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"I'm not looking for anything. I'm just having a
good time," said Johnny Fourteen.
"You won't look for anything here, now. If you
want to, let's go into my house," they said.
"Who said so? Who's giving the orders?" said
Johnny Fourteen.
"It's whatever we say," said the ghosts. He was
taken inside. He didn't know how. He went through
sixtee—through sixty levels of the earth he went.
And, "Ooh, but I've come way down now," said
Johnny Fourteen. "God, but what can I do about
this?" he said. He thought carefully. There was no
longer any way to get out. He was at the very
bottom of the world now. "I guess I'll try," he said.
In a minute he went and kicked [his way] out of the
world. He was able to open it. Johnny Fourteen got
out.
He continued on happily. He went on. He went to
speak to that boss. "Well, I've come back now," he
said again, the next morning.
"Have you returned again?" asked his boss.
"I've returned," he said. It was just that he ate and
ate. He ate fourteen helpings a meal.
"Ah!" he said. "Eat, then!" [the boss] said again.
"Well, you are to go another time," [Johnny] was
told again.
"Where am I to go?" he asked.
"To the graveyard again, you are just to go
there," said [the boss].
"Ah," said [Johnny Fourteen]. "Okay," he said.
They came, lots of soldiers came. They came to
wage war, to kill him, since it had been heard that he
couldn't be killed, that one man had the strength of
fourteen men. "So let's go kill him with bullets,
then!" said the soldiers. They arrived. They attacked
him with bullets. Johnny Fourteen was standing
unconcerned. The bullets passed by. He just dodged
and dodged the bullets as they passed. The soldiers
ran out of bullets. [The bullets] missed him.
He took his little machete. He went to capture
them. He went to kill them. He went to capture
them. He wrestled all the soldiers. He finished off all
the soldiers, too. He returned. He arrived to tell his
boss again. "I've come back now," he said again.
"Have you come back again?" [the boss asked].
"I've come back," he said.
"Huh, hell! But what kind of a man are you?" said
the boss over and over.
"Really, I'm no special kind of man," said [Johnny].
"Didn't anything happen to you? Didn't anything
come along?" asked [the boss].
"Nothing, it seems. There wasn't anything," said
[Johnny].
"Huh, but do you mean it?" he said.
ROMIN TERATOL 83
"Mu k'u ta jsa7, yech no 7ox ta jkux ko7on," xi la
ti Jwan Katorse 7une.
"7A lavie mu k'usi chasa7 H7 toe, mi xak'ane
7ochikotik ta jna," xi la.
"Buch'u xi, buch'u spas mantal?" xi la ti Jwan
Katorse.
"Ja7 ti k'u xichie," xi la ti 7animaetik 7une. 7I7ik'e
la ochel, muk' la xa7i k'u xi, 7och ta vak-la... ta
7ox-vinik ta k'ol lum 7i7och la 7un.
71 "Jii, pero nat xa liyal tal 7un," xi la ti Jwan
Katorse 7une. "Dyos pero k'u ta jnop Ii7e?" xi la
7un. 7Isnop la lek 7un, mu xa k'u xi xlok', batz'i ta
chak balamil xa ech'el 7un. "Ta jpas kik preva," xi la.
J-likel 7a spuj lok'el ta majel ti balamil 7une, 7ijam la
yu7un 7un, 7ilok' ti Jwan Katorse 7une.
Bweno, jun yo7on 7ibat, bat, ba sk'opon 7a li taj
yajval 7une. "Bweno, Ii7 me lital 7une," xi la noxtok
7un. Sakub ti 7osil 7une.
"Mi lasut tal noxtok 7un?" xi la ti yajval 7une.
"Lisut tal," xi. Ja7 nox ti chve7 chve7 ta j-mek
chve7 ti chan-lajuneb bwelta ta j-7ech'el ve7el 7une.
"7A!" xi la. "Ve7an che7e!" xi la noxtok 7un.
"Bweno, chabat 7otro jun bwelta," x7utat noxtok
7un.
"Bu chibat 7un?" xi la 7un.
"Te 7onox jun ta ba mukenal te nox chabat," xi la
7un.
"7A!" xi la. "Stak'uk!" xi la 7un.
Bweno, tal 7un, tal la 7epal solteroetik, tal la
7ak'-k'ok' 7un, yu7un ta xmile, komo 7a7yat xa ti mu
stak' milel ke chan-lajun-vo7 vinik spersa ti jun vinik
7une. "7Entonse ba jmiltik ta bala che7e!" xiik la ti
solteroetik 7une. K'otik la 7un, yak'beik la bala 7un,
jun la yo7on va7al ti Jwan Katorse, ch7ech' la ti bala
7une, stz'eantz'ean no la sba ti 7ech' ti bala 7une, 7ilaj
la sbala ti solteroetik 7une, 7ech' yu7un 7un.
Bweno, stam la ech'el yunen machita, ba la stzak
ba la smil, ba la stzak ssotilan ta j-mek skotol ti
solteroetik 7une, 7ilaj yu7un skotol ti solteroetik
noxtok 7une, 7isut ech'el 7un, 7ik'ot yalbe ya7i ti
yajval noxtok 7une. "Li7 me lital 7une," xi la noxtok.
"Mi lasut tal noxtok 7un?" xi la.
"Lisut tal," xi.
"Je7, kavron, pero k'u k'uxi vinikalot?" xi la ta
j-mek ti 7ajvalil 7une.
"Melel mu k'usi vinikalon," xi la.
"Mi mu k'usi 7apas, mi mu k'usi k'ot?" xi.
"Ch'abal yilel, mu k'usi 7oy," xi la.
"Je7, pero mi yech 7aval?" xi.