5.
中でも最も手強い敵が、アブラハム、あるいはオランダ語の略称で「ブロム」・ヴァン・ブランという名の、たくましく、唸り声をあげながら暴れまわる刃物男で、その力強さとたくましさは、この国一帯の英雄の名をほしいままにしていた。肩幅は広く、関節も人の倍は回り、黒髪は短く縮れ、ぶっきらぼうだが不快ではない顔つきに、愉快と横柄が入り混じった雰囲気を纏っていた。ヘラクレス級の体躯と四肢に漲る腕力脚力から、「骨張りブロム」の渾名が付けられ、その名で広く知られていた。馬術の知識と技術に長けており、韃靼人のように馬上豊かなことで有名だった。レースや闘鶏でも第一人者、素朴な生活で培われた肉体の強さで、あらゆる争いの審判を務めた。ケンカも遊びもいつでも準備万端、悪意よりも悪戯のほうが多かった。仲間3〜4人を率いて国中を駆け回り、周囲数マイルに及ぶ抗争や歓楽のあらゆる場面に立ち会った。寒い季節には、キツネの尻尾を棚引かせた毛皮の帽子をかぶっていた。田舎の集会で、このよく知られた紋章が遠くで、屈強な騎手たちに混じって疾走しているのを見つけると、人々はいつも嵐に備えて待機するのだった。真夜中に農家を通り過ぎるとき、手下たちが、まるでドン・コサックの一団のように、ヒューヒューと唸りながら颯爽と駆けていくのが聞こえることがあった。近所の人たちは、畏敬と称賛と好意が入り混じったまなざしで骨張りブロムを見守り、近所で気違いじみた悪ふざけや素朴な喧嘩が起きると、いつも首を横に振って、骨張りブロムがその張本人であることを保証した。
Among these the most formidable was a burly, roaring, roistering blade of the name of Abraham, or according to the Dutch abbreviation, Brom Van Brunt, the hero of the country round, which rang with his feats of strength and hardihood. He was broad-shouldered and double-jointed, with short curly black hair and a bluff but not unpleasant countenance, having a mingled air of fun and arrogance. From his Herculean frame and great powers of limb, he had received the nickname of BROM BONES, by which he was universally known. He was famed for great knowledge and skill in horsemanship, being as dexterous on horseback as a Tartar. He was foremost at all races and cockfights, and, with the ascendancy which bodily strength acquires in rustic life, was the umpire in all disputes, setting his hat on one side and giving his decisions with an air and tone admitting of no gainsay or appeal. He was always ready for either a fight or a frolic, but had more mischief than ill-will in his composition; and with all his overbearing roughness there was a strong dash of waggish good-humor at bottom. He had three or four boon companions who regarded him as their model, and at the head of whom he scoured the country, attending every scene of feud or merriment for miles around. In cold weather he was distinguished by a fur cap surmounted with a flaunting fox's tail; and when the folks at a country gathering descried this well-known crest at a distance, whisking about among a squad of hard riders, they always stood by for a squall. Sometimes his crew would be heard dashing along past the farm-houses at midnight with whoop and halloo, like a troop of Don Cossacks, and the old dames, startled out of their sleep, would listen for a moment till the hurry-scurry had clattered by, and then exclaim, "Ay, there goes Brom Bones and his gang!" The neighbors looked upon him with a mixture of awe, admiration, and good-will, and when any madcap prank or rustic brawl occurred in the vicinity always shook their heads and warranted Brom Bones was at the bottom of it.
この荒くれの英雄はいつからか、花も恥じらうカトリーナをぎこちなくも口説き相手に選んでいた。その遣り口といったら、熊と睦み合うようなものであったというのに、意外と彼女は満更でもないようだと囁かれている。確かに、彼の誘いは、一線を越えようとはしない花婿候補に、引退を促すものだった。日曜の夜、彼の馬がヴァン・タッセルの馬小屋に繋がれているのを見ると（これは主人が求愛中、あるいは「火花を散らしている」ことを示す確かなサインである）、他の求婚者たちはみな絶望して通り過ぎ、他の方面へ転進した。
This rantipole hero had for some time singled out the blooming Katrina for the object of his uncouth gallantries, and, though his amorous toyings were something like the gentle caresses and endearments of a bear, yet it was whispered that she did not altogether discourage his hopes. Certain it is, his advances were signals for rival candidates to retire who felt no inclination to cross a line in his amours; insomuch, that when his horse was scene tied to Van Tassel's paling on a Sunday night, (a sure sign that his master was courting, or, as it is termed, "sparking" within,) all other suitors passed by in despair and carried the war into other quarters.
