- 2 days ago
Cuento "Las Puertas de la Murte" de Arthur Waltermire en versión audiolibro en idioma castellano.
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:00Audiobook The Gates of Death by Arthur Walter Meyer for Gilmart Productions
00:17narrated by digital voice in Spanish
00:30The Gates of Death by Arthur Walter Meyer: A heavy silence hung over the great
00:40richly furnished rooms and halls of the Jadson McMasters residence and it seemed
00:47extending even over the velvet lawns, the shrub-lined paths, and the expanses
00:55Bathed in sunlight beneath the elms and shady maples, Vix glided through the room of
01:02sick as a ghost, seemingly struggling to keep busy while throwing countless
01:11furtive, restless glances at the heavy figure beneath the white sheets; a smell of medicine and fever
01:19It permeated the air, and a small walnut table near the blushing sleeper was covered in it.
01:26familiar medicine bottle, glass, and powder box on the wall behind the table near the
01:35A small oil painting of Napoleon hung at the head of the bed; the sleeper stirred restlessly.
01:43He got up painfully and slowly and tried to find fleeting comfort in a new position at first
01:51Vix's movement was a shadow by the bed, skillfully manipulating the blankets and helping
01:58gently tending to the sick person with a tenderness born of long service and deep affection when the enormous
02:06Gray head sank into the soft pillow; tired eyes opened, illuminated by a faint light
02:13A flash of gratitude then closed again and the once powerful body relaxed with a
02:24With a pitiful and melancholic expression on his aged face, the faithful Vix stood looking
02:32helpless to the sick man until hot tears began to run down his cheeks
02:37furrowed and turned around quickly, the big man's voice, still strong and authoritarian, cut through the gloom.
02:49like a vixen knife that was about to more securely place the heavy curtains over the
02:56The windows spun around as if it had touched a live wire and in an instant crossed the great room and
03:03He stood beside the bed and called out, "Sir." His voice trembled. A faint gleam illuminated the sick man's eyes.
03:15"I just spoke, sir!" exclaimed Vix, full of joy. "You're better, sir!" Vix exclaimed. "Do you want some air?"
03:29Sun, but the doctor, sir, damn doctor, if I'm going to faint, I want to see where I'm going, but sir, he protested.
03:41The old servant, as he drew back the curtains and partially opened a window, wished he didn't
03:49I think that's what I think, sir. We have to face situations frankly. (Vix, my father and my grandfather)
03:58They died from this family disease, and I suppose I'm following the same path, please sir.
04:06Vix pleaded, "Vix, I want to ask you a question. If you are a Christian, sir, I'll try, sir. Do you believe in death?"
04:22Vix was completely surprised and confused. Well, we all have to die someday, sir.
04:30He answered hesitantly, not knowing what else to say, but we really are dying, the sick man insisted. Well, I hope so.
04:43"Not yet," the old servant ventured to say. "The doctor said, 'Forget the doctor,'" Mac Masters interjected.
04:53Vix, you've been in our service since I was a boy, haven't you? Tears welled up in her eyes
05:01The servant's eyes and voice wavered. "Fifty-six years, next November," he replied. "Well, let me."
05:11Let me tell you something, not even in those fifty-six years did you learn anything, Vix, they buried my grandfather alive
05:19"Oh, Lord, impossible!" Vix cried out in horror. "Of course," the banker affirmed, "because how does he know?"
05:33"Sir," in a hoarse whisper, "my father built a family mausoleum in the farthest corner of this..."
05:41The farm isn't like that, yes sir, I hated being buried in the ground, sir, after reading a poem by Edgar Allan Poe
05:50Alan Poe, sir, what poem was that? Vix, I don't remember the name but I do remember the phrase, he hesitated. Vix, what was it?
06:03"Sir!" exclaimed the old man. "Let's talk about something cheerful, not until we finish this argument." The sound...
06:15His first name restored Vix somewhat, as the banker only resorted to it on occasions when
06:22who shared his deepest confidences with his good old old servant, the verse gently says they can
06:32As the worms crawled around him, a slight shiver seemed to run through his body.
