世紀文學經典:《百年孤獨》第7章Part 10

Colonel Aureliano Buendía was amused at his alarm. "Naturally," he said. "But in any case, it's better than not knowing why you're fighting." He looked him in the eyes and added with a smile:
"Or fighting, like you, for something that doesn't have any meaning for anyone."
His pride had prevented him from making contact with the armed groups in the interior of the country until the leaders of the party publicly rectified their declaration that he was a bandit. He knew, however, that as soon as he put those scruples aside he would break the vicious circle of the war. Convalescence gave him time to reflect. Then he succeeded in getting úrsula to give him the rest of her buried inheritance and her substantial savings. He named Colonel Gerineldo Márquez civil and military leader of Macondo and he went off to make contact with the rebel groups in the interior.
Colonel Gerineldo Márquez was not only the man closest to Colonel Aureliano Buendía, but úrsula received him as a member of the family. Fragile, timid, with natural good manners, he was, however, better suited for war than for government. His political advisers easily entangled him in theoretical labyrinths, But he succeeded in giving Macondo the atmosphere of rural peace that Colonel Aureliano, Buendía dreamed of so that he could die of old age making little gold fishes. Although he lived in his parents' house he would have lunch at úrsula's two or three times a week. He initiated Aureliano José in the use of firearms, gave him early military instruction, and for several months took him to live in the barracks, with úrsula's consent, so that he could become a man. Many years before, when he was still almost a child, Gerineldo Márquez had declared his love for Amaranta. At that time she was so illusioned with her lonely passion for Pietro Crespi that she laughed at him. Gerineldo Márquez waited. On a certain occasion he sent Amaranta a note from jail asking her to embroider a dozen batiste handkerchiefs with his father's initials on them. He sent her the money. A week later Amaranta, brought the dozen handkerchiefs to him in jail along with the money and they spent several hours talking about the past. "When I get out of here I'm going to marry you," Gerineldo Márquez told her when she left. Amaranta laughed but she kept on thinking about him while she taught the children to read and she tried to revive her juvenile passion for Pietro Crespi. On Saturday, visiting days for the prisoners, she would stop by the house of Gerineldo Márquez's parents and accompany them to the jail. On one of those Saturdays úrsula was surprised to see her in the kitchen, waiting for the biscuits to come out of the oven so that she could pick the best ones and cap them in a napkin that she had embroidered for the occasion.
"Marry him," she told her. "You'll have a hard time finding another man like him."
Amaranta feigned a reaction of displeasure.
"I don't have to go around hunting for men," she answered. "I'm taking these biscuits to Gerineldo because I'm sorry that sooner or later they're going to shoot him."

奧雷連諾上校對格林列爾多的驚訝感到開心。“當然不好，”奧雷連諾說，“但無論如何，最好是不知道爲什麼戰鬥，”他盯着戰友的眼睛，微微一笑，補充說道：“或者象你一樣爲了某些事情進行戰鬥，而那些事情對任何人都沒有任何意義。”
以前，他的驕傲是不讓他跟內部地區的起義部隊取得聯繫的，除非自由黨領袖公開糾正把他稱做強盜的聲明。然而奧雷連諾上校知道：只要他放棄了自尊心，他就能中止戰爭的惡性循環。臥牀療養使他有了時間反覆思量。他勸烏蘇娜把她可觀的積蓄和密藏的盒子中剩餘的金子都交給了他，任命格林列爾多·馬克斯上校爲馬孔多的軍政長官，就離開市鎮去跟內部地區的起義部隊建立聯繫了。
格林列爾多·馬克斯上校不僅是奧雷連諾上校最信任的人，烏蘇娜還把他當做家裏的成員。他溫和、靦腆，生來文雅，但他更適於打仗，而不適於坐辦公室。他的那些政治顧問講起理論來，輕而易舉就能把他弄得糊里糊塗。然而，他卻在馬孔多創造了田園般的寧靜氣氛，奧雷連諾曾希望在這樣的環境裏製作小金魚，度過晚年，死在這裏。儘管格林列爾多。 馬克斯上校住在自己的父母家裏，他卻每星期在烏蘇娜家中吃兩三頓午飯。他過早地教奧雷連諾。 霍塞使用武器，叫他接受軍事訓練，並且在得到烏蘇娜的允許之後，讓他在兵營裏住了幾個月，使他能夠成爲一個男子漢。多年以前，格林列爾多。 馬克斯幾乎還是孩子的時候，就向阿瑪蘭塔表過愛。那時，她對皮埃特羅。 克列斯比懷着單相思，所以光是譏笑他。格林列爾多。
馬克斯決定等待。有一次，他還在獄中時，捎了一封信給阿瑪蘭塔，要求她給一打麻紗手絹繡上他父親的簡寫姓名。他還寄了錢給她。過了一個星期，阿瑪蘭塔把繡好的手絹和錢帶到獄裏去給他，兩人回憶往事，談了很久。“從這兒出去以後，我要跟你結婚，”格林列爾多。 馬克斯跟她分手時說。阿瑪蘭塔笑了起來，可是教孩子們讀書的時候，她一直惦念着他，打算恢復她對皮埃特羅。 克列斯比的那種青春的熱情。每逢星期六，探監的日子，她都到格林列爾多·馬克斯父母家中，跟他們一塊兒到牢裏去。有個星期六，烏蘇娜在廚房裏遇見了女兒——她正在等候餅乾出爐，挑選最好的，用一塊手絹包上；這塊手絹是她專門繡來派這個用場的。
“你就嫁給他吧，”烏蘇娜勸她。“你未必能夠再遇見這樣的人啦。”
阿瑪蘭塔露出輕蔑的神態。
“我不需要追求男人，”她回答。“我送餅乾給格林列爾多，是我憐憫他，因爲他遲早會槍斃的。”