イカボデ・クレインの競争相手とは、そういった手の届きそうもない強敵だったのだ。何をどう考えても、より頑健な男ならこの競争に尻込みしただろうし、より賢明な男なら絶望しただろう。しかし彼には、柔軟さと忍耐強さがうまく混ざり合った性質があった。その姿も精神も、しなやかなジャッキのようだった。頭は下げても、心は折れず。暫し圧力に屈しても、その圧力がなくなった瞬間、バネが戻るようにピンと直立し、頭を上げた。
Such was the formidable rival with whom Ichabod Crane had to contend, and, considering all things, a stouter man than he would have shrunk from the competition and a wiser man would have despaired. He had, however, a happy mixture of pliability and perseverance in his nature; he was in form and spirit like a supple jack―yielding, but though; though he bent, he never broke; and though he bowed beneath the slightest pressure, yet the moment it was away―jerk!―he was as erect and carried his head as high as ever.
かの強敵を相手に公然と戦いを挑むのは狂気の沙汰でしかない。あの嵐のような恋人アキレウスと同様、黙って自分の恋を邪魔されるような男ではなかったからだ。そのため、イカボデは静かに、そして優しく仄めかすように話を進めた。歌の師匠であることを隠して、足繁く農家を訪ねた。もっとも、恋人たちの行く手を阻む、両親のおせっかいな干渉に、さして気を揉む必要もなかった。バルト・ヴァン・タッセルは気さくで寛容な人であり、娘をパイプよりも愛しており、理性的な男として、また優れた父親として、何事も娘の思い通りにさせた。切り盛り上手の小柄な妻も、家事と家禽の世話で手一杯。何しろアヒルやガチョウは愚かなもので、世話をしなければならないが、女の子は自分のことは自分でできるではないか。こうして、賑やかな女主人が家の中を忙しく動き回ったり、広場の片隅で紡ぎ車を回している間、正直者のバルトはもう片方で夕方のパイプを吸いながら、両手に剣を持ち、納屋のてっぺんで風と戦っている小さな木の戦士の活躍を見守っていた。その間、イカボデは大楡の下の泉のそばで娘を口説き続けたり、恋人の雄弁に好都合な薄明かりの中を散歩したりできる訳である。
To have taken the field openly against his rival would have been madness for he was not man to be thwarted in his amours, any more than that stormy lover, Achilles. Ichabod, therefore, made his advances in a quiet and gently-insinuating manner. Under cover of his character of singing-master, he made frequent visits at the farm-house; not that he had anything to apprehend from the meddlesome interference of parents, which is so often a stumbling-block in the path of lovers. Balt Van Tassel was an easy, indulgent soul; he loved his daughter better even than his pipe, and, like a reasonable man and an excellent father, let her have her way in everything. His notable little wife, too, had enough to do to attend to her housekeeping and manage her poultry for, as she sagely observed, ducks and geese are foolish things and must be looked after, but girls can take care of themselves. Thus while the busy dame bustled about the house or plied her spinning-wheel at one end of the piazza, honest Balt would sit smoking his evening pipe at the other, watching the achievements of a little wooden warrior who, armed with a sword in each hand, was most valiantly fighting the wind on the pinnacle of the barn. In the meantime, Ichabod would carry on his suit with the daughter by the side of the spring under the great elm, or sauntering along in the twilight, that hour so favorable to the lover's eloquence.
