger's elbow pressed a sheet of written paper against the table.
Comprendieron que estaba muerto.  
They understood that he was dead.
Llamaron a la policía, pero Erdosain no se movía de allí, encurioseado por el espectáculo del siniestro suicida de las gafas negras, cuya piel se cubría lentamente de manchas azules.  
They called the police, but Erdosain would not move from the spot, drawn in by the spectacle of the sinister suicide in the black glasses, whose skin was slowly covering over with blue blotches.
> «cuyo/a» — whose: «cuyo/a» is the relative possessive 'whose'. It agrees in gender and number with the thing possessed, not the possessor: «cuya piel» = 'whose skin' (feminine, agreeing with «piel»).
Y el olor de almendras amargas que estaba inmóvil en el aire, parecía escaparse de entre las quijadas abiertas.  
And the smell of bitter almonds that hung motionless in the air seemed to escape from between his open jaws.

Llegó un auxiliar de policía, luego un sargento, más tarde dos vigilantes y un oficial inspector, y dicha gente merodeaba en torno del muerto, como si éste fuera una res.  
A police auxiliary arrived, then a sergeant, later two patrolmen and an inspector officer, and these people prowled around the dead man as if he were a head of cattle.
> «como si fuera» — as if he were: Again «como si» governs the imperfect subjunctive: «fuera» ('were'), the imperfect subjunctive of «ser». The comparison is deliberately hypothetical and dehumanizing — 'as if he were a slaughtered animal'.
De pronto el auxiliar, dirigiéndose al oficial inspector, dijo:  
Suddenly the auxiliary, turning to the inspector officer, said:
> «de pronto» — suddenly: «de pronto» is an adverbial idiom meaning 'suddenly, all at once'. Note also «dirigirse a» ('to address / turn to' someone), used here for the auxiliary speaking to the inspector.

–¿No sabe quién es?  
–Don't you know who he is?

El sargento sacó del bolsillo del cadáver la adición de un hotel, varias monedas, un revólver, tres cartas lacradas.  
The sergeant pulled from the corpse's pocket a hotel bill, several coins, a revolver, three sealed letters.
> «la adición» — the bill: Beyond 'addition', «adición» here means a hotel or restaurant 'bill / check' (from French «addition»), a usage current in River Plate Spanish. «cartas lacradas» are letters sealed with wax («lacre»).

–¿Así que éste es el que mató a la muchacha de la calle Talcahuano?  
–So this is the one who killed the girl on Calle Talcahuano?
> «así que» — so / therefore: «así que» is a connector meaning 'so, and so, therefore', drawing a conclusion: «¿Así que éste es...?» = 'So this is...?'. It introduces an inference from what was just learned.

Le quitaron los anteojos al muerto, y ahora se le veían los ojos, las pupilas bisqueando, la córnea vuelta hacia arriba, los párpados teñidos de rojo como si hubiera llorado lágrimas de sangre.  
They took the glasses off the dead man, and now his eyes could be seen, the pupils squinting, the cornea turned upward, the eyelids dyed red as if he had wept tears of blood.
> «como si» + pluperfect subjunctive: When «como si» refers to something imagined as already past, it takes the pluperfect subjunctive: «hubiera llorado» = 'as if he had wept'. «anteojos» is the River Plate word for 'eyeglasses' (Spain: «gafas»).

–¿No le decía? –continuó el auxiliar–.  
–Didn't I tell you? –the auxiliary went on–.
Aquí está la cédula de identidad.  
Here is his identity card.
> «cédula de identidad» — ID card: The «cédula de identidad» is the national identity document in much of Latin America. The phrase recurs across the chapter as the police establish who the dead man is.

–Iba a ir a Ushuaia para toda la vida.  
–He was going to go to Ushuaia for the rest of his life.

Entonces Erdosain, al escuchar estas palabras, recordó como si hiciera mucho tiempo que lo hubiera leído.  
Then Erdosain, on hearing these words, remembered as if he had read it long ago.
(Y sin embargo, no era así.  
(And yet it was not so.
La mañana anterior se había enterado en un diario).  
The previous morning he had learned of it in a newspaper).
> «enterarse (de)» — to find out: «enterarse (de)» is a pronominal verb meaning 'to find out about, learn of' news or information. «se había enterado en un diario» = 'he had found out about it in a newspaper'.
El muerto era un estafador.  
The dead man was a swindler.
> «estafador» — swindler: An «estafador» is a 'swindler, con man, fraudster' (from «estafar», 'to swindle, defraud'). The word recurs as the chapter sketches the dead man's criminal life — a mirror, the novel implies, of Erdosain himself.
Abandonó a su esposa y cinco hijos para vivir en concubinato con otra mujer de la que tenía tres hijos, pero hacía dos noches, quizá harto de la barragana, se presentó en un hotel de la calle Talcahuano en compañía de una jovencita de diecisiete años, su nueva amante.  
He had abandoned his wife and five children to live in concubinage with another woman by whom he had three children, but two nights before, perhaps fed up with his mistress, he had shown up at a hotel on Calle Talcahuano in the company of a seventeen-year-old girl, his new lover.
> «hacía» + time = ago: «hacer» in the imperfect plus a span of time means 'X ago' relative to a past moment: «hacía dos noches» = 'two nights before / two nights earlier'. «harto de» means 'fed up with'; «barragana» is an old word for 'concubine, kept mistress'.

