Die
boekwurm |
The
bookworm |
Dit reën al die hele middag nou en dan en omdat sy nie
veel het om te doen nie, drentel Daisy by die goedkoop boekwinkel in die
arkade in. |
It was raining on and off all that afternoon and as she
had nothing much to do Daisy wandered into the low-price bookshop in the
arcade. |
Sy is dol op boeke en loop hier dikwels wonderlike
winskopies raak. |
She loved looking at books and often found some
wonderful bargains there. |
Daisy verkies nie-fiksie-boeke, reisboeke en dramas maar
hou ook daarvan om 'n skrywer van speurverhale te ontdek waarvan sy nog
nie gehoor het nie. |
Daisy preferred non-fiction books, travel, plays but
also liked to discover an author of detective stories she had never heard
of before. |
Al gou het Daisy 'n stapel boeke wat sy wil koop en sy
probeer uitreken wat dit alles gaan kos. |
Soon Daisy had a huge pile of books she wanted to buy
and tried to calculate how much they would all cost. |
"Dis byna vier pond vir die mediese boeke, plus
drie vir die Amerikaanse boek oor Sosiologie, twee kookboeke teen 99
pennies elke, twee pond negentig vir die reisboek oor Suid-Amerika en sewe
vir 'n ensiklopedie oor die wêreld se kriminele met foto's van hulle. |
"That’s nearly four pounds for the medical book,
plus three for the American book on Sociology, two cookery books at 99p
each, two pounds ninety for the travel book on South America and seven for
an encyclopedia of world criminals with photos of them. |
"As ek dié boek oor natuurlike geneesmiddels ook
koop, gaan dit net minder as drie-en-twintig pond kos." |
"If I buy this book on natural cures as well, I’ll
be spending just under twenty-three pounds". |
Daisy tel hoeveel sy in haar beursie het. |
Daisy counted what she had in her purse. |
Sy gebruik nooit haar kredietkaart om klere of boeke te
koop nie, want sy is bang sy gaan nie genoeg vir noodgevalle hê nie. |
She never used her credit card to buy clothes or books
as she was afraid she wouldn’t have enough for emergencies. |
Gelukkig kom Daisy agter dat sy meer as veertig pond by
haar het. |
Luckily Daisy found that she had more than forty pounds
with her. |
Nou kan sy nie al die swaar boeke in die winkel ronddra
nie en besluit om die agtelose jong man by die kassa, wat sy voetbalkoepon
bestudeer, te vra of sy die boeke daar kan laat, want sy wil nog rondkyk. |
By now she couldn’t carry all these heavy books around
the shop and decided to ask the indifferent young man at the pay desk, who
was studying his football coupon, if she could leave the books there
because she hadn’t finished looking around yet. |
"As jy wil," antwoord die agtelose jong man
sonder om selfs na Daisy op te kyk. |
"If you like," replied the indifferent young
man without even looking up at Daisy. |
Daisy klim teen die spiraaltrap af na die kinderafdeling
en tweedehandse boeke, maar sien niks waarin sy belang stel nie. |
Daisy climbed down the spiral staircase to the children’s
section and second-hand books but she couldn’t find anything interesting
there. |
Sy klim weer met die trap op en gaan tot agter in die
winkel waar 'n mens die afdeling oor wetenskap, astrologie, esoteriese
leesstof en oorlog aantref. |
She climbed up the stairs again and proceeded to the
back of the shop where the section on scientific matters, astrology,
esoteric reading and war could be found. |
Daisy moet hurk om die titels op die onderste rak te
lees. |
Daisy had to crouch down to see the titles on the bottom
shelf. |
"Hmm, sien hier nie veel waarin ek belang stel
nie," dink sy, en beweeg elke keer na links wanneer sy die titels in
daardie bepaalde deel van die boekrak klaar gelees het. |
"Mm, can’t see much here to interest me,"
she thought, moving to the left each time she finished reading the titles
of that particular section of the bookcase. |
Die inlegtapyt is taamlik oud en baie stowwerig. |
