The God of the City

One evening in the distant past a fisherman anchored his boat near the bank of a stream which flowed close by a great city, whose walls could be seen rising grey and rugged in the near distance. The sound of life fell upon his ear and kept him from feeling lonely. Coolies, with bamboo carrying-poles on their shoulders, tired out with the heavy work of the day, hurried by afraid lest the darkness should overtake them before they reached their homes. The bearers of sedan-chairs, which they had carried for many a weary mile, strode by with quickened step and with an imperious shout at the foot passengers to get out of their way and not block up the narrow road by which they would gain the city walls before the great gates were closed for the night.

遠いむかしのある夕暮れ、一人の漁師が、大きな町のすぐ脇を流れる川の岸辺近くに舟を繋いだ。町の城壁は、すぐそこに灰色にごつごつと聳え立って見えた。人の暮らしの音が耳に届き、漁師は寂しさを感じずにすんだ。肩に竹の天秤棒をかついだ苦力たちが、その日の重労働に疲れ果て、家に着く前に日が暮れるのを恐れて急ぎ足で通りすぎていく。何里もの道のりを担いできた駕籠かきたちは、足を速めて大股に歩き、道をあけろ、狭い道をふさぐなと歩行者に居丈高な声をあげる。夜の帳が下りて大門が閉ざされる前に、城壁の内へ入ろうというのである。

By the time that the afterglow had died out of the sky and the distant hills were blotted out of the horizon, the fisherman had finished the cooking of his evening meal. The rice sent a fragrant odour from the wide-mouthed pan in which it lay white and appetizing. A few of the very small fish he had caught in the river had been fried to a brown and savoury-looking colour, and he was just about to sit down and enjoy his supper when, happening to look round, he saw a stranger sitting in the after part of the boat.

夕焼けの残照が空から消え、遠くの山々が地平から拭い去られるころには、漁師は夕餉の支度を終えていた。口の広い鍋の中で白く食欲をそそる米が、かぐわしい湯気を立てていた。川で捕った小さな魚を何匹か、狐色に香ばしく揚げてある。さあ座って夕餉を楽しもうとしたそのとき、ふと振り返ると、舟の後ろの方に見知らぬ人が座っているのが目に入った。

He was greatly amazed and was about to express his surprise, when something about the appearance of this unexpected visitor kept him spell-bound. For the stranger had a fine scholarly look about him, and the air of a man belonging to a good family. He had, moreover, a benevolent, kindly face, which could not fail to win the confidence of anyone who gazed upon it.

漁師はたいそう驚き、その驚きを口に出そうとしたが、この思いがけぬ客人の佇まいの何かが、彼を釘づけにした。というのも、その見知らぬ人には学のある立派な風格があり、良い家柄の者らしい気配が漂っていたからである。しかも情け深く優しい顔立ちで、それを見つめる者の信頼を得ずにはおかぬようであった。

Whilst the fisherman was wondering who his visitor was and how he had managed to come so mysteriously into the boat, the stranger said: "Allow me to explain who I am and to apologise for intruding on you without first having got your permission to do so. I am the spirit of a man who two years ago was drowned not very far from where your boat is now anchored. Many attempts have I made to inveigle others into the river, so that I might be free to leave the spot to which my miserable fate binds me until another unhappy wretch shall take my place."

漁師が、この客人は何者で、どうやってこんなに不思議に舟へ入り込んだのだろうと訝っていると、その人が言った。「わたしが何者かを説明させてください。そして、あらかじめお許しも得ずに押しかけたことをお詫びします。わたしは二年前、あなたの舟がいま繋がれているところからさほど遠くない場所で溺れ死んだ者の霊です。これまで幾度も、ほかの者を川へ誘い込もうと試みてきました。わたしのみじめな定めが縛りつけているこの場所から、別の不幸な者が代わりに来てくれさえすれば、自由に離れられるからです。」

The spirit of a drowned person is condemned to hover round the spot where his life was lost, until, either by accident or by the wiles of the sufferer, someone else perishes in the water and thus takes the place of the spirit, which then travels with lightning speed to the Land of Shadows.