Y a las tres de la madrugada le tapó suavemente la cabeza con una almohada, disparándole un balazo en el oído.  
And at three in the small hours he gently covered her head with a pillow, firing a shot into her ear.
> «la madrugada» — the small hours: «la madrugada» is the part of the night/early morning roughly from midnight to dawn — 'the small hours'. «a las tres de la madrugada» = 'at three in the morning', stressing how deep into the night it was.
Nadie en el hotel escuchó nada.  
No one in the hotel heard a thing.
A las ocho de la mañana el asesino se vistió, dejó entreabierta la puerta, y llamando a la camarera le dijo que no despertara a la señora hasta las diez, porque estaba muy cansada.  
At eight in the morning the killer dressed, left the door ajar, and calling the chambermaid told her not to wake the lady until ten, because she was very tired.
> Subjunctive in reported command: An indirect command after «decir que» takes the subjunctive: «le dijo que no despertara» = 'told her not to wake'. «despertara» is the imperfect subjunctive, used because the main verb «dijo» is past.
Luego salió, y recién a las doce del día fue descubierta la muerta.  
Then he left, and only at noon was the dead woman discovered.
> «recién» — only / just now (River Plate): In River Plate Spanish «recién» often means 'only / not until / just now' before a time expression: «recién a las doce» = 'only at noon, not until noon'. Elsewhere «recién» usually attaches to a past participle ('recently').

Pero lo que le impresionó extraordinariamente a Erdosain fue pensar que el asesino había estado cinco horas en compañía de la muerta, cinco horas junto al cadáver de la jovencita en la soledad de la noche... y que debía de haberla querido mucho.  
But what struck Erdosain extraordinarily was the thought that the killer had spent five hours in the company of the dead woman, five hours beside the corpse of the young girl in the solitude of the night... and that he must have loved her very much.
> «deber de» — supposition: «deber de» + infinitive expresses inference, not obligation: «debía de haberla querido» = 'he must have loved her'. The «de» (which «deber» of obligation omits) signals 'probably / must have'.

¿Mas él no había pensado lo mismo horas antes frente a la mujer de cabello rojo?  
But had he not thought the same thing hours earlier before the red-haired woman?
¿Era aquello una reminiscencia inconsciente o el suicida allí doblado?...  
Was that an unconscious recollection, or the suicide doubled over there?...

Llegó el carro de la Asistencia Pública y el muerto fue cargado.  
The Public Assistance wagon arrived and the dead man was loaded aboard.
> Passive voice: «fue cargado»: «ser» + past participle forms the true passive: «fue cargado» = 'was loaded'. The participle agrees with the subject («el muerto», masculine singular). This passive is more common in writing than in speech, where a «se» construction is preferred.

Luego lo interrogaron.  
Then they questioned him.
Erdosain manifestó lo poco que sabía como testigo, y salió intrigado a la calle.  
Erdosain stated the little he knew as a witness, and went out into the street, intrigued.
Una pregunta inconcreta y dolorosa estaba en el fondo de su conciencia.  
A vague and painful question lay at the bottom of his consciousness.

Recordaba ahora que el cadáver tenía la boca de los pantalones enfangada, la camisa sucia y húmeda y, a pesar de ello, ¿cómo había llegado a hacerse querer por la jovencita que mató?  
He recalled now that the corpse had the cuffs of its trousers caked with mud, the shirt dirty and damp, and despite all that, how had he managed to make himself loved by the young girl he killed?
> «a pesar de» — in spite of: «a pesar de» means 'in spite of, despite'; «a pesar de ello» = 'despite that, even so'. «hacerse querer» is 'to make oneself loved / win affection' — «hacerse» + infinitive meaning 'to get oneself + done to'.
¿Existía entonces el amor?  
Did love exist, then?
A pesar de sus dos mujeres y de sus ocho hijos dispersos y de su vida crapulosa de ladrón y estafador, el asesino amaba.  
In spite of his two women and his eight scattered children and his debauched life as a thief and swindler, the killer loved.
Y se lo imaginó en la noche hosca, allí, en ese hotel frecuentado por prostitutas e individuos de profesión indefinida, en una habitación de empapelado despedazado, mirando sobre la almohada empapada de sangre la cérea carita de la muchacha enfriada.  
And he imagined him in the sullen night, there, in that hotel frequented by prostitutes and individuals of undefined profession, in a room with shredded wallpaper, gazing on the blood-soaked pillow at the waxen little face of the girl gone cold.
> «e» instead of «y»: The conjunction «y» ('and') becomes «e» before a word beginning with the i-/hi- sound, to avoid two i-sounds clashing: «prostitutas e individuos». A purely phonetic rule of euphony.
Cinco horas sombrías contemplando la muerta, que antes le apretaba entre sus brazos desnudos.  
Five somber hours contemplating the dead woman, who before had held him in her bare arms.
Pensando así llegó a la plaza Once, dolorosamente estupefacto.  
Thinking thus, he reached Plaza Once, painfully stupefied.