06:39Mac Masters then, after a deathly silence, said there is a good reason to build the mausoleum
06:48Yes sir, I think so, sir. Well, with apparent effort when they exhumed my grandfather's remains.
06:59To place them in the new vault, the coffin was opened and "Lord!" exclaimed Vix, raising a trembling hand.
07:10and as a sign of protest, but the banker continued implacably; the body was turned on its side with the
07:20Left knee partially raised, that's how he always slept in life; Vix's voice was a hollow whisper and
07:32That is why my father, after building himself a mausoleum, insisted that his body
07:39"Let it be incinerated," Mac Masters said. "I didn't want to take any risks." Vix's horrified eyes turned...
07:50They turned to the enormous urn above the great fireplace and stood there fascinated, wondering where it was.
07:59Vix's eyes darted back in surprise and landed on the interrogator there.
08:09Up above, sir, he said, pointing towards the ceiling. Do you think the earth rotates on its axis? That's what I was taught.
08:19At school, sir, if that hypothesis is true, we move through space at a speed of about 16
08:28kilometers per minute, the banker calculated. Now you say that heaven is up there, yes sir, Vix, what time is it?
08:40The servant looked at the large clock in the corner. It was 12 o'clock, sir. Time for your medicine.
08:51With a voice full of relief, "Don't worry about the drugs," Mac Masters ordered until we finish our
09:01Advanced math problem: Now, if I ask you where the sky is at midnight, what will happen inside?
09:09twelve hours, where will you point, make up triumphant placement up there, replied the bewildered one
09:20The servant, pointing at the ceiling again, then exclaimed, "Mac Masters, you'll be pointing directly at the..."
09:31opposite place to the one you indicated a moment ago because at midnight the earth will be practically upside down
09:37"You understand what I mean?" "Yes, sir," replied the poor Vix, completely bewildered.
09:48"Where will the sky be at six o'clock this afternoon?" the sick man shouted hoarsely.
09:59"Outside," replied the hopeless servant, pointing towards the window, "and where will the sky be at six o'clock?"
10:09That morning there, and Vix pointed with a trembling finger at the fireplace. Then, oh sir, no, the doctor, to hell with the
10:23"Doctor," Mac Masters interrupted irritably, "I've been thinking about this and I need to talk to someone about it."
10:32But don't you believe in the afterlife? Vix asked, a horrible note of fear in her pitiful voice.
10:42The banker remained silent for a moment; the enormous clock continued its solemn march; a coal fell with a crackling sound.
10:51And a blaze in the fireplace, Jayram, in a thoughtful voice, I suppose so. I'm glad to hear you say that.
11:03"If you could tell me," continued the banker, "where we come from and where we are going," exclaimed Vix with obvious relief.
11:15If I knew, sir, I would be equal to the creator, Vix replied reverently. It's well said, they spin, but I don't...
11:25It satisfies me that I've earned my place in the world by getting to the root of things so I could take a look
11:33behind the curtain before I leave backstage you know maybe I wouldn't be afraid to die
11:41and his voice dropped almost to a whisper; the great director doesn't allow the audience to be behind him.
11:50"The footlights unless he calls them," Vix replied capriciously, while the ghost of a
11:58A smile lit up his worried features. Another thing, Vix, do you believe those stories about Jonah Lazarus and the guy?
12:08"They lowered him through a hole in the roof so they could heal him," he said with conviction. "Yes sir, you understand."
12:19"How did they do it?" he asked irritably. "Of course not, sir, being just a human." "Then tell me, do they turn?"
12:30"Can't you see through this? How can you swallow all this theology? My faith, sir?" Vix replied simply.
12:40Raising his eyes in reverence, a mocking smile spread across the sick man's face.
12:49When you look up, Jayram, don't forget that since it's half past twelve, we've traveled about four hundred.
12:58eighty miles from the place you originally designated as the location of the gates of
13:05"Heaven or sir, I beg you," protested the servant, "I cannot bear to be mocked like this, but sir."
13:15She broke off with a small scream and ran towards her bed; the mocking smile on the banker's face
13:25He suddenly fainted, and his head fell weakly back onto the pillow because he had wasted so much.
