Detour to Romance

UGilbert Wright Located in the checkroom in Union Station as I am, I see everybody that comes up the stairs. Tony - who owned the maga ine stand to my le!t-, studied the laws o! probability because he liked to bet on the horse races. "e claimed that he could calculate, according to his system, that i! I held my #ob one hundred and twelve years more I would know everybody in the world by sight. $nd I came to the theory that i! you wait long enough in a big railroad station like Union Station you%ll see everybody that travels. I%ve told my theory to lots o! people but nobody ever did anything about it e&cept "arry. "e came in a little over three years ago and waited at the head o! the stairs !or the passenger !rom the '()* train. I remember seeing "arry that !irst evening. "e wasn%t much more than a thin, an&ious kid then. "e was all dressed up and I knew he was meeting his girl and that they would be married twenty minutes a!ter she arrived. There is no use in my trying to e&plain how I knew all this, but a!ter you%ve watched people waiting at the head o! the stairs !or eighteen years as I have done, then it is easy. Well, the passengers came up and I had to get busy. I didn%t look toward the stairs again until nearly time !or the '(+, and I was very surprised to see that the young !ellow was still there.

Gilbert Wright nion -stasyonunda emanet odas.nda merdivenlerden yukar. /.kan herkesi g0rebiliyorum. Soldaki dergi bayisine sahip olan Tony, olas.l.k kanunlar.na /al.1t. /2nk2 at yar.1. oynamay. /ok seviyordu. 32 oniki y.l daha bu i1i s2rd2r2rsem d2nyadaki herkesi simaen tan.yabilece4imi kendi sistemine g0re hesaplayabilece4ini iddia ediyordu. 5ende, e4er Union -stasyonu gibi b2y2k bir tren istasyonunda yeterince u un beklersem seyahat eden herkesi g0rebilece4im teorisine ula1t.m. Teorimi bir/ok ki1iye anlatt.m !akat "arry%den ba1ka hi/kimse bu konuda bir1ey yapmad.. 6/ y.ldan a !a la bir s2re 0nce geldi ve '()* treninden gelen yolcular. o merdivenlerin ba1.nda bekledi. "arry%i o ak1am ilk ke g0r212m2 hat.rl.yorum. 7 amanlar ay.!, endi1eli bir /ocuktan ba1ka bir1ey de4ildi. -yi giyinmi1ti ve k. .n. bekledi4ini ve k. geldikten yakla1.k yirmi dakika sonra evleneceklerini biliyordum. 52t2n bunlar. nas.l bildi4imi anlatman.n bir anlam. yok, !akat benim gibi onseki y.ld.r merdiven ba1.nda bekleyenleri seyredince bu /ok kolay. 3olcular geldi ve ben /ok me1guld2m. 8erdivenlere do4ru saat '(+,%e kadar bakmad.m ve o gen/ arkada1.n hala orada oldu4unu g0r2nce /ok 1a1.rd.m.

Dolambal Bir Ak Macareas

She didn%t come on the '(+, either, nor on the '(9), and when the passengers !rom +)(): had all arrived and le!t, "arry was looking pretty desperate. ;retty soon he came close to my window so I called out and asked him what she looked like. 3ou would have thought that I had checked her among the packages in my checkroom !rom the way he came over and hal! crawled through my window. < She%s small and dark,= he says, <and nineteen years old and very neat in the way she walks. She has a !ace,< he says, thinking a minute <that has lots o! spirit. I mean she can get mad but she never stays long. $nd her eyebrows come to a little point in the middle. She%s got a brown !ur, but may be she isn%t wearing it.= I couldn%t remember seeing anybody like that. "e showed me the telegram he%d received( $>>I?@ T"U>SA$3. 8@@T 8@ $T ST$TI7B. C7?@ C7?@, C7?@. -8$3. It was !rom 7maha, Bebraska. < Well, < I !inally say, < why don%t you phone to your homeD She is probably called there i! she got in ahead o! you. < "e gave me a seek look, < I%ve only been town two days. We were going to meet and then drive down south where I%ve got a #ob promised me. She- she hasn%t any address !or me. < "e touched the telegram.< I got this general delivery.< With that, he walked o!! to the head o! stairs to look over the people !rom the ++(::. When I came on duty the ne&t day he was still there and came over as soon as he saw me.