溺れ死んだ者の霊は、命を落とした場所のあたりを漂い続けるよう定められている。偶然によってか、あるいはその霊の企みによってか、誰かほかの者がその水で死に、霊の代わりとなるまでは。そうなって初めて、霊は稲妻のような速さで冥府の国へと旅立つのである。

"I was so dull this evening," continued the stranger, "that I felt impelled to come and have a chat with you for a short time. So I hope you will take my visit in good part, and allow me to sit in your boat until it is time for you to go to bed."

「今宵はあまりに退屈で」と客人は続けた。「どうしても、しばらくあなたと語らいたくなったのです。ですからどうか、わたしの訪いを悪く思わず、お休みになる時刻まで舟に座らせてください。」

The fisherman, who was greatly taken with his courtly visitor, expressed his great pleasure in receiving him, and invited him to share his evening meal and to make himself quite at home for as long as he liked.

この気品ある客人にすっかり心を惹かれた漁師は、迎えられて大いに嬉しいと言い、夕餉をともにし、好きなだけくつろいでいくようにと勧めた。

After this the solitary spirit of the river used frequently to come and spend an evening with the fisherman, until quite a friendship sprang up between them. One evening this ghostly visitor appeared with a face covered with smiles and with a glad note of joy in his voice. No sooner had he sat down than he said, "This is the last evening I shall be able to spend with you. The long weary time of waiting is now nearly at an end, and to-morrow another victim to the river will give me my release and you will see me no more."

これより後、この孤独な川の霊はたびたび漁師のもとを訪れて夕べを過ごすようになり、二人のあいだにはすっかり友情が芽生えた。ある晩、この幽鬼の客人は顔じゅうに笑みを浮かべ、声に喜びの響きをこめて現れた。腰を下ろすなり、こう言った。「今宵が、あなたと過ごせる最後の晩です。長く辛い待ちの時もほぼ終わりました。明日、川に新たな犠牲者が出て、わたしを解き放ってくれます。もうわたしを見ることはないでしょう。」

Now, the fisherman was a deeply benevolent man, and he was most anxious to see what unhappy person was to be drowned on the morrow. About midday, as he was watching by the river-side, he saw a poor woman, weeping and sobbing, come rushing with hasty steps towards the water. Her hair was dishevelled, and her eyes red with tears, and frequent cries of sorrow burst from her lips. Straight as an arrow she made for the stream, and was just preparing to throw herself into it, when the fisherman in a loud and commanding voice told her to stop.

さて、漁師は深く情けの厚い男であったから、明日溺れる不幸な者とはいったい誰なのか、どうしても見届けたかった。昼ごろ、川辺で見張っていると、一人の貧しい女が泣きじゃくりながら、急ぎ足で水辺へ駆けてくるのが見えた。髪は乱れ、目は涙で赤く、その唇からはたびたび悲嘆の叫びが漏れた。女は矢のようにまっすぐ川へ向かい、いままさに身を投げようとしたとき、漁師が大きな、有無を言わせぬ声で止まれと言った。

He then asked her what was the matter and what reason there was for her to sacrifice her life in the river.

それから漁師は、どうしたのか、なぜ川に命を投げ捨てねばならぬのかと尋ねた。

"I am a most unhappy woman," she replied. "On my way home just now I was waylaid by a footpad, who robbed me of some money that I was taking back to my husband. This money was to pay a debt we owed to a man who threatens us with the severest penalties if we do not give it to him to-day. Far rather would I face death than see the sorrow which would overwhelm my husband if I told him my sorrowful story."

「わたしはこの上なく不幸な女です」と女は答えた。「たったいま家へ帰る途中、追い剥ぎに待ち伏せされて、夫のもとへ持ち帰るはずの金を奪われてしまいました。この金は、今日中に渡さねば厳しい仕置きをすると脅している男への借りを返すためのものでした。この悲しい話を打ち明けたときに夫を打ちのめすであろう嘆きを見るくらいなら、死んだほうがずっとましです。」

Having asked her how much money had been taken from her, the fisherman presented the woman with the exact amount, and soon she was proceeding with joyful footsteps in the direction of her home.