Eran las cinco de la mañana.  
It was five in the morning.
> Telling time with «ser»: Spanish tells the clock with «ser», made plural to agree with the hour: «eran las cinco» = 'it was five o'clock'. The imperfect «eran» is standard for stating what time it was.
Entró a la estación del ferrocarril, miró en redor, y como tenía sueño se refugió en un rincón de la sala de espera.  
He went into the railway station, looked around, and since he was sleepy he took refuge in a corner of the waiting room.
> «tener sueño» — to be sleepy: Another «tener» + noun state: «tener sueño» = literally 'to have sleep' = 'to be sleepy'. Don't confuse «el sueño» as 'sleepiness' here with «el sueño» as 'a dream' — context decides.

A las ocho lo despertó de su profundo sueño el ruido que con las maletas hizo un pasajero.  
At eight, the noise a passenger made with his suitcases woke him from his deep sleep.
Se restregó con los puños los párpados adoloridos.  
He rubbed his aching eyelids with his fists.
En un cielo sin nubes brillaba el sol.  
In a cloudless sky the sun was shining.

Salió, subiendo a un ómnibus que se dirigía a Constitución.  
He went out, boarding a bus headed for Constitución.
El Astrólogo le esperaba en la estación de Temperley.  
The Astrologer was waiting for him at the Temperley station.
Su recia figura engabanada, con la chistera echada sobre los ojos y los bigotazos caídos a lo galo, fue distinguida inmediatamente por Erdosain.  
His sturdy overcoated figure, with his top hat pulled down over his eyes and his huge mustaches drooping in the Gaulish style, was picked out at once by Erdosain.
> Augmentative: «bigotazos»: «bigotazos» is the augmentative of «bigotes» ('mustache'): the -azo ending means 'big / huge', so 'great big mustaches'. «a lo galo» = 'in the Gaulish/French manner', the long drooping style.

–Está muy pálido –dijo el Astrólogo.  
–You're very pale –said the Astrologer.
> «estar» for a changed state: Spanish uses «estar» (not «ser») for a condition that can change or differs from the norm: «está pálido» = 'you are (looking) pale', a temporary state. «ser pálido» would mean 'to be pale-skinned by nature'.

–¿Estoy pálido?  
–Am I pale?

–Amarillo.  
–Yellow.

–He dormido mal... para peor he visto un suicidio esta mañana...  
–I slept badly... and worse, I saw a suicide this morning...
> Present perfect for the recent past: «he dormido», «he visto» are present-perfect forms («haber» + participle) for events still felt as part of today: 'I have slept / I have seen' = 'I slept / I saw' this very morning. The recency keeps it in the perfect rather than the preterite.

–Bueno, aquí tiene el cheque.  
–All right, here's the check.
> «aquí tiene» — here you are: «aquí tiene» (with the formal «usted») is the polite way to hand something over: 'here you are / here it is'. The Astrologer addresses Erdosain with «usted» throughout, a marker of their guarded, formal rapport.

Erdosain lo examinó.  
Erdosain examined it.
Era por quince mil trescientos setenta y tres pesos; al portador, pero con la fecha atrasada de dos días.  
It was for fifteen thousand three hundred seventy-three pesos; payable to the bearer, but with the date set back by two days.
> «al portador» — to the bearer: «al portador» is a banking term: a check 'to the bearer' is payable to whoever holds it, not to a named person. This is why Erdosain can cash it — and why the scheme is dangerous.

–¿Por qué atrasó la fecha?  
–Why did you set the date back?

–Inspirará más confianza.  
–It will inspire more confidence.
El empleado de banco sabe que si ese cheque se hubiera perdido, a la hora que usted se presentara a cobrarlo habría ya orden de secuestro.  
The bank clerk knows that if that check had been lost, by the time you showed up to cash it there would already be a seizure order.
> Past contrary-to-fact condition: An unreal past condition uses «si» + pluperfect subjunctive in the if-clause and the conditional (or conditional perfect) in the result: «si se hubiera perdido... habría orden» = 'if it had been lost... there would (already) be an order'. «cobrar» = 'to cash / collect'.

–¿Protestó?...  
–Did he protest?...

–No... sonreía.  
–No... he was smiling.
Ese hombre piensa hacernos meter en la cárcel a todos... ¡ah!... antes de ir al banco, vaya a una peluquería y hágase afeitar...  
That man means to have us all thrown in jail... ah!... before going to the bank, go to a barber's and get yourself shaved...
> «usted» commands: These are formal imperatives: «vaya» ('go', from «ir») and «hágase afeitar» ('get yourself shaved', «hacerse» + infinitive). With «usted» the command takes the subjunctive form, and pronouns attach to the affirmative verb («hágase»).