The inlaid carpeting was pretty old and very dusty. |
Niemand maak seker die winkel ooit skoon nie. Daisy haat
dit dat boekwinkels nie versorg word nie. So baie boekwinkels lyk al so en
sluit en maak nooit weer oop nie. |
Probably no one ever cleaned the shop. Daisy hated to
see bookshops which were not cared for. So many bookshops had gone this
way and shut down never to be reopened again. |
Op die punt van die boekrak is daar groot
geïllustreerde oorlogsboeke met beroemde gesigte daarop, |
At the end of the bookcase were the big illustrated war
books with famous faces on them. |
"O, dis dalk interessant," sê Daisy by
haarself toe sy 'n boek sien wat deur 'n voormalige SAS-soldaat geskryf
is. |
"Oh, that might be interesting," Daisy said to
herself seeing a book written by an ex-SAS soldier. |
Daisy sien 'n opvoustoel in die hoek, trek dit oop en
gaan sit om deur die boek te blaai. |
Daisy spied a fold-up chair in the corner, opened it up
and sat down on it to look at the book. |
Terwyl sy beskrywings van desperate reise in haglike
omstandighede lees, word Daisy skielik van dowwe stemme bewus. |
As she read through descriptions of desperate journeys
in pitiful conditions, Daisy suddenly became aware of muffled voices. |
Sy kyk om haar heen, maar daar is niemand naby haar in
die winkel nie, dus lees sy weer voort. |
She looked around but there was nobody near her in the
shop so she went back to her reading. |
Nou hoor sy 'n vrou skree, en 'n man wat met 'n
aggressiewe stemtoon antwoord. |
Now she heard a woman shouting and a man replying in an
aggressive tone. |
"Iemand se televisie staan langsaan taamlik hard
aan," dink sy. |
"Somebody’s got their television turned up rather
high next door," she thought. |
Toe is daar stilte. |
Then there was silence. |
En toe brul die man se stem weer lelike klanke uit, maar
Daisy kan nog steeds nie die woorde uitmaak nie. |
And then again the man’s voice bellowed out ugly
sounds, but still Daisy wasn’t able to distinguish the words. |
Daisy se instink kom weer tot lewe. |
Daisy’s intuition popped up again. |
"Dis glad nie die televisie nie. Dis iets wat
werklik gebeur. Ek wens ek kan hoor wat hulle sê!" |
"That isn’t the television at all. That’s
something that’s really happening. If only I could hear what they’re
saying! |
"Is hier dalk in die muur 'n rooster wat deur die
plakpapier bedek is?" |
"Could it be there’s a grille here in the wall
hidden by the wallpaper?" |
Daisy besef die stemme kom van agter haar bene en staan
eers op en kniel dan. |
Daisy realised that the sounds were coming from behind
her legs and climbed down onto her knees. |
"Ek gaan daardie plakpapier van die muur af probeer
trek," sê sy by haarself. |
"I’ll try to pull that wallpaper away from the
wall," she said to herself. |
Sy trek aan die rand van die plakpapier waar dit aan die
vloer en die akelige inlegtapyt raak. |
She pulled at the edge of the wallpaper where it met the
floor and the horrible inlaid carpeting. |
Dit kom maklik los, en daar is dit – 'n lugrooster. |
It came unstuck easily and there it was - an air passage
grille. |
Nou kan Daisy duidelik hoor wat hulle sê. |
Now Daisy could hear exactly what they were saying. |
"Los my, los my!" gil 'n vrouestem. |
"Let me go, let me go!" a woman’s voice
shrieked. |
"Gee my al die geld en jou ringe en hou op met
skree, of ek sny jou keel-af," dreig die growwe stem. |
"Give me all the money and your rings and no more
shouting, otherwise I’ll slit your throat," threatened the rough
voice. |
"Dit moet daardie antiekwinkel langsaan wees,"
dink Daisy. "'n Vrou word deur 'n skurk aangeval en beroof." |
"It must be that antique shop next door,"
thought Daisy. "A woman is being attacked and robbed by some
thug." |
Daisy besef sy kan geen tyd verspil nie en hoewel sy
bang voel, weet sy sy kan die vrou nie aan haar lot oorlaat nie. |