いくら奪われたのかと尋ねたうえで、漁師はその額をぴったり女に渡してやった。まもなく女は喜びの足どりで家の方へ向かっていった。

That same evening the fisherman was again visited by the spirit who had bidden him an eternal farewell the previous evening.

その同じ晩、前の晩に永の別れを告げたはずの霊が、ふたたび漁師を訪れた。

"What did you mean," asked the visitor, "by depriving me of the one chance I had of gaining my freedom?"

「どういうおつもりです」とその客人は尋ねた。「わたしが自由になれるただ一度の機会を、奪ってしまわれるとは。」

"I could not bear to see the sorrow of the poor woman," replied the fisherman, "nor to think of the tragedy to her home had she perished in the stream, and so I saved her." With eloquent lips he proceeded to describe the beauty of benevolence, and urged upon his guest the nobler course of trying to save life even at the expense of his own happiness. In the end the latter was so deeply moved that he promised never again to make any attempt to gain his liberty through another's death, even though this should mean that he would have to spend long ages of misery in the fatal stream.

「あの哀れな女の嘆きを見るに忍びなかったのです」と漁師は答えた。「それに、あの人が川で死んでいたら、その家に降りかかったであろう悲劇を思うと、とても。だから助けました。」漁師は雄弁に情けの美しさを説き、たとえ自らの幸せを犠牲にしても命を救おうとする、より高い道を客人に勧めた。ついに霊は深く心を動かされ、たとえこの死の川で果てしなく長い年月を苦しんで過ごすことになろうとも、二度と他人の死によって自由を得ようとはすまいと誓った。

Years went by, and yet for the imprisoned spirit there came no release. Cases of suicide or accidental drowning in the flowing stream ceased altogether. Many a life that would have perished was saved from destruction by mysterious warnings which came from the sullen water, and which terrified away the would-be suicides as they were about to hurl themselves into it.

幾年もが過ぎたが、この囚われの霊に解放は訪れなかった。この流れでの入水も、溺死の事故も、まったく起こらなくなった。命を落とすはずだった多くの者が、陰鬱な水面から届く不思議な警告によって破滅から救われた。身を投げようとした者たちは、その声に怯えて逃げ去ったのである。

At length Kwan-yin, the Goddess of Mercy, moved by the sight of such a generous sacrifice of self in order to save the souls of unfortunate people who had become weary of life, released this noble spirit from its watery prison. Moreover, as she felt convinced that such a man could safely be entrusted with the destinies of those who might appear before his tribunal, she made him a god and decreed that temples should be erected to him in every town and city of the Empire, so that all who were suffering wrong or injustice could have their causes righted at the shrine of one who had shown such profound devotion and sympathy for others in distress.

ついに慈悲の女神である観音は、生きることに倦んだ不幸な人々の魂を救うために、これほど寛大に己を犠牲にする姿に心を動かされ、この気高い霊を水の牢獄から解き放った。それのみならず、これほどの者であれば、自らの法廷に現れる者たちの運命を安んじて委ねられると確信し、彼を神として、帝国のあらゆる町と都に彼を祀る廟を建てるよう定めた。こうして、不当な仕打ちや不正に苦しむ者は誰でも、苦難にある他人にこれほど深い献身と同情を示した者の社で、その訴えを正してもらえるようになったのである。

Such is the story of the God of the City.

これが城隍神(じょうこうしん)——町の神——の話である。

Since he is regarded as the representative of the dread ruler of the Land of Shadows, his temple has been erected very much in the same style as the courts of the Mandarins. Its main entrance is large and imposing, and the great gates suggest those of the yamen of some high official.

