کینو و جوانا فرار می‌کنن

Chapter nine

Kino and Juana Run Away

The house of Juan Tomas was almost the same as Kino’s house. Nearly all the little wooden houses were the same. All the houses were full of holes and Juana and Kino could still see the flames through the wall. They could see the tall flames burning up and they saw the roof of their house fall in.

Then Juana and Kino heard the shouts of their friends and the loud, high cry of Apolonia, the wife of Juan Tomas. Apolonia began to cry, like all the women cried when someone died in the family. A few minutes later, Apolonia came into her house to get her shawl. As she looked in a box by the wall, Kino Spoke very quietly.

‘Apolonia,’ Kino said, ‘don’t cry out. We are here.’

‘How did you get here?’ Apolonia asked.

‘Don’t ask any questions now,’ Kino answered. ‘Go to Juan Tomas and bring him here and don’t tell the others. This is very important, Apolonia.’

Apolonia looked at Kino.

‘Yes, Kino,’ she said.

In a few moments Juan Tomas came back with his wife. Juan Tomas lit a candle and came to Kino and Juana in the corner.

‘Apolonia,’ Juan Tomas said. ‘Go to the door and don’t let anyone come in.’

Juan Tomas was older than Kino and he seemed to know what to do.

‘Now brother,’ Juan Tomas said. ‘Tell me what happened.’

‘Someone attacked me in the dark,’ Kino said. ‘And in the fight I killed a man.’

‘Who?’ Juan Tomas asked quickly.

‘I don’t know,’ Kino answered. ‘It was dark - very dark.’

‘The man wanted the pearl,’ Juan Tomas said. ‘That pearl is bad, Kino. You should have sold the pearl. Perhaps you can still sell it.’

‘Brother,’ Kino said. ‘Something very bad has happened. Something has happened that is worse than death. Someone has made a hole in my canoe and burnt my house. A dead man is in the bushes. Men are watching and waiting to kill me. You must hide us, brother.’

Kino looked at his brother closely and he saw that Juan Tomas was afraid of the danger.

‘We don’t need to hide here for a long time,’ Kino said.

‘I will hide you,’ Juan Tomas answered.

‘I do not want to bring danger to you,’ Kino said. ‘I will go tonight and then you will be safe.’

‘I will help you,’ said Juan Tomas, and he called to Apolonia.

‘Apolonia, close the door,’ he said. ‘Don’t tell anyone that Kino and Juana are here.’

Kino and Juana sat silently all day, in the darkness of the house. They could hear the neighbours speaking. Through the walls of the house, Kino and Juana could see the neighbours. Kino and Juana heard their neighbours talking about their broken boat. Juan Tomas went out to talk to the neighbours. He did not tell the neighbours what had happened to Kino, Juana and the baby.

‘I think that they have gone south along the coast,’ Juan Tomas said to one man. To another man he said, ‘Kino would never leave the sea. Perhaps he found another boat.’ And then Juan Tomas said, ‘Apolonia is ill with sadness.’

That day, the wind blew strongly over the sea and the bushes along the coast. The wind blew strongly through the little wooden houses and no boat was safe in the water.

‘Kino will have drowned if he went to sea,’ the neighbours said.

Every time Juan Tomas went to see his neighbours, he came back with something for Kino and Juana. Juan Tomas brought a little bag of red beans and some rice. He brought a cup of dried peppers and some salt, and he brought a long, heavy knife. Kino’s eyes shone when he saw the knife. Kino touched the knife and it felt very sharp.

The wind blew strongly over the sea and made the water white. The trees moved about like frightened animals. Sand blew up from the land and made a cloud over the sea. The wind blew away the clouds and made the sky clear and clean. In the evening, Juan Tomas talked to his brother.

‘Where will you go?’ Juan Tomas asked Kino.

‘To the north,’ Kino answered. ‘I have heard that there are cities in the north.’

‘Don’t go near the beach,’ said Juan Tomas. ‘People are searching along the beach. The men in the town are looking for you. Have you still got the pearl?’

‘Yes, I have,’ Kino answered. ‘And I will keep it.’ And Kino’s eyes were hard and cruel.

Coyotito cried a little and Juana sang quietly to make him silent.

The wind is good,’ said Juan Tomas. ‘The wind will blow away your tracks.’