–¿Y el otro está advertido?  
–And has the other one been warned?

–No, cuando sea el momento lo despertaremos.  
–No, when the moment comes we'll wake him.
> Subjunctive after «cuando» (future): «cuando» pointing at a future, not-yet-real time takes the subjunctive: «cuando sea el momento» = 'when the moment comes'. Use «sea» (present subjunctive), not «es», because the moment has not yet arrived.
Faltaban pocos minutos para la llegada del tren.  
It was a few minutes until the train's arrival.
Erdosain lo miró sonriendo al Astrólogo y dijo:  
Erdosain looked at the Astrologer, smiling, and said:

–¿Qué haría usted si yo me escapara?  
–What would you do if I escaped?
> Present contrary-to-fact condition: A hypothetical present condition uses «si» + imperfect subjunctive plus the conditional: «¿Qué haría usted si yo me escapara?» = 'What would you do if I escaped (= were to escape)?'. The escape is imagined, not real.
El otro, con los dedos en horqueta, se sobó los bigotes, y luego:  
The other, his fingers forked, stroked his mustache, and then:

–Eso es tan imposible como que el tren que viene aquí no pare aquí.  
–That is as impossible as the train coming here not stopping here.
> Subjunctive after «tan... como que»: The comparison «tan imposible como que...» frames a hypothetical, so the verb is subjunctive: «no pare» (present subjunctive of «parar», 'to stop'). It states an absurd, contrary-to-fact scenario for emphasis.

–Pero admitámoslo por un momento.  
–But let's admit it for a moment.
> «nosotros» command (let's): «admitámoslo» = «admitamos» ('let's admit', first-person-plural subjunctive) with «lo» attached: 'let's admit it'. The 'let's' command uses the present subjunctive, and object pronouns hook onto the end.

–No puedo.  
–I cannot.
Si por un momento admitiera eso, no sería usted el que fuera a cobrar el cheque... ¡Ah!... ¿Quién era el que se suicidó esta mañana?  
If for a moment I admitted that, you would not be the one going to cash the check... Ah!... Who was the one who killed himself this morning?
> «suicidarse» — pronominal: «suicidarse» ('to kill oneself, commit suicide') is inherently pronominal — it always carries the reflexive «se». «el que se suicidó» = 'the one who killed himself'. The preterite marks the completed act.

–Un asesino.  
–A murderer.
Curioso.  
Strange.
Mató a una muchachita que no quería ir a vivir con él.  
He killed a young girl who didn't want to go and live with him.
> The personal «a»: When the direct object is a specific person, Spanish inserts the 'personal a': «mató a una muchachita» = 'he killed a young girl'. The «a» has no English equivalent; it simply marks a human object.

–Fuerzas perdidas.  
–Wasted energies.

–¿Y usted sería capaz de matarse?  
–And would you be capable of killing yourself?
> «ser capaz de» — to be capable of: «ser capaz de» + infinitive means 'to be capable of / able to bring oneself to' doing something. «¿sería capaz de matarse?» = 'would you be capable of killing yourself?'. «matarse» is the pronominal 'to kill oneself'.

–No... Usted comprende que yo estoy destinado para un fin más alto.  
–No... You understand that I am destined for a higher purpose.
Erdosain lanzó una pregunta extraña:  
Erdosain threw out a strange question:

–Dígame, ¿usted cree que las pelirrojas son crueles?  
–Tell me, do you think redheaded women are cruel?
> «pelirrojo/a» — redheaded: «pelirrojo/a» means 'red-haired, a redhead' (from «pelo» + «rojo»). Erdosain's obsession with the red-haired Hipólita threads through the chapter; here he asks the Astrologer about redheads as a type.

–Tanto no... pero más bien asexuales; de allí que esa frialdad con que examinan las cosas causa una impresión agria.  
–Not so much... rather asexual; hence that coldness with which they examine things makes a sour impression.
> «más bien» — rather: «más bien» is an idiom meaning 'rather, sooner, more like'. «más bien asexuales» = 'rather asexual / more like asexual'. «de allí que» = 'hence, that is why'.
El Rufián Melancólico me contaba que en su larga carrera de macró había conocido muy pocas prostitutas de cabello rojo... Ya sabe.  
The Melancholy Pimp used to tell me that in his long career as a pimp he had known very few red-haired prostitutes... You know.
> «macró» — pimp (lunfardo): «macró» is «lunfardo» (Buenos Aires underworld slang, from French «maquereau») for 'pimp'. The character is even nicknamed «el Rufián Melancólico» ('the Melancholy Pimp'). Such slang roots the novel in the city's criminal demimonde.
No se olvide de afeitarse.  
Don't forget to shave.
> Negative «usted» command: A negative formal command keeps the pronoun before the verb: «no se olvide» = 'don't forget' (vs. affirmative «olvídese»). «olvidarse de» + infinitive = 'to forget to'; «afeitarse» = 'to shave (oneself)'.
Vaya al banco a las once, no antes.  
Go to the bank at eleven, not before.
¿Usted almuerza conmigo hoy, no?  
You're lunching with me today, right?
> Stem change: «almorzar»: «almorzar» ('to have lunch') is a stem-changing verb (o→ue): «yo almuerzo», «usted almuerza». The o becomes ue in the stressed forms. «conmigo» = 'with me' (a special fused form of «con» + «mí»).