この神は冥府の国の恐るべき支配者の代理と見なされているので、その廟は役人の法廷とよく似た造りで建てられている。正面の入口は大きく堂々としており、大門は高官の役所のそれを思わせる。

Within these is an immense courtyard, paved with slabs of granite, and on each side of this there are six life-size statues of the "runners," or policemen, of the god, who stand ready to carry out his decisions, and to pursue and capture by invisible and mysterious processes those whom he has condemned as guilty. The faces of these figures are distorted by passion, and their attitudes are such as men might be conceived to assume in apprehending some notorious criminal whom Yam-lo had ordered to be seized.

その内側には花崗岩の板を敷きつめた広大な中庭があり、その両側には、神の「走り手」すなわち捕吏の等身大の像が六体ずつ立っている。神の裁きを執り行い、有罪と定められた者を目に見えぬ不思議な手立てで追い、捕らえるべく身構えているのである。これらの像の顔は憤怒に歪み、その構えは、閻魔が召し捕れと命じた名うての罪人を捕らえようとする者が取るであろう姿そのものである。

At the end of this spacious courtyard is the shrine of the god, but he is so hidden behind a yellow curtain that it is impossible to catch a glimpse of his image. In front of him are statues of his two secretaries, who, with huge pens in their hands, stand ready day and night to take down the petitions and indictments laid before the god by those who are in sorrow or who are suffering wrong.

この広い中庭の突きあたりが神の社であるが、黄色い帳の奥に深く隠されていて、その像を垣間見ることはできない。神の前には二人の書記の像が立ち、巨大な筆を手に、悲しみにある者や不当な扱いを受けた者が神の前に差し出す訴えと告発を、昼も夜も書き留めようと身構えている。

One afternoon the peace of such a temple was suddenly disturbed by a noisy clamour outside, and the sound of hurried footsteps as of a crowd rushing through the main gates. Two men advanced with rapid, excited strides straight past the demon policeman at the door, who seemed to scowl with added ferocity as they gazed at the actors in a scene with which they would have much to do by-and-by.

ある日の午後、そうした廟の静けさが、外の騒がしい物音と、群衆が大門を駆け抜けてくるような慌ただしい足音によって、突如破られた。二人の男が興奮した足どりで、戸口の鬼の捕吏の前を足早に通り過ぎていった。捕吏たちは、やがて自分たちが大いに関わることになるこの一幕の役者たちを見つめて、いっそう獰猛に睨みつけているように見えた。

The two men were quite young, a little over twenty; and behind them followed a string of idlers and loafers and street arabs, who seem to spring up like magic when anything unusual happens. One of the young men was slightly ahead of the crowd. His face was flushed and his black eyes sparkled with excitement, whilst in his left hand he carried a large white cock. He was the complainant, and his purpose in coming to the temple was to appeal to the god to vindicate his honour.

二人の男はどちらもごく若く、二十歳を少し過ぎたばかりであった。その後ろには、何か珍しいことが起こると魔法のように湧いて出る、暇人や遊び人や町の子どもたちがぞろぞろと続いた。若い男の一人が、群衆より少し先を歩いていた。顔は紅潮し、黒い目は興奮に輝き、左手には大きな白い雄鶏を提げていた。これが訴人であり、廟へ来た目的は、自らの潔白を神に晴らしてもらうことであった。

He took his stand in front of the idol, and the secretaries, with pens in their hands, seemed to put on a strained look of attention as the young fellow produced a roll of paper and began to read the statement he had drawn up. It was diffuse and wordy, as most of such documents are, but the main facts were quite plain.

男は神像の前に立った。書記たちは筆を手に、緊張して耳を澄ませる面持ちになったように見えた。若者は巻いた紙を取り出し、したためてきた申し立てを読みはじめた。この種の文書の常として冗長で言葉数が多かったが、要点はきわめて明らかであった。

The two young men were assistants in a shop in the city. Some little time before, the master of the shop, without telling either of them, concealed in a chosen place a sum of one hundred dollars, which he wished to have in readiness in order to pay for certain goods he had purchased. The previous day, when he went to get the money on the presentation of the bill, he found to his horror that it had disappeared. He had told no one of this secret hoard, not even his wife; and therefore he felt convinced that in some way or other one of his two assistants had discovered his hiding-place. For some reason his suspicions became aroused against the man who was now detailing his grievances, and who was appealing to the god to set in motion all the tremendous forces at his command, not only to proclaim his innocence but also to bring condign punishment on the real culprit.

