Sebuah Pemulihan yang Didapatkan Kembali

Seorang penjaga datang ke bengkel sepatu penjara, tempat Jimmy Valentine sedang tekun menjahit bagian atas sepatu, lalu mengawalnya ke kantor depan. Di sana, kepala penjara menyerahkan surat pengampunan kepada Jimmy, yang telah ditandatangani pagi itu oleh gubernur.

A guard came to the prison shoe-shop, where Jimmy Valentine was assiduously stitching uppers, and escorted him to the front office. There the warden handed Jimmy his pardon, which had been signed that morning by the governor.

Jimmy menerimanya dengan sikap lelah. Dia telah menjalani hampir sepuluh bulan dari hukuman empat tahun penjara. Dia tadinya memperkirakan hanya akan tinggal sekitar tiga bulan, paling lama.

Jimmy took it in a tired kind of way. He had served nearly ten months of a four year sentence. He had expected to stay only about three months, at the longest.

Ketika seorang pria dengan begitu banyak kawan di luar seperti Jimmy Valentine dijebloskan ke dalam “bui”, memotong rambutnya hampir tak ada gunanya.

When a man with as many friends on the outside as Jimmy Valentine had is received in the “stir” it is hardly worth while to cut his hair.

“Nah, Valentine,” kata kepala penjara, “Anda akan bebas besok pagi. Tabahkan hati, dan jadilah pria sejati. Di dalam lubuk hati, Anda bukanlah orang jahat. Berhentilah membobol brankas, dan hiduplah lurus.”

“Now, Valentine,” said the warden, “you’ll go out in the morning. Brace up, and make a man of yourself. You’re not a bad fellow at heart. Stop cracking safes, and live straight.”

“Saya?” kata Jimmy, terkejut. “Astaga, seumur hidup saya tidak pernah membobol brankas.”

“Me?” said Jimmy, in surprise. “Why, I never cracked a safe in my life.”

“Oh, tentu saja tidak,” kepala penjara tertawa. “Tentu saja tidak. Coba kita ingat sekarang. Bagaimana Anda bisa sampai dikirim ke sini karena pekerjaan di Springfield itu? Apakah karena Anda tidak mau membuktikan alibi demi menghindari rasa malu seseorang di kalangan masyarakat kelas atas?

“Oh, no,” laughed the warden. “Of course not. Let’s see, now. How was it you happened to get sent up on that Springfield job? Was it because you wouldn’t prove an alibi for fear of compromising somebody in extremely high-toned society?

Atau apakah itu sekadar kasus juri tua jahat yang sengaja mengincar Anda? Selalu ada salah satu dari alasan itu pada diri Anda sekalian, para korban yang tak bersalah.”

Or was it simply a case of a mean old jury that had it in for you? It’s always one or the other with you innocent victims.”

“Saya?” kata Jimmy, masih dengan tampang polos tanpa dosa. “Wah, Pak Kepala Penjara, seumur hidup saya belum pernah ke Springfield!”

“Me?” said Jimmy, still blankly virtuous. “Why, warden, I never was in Springfield in my life!”

“Bawa dia kembali, Cronin!” kata kepala penjara, “dan siapkan pakaian bebas untuknya. Buka selnya pukul tujuh pagi, dan biarkan dia datang ke ruang kumpul. Sebaiknya pikirkan baik-baik nasihat saya, Valentine.”

“Take him back, Cronin!” said the warden, “and fix him up with outgoing clothes. Unlock him at seven in the morning, and let him come to the bull-pen. Better think over my advice, Valentine.”

Pukul tujuh lewat seperempat keesokan paginya, Jimmy berdiri di ruang luar kantor kepala penjara.

At a quarter past seven on the next morning Jimmy stood in the warden’s outer office.

Dia mengenakan setelan pakaian jadi yang sangat buruk pasnya dan sepasang sepatu kaku berdecit yang disediakan negara bagi para tamu paksaannya yang telah dibebaskan.

He had on a suit of the villainously fitting, ready-made clothes and a pair of the stiff, squeaky shoes that the state furnishes to its discharged compulsory guests.

Juru tulis menyerahkan tiket kereta api dan uang lima dolar yang diharapkan hukum dapat memulihkannya menjadi warga negara yang baik dan sejahtera. Kepala penjara memberinya cerutu, lalu menjabat tangannya.

The clerk handed him a railroad ticket and the five-dollar bill with which the law expected him to rehabilitate himself into good citizenship and prosperity. The warden gave him a cigar, and shook hands.

Valentine, 9762, dicatat dalam buku, “Diampuni oleh Gubernur,” dan Tuan James Valentine melangkah keluar ke bawah sinar matahari.

Valentine, 9762, was chronicled on the books, “Pardoned by Governor,” and Mr. James Valentine walked out into the sunshine.

Tanpa memedulikan kicauan burung, lambaian pepohonan hijau, dan semerbak wangi bunga, Jimmy langsung menuju ke sebuah restoran.

Disregarding the song of the birds, the waving green trees, and the smell of the flowers, Jimmy headed straight for a restaurant.