Sí, hasta luego.  
Yes, see you later.

Tras de Erdosain subió el Mayor, que le hizo una amistosa señal al Astrólogo.  
Behind Erdosain the Major boarded, giving the Astrologer a friendly sign.
Erdosain no lo vio.  
Erdosain did not see him.
Y ya hundido y en su butaca, Erdosain pensó:  
And already sunk down in his seat, Erdosain thought:

–Es un hombre extraordinario.  
–He is an extraordinary man.
¡Cómo diablos ha conocido que no lo engañaré¿ Si acierta en las otras cosas como en ésta triunfará –y vencido por el balanceo del tren se adormeció otra vez.  
How the devil has he known that I won't deceive him? If he hits the mark on the other things as he did on this one, he'll triumph –and overcome by the swaying of the train, he dozed off again.
> Real (open) condition: A condition presented as genuinely possible uses «si» + present indicative plus the future: «si acierta... triunfará» = 'if he hits the mark... he'll triumph'. This open conditional contrasts with the unreal «si admitiera... sería» seen earlier.
Tras de él estaba el Mayor.  
Behind him sat the Major.
Y ya en el banco, con el corazón golpeando fuertemente, se acercó a la ventanilla cuando el empleado pagador lo llamó:  
And now at the bank, his heart pounding hard, he stepped up to the teller's window when the paying clerk called him:
> «ventanilla» — teller's window: «ventanilla» is the diminutive of «ventana» ('window') and means a small service window — a bank teller's, ticket, or counter window. Here, the bank counter where Erdosain cashes the check.

–¿Quiere grueso o menudo?  
–Do you want it in large bills or small?
> «grueso» / «menudo» — large / small change: Here «grueso» ('thick, large') means large-denomination bills and «menudo» ('small, fine') means small bills or change. The clerk is asking how Erdosain wants the cash broken down.

–Grueso.  
–Large.

–Firme.  
–Sign.
> «firme» — formal command: «firme» is the «usted» imperative of «firmar» ('to sign'): 'sign'. Note «firme» the verb form is unrelated to «firme» the adjective ('firm, steady'); spelling coincides but meaning is set by context.

Erdosain firmó el reverso del cheque.  
Erdosain signed the back of the check.
Creyó que le pedirían cédula de identidad, mas el empleado, impasible, con sus brazos protegidos de manguitos de lustrina, contó diez billetes de a mil pesos, cinco de quinientos y el resto en moneda menor.  
He thought they would ask him for an identity card, but the clerk, impassive, his arms shielded by sleeve-guards of glazed cotton, counted out ten thousand-peso bills, five of five hundred, and the rest in smaller coin.
> Conditional for the future-in-the-past: «pedirían» is the conditional, used here as a 'future from a past viewpoint': he thought (then) that they would ask. After a past main verb («creyó»), the conditional reports what was expected to happen later.
Y aunque Erdosain deseaba huir de miedo, escrupulosamente recontó el dinero, lo puso en su cartera, colocó ésta en el bolsillo de su pantalón, cogiéndola fuertemente, y salió a la calle.  
And although Erdosain longed to flee out of fear, he scrupulously recounted the money, put it in his wallet, placed the wallet in his trouser pocket, gripping it tightly, and went out into the street.
> «aunque» + indicative: «aunque» ('although, even though') takes the indicative when the fact is real and known: «aunque deseaba huir» = 'although he longed to flee' (he really did). It would take the subjunctive only for a hypothetical 'even if'.

Entre bosques de nubes blancas, aparecía como metal recién lavado, un caracol de cielo.  
Among forests of white clouds, a spiral of sky appeared like freshly washed metal.

Erdosain se sintió feliz.  
Erdosain felt happy.
> «sentirse» + adjective: «sentirse» (pronominal of «sentir») + adjective means 'to feel + (some way)': «se sintió feliz» = 'he felt happy'. The adjective agrees with the subject. Plain «sentir» without «se» means 'to feel / sense (something)' or 'to be sorry'.
Pensó que en otros climas y bajo un espacio siempre azul como el que miraba debían existir mujeres singulares, de cabelleras lujosas y rostros lisos, con grandes ojos almendrados, sombrosos en la oscuridad de las largas pestañas.  
He thought that in other climates and beneath an ever-blue expanse like the one he was looking at, there must exist singular women, with luxuriant heads of hair and smooth faces, with great almond-shaped eyes, shadowy in the darkness of their long lashes.
Y que el aire siempre perfumado saldría de las grutas de la mañana hacia las bocacalles de las ciudades, escalonadas sobre los céspedes de los jardines, sobrepujando con sus esféricas torres las empenachadas crestas de los parques y terrazas.  
And that the ever-perfumed air would issue from the grottoes of the morning toward the street-mouths of cities terraced upon the lawns of gardens, overtopping with their spherical towers the plumed crests of the parks and terraces.