13:34"His strength!" Vix exclaimed pitifully as, with trembling hands and tear-filled eyes, she searched
13:42The aromatic salts on the small table. After a few breaths, the patient sighed and opened
13:51my eyes tired, my medicine Jayram, and then I must rest at midnight, Vix, who was dozing in a
14:01The large armchair by the fire was awakened by a voice coming from the sick man's bed.
14:09Yes sir, he said, hurrying to turn on a dim light. Where is the sky now, noticing the weak light?
14:22A flicker of a smile appeared as the old servant pointed solemnly downwards. "You are a brilliant student," he said.
14:32With a barely audible voice, thank you, sir. You know, Vix, I wish I had led a different life.
14:42better life you have been a good master sir you have been kind you have made generous donations to charity
14:53Vix defended himself, saying cynically, "I have made generous donations to charity, but it hasn't been any..."
15:03Sacrifice has been a pillar in the church, Vix ventured, adding bitterly, "I have paid a pillar of stone."
15:15generously by my bank and have slept peacefully during the sermons I have bought food baskets for the
15:22poor at Thanksgiving and Christmas just to let others take the happiness of
15:28Giving them away could have been a joyful Christmas; if I had wanted, it could have been a happy one.
15:36Santa Claus with rosy cheeks and having visited a hundred homes with his arms full of gifts is
15:45That's true, sir, but you made that joy possible for others when I myself should have known it.
15:53The excitement of life, I haven't really lived, Jayram. To get the most out of life, one must
16:02to humble oneself and serve one's fellow human beings; if the scales have fallen from my eyes, they turn, but it is too late.
16:10The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, that doesn't seem right to me, sir, said Vix after a
16:21pause, what is that Jayram sir? Why have they killed him in the prime of his life, just at a moment when
16:31It could mean so much to others, while I, old and useless, am allowed to go on living.
16:39But I find no fault with Providence, sir, Vix hastened to say. I simply cannot.
16:49To find the meaning of the enigma, sir, I probably had my chance and I wasted it.
16:57Even so, Lord God is not vengeful, according to my understanding. Surely there is another solution. Even so, I will pray.
17:08So that he will take me in his place, even if a miracle is needed, then you have faith in your prayers, right?
17:17Yes sir, if they are selfless prayers, that brand is quite rare, I suppose.
17:27Mac Masters replied, but his tone was more thoughtful than sarcastic: "Sir, I would like you to pray."
17:37How would God surely understand? It's a rather strange request, Jayram, if my life depends on you.
17:47Death, no prayer will ever leave my lips, but sir, I am an old man, however, he interrupted
17:56Mac Masters, I will pray that if they spare my life in some other way I can fully make amends
18:03My years of indifference and neglect have turned upside down; no one knows how much I sincerely long for this dispensation.
18:12divine, but I've always scoffed at deathbed confessions, and that's why my heart grows cold.
18:18Because I don't have the right to ask again, not now, Lord God, it's very
18:29Merciful one, if you have faith, Lord, she will heal you very well. If only I had lived as you have lived.
18:38Vicks then, after a pause, added, "Anyway, the cause is worthy. My heart is right, and I..."
18:48I will approach the throne, may God have mercy on me, a sinner; I hope it is not too late
18:55He still babbled Vicks or if God called me I would take your place so I could continue doing the
19:03"Good work, what do you want to do? I'd be happy to go." A deep sigh was her only response; silence.
19:13He was finally interrupted by the sick man, but when he spoke his voice was so strange and mysterious.
19:19The servant approached quickly and anxiously looked at the fevered face of the
19:26"I must tell you a secret," Vicks said in a labored, almost sepulchral whisper. "Patient, I must tell you a secret." Vicks approached and brought...
19:40"A chair, and sit down. I need to talk to you." The old servant leaned forward again.
19:48The patient hesitated, then with evident effort began, "I'm going to give you some instructions that..."
19:59You must obey to the letter, you promise. You will fulfill them, I swear, sir, he said with great seriousness. Good.
20:10Now if this fever makes my lips shut and the doctor declares me dead, please, sir.
20:16Vicks interrupted, tears streaming down his furrowed cheeks, but his master continued with
20:24The same muffled voice, no matter what happens, they're not going to embalm me, hear me, they're not going to embalm me, but
20:33"They're going to leave me just as I am now, yes sir," he said in a broken voice that fully betrayed his heart.