E. '(+, treniyle de gelmedi '(9)%ta da gelmedi. +)(): yolcular.n.n hepsi gelip ayr.ld.klar.nda, "arry ger/ekten umutsu g0r2n2yordu. 5ira sonra penceremin yan.na yakla1t. ve ona k. .n neye ben edi4ini sordum. Geli1i ve s2r2nmesinden onu emanet odas.nda gelen baga#lardan kontrol etti4imi d212nebilirdini ,< E2/2k ve esmer= dedi. <7ndoku ya1.nda ve etkileyici bir y2r2y212 var . 32 2 < dedi bir dakika d212nd2 < olduk/a anlaml..= Aemek istedi4im k. ar, !akat u un s2re k. g.n kalama ve ka1lar. ortada k2/2k bir nokta olu1turur. Eahverengi bir k2rk2 var !akat belkide onu giymemi1tir. = Fyle birini g0rd242m2 hat.rlayamad.m. 5ana ald.4. telgra!. g0sterdi . ;@>G@85@ G6B6 G@C-37>U8. 5@B-ST$S37BA$ E$>GIC$. S@?G-C@>, S@?G-C@>, S@?G-C@>.,-8$3. Telgra! 7maha , Bebraska%dan geliyordu. Sonunda <@vini neden aram.yorsun < dedim. <@4er senden 0nce gelmi1se mutlaka oray. aram.1t.r.= 5ana aptalm.1.m gibi bakt. <Easabaya geleli daha iki g2n oldu. 5ulu1up bana tekli! edilen i1 i/in g2neye arabayla gidecektik. 5ana hi/bir adres vermedi.= Telgra!a dokundu. < 5unu genel postadan ald.m. < 5unu dedikten sonra merdivenlerin ucuna ++(:: trenindeki yolculara bakmaya gitti. 5ir sonraki g2n mesaiye geldi4imde o hala oradayd. ve beni g0r2r g0rme yan.ma geldi.

< Aid she work anywhereD < I asked. "e nodded. < She was a typist. I telegraphed her !ormer boss. $ll they say is that she le!t her #ob to get married. < Well, that was how it began. "arry meet every train the ne&t three or !our days. 7! course the railroad line made a routine checkup and the police look into the case. 5ut nobody was any real help. I could see that they all !igured that 8ay had simply played a trick on him. 5ut never believed that, somehow. 7ne day, a!ter about two weeks, "arry and I were talking and I told him about my theory. < I! you%ll #ust wait long enough,= I say, < you%ll see her coming up those stairs some day. < "e turned and looked at stairs as though he had never seen them be!ore, while I went on e&plaining about Tony%s !igures on the Caws o! ;robability. Be&t day when I came to work "arry was behind the counter o! Tony%s maga ine stand. "e looked at me rather sheepishly and says, < Well, I had to get a #ob somewhere, didn%t ID < So he began to work as a clerk !or Tony. We never spoke o! 8ay anymore and neither o! us ever mentions my theory. 5ut I noticed that "arry always saw every person who comes up to stairs. Toward the end o! the year Tony was killed in some argument over gambling, and Tony%s widow le!t "arry incomplete charge o! the maga ine stand. $nd when she got married again some time later, "arry bought the stand !rom her.

<E. bir yerde /al.1t. m.D= diye sordum. 5a1.n. 0ne sallad.. <Aaktilocuydu. Fnceki patronuna tegra! yollad.m. 52t2n bildikleri evlenmek i/in i1ten ayr.ld.4.yd.. < -1te olay olay b0yle ba1lam.1t.. "arry sonraki 2/ veya d0rt g2n b2t2n trenleri kar1.lad.. @lbette demiryollar. rutin kontroller yapt. ve polis olay. ara1t.rd.. Hakat hi/kimse ger/ek bir yard.mda bulunamad.. "erkesin davran.1.n.n a/.k/a 8ay%in ona oyun yapt.4. 1eklinde oldu4unu g0rebiliyordum. Hakat nas.lsa buna hi/bir aman inanmad.m. -ki ha!ta geciktikten sonra bir g2n, "arry ile konu1uyorduk, ve ben ona teorimden bahsettim.< @4er yeteri kadar beklersen< dedim, <birg2n onun o merdivenlerden yukar. /.kt.4.n. g0receksin. <5en Tony%nin olas.l.k konular. hakk.nda a/.klama yaparken, o arkas.na d0nd2 ve merdivenlere daha 0nce onlar. hi/ g0rmemi1 gibi bakt. . @rtesi g2n i1e geldi4imde "arry, Tonny%nin dergi b2!esinin te gah.n.n arkas.ndayd.. 5ana s.k.lgan bir 1ekilde bakt. ve < 5ir yerde i1 bulmak orundayd.m, de4il miD < dedi. Sonu/ta te gahtar olarak Tony i/in /al.1maya ba1lad.. 8ay hakk.nda daha !a la hi/ konu1mad.k, teorimi den hi/ bahsetmedik. Hakat "arry%in gelen her ki1iyi daima g0 ledi4ini !arkettim. Senenin sonuna do4ru "arry bir kumar oyunu y2 2nden /.kan tart.1mada 0ld2r2ld2 ve Tonny%nin dul kalan e1i b2!enin t2m sorumlulu4unu "arryI%e b.rakt.. 5ir s2re sonra tekrar evlendi4inde ise "arry b2!eyi ondan sat.n ald..