二人の若者は、町のある店の使用人であった。少し前のこと、店の主人は二人のどちらにも告げずに、選んだ場所に百ドルの金を隠しておいた。仕入れた品の支払いに充てるため、いつでも出せるようにしておきたかったのである。前日、勘定書を示されて金を取りに行ったところ、それが消え失せているのを見て主人は肝をつぶした。この隠し金のことは誰にも、妻にさえ話していなかった。それゆえ、どうにかして二人の使用人のどちらかが隠し場所を突き止めたのだと確信した。何かの理由で、主人の疑いは、いま不満を訴え、自らの潔白を宣するのみならず真の罪人に相応の罰をもたらしてくれと、神の手中にある恐るべき力のすべてを動かすよう求めているこの男に向けられたのだった。

The scene was a weird and fascinating one, and became most exciting as the young man neared the end of his appeal. He called upon the god to hurl all the pains and penalties in his unseen armoury against the man who had really stolen the money.

その光景は奇怪で人を惹きつけるものであり、若者が訴えの終わりに近づくにつれて、いよいよ息づまるものになった。若者は神に呼びかけ、その見えざる武器庫にあるあらゆる苦痛と刑罰を、実際に金を盗んだ者へ投げつけてくれと求めた。

"Let his life be one long torture," he cried with uplifted hands. "May every enterprise in which he engages end in disaster; may his father and mother die, and let him be left desolate; may a subtle and incurable disease lay its grip upon him; may misfortune pursue him in every shape and form; may he become a beggar with ulcered legs and sit on the roadside and beseech the passers-by, in sunshine and in storm, for a few cash that will just help to keep him alive; may he never have a son to perpetuate his name or to make offerings to his spirit in the Land of Shadows; may madness seize upon him so that his reason shall fly and he shall be a source of terror to his fellow-men; and finally, may a tragic and horrible death bring his life to a sudden end, even as I bring to an end the life of this white cock that I have brought with me."

「あの者の生涯を、ひとつづきの責め苦にしてください」と、若者は両手を高く上げて叫んだ。「あの者が手をつけるいかなる仕事も破滅に終わりますように。父と母は死に、独りきりで取り残されますように。狡猾で治らぬ病がその身を掴みますように。不運があらゆる形と姿で追いかけますように。潰瘍だらけの脚をした乞食となって道端に座り、晴れの日も嵐の日も、かろうじて生きながらえるだけの銭を通りすがりの人に乞いますように。その名を継ぎ、冥府の国でその霊に供物を捧げてくれる息子を、決して持てませんように。狂気がその身を捉えて理性は飛び去り、人々の恐怖の種となりますように。そして最後に、悲惨で恐ろしい死がその生を突然に断ち切りますように——わたしがいま、ここに携えてきたこの白い雄鶏の命を断ち切るのと同じように。」

As he uttered these last words he grasped a chopper, and with one sharp and vicious blow cut off the head of the struggling animal, which wildly fluttered its wings in the agonies of death, whilst its life-blood poured out in a stream on the ground.

この最後の言葉を口にするなり、若者は肉切り包丁を掴み、鋭く容赦のない一撃でもがく鶏の首を切り落とした。鶏は断末魔に激しく翼をばたつかせ、その生き血は流れとなって地面に注いだ。

He then took his petition, and advancing close up to the secretaries, who seemed for the moment to gaze down upon him with a look of sympathy on their faces, he set fire to it and burned it to ashes. In this way it passed into the hands of the god, who would speedily set in motion unseen machinery to bring down upon the head of the guilty one the judgments which had just been invoked.