20:42broken behind her and now they turn the rest of the secret, she paused and gestured
20:53I had an electric button installed in my vault in the mausoleum to bring Vicks closer.
21:01It connects to a silver bell. Lift up that small picture of Napoleon on the wall.
21:08With trembling hands as if he had paralysis, Vicks extended his hand and lifted the painting that
21:16It hung near the head of the bed, and there the embedded silver bell was revealed.
21:24through a small opening in the wall, then with a sob he slumped into his chair, Iran whispered
21:34"After I'm buried, you'll sleep in this bed!" The old man cried out, reaching out in horror.
21:45As a sign of protest, the banker grabbed her tightly and half sat up in bed. Don't you understand?
21:53He shouted fiercely, "Maybe I'm not dead after all, remember Grandpa and Vicks, if that bell rings!"
22:03He called for help quickly. Suddenly, Mac Master released his grip and collapsed limply among the pillows.
22:13Throughout the long night, faithful Vicks kept a sleepless vigil, but the banker remained
22:22motionless as a stone when the rosy-cheeked dawn boldly peeked through the windows
22:30Vicks tightly closed the heavy curtains again; it wasn't until the doctor's engine started that it was
22:38It was set in motion that the patient awoke from his lethargy, apparently strengthened by his profound
22:47Stupor spoke, and Vicks instantly stood by his side. What did the doctor say? Vicks hesitated. "Leave him alone."
22:59"I'm not a coward or a pushover," Vicks admitted sadly, simply shaking his head.
23:10He is very serious; he doesn't understand this family disease any more than the old healer who allowed it
23:17"That they buried my grandfather alive," Mac Masters said almost fiercely. Vicks shuddered and put a hand up.
23:28trembling eyes, what's wrong with me, Vicks asked, almost in a complaining voice. Nobody knows, this fever has
23:38Scientists have been baffled for years when someone falls into a coma; they call it animation.
23:45suspended, that's the best they can do, look for names for diseases, my family doctor doesn't have them
23:53The average doctor has more knowledge of this disease than you or I; he's a mere guesser and assumes you have
24:02fever and prescribes a remedy hoping it will hit the mark; if it doesn't, it seems sensible to move
24:10The head and try something else, maybe as a result, maybe not, the only thing my fortune teller is absolutely
24:19I'm sure that whether I live or die, he'll charge princely fees for his services.
24:26Vicks remained statuesque during the break. Oh my god, Mac Masters exploded again, irritated. If I
24:37I would waste my time on my business that way, in a month I would be poor, but the doctor says
24:44"That you're improving," Vicks ventured. "Of course," the banker replied with a grimace.
24:52Contempt is his specialty; I know that way of speaking; deep down he knows it's so likely that
25:01Whether I'm alive or dead when I return, oh sir, you're not going to die, that's what I fear, Vicks, but they'll give me
25:11I am dead and they will proceed to embalm me to make sure of it, or sir, would you like
25:20"It reminds me of Vicks," the sick man interrupted. "Shoot the first undertaker who tries to put that on me."
25:28"Mummy substance in the veins, I understand perfectly, sir," Vicks replied fearfully.
25:37that the other person's excitement could worsen their situation again, I know apparently
25:43I'm going to die. My father and grandfather had this damned virus in their veins, and I don't think any of them will.
25:51If he was dead when they declared him so, well, if by chance, I mean, if you started Vicks
26:01desperately, if he is apparently dead, why don't they preserve his body here?
26:08"The house, for a time, conventions, formalities, customs, strict laws," exclaimed the banker.
26:17Almost furious, the health authorities would come here with an army and make sure that I
26:24They won't bury Vicks. I have a beautiful, quiet, and safe crypt out there with good ventilation and lighting.
26:33Electrical components like a bunk bed and a push button exclude all notoriety; it's secret and secure, the electrician
26:43The person who installed the device died four years ago, so only you and I possess this knowledge.
26:50Don't you think someone else should know too? Your lawyer, Vicks? If I'm really dead, no.