Y el rostro romboidal del Astrólogo, con las guías de los bigotes caídas a lo largo de las comisuras de los labios, y su chistera de cochero de punto, lo entusiasmó; luego pensó que unido a la sociedad podría continuar sus ensayos de electrotécnica, y ahora cruzaba las calles semejante a un emperador venido a menos, sin reparar que su prestancia seducía a las planchadoras que pasaban con la cesta bajo el brazo, y emocionaba a las pantaloneras que regresaban de las tiendas con pesados bultos.  
And the Astrologer's rhomboidal face, with the tips of his mustache trailing down along the corners of his lips, and his cab-driver's top hat, filled him with enthusiasm; then he thought that, joined to the society, he could go on with his experiments in electrical engineering, and now he crossed the streets like an emperor come down in the world, not noticing that his bearing seduced the laundresses who passed with baskets under their arms, and stirred the trouser-makers returning from the shops with heavy bundles.
> «venir a menos» — to come down in the world: «venir a menos» is an idiom meaning 'to decline, fall on hard times, come down in status'. «un emperador venido a menos» = 'an emperor come down in the world / a fallen emperor' — perfect for Erdosain's grandiose-yet-shabby self-image.

Inventaría el Rayo de la Muerte, un siniestro relámpago violeta cuyos millones de amperios fundirían el acero de los dreadnoughts, como un horno funde una lenteja de cera, y haría saltar en cascajos las ciudades de portland, como si las soliviantaran volcanes de trinitrotolueno.  
He would invent the Death Ray, a sinister violet lightning whose millions of amperes would melt the steel of dreadnoughts, as a furnace melts a wafer of wax, and would blast the cities of Portland cement to gravel, as if volcanoes of trinitrotoluene were heaving them up.
> Conditional for the daydream: The whole fantasy runs in the conditional: «inventaría» ('he would invent'), «fundirían» ('would melt'), «haría» ('would make'). The conditional marks all of it as imagined, hypothetical glory rather than fact.
Veíase convertido en Dueño del Universo.  
He saw himself turned into Master of the Universe.
Con una esquela terminante citaba a los Embajadores de las Potencias.  
With a peremptory note he summoned the Ambassadors of the Powers.
Encontrábase en un desmesurado salón de muros encristalados, cuyo centro lo ocupaba una mesa redonda.  
He found himself in an immense hall with glassed-in walls, whose center was taken up by a round table.
En rededor hundidos en las poltronas estaban los viejos diplomáticos, cabezas calvas, semblantes plomizos, miradas duras y furtivas.  
All around, sunk into the armchairs, sat the old diplomats — bald heads, leaden faces, hard and furtive looks.
Algunos golpeaban con el revés del lápiz el cristal de la mesa, otros fumaban silenciosos, y un gigantesco negro libreado de verde se mantenía inmóvil junto al terciopelo rojo de los cortinones que cubrían la entrada.  
Some tapped the glass of the table with the blunt end of a pencil, others smoked in silence, and a gigantic Black man liveried in green stood motionless beside the red velvet of the heavy curtains that covered the entrance.

¡Y él!  
And he!
Erdosain, Augusto Remo Erdosain, el ex ladrón, el ex cobrador, se levantaba.  
Erdosain, Augusto Remo Erdosain, the ex-thief, the ex-bill-collector, rose to his feet.
Su busto modelado por un negro saco cruzado se reflejaba en el vidrio de la mesa con los cuatro dedos de la mano derecha calzados en el bolsillo, y en la izquierda algunos papeles.  
His torso, molded by a black double-breasted jacket, was reflected in the glass of the table, with the four fingers of his right hand tucked into his pocket, and some papers in his left.
> «saco» — jacket (River Plate): In Argentina and Uruguay a «saco» is a suit 'jacket / coat' (in Spain, «chaqueta» or «americana»). «saco cruzado» = a 'double-breasted jacket'. Another quiet marker of the Buenos Aires register.
Ya de pie, examinaba con ojos glaciales el impasible rostro de los Embajadores.  
Now on his feet, he examined with glacial eyes the impassive faces of the Ambassadors.
Una palidez terrible le inmovilizaba con su frío delicioso.  
A terrible pallor held him still with its delicious cold.
Héroes de todas las épocas sobrevivían en él.  
Heroes of every age survived in him.
Ulises, Demetrio, Aníbal, Loyola, Napoleón, Lenin, Mussolini, cruzaban ante sus ojos como grandes ruedas ardientes, y se perdían en un declive de la tierra solitaria bajo un crepúsculo que ya no era terrestre.  
Ulysses, Demetrius, Hannibal, Loyola, Napoleon, Lenin, Mussolini passed before his eyes like great burning wheels, and were lost on a slope of the solitary earth beneath a twilight that was no longer earthly.

