解説　場面 15「残された箱」

"When my father took over the Horsham property, he, at my request, made a careful examination of the attic, which had been always locked up. We found the brass box there, although its contents had been destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a paper label, with the initials of K. K. K. repeated upon it, and 'Letters, memoranda, receipts, and a register' written beneath. These, we presume, indicated the nature of the papers which had been destroyed by Colonel Openshaw. For the rest, there was nothing of much importance in the attic save a great many scattered papers and note-books bearing upon my uncle's life in America. Some of them were of the war time and showed that he had done his duty well and had borne the repute of a brave soldier. Others were of a date during the reconstruction of the Southern states, and were mostly concerned with politics, for he had evidently taken a strong part in opposing the carpet-bag politicians who had been sent down from the North.

「父がホーシャムの財産を引き継ぐと、私の願いを聞いて、いつも鍵の掛かっていた屋根裏を念入りに調べてくれました。中身はなくなっていましたが、真鍮の箱はそこにありました。蓋の内側には紙のラベルがあり、Ｋ・Ｋ・Ｋの頭文字が繰り返され、その下に『手紙、覚書、領収書、記録簿』と書いてありました。これはオープンショー大佐が焼いた書類の種類を示していたのだろうと思います。ほかには、おじのアメリカでの暮らしに関する大量の散らかった書類や手帳を除いて、屋根裏に重要な物はありませんでした。中には戦時中のものがあり、おじがよく務めを果たし、勇敢な軍人という評判を得ていたことが分かりました。ほかのものは南部諸州の再建期のもので、大半が政治に関するものでした。北部から送り込まれた渡り者の政治家たちに、おじが積極的に反対していたのは明らかでした。