それから若者は訴状を手に取り、書記たちのすぐそばまで進み出た。書記たちはその瞬間、同情の色を顔に浮かべて彼を見下ろしているかのようであった。若者は訴状に火をつけ、灰になるまで燃やした。こうしてそれは神の手に渡り、神はただちに目に見えぬ仕掛けを動かして、いま呼び求められた裁きを罪ある者の頭上に下すのである。

The sympathies of the crowd were with the man who had sworn a solemn oath that he was innocent of the theft. The other young fellow, who had said little or nothing during the proceedings, was believed to be the real culprit, but there was no evidence upon which he could be convicted. The god knew, however, and every one was satisfied that in due time punishment would descend upon the transgressor.

群衆の同情は、盗みについて潔白であると厳かに誓ったこの男の側にあった。この間ほとんど何も言わなかったもう一人の若者こそが真の罪人だと信じられたが、有罪とするに足る証拠はなかった。しかし神はご存じである。そして誰もが、しかるべき時に罰が下るであろうと納得していた。

In a few minutes the temple resumed its normal aspect, for with the disappearance of the two principal actors in the scene, the idlers from the street slowly dispersed, each one loudly expressing his opinion as to the merits of the question in dispute. With the dissolving of the crowd, it would have seemed to the casual observer that no further proceedings were to be taken in the matter. The god's face wore its usually placid look, unmoved by the shifting panorama of human life which ebbed and flowed in front of him from morning till night. The ghastly-looking policemen, with their grinning visages and ferocious scowls and contorted bodies, remained in the same unchanging postures by the main entrance.

数分のうちに廟はいつもの姿を取り戻した。主役の二人が去ると、通りの暇人たちもゆるゆると散っていき、それぞれ争いの是非について大声で意見を述べていた。群衆が解けてしまえば、通りすがりの者の目には、この件についてこれ以上何も行われないかのように見えたであろう。神の顔はいつもの穏やかな面持ちのままで、朝から晩まで目の前を寄せては返す人の世の移り変わりに動じることもなかった。恐ろしげな捕吏たちは、にたにたと歯を剥き、獰猛に睨み、体をよじらせた同じ姿勢のまま、正面の入口に立ち続けていた。

A week or two had gone by since the appeal had been made to the god, when those who were following the case and were looking out for some grim evidence that the god was at work in bringing retribution on the man whom everyone suspected of being the thief, were startled by a heartrending catastrophe.

神への訴えから一、二週間が過ぎたころ、この一件を見守り、盗人と誰もが疑うあの男に神が報いを下している証を待ち構えていた人々は、胸を引き裂くような惨事に驚かされた。

This man had a sister, just bursting into womanhood, who was the very light of her home. Her merry laugh could be heard throughout the day, so that sadness could not long abide in the same house. Her face, too, seemed to have been formed to match her sunny smiles, and was a constant inspiration that never failed to give those who looked upon it a brighter view of life.

この男には、まさに女に花開こうとする妹がいて、その家の光そのものであった。その陽気な笑い声は一日じゅう聞こえ、悲しみがその家に長く居座ることはなかった。顔立ちもまた、その陽だまりのような笑みに合わせて作られたかのようで、それを目にした者に、より明るい人生の見方を与えずにはおかぬ、絶えざる励ましであった。

One morning she went down to the river-bank with several of her neighbours to do the household washing. The stream was strong and rapid in the centre, but the place which these women had selected for their work had always been considered perfectly safe, for it was outside the current and no accident had ever happened there.

ある朝、娘は近所の女たち何人かと川岸へ、家の洗濯をしに下りていった。流れは中ほどでは速く強かったが、女たちが仕事に選んだ場所はつねに安全と見なされていた。流れの外にあり、そこで事故が起きたことは一度もなかったのである。

They had finished all that they had purposed to do, and were ascending the bank to return home, when they heard an agonized cry and turning swiftly round they perceived that this young girl had stumbled and fallen into the river. They were so horrified at the accident that they lost all presence of mind and allowed the fast-flowing stream to get a grip of her and drag her into the current. When help at last came, her body could just be seen floating on the troubled waters, and before a boat could be launched it had disappeared in the waves of the sea which tumbled and roared about a quarter of a mile further down.