どうすれば女心が口説かれ、落とせるかなど、筆者の知るところではない。ただ謎と賛嘆に満ちるを常とするとしか思えない。見て取れる弱いところ、お近づきになれる扉が一つきりの女性あり、はたまた千の道を開け、作法も求めぬ女性あり。前者を獲得することは技術の偉大な勝利であるが、後者を維持することはさらに偉大な将軍の証明である。というのも、男はあらゆる扉や窓で、自分の要塞を守るために戦わなければならないからだ。庶民千人の心をつかんだ者なら、それなりの名声を得る資格がある。だが、婀娜めく女性一人の心を支配し続けた者は、まさに英雄なのである。これに関する限り、頑強な骨張りブロムは、そうではなかったと言える。鶴のイカボデが誘いをかけた瞬間から、骨張りブロムの関心は明らかに低下し、日曜日の夜に馬が柵につながれているのを見かけなくなり、彼とスリーピー・ホロウの教師との間には次第に致命的な確執が生まれた。
I profess not to know how women's hearts are wooed and won. To me they have always been matters of riddle and admiration. Some seem to have but one vulnerable point, or door of access, while otheres have a thousand avenues and may be captured in a thousand different ways. It is a great triumph of skill to gain the former, but still greater proof of generalship to maintain possession of the latter, for the man must battle for his fortress at every door and window. He who wins a thousand common hearts is therefore entitled to some renown, but he who keeps undisputed sway over the heart of a coquette is indeed a hero. Certain it is, this was not the case with the redoubtable Brom Bones; and from the moment Ichabod Crane made his advances, the interests of the former evidently declined; his horse was no longer seen tied at the palings on Sunday nights, and a deadly feud gradually arose between him and the preceptor of Sleepy Hollow.
荒々しい騎士道精神の持ち主ブロムとしては、できればこの問題を決闘に持ち込み、かつての簡潔この上ない騎士の流儀に従って、一騎打ちで女に対する権利に決着をつけたかったのだが、相手の力が勝っていることを知りすぎていたイカボデは、敵の土俵に上がろうとはしない。骨張りが「校長先生なぞ二つ折りにして、校舎の棚に寝かせてやる」と吹聴しているのを小耳にはさんだこともあり、イカボデは用心深く、敵に隙を見せなかった。この頑固なまでの平和主義は焦れったいばかりだけれど、そう来られては。ブロムには、貯め込んだ田舎丸出しの悪ふざけを引っぱり出し、恋敵に野暮な嫌がらせを仕掛ける以外に選択肢がなかったのだ。イカボデは、骨張りと荒くれ騎手一味にとって、気まぐれな迫害の的となった。それまで平穏だった縄張りを荒らしまわり、煙突を塞いで歌の学校を煙に巻き、夜になると柳糸や窓杭の手強い留め金も物ともせずに校舎に侵入し、すべてをめちゃくちゃにした。哀れな校長が、この国の魔女全員が集会を開いているのではと思った程である。さらに腹立たしいことに、ブロムは主婦の前で彼を笑い物にしようとあらゆる機会を狙い、この上なく滑稽な鳴き方を教え込んだ野良犬を、詩歌を指導するイカボデの好敵手として紹介した。
Brom, who had a degree of rough chivalry in his nature, would fain have carried matters to open warfare, and have settled their pretensions to the lady according to the mode of those most concise and simple reasoners, the knights-errant of yore―by single combat; but Ichabod was too conscious of the superior might of his adversary to enter the lists against him: he had overheard a boast of Bones, that he would "double the schoolmaster up and lay him on a shelf of his own school-house;" and he was too wary to give him an opportunity. There was something extremely provoking in this obstinately pacific system; it left Brom no alternative but to draw upon the funds of rustic waggery in his disposition and to play off boorish practical jokes upon his rival. Ichabod became the object of whimsical persecution to Bones and his gang of rough riders. They harried his hitherto peaceful domains; smoked out his singing school by stopping up the chimney; broke into the schoolhouse at night in spite of its formidable fastenings of withe and window stakes, and turned everything topsy-turvy; so that the poor schoolmaster began to think all the witches in the country held their meetings there. But, what was still more annoying, Brom took all opportunities of turning him into ridicule in presence of his mistress, and had a scoundrel dog whom he taught to whine in the most ludicrous manner, and introduced as a rival of Ichabod's, to instruct her in psalmody.
Brom Van Brunt: Abraham の略称が Brom ということで、本名は Abraham Van Brunt となる。