Daisy realised she had no time to lose and although she
felt frightened she knew she couldn’t leave the woman to her fate. |
Sy hardloop na die jongeling wat nog steeds sy X'e, 1'e
of 2's trek en skree: "Ontbied onmiddellik die polisie, want hulle
roof langsaan." |
She rushed towards the youth still working out his X, 1
or 2’s and shouted, "Call the police immediately because they are
robbing next door." |
Die jong man staar Daisy net aan, dus druk sy hom opsy
om by die telefoon uit te kom en hulle self te ontbied. |
The young man simply stared at Daisy, so she pushed him
to get at the phone and called them herself. |
"Dit is Daisy Hamilton wat praat. Ek is by die Find
All-boekwinkel in die arkade in Hoofstraat. |
"This is Daisy Hamilton speaking. I’m at the Find
All Bookshop in the arcade in the High Street. |
"'n Roof vind plaas in die antiekwinkel langsaan. |
"There is a robbery taking place in the antiques
shop next door. |
"Ek gaan nou daar in. Maak asseblief gou." |
"I’m going in there now. Please hurry." |
Toe draai Daisy na die jong man. "Het jy iets oor
antiek?" |
Then Daisy turned to the young man, "Have you got
anything on antiques?" |
Steeds stomgeslaan, wys die jong man na regs. |
Still speechless the youth pointed over to the right. |
Daisy gryp 'n geïllustreerde boek oor negentiende-eeuse
antiek en storm by die winkel uit. |
Daisy seized an illustrated book on nineteenth century
antiques and rushed out of the shop. |
Daisy stap so kalm as moontlik by die winkel langsaan
in, oënskynlik met haar neus in haar boek oor antiek. |
Daisy walked into the shop next door as calmly as
possible, apparently with her head in her antiques book. |
Daar is niemand, maar sy hoor dowwe bewegings in 'n
binnekamer en roep uit: "Verskoon my, is hier iemand?" |
Nobody was there but she heard muffled movements which
came from an inner room and called out, "Excuse me, anyone
there?" |
'n Bleek, ouerige dame kom by die deur uit, met 'n
boewerige jong man net agter haar. |
A pale elderly women came through the door with a
thuggish-looking young man close behind her. |
Die vrou se stem bewe en sy sê: "Goeiemiddag, kan
ek u help?" |
The lady’s voice trembled and said,"Good
afternoon, can I help you?" |
Daisy maak asof sy die man glad nie gesien het nie, en
sy improviseer. |
Daisy pretended not to have even seen the man and
improvised, |
"Ek lees dié boek en toe sien ek net mooi die
soort skryftafel waarvoor ek soek. |
"I’ve been reading this book and I saw just the
right sort of writing desk I’ve been looking for. |
"Het julle só iets? Ek dink dis Georgiaans." |
"Have you got something like this? I think it’s
Georgian." |
Daisy wys die vrou 'n prentjie van 'n stoel pleks van 'n
skryftafel, en hou dit só dat die man dit nie kan sien nie. |
Daisy showed the lady a picture not of a writing desk
but of a chair, and held it in a way so that the man couldn’t see it. |
Die dame is verward toe sy die foto van 'n stoel pleks
van 'n skryftafel sien. |
The lady was bewildered to see the photo of a chair
instead of a writing desk. |
Die man hou sy hand in sy sak asof hy 'n wapen vashou,
maar doen moeite om ongeërg voor te kom en gaan sit. |
The man had his hand in his pocket as though holding a
weapon but made an effort to appear casual and sat down. |
Toe hy dit doen, knipoog Daisy na die winkeleienaar, wat
antwoord: "Nee, ek's jammer, ek het niks in dié styl nie." |
As he did this, Daisy winked at the shop-owner who
replied, "No, I’m sorry, I haven’t got anything in this
style." |
Daisy dring aan. "Sal u my laat weet indien u so
iets in die hande kry? |
Daisy insisted, "If something comes your way could
you let me know? |
"Ek sal my adres en telefoonnommer neerskryf." |
"I’ll write down my address and telephone
number." |
Daisy skryf: "Moet asseblief nie bang wees nie. Die
