世纪文学经典:《百年孤独》第9章Part 11

He was out of danger. The bullet had followed such a neat path that the doctor was able to put a cord soaked in iodine in through the chest and withdraw it from the back. "That was my masterpiece," he said with satisfaction. "It was the only point where a bullet could pass through without harming any vital organ." Colonel Aureli-ano Buendía saw himself surrounded by charitable novices who intoned desperate psalms for the repose of his soul and then he was sorry that he had not shot himself in the roof of the mouth as he had considered doing if only to mock the prediction of Pilar Ternera.
"If I still had the authority," he told the doctor, "I'd have you shot out of hand. Not for having saved my life but for having made a fool of me."
The failure of his death brought back his lost prestige in a few hours. The same people who invented the story that he had sold the war for a room with walls made of gold bricks defined the attempt at suicide as an act of honor and proclaimed him a martyr. Then, when he rejected the Order of Merit awarded him by the president of the republic, even his most bitter enemies filed through the room asking him to withdraw recognition of the armistice and to start a new war. The house was filled with gifts meant as amends. Impressed finally by the massive support of his former comrades in arms, Colonel Aureli-ano Buendía did not put aside the possibility of pleasing them. On the contrary, at a certain moment he seemed so enthusiastic with the idea of a new war that Colonel Geri-neldo Márquez thought that he was only waiting for a pretext to proclaim it. The pretext was offered, in fact, when the president of the republic refused to award any military pensions to former combatants, Liberal or Conservative, until each case was examined by a special commission and the award approved by the congress. "That's an outrage," thundered Colonel Aureli-ano Buendía. "They'll die of old age waiting for the mail to come." For the first time he left the rocker that úrsula had bought for his convalescence, and, walking about the bedroom, he dictated a strong message to the president of the republic. In that telegram which was never made public, he denounced the first violation of the Treaty of Neerlandia and threatened to proclaim war to the death if the assignment of pensions was not resolved within two weeks. His attitude was so just that it allowed him to hope even for the support of former Conservative combatants. But the only reply from the government was the reinforcement of the military guard that had been placed at the door of his house with the pretext of protecting him, and the prohibition of all types of visits, Similar methods were adopted all through the country with other leaders who bore watching. It was an operation that was so timely, drastic, and effective that two months after the armistice, when Colonel Aureli-ano Buendía had recovered, his most dedicated conspirators were dead or exiled or had been assimilated forever into public administration.
Colonel Aureli-ano Buendía left his room in December and it was sufficient for him to look at the porch in order not to think about war again. With a vitality that seemed impossible at her age, úrsula had rejuvenated the house again. "Now they're going to see who I am," she said when she saw that her son was going to live. "There won't be a better, more open house in all the world than this madhouse." She had it washed and painted, changed the furniture, restored the garden and planted new flowers, and opened doors and windows so that the dazzling light of summer would penetrate even into the bedrooms. She decreed an end to the numerous superimposed periods of mourning and she herself exchanged her rigorous old gowns for youthful clothing. The music of the pianola again made the house merry. When she heard it, Amaranta thought of Pietro Crespi, his evening gardenia, and his smell of lavender, and in the depths of her withered heart a clean rancor flourished, purified by time. One afternoon when she was trying to put the parlor in order, úrsula asked for the help of the soldiers who were guarding the house. The young commander of the guard gave them permission. Little by little, úrsula began assigning them new chores. She invited them to eat, gave them clothing and shoes, and taught them how to read and write. When the government withdrew the guard, one of them continued living in the house and was in her service for many years. On New Year's Day, driven mad by rebuffs from Remedios the Beauty, the young commander of the guard was found dead under her window.

他已脱离危险。穿伤是那么清晰、笔直，医生毫不费劲就把一根浸过碘酒的细绳伸进他的胸脯，然后从脊背拉出。“这是我的杰作，”医生满意地说。“这是子弹能够穿过而不会碰到任何要害的唯一部位。”奥雷连诺上校发现自己周围是一些同情他的修女，她们为了安抚他的灵魂，正在唱绝望的圣歌，因此他感到遗憾，竟然没有按照最初的想法朝自己的嘴巴开枪，借以嘲笑皮拉·苔列娜的预言。
“如果我还有一点权力，”他向医生说，“我会不经审判枪毙了你。这倒不是因为你救了我的命，而是因为你把我变成了一个耻笑的对象。”
自杀未遂在几小时内就恢复了奥雷连诺上校失去的威望。那些曾经胡说他为了金砖房子而出卖胜利的人，把他自杀的举动看成是崇高的行为，宣布他为殉道者。
后来，他拒绝共和国总统颁发给他的荣誉勋章时，甚至自由党内激烈反对他的人也来要求他否决停战条件，重新发动战争。房子里堆满了作为赔罪的礼品，昔日的战友给他的支持虽然迟了一些，但他也受到感动，没有排除满足他们的要求的可能性。
相反地，有一段时间，他似乎热中于重新发动战争。格林列尔多·马克斯上校甚至以为：他只是在等待宣战的借口。借口真的找到了，那就是共和国总统拒绝把养老金发给过去的参战人员——自由党人和保守党人，除非他们每人的事情已由专门委员会审查清楚，而且拨款法案获得了国会批准。“这是蛮不讲理，”奥雷连诺上校暴跳如雷地说。“他们还没领到养老金就会老死啦。”他第一次离开乌苏娜买给他养息用的摇椅，在卧室里踱来踱去，口述了一份强硬的电报给共和国总统。在这份从来没有公布的电报里，他谴责总统破坏尼兰德停战协定的条款，并且扬言说，如果养老金的拨款问题在两周内得不到解决，他就要誓死宣战。他的态度是那么公正，甚至可以指望以前保守党作战人员的支持。然而政府唯一的回答是，借口保护奥雷连诺上校，在他的住所门前加强了军事警戒，并且禁止任何人去找他。为了预防万一。政府在全国范围内对其他的起义指挥官也采取了类似的措施。这个行动是那样及时、有力、成功，停战之后过了两个月，当奥雷连诺上校终于康复的时候，他所有最忠实的助手不是死了，就是流放了，或者去为政府效劳了。
十二月里，奥雷连诺上校走出卧室，一看长廊就已明白，再要发动战争就是枉费心机了。乌苏娜以她充沛的精力（这种精力就她的年岁来说似乎已经不大可能），再一次刷新了整座房子。“现在他们将会知道我是什么样的人了，”她看见儿子已经康复的那一天，说道。“全世界不会有一座比这疯人院更漂亮、更好客的房子了。”她叫人粉刷和油漆了房子，更换了家具，收拾了花园，栽种了新的花卉，敞开了所有的门窗，让夏天耀眼的阳光也射进卧室。然后，她向大家宣布连续不断的丧事已经结束，自己首先脱掉了旧的黑衣服，穿上了年轻人的服装。家里重新响起了自动钢琴愉快的乐曲声。阿玛兰塔听到乐曲声之后，又想起了皮埃特罗·克列斯比，似乎闻到了晚间的栀子花和薰衣草的芳香，她那懊丧的心里又出现了长久以来的哀怨。有一天下午，乌苏娜收拾客厅的时候，请守卫宅子的士兵们帮她的忙。年轻的警卫队长表示了同意。乌苏娜一天一天地给士兵们增添了任务，就开始邀请他们吃饭，给他们衣服和鞋子，教他们读书和写字。后来，政府撤走警卫队时，一个士兵继续住在乌苏娜家里，为她服务了多年。而年轻的军官呢，因为遭到俏姑娘雷麦黛丝的藐视，变得疯疯癫癫，新年初一的早晨死在她的窗下了。