ＷＥＢ絵本「電報（黒島伝治）」

第４回配信

The exam finished.
In the day when he was supposed to be back, Okino went to meet him at the station.
試験がすんで、帰るべき筈の日に、おきのは、停車場へ迎えに行った．

There were a maid of the headman's family, the wife of a soy-sauce factory owner and a young master of a fabric dealer.
They were waiting for the boys who would return back from the exam.
She waited for her son standing outside the station so that she would not be seen by them.
Her social status was low. She thought she could not stand among the rich like them. She humbled herself. In fact, they thought of her as a humble peasant woman.

彼女は、それぞれ試験がすんで帰ってくる坊っちゃん達を迎えに行っている庄屋の下女や、醤油屋の奥さんや、呉服屋の若旦那やの眼につかぬように、停車場の外に立って息子を待っていた．

彼女は、自分の家の地位が低いために、そういう金持の間に伍することが出来ないように、自ら、卑下していた．そして、また、実際に、穢いドン百姓の嬶と見下げられていた．

After a while, a train arrived at the station.
The boys of the headman's family, the soy-sauce dealer and the fabric dealer and so on got off the train.
やがて、汽車が着くと、庄屋や、醤油屋や、呉服屋などの坊っちゃん達が降りて来た．

"Mom!", yelled the boy of the soy-sauce dealer. He instantly found his mother on the platform and trotted to her.
Okino was watching them in a corner and she was thinking how happy she was if her son called her friendly like that.

「お母さん．」と、醤油屋の坊っちゃんは、プラットホームに降りると、すぐ母を見つけて、こう叫びながら、奥さんのいる方へ走りよった．

片隅からそれを見ていたおきのは、息子から、こうなれなれしく、呼びかけられたら、どんなに嬉しいだろうと思った．

"Master! Glad to see you!", said the maid of the headman's family.
She bowed politely and took his bag from the headman's son, who always opened his mouth vaguely and was a little bit silly.
「坊っちゃんお帰り．」と庄屋の下女は、いつもぽかんと口を開けている、少し馬鹿な庄屋の息子に、丁寧にお辞儀をして、信玄袋を受け取った．

Okino carefully looked at each passenger who was getting out though the ticket gate.
But she couldn't find her son. After the exam finished, he was expected to come back with these boys getting off.
They went away from the village on different days respectively, but they took the entrance exam of the same school.

おきのは、改札口を出て来る下車客を、一人一人注意してみたが、彼女の息子はいなかった．

確かに、今、下車した坊っちゃん達と一緒に、試験がすんで帰って来る筈だった．

村をたって行った日は異っていたが、学校は同じだった．

She was worried that he might have gone past the station.
Standing still there, she looked around the station premises.
彼女は、乗り越したのではあるまいかと心配しながら、なお立って、停車場の構内をじろじろ見廻した．

"I made two mistakes in math. Maybe I'll get full marks on the Japanese test," the soy-sauce factory owner's son said to his mother in a childlike voice and walked ahead of the others on the prefectural road leading to the village.
Behind him, the people were starting to go back to their homes respectively.
"Tanimoto said he could have answered all the questions correctly ... ", the boy said.
Tanimoto is the family name of Gensaku. Okino wanted to run up to him for asking about her son.
But she thought of her husband. Gensaku worked at the soy-sauce factory as a part-time worker.
She still humbled herself and gave up.

「僕、算術が二題出来なんだ．国語は満点じゃ．」醤油屋の坊っちゃんは、あどけない声で奥さんにこんなことを云いながら、村へ通じている県道を一番先に歩いた．

それにつづいて、下車客はそれぞれ自分の家へ帰りかけた．

「谷元は、皆な出来た云いよった．・・・」こういう坊っちゃんの声も聞こえた．

谷元というのは源作の姓である．おきのは、走りよって、息子のことを、訊ねてみたかったが、醤油屋へ良人の源作が労働に行っていたのを思い出して、なお卑下して、思い止った．

There was nobody except the station officer on the platform.
Okino begun to go back dejectedly.
The fabric dealer's son was leisurely following in the rear. She thought she should try to ask him about her son. He was talking and laughing about something --- maybe, the exam --- with the young master, who was his older brother.
She was going to get close to them and ask about her son if their chat finished. She didn't think her son had gone past the station carelessly though.

停車場には、駅員の外、誰れもいなくなった．おきのは、しおしおと、帰りかけた．彼女は、一番あとから、ぽつぽつ行っている呉服屋の坊っちゃんに、息子のことを訊ねようと考えた．

坊っちゃんは、兄の若旦那と、何事か　―――　多分試験のことだろう　―――　話しあって笑っていた．

あの話がすんだら、近づいて訊ねよう、とおきのは心で考えた．うっかりして乗り越すようなあれじゃないが、・・・彼女は一方でこんなことも思った．
（つづく）