Kino and Juana left quietly in the dark, before the moon came up. The family stood in the house of Juan Tomas. Juana carried Coyotito on her back. She carried Coyotito in her shawl and the baby slept with one cheek against Juana’s shoulder. One end of the shawl covered Juana’s nose and kept away the cold night air. Juan Tomas kissed Kino on both cheeks.

‘Go with God,’ Juan Tomas said. ‘Why don’t you throw away the pearl?’

‘The pearl has become my life,’ Kino answered. ‘If I throw away the pearl, I shall lose my life. Go also with God, Juan Tomas.’

The strong wind blew sticks and sand and little stones through the air. Kino and Juana covered their faces as they walked along. The wind had cleared the dark sky and the stars shone brightly. Kino and Juana walked carefully. They did not go into the town because they did not want anyone to see them. Kino and Juana went past the town and turned north. They followed the sandy road that led through the forest to the next town.

Kino could feel the sand blowing against his legs. He was happy because he knew that the sand would blow away the tracks. He could see the narrow road through the forest by the light of the stars. Kino could hear the sound of Juana’s feet. Kino went quickly and Juana was almost running behind.

Kino’s people had always been afraid of the night and Kino was afraid, too. Kino was like a hunted animal now. He moved quickly and carefully. The wind made a frightening noise through the trees and bushes, as Kino and Juana walked on through the darkness. At last, the moon came up on their right. When the moon came up, the wind stopped and the air was still again.

Kino and Juana could see the little road in front of them. The sandy road was deeply cut with wheel tracks. Now that the wind had stopped, Kino and Juana would also leave tracks.

Kino and Juana walked all night without stopping. In the early morning, Kino looked for a place to hide during the day. He found a place near the road. An animal had made a place in the bushes. No one could see the place from the road. Juana sat down and fed the baby and Kino went back to the road. Kino broke off a piece of tree and carefully swept away the tracks.

It was getting light now. Kino heard a cart coming along the road. Kino bent down near the road and watched a heavy, two-wheel cart go by. When the cart had gone, Kino went back to the road and looked at the cart tracks. Kino saw that his tracks had gone. He swept the ground again and then went back to Juana.

Juana gave Kino some corncakes that Apolonia had made. Juana then slept a little, while Kino sat and looked at the ground.

The hot sun came up in the sky. Kino and Juana were not near the sea now, and the air was very dry and hot. Kino could smell the trees in the hot air. Juana woke up when the sun was high in the sky. Then Kino pointed at the trees.

‘Be careful of that tree there,’ Kino said to Juana. ‘Do not touch the tree. If you touch it and then touch your eyes, you will become blind.’

Then Kino pointed to another tree.

‘Do not break the branch of that tree,’ he said. ‘If you break the branch, red blood will run out, and the blood brings bad luck.’

Juana nodded and smiled a little because she knew these things.

‘Will they follow us?’ Juana asked. ‘Do you think that they will try to find us?’

‘They will try,’ Kino answered. ‘If they find us, they will take the pearl. Oh, yes, they will try.’

Then Juana said, ‘Perhaps the buyers were right and the pearl has no value. Perhaps we are wrong.’

Kino put his hand in his pocket and brought out the pearl. The sun made the pearl shine brightly.

‘No,’ Kino said, ‘they would not have tried to steal the pearl if it was not valuable.’

‘Do you know who attacked you?’ Juana asked. ‘Was it the buyers?’

‘I don’t know,’ Kino answered. ‘I didn’t see the people who attacked me.’

Kino looked into the pearl and started to dream again. He tried to dream of all the things that he wanted. But he could not dream again. He could only think of the terrible things that had happened since they found the pearl.

‘When we sell this pearl, I will have a rifle,’ he said.

Kino tried to think about the rifle, but he could only think of death. He thought of the man that he had killed with his knife.

‘We will be married in the church,’ Kino said quickly.

But when Kino tried to think about his marriage, he thought about Juana. He could only think of the blood on Juana’s face where he had hit her.

Kino was afraid, but he spoke again.

‘Our son must learn to read,’ he said.

Kino looked at his pearl and he tried to dream of his son reading a book. But instead, Kino dreamt about the doctor who had made Coyotito sick.

Kino stopped thinking about these terrible things and he put the pearl back into his pocket.