Sus palabras caían en sonidos breves, con choques sólidos de acero.  
His words fell in short sounds, with solid clashes of steel.
Y seducido por la teatralidad del espectáculo, se contemplaba en un imaginario espejo, estremecido y airado.  
And seduced by the theatricality of the spectacle, he contemplated himself in an imaginary mirror, trembling and enraged.

Imponía condiciones.  
He laid down conditions.

Los Estados debían entregarle sus flotas de guerra, millares de cañones y gavillas de fusiles.  
The States were to hand over to him their war fleets, thousands of cannon, and sheaves of rifles.

Luego de cada raza se seleccionarían algunos cientos de hombres, se les aislaría en una isla, y el resto de la humanidad era destruida.  
Then from each race a few hundred men would be selected, they would be isolated on an island, and the rest of humanity was destroyed.
> Passive/impersonal «se» in the conditional: «se» + verb forms a passive-impersonal: «se seleccionarían algunos cientos» = 'a few hundred would be selected'; «se les aislaría» = 'they would be isolated'. The conditional keeps the genocidal plan in the realm of the imagined.
El Rayo volaba las ciudades, esterilizaba campos, convertía en cenizas las razas y los bosques.  
The Ray blew up the cities, sterilized fields, turned races and forests to ashes.
Se perdería para siempre el recuerdo de toda ciencia, de todo arte y belleza.  
The memory of all science, of all art and beauty, would be lost forever.

Una aristocracia de cínicos, bandoleros sobresaturados de civilización y escepticismo, se adueñaba del poder, con él a la cabeza.  
An aristocracy of cynics, brigands oversaturated with civilization and skepticism, seized power, with him at its head.
> «adueñarse de» — to seize: «adueñarse de» (from «dueño», 'owner') is a pronominal verb meaning 'to take possession of, seize, take over'. «se adueñaba del poder» = 'seized / took over power'.
Y como el hombre para ser feliz necesita apoyar sus esperanzas en una mentira metafísica, ellos robustecerían el clero, instaurarían una inquisición para cercenar toda herejía que socavara los cimientos del dogma o la unidad de creencia que sería la absoluta unidad de la felicidad humana, y el hombre restituido al primitivo estado de sociedad, se dedicaría como en tiempos de los faraones a las tareas agrícolas.  
And since man, to be happy, needs to rest his hopes on a metaphysical lie, they would strengthen the clergy, would set up an inquisition to cut away every heresy that might undermine the foundations of dogma or the unity of belief that would be the absolute unity of human happiness, and man, restored to the primitive state of society, would devote himself, as in the time of the pharaohs, to agricultural labor.
> Subjunctive in a relative clause: When the antecedent is hypothetical or not yet identified, the relative clause takes the subjunctive: «toda herejía que socavara» = 'every heresy that might undermine'. Any such heresy is imagined, not a specific known one, hence «socavara» (imperfect subjunctive).
La mentira metafísica devolvería al hombre la dicha que el conocimiento le había secado en brote dentro del corazón.  
The metaphysical lie would give man back the happiness that knowledge had withered in the bud within his heart.
Sus palabras caían con sonidos cortos y secos, como los choques de cubos de acero.  
His words fell with short, dry sounds, like the clashing of steel cubes.
Y decía a los Embajadores:  
And he said to the Ambassadors:

–La ciudad de nosotros, los Reyes, será de mármol blanco y estará a la orilla del mar.  
–The city of us, the Kings, will be of white marble and will stand at the edge of the sea.
> «ser» vs. «estar» in the future: Even in the future, the contrast holds: «será de mármol» uses «ser» for an essential trait (what it is made of), while «estará a la orilla» uses «estar» for location ('will be located at'). «ser» for identity/material, «estar» for place.
Tendrá un diámetro de siete leguas y cúpulas de cobre rosa, lagos y bosques.  
It will have a diameter of seven leagues and domes of rose copper, lakes and forests.
Allí vivirán los santos de oficio, los patriarcas bribones, los magos fraudulentos, las diosas apócrifas.  
There will live the professional saints, the rascally patriarchs, the fraudulent magi, the apocryphal goddesses.
Toda ciencia será magia.  
All science will be magic.
Los médicos irán por los caminos disfrazados de ángeles, y cuando los hombres se multipliquen demasiado, en castigo de sus crímenes, luminosos dragones voladores derramarán por los aires vibriones de cólera asiático.  
The doctors will go along the roads disguised as angels, and when men multiply too much, in punishment for their crimes, luminous flying dragons will pour through the air the vibrios of Asiatic cholera.
> Subjunctive after future «cuando»: «cuando» pointing to a future, unrealized event takes the present subjunctive: «cuando se multipliquen» = 'when they multiply / come to multiply'. The main clause stays in the future («derramarán»).