27:02I don't want anyone to write about my eccentricities in any Sunday magazine, and if I return, then it will be
27:10The moment of telling the gaping audience about my intelligence... I wish it weren't so cold.
27:19All this, sir, I've always hit the nail on the head, Jiram, and I face this matter of death as I do.
27:27I'm not willing to cash in on any other proposal, and if I can deceive the doctors, I'll do it.
27:35Funeral directors, lawyers, heirs, and bosses mourn for a few years
27:42I'll do it more, and don't forget the poor old man; he could have gotten up and walked around if he had used
27:51My stratagem, Vicks turned around with a broken heart; it was something terrible, indescribable for him.
28:03Religion was as essential as daily bread; death was the culmination of a cherished belief.
28:10From constant prayer as her years dwindled, she had faced the inevitable day with the
28:18simple faith that when the call came, I would gladly go, like one who wraps himself in the tapestry
28:25from her bed and lay down to sleep peacefully, her heart pounding, she heard another torrent of
28:34Words that would stab even more in his sensitive soul, for he had loved and revered his master since his
28:41youth but no words came out, she turned around, the enormous head had fallen limply among the
28:50Pillows, her pale lips tried to form sentences without success, then the large body appeared
28:58He sank immeasurably deeper under the sheets, and a deathly silence filled the room.
29:07Vicks, who sensed that his master was worse than in any previous relapse, did everything possible to
29:15revive him first gently, then shake him hard and call him in a pitiful, heart-rending voice
29:22But it was in vain; the heavy figure looked pale and cadaverous under the snow-covered sheets.
29:31Long hours passed and the lonely old servant still sat silently by the bed, awake
29:41Only at last, at the peremptory and measured call of the telephone's ring, did Vicks say in a trembling voice
29:50So, Dr. Meredith, the master is resting peacefully. I don't think he needs to come until tomorrow.
29:58"I'll keep them away as much as I can," he muttered as he retreated to his post of vigil.
30:07I wish he would return and resume the work of the master who has taken so long, oh God, if only I
30:17Will you accept instead? Vicks slept on and off and sat silently all night.
30:24endless, but the new day brought no reassuring sign of his lifeless body
30:31The silence was dreadful; the other servants were housed in a remote part of the
30:39mansion and only came when summoned. Once again, Vicks assured the doctor that he would gain nothing.
30:47calling him and another terrible night found him pale and distressed by the bed sometime during the
30:55During quiet vigils, she fainted, and kind nature healed her shattered nerves before
31:03He longed for his conscience to awaken him once more, but the tension was more than he could bear, so
31:11When the anxious specialist arrived unbidden, he found a broken old watchman
31:18who completely collapsed and stammered out the whole mysterious story, hiding nothing but the secret
31:27From the grave, in a custom-made coffin, they placed the unembalmed remains of Jadson McMasters in the
31:35family mausoleum and the world that had felt its majestic presence for so many years came to a standstill.
31:44enough to place a costly tribute in his coffin and then continued on his way without incident
31:52The same did not happen with faithful Vicks, holed up in his master's bedroom every night.
32:01He tossed and turned in a restless sleep filled with the tinkling of countless electric bells, and when in the
32:09On the tenth night, after he had been somewhat reassured that everything was alright, he was suddenly awakened by a
32:16The incessant, frantic ringing of the alarm concealed a mortal weakness that seized him and passed a
32:25Before he could pull his paralyzed body out of bed, with clumsy, awkward fingers he tried to
32:32He hurried, but many minutes passed before he staggered out, half-dressed.
32:40room and while he did so his heart almost stopped and then rose to his throat as if
32:48"I want to drown him, Vicks," a voice shouted. McMaster's voice was calling. He staggered to the end of the
32:59enormous staircase and looked down there was the pale, haggard but smiling banker and then
33:09As if from an infinite distance more words came, I forgot to tell you that I had a trapdoor to
33:17end of the coffin since you didn't answer the doorbell I discovered I could come alone with an inarticulate scream
33:27Big stretched out his trembling arms, "My master, I'll be right back." Then he staggered, stumbled, and grabbed on.
33:40weakly from the railing, he fell headfirst to the foot of the stairs, a crumpled, lifeless form
Comments