polisie is op op pad. Ek sal jou nie alleen laat nie." |
Daisy wrote: "Please don’t be frightened. The
police are on their way. I won’t leave you alone." |
Die dame lees die boodskap en kyk veelbetekenend na
Daisy op. |
The lady read the message and looked up at Daisy in a
knowing way. |
"Maar ek het iets anders wat u doel dalk sal dien. |
"But I’ve got something else which might suit
your purpose. |
"Wil u dit graag sien? Dis hier, in die
winkelvenster." |
"Would you like to see it? It’s there, in the
shop window." |
Só beweeg die twee vroue nader aan die winkel se
ingang. |
In this way the two women got nearer to the shop
entrance. |
Die boef sit nog steeds op die stoel met sy hand in sy
sak, maar hy hou albei intens dop. |
The thug was still sitting in the chair with his hand in
his pocket, but studying both of them intensely. |
Die vingers aan sy regterhand trommel senuweeagtig. |
The fingers on his right hand were twitching nervously. |
Daisy let toe op dat daar 'n massiewe hangkas in die
middel van die winkel staan en wag vir die regte oomblik. |
Daisy then noticed there was a massive wardrobe parked
in the middle of the shop and awaited the right moment. |
Die winkeleienares hou vol met die gesprek oor
antiekmeubels en Daisy maak of sy belang stel in wat sy sê. |
The shop-keeper continued the conversation about antique
furniture and Daisy pretended to be interested in what she said. |
Skielik bars twee polisiemanne by die winkel in en Daisy
trek die winkeleienares saam met haar tot agter die kas. |
Suddenly two policemen burst into the shop and Daisy
pulled the shop-owner with her behind the wardrobe. |
Sy loer om die linkerkant om te sien wat gebeur. |
She peeped round the left side of it to see what was
happening. |
Die boef spring op en dreig die polisie met 'n
gevaarlike mes. |
The thug jumped up and threatened the police with a
nasty-looking knife. |
Almal staan 'n paar sekondes lank doostil, toe gooi
Daisy die boek oor antiek na 'n stoeltjie twee meter regs van die dief. |
Everybody stood completely still for a few seconds, then
Daisy threw the antiques book towards a stool, six feet to the right of
the thief. |
Sy aandag word 'n oomblik afgetrek en hy kyk na waar die
geluid vandaan kom, en dit gee die twee polisiemanne die geleentheid om
hom te bespring. |
He was momentarily distracted and looked to where the
noise had come from, which gave the two policemen the opportunity to leap
on him. |
Een polisieman klap die mes uit die man se hand en die
ander boei hom onmiddellik. |
One policeman knocked the knife from the man’s hand
and the other handcuffed him immediately. |
Dis alles binne minute verby. |
It was all over in a couple of minutes. |
Daisy tel die boek oor antiek op en stel voor dat hulle
in die bakkery 'n paar deure in die arkade af 'n warm koppie tee gaan
drink. |
Daisy picked up the antiques book and suggested having a
hot cup of tea in the baker’s a few doors down the arcade. |
Die twee vroue sit, en bewe nog steeds effens ná hul
ervaring. |
The two women sat down still shaking a little from their
experiences. |
Die ouerige vrou skud Daisy se hand warm. |
The elderly lady shook Daisy’s hand warmly. |
"Dankie, dankie, my dierbaarste jong dame. Ag my
genade, ek was werklik verskrik. Maar hoe het jy besef ek's in die
moeilikheid?" |
"Thank you, thank you my dear young lady. Oh my
goodness, I was really terrified. But how did you realise I was in
trouble?" |
Daisy verduidelik hoe sy haar stem langsaan in die
boekwinkel gehoor het. |
Daisy explained how she had heard her voice next door in
the bookshop. |
"Kom ek stel my bekend, hartjie. My naam is Lena
Fields. Noem my gerus Lena – en mag ek weet hoe heet jy?" |
"Let me introduce myself, my dear. My name is Lena
Fields. Just call me Lena - and may I know your name please?" |
Daisy vind Lena 'n uiters sjarmante vrou. |