«El hombre vivirá en plena etapa de milagro, y será millonario de fe.  
"Man will live in the full age of miracle, and will be a millionaire of faith.
Durante las noches proyectaremos en las nubes, con poderosos reflectores, la «entrada del Justo en el Cielo».  
By night we will project onto the clouds, with powerful searchlights, the "entry of the Just Man into Heaven".
¿Se imaginan ustedes?  
Can you imagine?
> «ustedes» — plural 'you': Addressing the Ambassadors as a group, he uses «ustedes» ('you all') with the third-person-plural verb: «¿se imaginan ustedes?» = 'can you (all) imagine?'. «imaginarse» is the pronominal 'to imagine, picture'.
Súbitamente, por sobre las montañas surge un rayo verde y lila, y las nubes se cubren de un jardín donde el aire blanco flota como copos de nieve.  
Suddenly, up over the mountains a green and lilac ray springs forth, and the clouds clothe themselves in a garden where the white air floats like snowflakes.
Un ángel de alas color de rosa cruza los canteros, se detiene ante la verja del Paraíso, y con los brazos abiertos los recibe al «Justo», un hombre de pueblo, con sombrero abollado, larga barba y garrote.  
An angel with rose-colored wings crosses the flowerbeds, stops before the gate of Paradise, and with open arms receives the "Just Man", a man of the people, with a battered hat, a long beard, and a cudgel.
> Redundant object pronoun: The pronoun «los» doubles the later object «al Justo», a River Plate trait of anticipating the object with a clitic (here even with a number mismatch). Standard grammar would be «recibe al Justo»; the doubling is colloquial emphasis.
¿Comprenden ustedes pillos, profesionales, cínicos y eximios?  
Do you understand, you rascals, professionals, cynics, and distinguished ones?
¿Comprenden?  
Do you understand?
El ángel de las alas color de rosa, lo recibe al hombre que en la tierra suda y sufre.  
The angel with the rose-colored wings receives the man who on earth sweats and suffers.
¿Se dan cuenta que genial es mi idea, qué maravilloso el fácil milagro?  
Do you realize how brilliant my idea is, how marvelous the easy miracle?
Y las multitudes adorarán de rodillas a Dios, y únicamente el cielo no existirá para nosotros, bandoleros tristes que tenemos el poder, la ciencia y la verdad inútil».  
And the multitudes will worship God on their knees, and only for us will heaven not exist — sad brigands that we are, who hold power, science, and the useless truth".
> «de rodillas» — kneeling: «de rodillas» (from «rodilla», 'knee') is an idiom meaning 'on one's knees, kneeling'. «adorarán de rodillas» = 'will worship on their knees'. Compare «de pie» ('standing') seen earlier.

Temblaba al hablar.  
He trembled as he spoke.

–Seremos como dioses.  
–We will be like gods.
Donaremos a los hombres milagros estupendos, deliciosas bellezas, divinas mentiras, les regalaremos la convicción de un futuro tan extraordinario, que todas las promesas de los sacerdotes serán pálidas frente a la realidad del prodigio apócrifo.  
We will bestow on men stupendous miracles, delicious beauties, divine lies; we will make them a gift of the conviction of a future so extraordinary that all the promises of the priests will be pale beside the reality of the apocryphal marvel.
> Indirect object «les»: «les» is the indirect-object pronoun 'to them', doubling «a los hombres»: «les regalaremos» = 'we will make them a gift'. Spanish routinely uses both the pronoun and the full noun phrase together.
Y entonces, ellos serán felices... ¿Comprenden, imbéciles?  
And then they will be happy... Do you understand, you imbeciles?

De un encontronazo un faquín lo arrojó contra un muro.  
With a sudden collision a porter flung him against a wall.
> «encontronazo» — a collision: «encontronazo» (with the forceful -azo ending) is a 'violent bump, collision, crash' between people. The jolt snaps Erdosain out of his daydream. «faquín» is an old word for a 'porter / load-carrier'.
Erdosain se detuvo espantado, apretó el dinero convulsivamente en su bolsillo, y excitado, ferozmente alegre como un tigrecito suelto en un bosque de ladrillo, escupió a la fachada de una casa de modas, diciendo:  
Erdosain stopped, terrified, clutched the money convulsively in his pocket, and excited, ferociously gleeful like a little tiger loose in a forest of brick, he spat at the front of a fashion house, saying:
> Diminutive: «tigrecito»: «tigrecito» is the diminutive of «tigre» ('tiger'). The -cito ending here is not just 'small' but affectionate-ironic — a 'little tiger', wild yet faintly absurd, capturing Erdosain's feverish, almost childish exhilaration.

–Serás nuestra, ciudad.  
–You will be ours, city.
> Future + apostrophe to the city: «serás» is the «tú» future of «ser»: 'you will be'. Erdosain addresses the city directly («ciudad») with the intimate «tú» form, an apostrophe that closes the chapter on his note of conquering megalomania.

Tras él caminaba el Mayor.  
Behind him walked the Major.
> «tras» — behind / after: «tras» means 'behind' or 'after'. The chapter's final line — «Tras él caminaba el Mayor» ('Behind him walked the Major') — quietly reminds us Erdosain is being shadowed, undercutting his fantasy of total power with the reality of surveillance.
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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.