"e borrowed money and installed a soda !ountain and pretty soon he had a very nice little business. Then came yesterday. I heard a cry and a lot o! things !alling. The cry was !rom "arry and the things !alling were a lot ! dolls and the other things which he had upset while he was #umping over the counter. "e run across and grabbed a girl not ten !eet !rom my window. She was small and dark and her eyebrows came to a little point in the middle. Hor a while they #ust hung there to each other laughing and crying and saying things without meaning, < It was the bus station I meant- < and he%d kiss her speechless and tell her the many things he had done to !ind her. What apparently happened three years be!ore was that 8ay had come by bus, not by train, and in her telegram she meant < bus station <, < not < railroad station <. She had waited at the bus station !or days and had spent all her money trying to !ind "arry. Hinally she got a #ob typing. < WhatD < says "arry. < "ave you been working in townD $ll the timeD < She nodded. < Well, "eavens J didn%t you come down here to the stationD < "e pointed across to his maga ine stand. < I%ve been there all the time. I owned it. I%ve watched everybody that came up the stairs J<

5or/ alarak bir soda te gah. kurdu ve k.sa bir s2re sonra k2/2k, g2 el bir i1e sahip odu. Sonra d2n geceye geldik. 5ir /.4l.k ve bir /ok 1eyin yere d21t242n2 duydum. K.4l.k "arry%den y2kseliyordu ve d21en 1eyler de te gah.n 2 erinde .plarken yere d212rd242 bir /ok oyuncak ve di4er 1eylerdi. Ear1.ya do4ru ko1tu ve penceremden 2/ metreden daha yak.nda bulunan bir k. . elleriyle yakalad.. E. u!ak te!ekti ve ka1lar. ortada birle1erek nokta olu1turuyordu. 5ir s2re orada birbirilerine sar.lm.1 olarak kald.lar, a4lad.lar, g2ld2ler ve birbirilerine anlams. 1eyler s0ylediler. <kasdetti4im otob2s dura4.yd.< gibi k. birka/ kelime s0yledi. "arry, k. . bir1ey s0yleden de!alarca 0pt2 ve onu bulmak i/in yapt.4. bir/ok 1eyi anlatt.. 5elliki 2/ y.l 0nce, 8ay trenle de4il otob2sle gelmi1ti ve telgra!.nda bahsetti4i <otob2s dura4.yd., demiryolu istasyonu de4ildi.< otob2s dura4.nda g2nlerce beklemi1 ve b2t2n paras.n. "arry%i bulmak i/in harcam.1t.. Sonu/ta daktilocu olarak bir i1 bulmu1tu. <Be D < dedi "arry. <52t2n bu s2re boyunca bu kasabada m. /al.1.yordun D @vet anlam.nda ba1.n. sallad.. $man $llah.m, < "i/ a1a4.ya bu istasyona gelmedin miD< diyerek ka1.daki dergi b2!esini i1aret etti. < 52t2n bu aman boyunca ben oraday.m. 7ras. benim. 8erdivenlerden /.kan herkesi seyrettim. <

She began to look a little pale. ;retty soon she looked over at the stairs and said in a weak voice, < I-I never came up the stairs be!ore. 3ou see, I went out o! town yesterday on a short business trip J 7h "arryL < Then she threw her arms around his neck and really began to cry. $!ter a minute she backed away and pointed very sti!!ly toward the north end o! the station. < "arry, !or three years, three solid years, I%ve been right over there J working right in this very station, typing, in the o!!ice o! the stationmaster. The wonder!ul thing to me is how the Caws o! ;robability worked so hard so long until they !inally got 8ay to walk up those stairs o! ours.

E. ha!i!/e solgunla1maya ba1lad.. E.sa bir s2re sonra merdivenlere bakt. ve < 7 merdivenlerden daha 0nce hi/ /.kmad.m. G0rd242n gibi d2n k.sa bir i1 ge isi i/in kasaba d.1.na /.km.1t.m. 7h,"arry L < Sonra kollar.n. "arry%nin boynuna dolad. ve ger/ekten a4lamaya ba1lad.. 5ir dakika sonra, bira geriye /ekildi ve kaskat. bir 1ekilde istasyonun ku ey ucunu g0stererekM <"arry, 2/ y.ld.r, 2/ u un y.ld.r ben tam oradayd.m, i1te bu istasyonda /al.1.yordum. -stasyon m2d2r2n2n o!isinde daktilocuydum.< 5enim i/in m2kemmel olan 7las.l.k Eanununun b0yle or /al.1mas. ve /ok u un bir s2re sonra 8ay%i bi e kavu1turmas.yd..