Daisy found Lena a very charming woman. |
Haar styl is dié van 'n wêreld wat nie meer bestaan
nie, en haar kenmerkende aksent toon dat sy baie ver weg gebore is. |
She had the style of a world which didn’t exist any
more, and a distinct accent which showed she had been born far away. |
Toe Daisy mev. Fields meedeel dat sy 'n privaatspeurder
is, begin albei giggel. Hulle weet nie waarom nie, maar dit is goed om die
spanning te verlig. |
When Daisy told Mrs. Fields she was a private eye they
both started giggling. They didn’t know why, but it was good to relieve
the tension. |
Toe hulle albei herstel, word Daisy ernstiger. |
When they had both recovered Daisy grew more serious, |
"Lena, ek wil jou 'n bietjie raad gee. Daar is geen
alarm in jou winkel nie. |
"Lena, I’d like to give you some advice. You have
no alarm in your shop. |
"Dink jy nie jy moet op die saak ingaan en een laat
aanbring nie?" |
"Don’t you think you should look into the matter
and have one fitted?" |
"Ja ek sal, dit moet nie weer gebeur nie. Niks het
ooit in dié land met my gebeur nie, en ek het veilig gevoel. |
"Yes I will, it mustn’t happen again. Nothing had
ever happened to me in this country and I felt safe. |
"Terloops, Daisy, stel jy werklik in 'n skryftafel
belang, of het jy dit op die ingewing van die oomblik bedink?" |
"By the way, Daisy, are you really interested in a
writing desk or did you make that up on the spur of the moment?" |
"Ja, ek het," glimlag Daisy. |
"Yes, I did," Daisy smiled. |
"In daardie geval wil ek jou hande sien, as ek
mag." |
"If that is the case I would like to see your
hands, if I may." |
Mev. Fields haal 'n robynring van haar vinger af en
skuif dit oor Daisy se pinkie. |
Mrs. Fields pulled a ruby ring off her finger and
slipped it on Daisy’s little finger. |
"Hou jy daarvan?" |
"Do you like it?" |
Daisy is verstom. "Natuurlik, maar …" |
Daisy was astonished. "Of course I do but..." |
"Nee, moenie teëpraat nie. Ek het geen kinders nie
en jy het my vandag van 'n akelige ervaring gered. |
"No, don’t protest. I have no children and you
saved me today from a horrible experience. |
"Boonop lyk dit mooi aan jou hand. Dis die einde
van die storie." |
"Besides, it looks nice on your hand. That’s the
end of the matter." |
Daisy voel skoon aangedaan oor dié dame se
vrygewigheid. |
Daisy felt quite overcome with the generosity of this
lady. |
"Wel, Lena, ek weet nie wat om te sê nie. Baie
dankie. |
"Well Lena, I don’t know what to say. Thank you
very much. |
"Ek sal in elk geval inloer om te sien hoe gaan
dit, en dan kan ons saam 'n potjie tee geniet." |
"Anyway I’ll be popping in to see how you are and
we can have a pot of tea together." |
Toe onthou Daisy dat sy die boek oor antiek nie na die
boekwinkel teruggeneem het nie. |
Then Daisy remembered she hadn’t returned the antiques
book to the bookshop. |
Dieselfde jong man herrangskik boeke in die winkel se
rekenaar-afdeling. |
The same young man was rearranging books in the computer
section of the shop. |
Hy kyk nouliks op. |
He hardly looked up. |
"Verskoon my, ek het jou boek oor antiek
teruggebring … en wat van my boeke wat ek by jou gelos het?" |
"Excuse me, I’ve brought your antiques book
back... and what about my books I left here with you?" |
"Ag, ek het gedink jy stel nie meer in hulle belang
nie, toe sit ek hulle weer terug!" |
"Ah, I thought you weren’t interested in them any
more and I put them back!" |
Daisy besef dat enige woorde van haar kant teenoor so
iemand nutteloos is, en begin die boeke weer opsoek. |
Daisy realised that any words on her part were useless
with such a person and proceeded to hunt for her books once again. |
Skielik val haar oog op die manjifieke ring aan haar
vinger, en sy onthou hoe gelukkig sy is. |
Suddenly her eye caught sight of the magnificent ring on
her finger and she remembered how lucky she was. |