やろうと思っていたことをすべて終え、家へ帰ろうと土手を登っていたとき、苦悶の叫びが聞こえた。さっと振り返ると、あの若い娘が足を滑らせて川に落ちたのが見えた。女たちは事故にすっかり動転して落ち着きを失い、速い流れが娘を掴んで本流へ引きずり込むのをそのままにしてしまった。ようやく助けが来たときには、その体は荒れた水面に浮かんでいるのがかろうじて見えるだけで、舟を出す間もなく、四半里ほど下流で逆巻き轟く海の波の中に消えてしまった。

This terrible disaster, which brought unutterable gloom and sorrow upon the home, was unquestionably the work of the god. With bated breath people talked of the tragic end of this beautiful girl, who had won her way into the hearts of all who knew her; but they recognized that her death had been caused by no mere accident, but by the mysterious power of the invisible forces which are always at work to bring punishment upon those who have violated the Righteousness of Heaven.

その家に言葉にできぬ暗さと悲しみをもたらしたこの恐ろしい災いは、疑いなく神の仕業であった。人々は息をひそめて、知る者すべての心を掴んでいたこの美しい娘の悲惨な最期を語り合った。しかし人々は、その死が単なる事故によるものではなく、天の道に背いた者に罰を下そうとつねに働いている見えざる力の、不思議な作用によるものだと悟っていた。

About a month after this calamity, the monsoon rains began to fall. The clouds gathered in dense masses upon the neighbouring hills, and poured down such copious showers that the mountain streams were turned into roaring avalanches, tearing their way down to the sea with an impetuosity that nothing could resist.

この災いからひと月ほどして、季節風の雨が降りはじめた。近くの山々に雲が厚く重なり、たいそう激しく降り注いだので、山の谷川は轟く雪崩のようになり、何ものにも抗えぬ勢いで海へと道を切り開いていった。

One of these streams, which used to run by the side of the ancestral property of the family of the man who was believed to have stolen the hundred dollars, overflowed its banks and rushing along with mad and headlong speed it swept away their fields, so that when the rains ceased not a trace of them was to be found, but only sand and gravel, from which no crop could ever be gathered in the future. The consequence was that the family was utterly ruined.

その谷川の一つが、百ドルを盗んだと目される男の一族の先祖伝来の土地の脇を流れていたのだが、これが岸を越えてあふれ、狂ったような猛烈な速さで押し寄せて畑を洗い流してしまった。雨がやんだときには畑の跡形もなく、あるのは砂と砂利ばかりで、この先どんな作物も採れぬ有様であった。その結果、一家はまったく没落してしまった。

This second disaster falling on the homestead was a clear indication to everyone who knew the story of the stolen money that the god was still at work in bringing retribution on the sinner. The fact that other farms had come out of the flood undamaged was proof positive of this.

この二度目の災いが同じ家に降りかかったことは、盗まれた金の話を知る誰の目にも、神がなおも罪人に報いを下し続けている明らかな証であった。ほかの農地が洪水から無傷で残ったという事実が、その何よりの証拠であった。

From this time, too, the young man who really was the culprit began to be troubled in his mind because of the calamities that had fallen on his family. The death of his sister by drowning, and the utter destruction of his home by the flood, which had injured no other farmer in the neighbourhood, were plain indications that the curses which his falsely accused fellow-assistant had prayed the god to bring down on the head of the guilty party were indeed coming fast and thick upon him.

またこの頃から、実際に罪を犯した若者は、一族に降りかかった災いのために心を悩ませはじめた。妹が溺れて死んだこと、近隣のほかの農民には何の害も及ぼさなかった洪水が我が家を跡形もなく壊したこと——それらは、濡れ衣を着せられた同輩が罪ある者の頭上に下せと神に祈ったあの呪いが、まさに次々と自分に降りかかっているという、紛れもない徴であった。

A dread of coming evil took possession of him, and this so preyed upon his mind that he began to lose his reason. He would go about muttering to himself, and declaring that he saw devils. These fits grew upon him, until at last he became raving mad, and had to be seized and bound with ropes to prevent him doing injury to himself or to others. At times he suffered from violent spasms of mania, while at others, again, though undoubtedly insane, he was quiet and subdued. He would then talk incessantly to himself, and bemoan the sad fact that the dread God of the City was sending evil spirits to torment him because he had purloined the hundred dollars belonging to his master.

来るべき災いへの怯えが男を捉え、それが心を蝕んで、ついに理性を失いはじめた。ひとりごとを呟きながら歩き回り、悪鬼が見えると言い立てるようになった。その発作はしだいに募り、ついには狂い叫ぶまでになったので、自らや他人を傷つけぬよう捕らえて縄で縛らねばならなかった。あるときは激しい狂躁の発作に苦しみ、あるときはまた、間違いなく正気を失ってはいるものの、静かでおとなしくしていた。そのようなときには絶え間なくひとりごとを言い、主人の百ドルをくすねたために恐ろしい城隍神が悪霊を送って自分を苛んでいるのだと、悲しげに嘆くのだった。

By-and-by these random confessions attracted the attention of his heart-broken father, who used to sit watching by his side, and they became so frequent and so circumstantial, describing even where the money had been hidden, that at last he determined to examine into the matter. Investigations were made, and the whole sum was found in the very place which the young man had mentioned in his delirium, and was at once returned to the shopkeeper.

やがて、このとりとめのない告白が、傍らに座って見守っていた心を打ち砕かれた父の耳に留まった。告白はあまりにたびたび、あまりに事細かで、金を隠した場所までを語るので、父はついにこの件を調べてみようと心を決めた。調べてみると、若者がうわごとで口にしたまさにその場所から全額が見つかり、ただちに店の主人へ返された。

As the money had been given back, and the father and mother were dependent upon their only son to provide for them in their old age, the man who had entered the accusation before the god was entreated again to appear before him in his temple and withdraw the charges that he had previously made against his fellow-assistant. Only in this formal and legal way could the god have official knowledge of the fact that reparation had been made for the offence which had been committed; and if this were not done he would still continue to send sorrow after sorrow until the whole family were involved in absolute ruin or death.

金は返され、また老いた父母は年老いてからの暮らしをこの一人息子に頼るほかなかったので、神の前に告発を差し出したあの男に、もう一度廟に出向いて、同輩に対する先の訴えを取り下げてほしいと懇願がなされた。この正式な手続きによってのみ、犯された罪の償いがなされたことを神が公に知ることができるからである。そしてこれをしなければ、神は一家がまったくの破滅か死に至るまで、悲しみに悲しみを重ねて送り続けるであろう。

Out of pity for the old couple the other young man consented to take the necessary steps. He accordingly presented a petition to the god, stating that he wished to withdraw the accusation which he had made against a certain man who had been suspected of theft. The stolen money had been returned to its owner, and the god was now besought to stay all further proceedings and forgive the culprit for the wrong he had done.

老夫婦を憐れんで、もう一人の若者は必要な手続きを取ることを承知した。そこで神に訴状を差し出し、盗みの疑いをかけられていた某に対して行った告発を取り下げたい旨を述べた。盗まれた金は持ち主に返されたので、以後の一切の手続きをお止めくださり、罪を犯した者を赦してくださいと神に願ったのである。

It was evident that this petition was granted, for at once the young man began to recover, and soon all signs of madness left him. He had, however, learned a lesson which he never forgot; and as long as he lived he never committed another offence such as the theft which had brought such serious consequences upon himself and his family.

この願いが聞き届けられたことは明らかであった。というのも、たちまち若者は快方に向かい、まもなく狂気の徴はすっかり消え去ったからである。しかし若者は、生涯忘れることのない教訓を学んだ。そして生きているかぎり、自身と一族にこれほど重い結果をもたらしたあの盗みのような罪を、二度と犯すことはなかった。