Amerika. Part 6

Wherever Karl was supposed to be taken next, first he wanted to go and tell f.a.n.n.y how well everything had gone. But, to his regret, he learned that both the angels and the devils had already left for the next point on the publicity team's itinerary, to announce the arrival of the whole team the next day. 'Shame,' said Karl, and it was the first disappointment he had experienced in this enterprise, 'there was someone I knew among the angels.' 'You'll see her again in Oklahoma,' said the servant, 'now come along please, you're the last.' He led Karl along the back of the stage, where the angels had been standing earlier, now there were just their empty pedestals. Karl's a.s.sumption that more applicants might come, now that there was no more music from the angels turned out to be wrong, because there were no grown-ups at all in front of the stage, just a few children fighting over a long white feather that must have come from an angel's wing. One boy held it up in the air, while the other children tried with one hand to push his head down and reached for the feather with the other.

Karl pointed to the children, but the servant said without looking: 'Hurry up, it took a very long time before you were taken. I expect they had their doubts?' 'I really don't know,' said Karl, astonished, but he didn't think so. Always, even in circ.u.mstances that were clear as crystal, someone could be found who liked to alarm his fellow-humans. But at the wonderful sight of the large public enclosure to which they had now come, Karl quickly forgot the servant's remark. On the stand was a long bench covered with a white cloth, and all those who had been accepted sat on the bench below it, with their backs to the racetrack, and were being catered for. All were excited and in high spirits, just as Karl sat down unnoticed, the last to arrive, on the bench, a number of them stood up with gla.s.ses aloft, and someone proposed a toast to the leader of the both publicity team, to whom he referred as 'The father of all the unemployed everywhere'. Someone pointed out that he could be seen from there, and indeed there was the stewards' tribune, with the two gentlemen, not too far away at all. Then everyone raised their gla.s.ses in that direction, and Karl too picked up the gla.s.s in front of him, but however loudly they called and however hard they tried to get their attention, nothing on the stewards' stand indicated that they had noticed, or more precisely wanted to notice the ovation. The leader was leaning in the corner as before, and the other gentleman stood beside him, cupping his chin in his hand.

A little disappointed, they all sat down again, now and then someone would turn to look at the stewards' stand, but soon they were quite preoccupied by the plentiful meal, some poultry bigger than any Karl had ever seen, with many forks stuck in their crisply roasted flesh, were carried around, and wine gla.s.ses kept being replenished by the servants one almost didn't notice it, bending over one's plate, and a thin stream of red wine fell into one's gla.s.s and anyone who didn't care to partic.i.p.ate in the general conversation could look at pictures of the Theatre in Oklahoma, which had been piled up at one end of the table, from where they were supposed to be pa.s.sed from hand to hand. But no very great attention was paid to the pictures, and so it happened that Karl, at the end of the row, got to see only one of them. To go by this one picture, though, they must all have been very well worth seeing. This picture showed the box of the President of the United States. At first sight, one might think it wasn't a box at all, but the stage, so far did the curved bal.u.s.trades jut out into empty s.p.a.ce. The bal.u.s.trades were entirely made of gold. In between little pillars that might have been cut out by the minutest scissors, there was a row of portraits of former presidents, one had a strikingly straight nose, thickish lips and stubbornly lowered eyes under bulging lids. The box was brightly lit from all sides and from above; white and yet somehow mild light laid bare the front of the box, whereas its recesses, deepening pleats of red velvet falling full length and swagged by cords, were a darkly glimmering void. It was hardly possible to imagine people in this box, so sumptuously self-sufficient did it look. Karl didn't forget to eat, but he often looked at the picture too, having put it next to his plate.

He would have liked very much to see at least one of the other pictures, but didn't want to fetch it himself because a servant had his hand on the stack of them, and some sequence had to be kept to, so instead he just turned to look down the table and see if there might not be a picture on its way to him. Then to his astonishment at first he couldn't believe it among those faces bent furthest over their plates he saw one that was very familiar to him Giacomo. He ran over to him at once. 'Giacomo,' he called. He, shy as he always was when taken by surprise, got up from his plate, turned round in the little s.p.a.ce between the benches, wiped his mouth with his hands, and was finally very glad to see Karl, asked him to sit with him, or offered to go over to Karl's place, they wanted to tell each other everything, and stay together for always. Karl didn't want to bother the others, so each of them agreed to stay in his place for now, the meal would soon be over, and then they would never be parted. But Karl stayed close to Giacomo, just to watch him. What memories of past times! Where was the Head Cook? What was Therese doing? Giacomo's appearance had hardly changed at all, the Head Cook's prediction that within six months he would turn into a raw-boned American hadn't come to pa.s.s, he was just as delicate as ever, hollow-cheeked as ever, although at the moment his cheeks were bulging, because he had a huge piece of meat in his mouth, from which he was slowly pulling out the superfluous bones and throwing them on to his plate. As Karl saw from his armband, Giacomo had not been taken on as an actor, but as a lift-boy, the Theatre of Oklahoma really did, it seemed, have use for everyone.

Lost looking at Giacomo, Karl had stayed away from his place far too long, he was just about to go back to it, when the head of personnel came along, stood on one of the higher benches, clapped his hands, and gave a little speech, for which the majority stood, and those who remained seated, unable to tear themselves away from their food, were finally compelled to stand too by nudges from the others. 'I hope', he said, Karl had tiptoed back to his place, 'you were happy with your welcome dinner. In general, the food for our publicity team is held in high regard. Unfortunately I have to bring the meal to a speedy conclusion, because the train that will take you to Oklahoma is leaving in five minutes. It's a long journey, but as you'll see, you will be well looked after. Let me present to you the gentleman who will be responsible for transporting you, and whom you must obey.' A skinny little gentleman clambered up on to the same bench as the head of personnel, barely found time for a perfunctory bow, but began right away by indicating with gestures of his nervous hands how he wanted everyone to a.s.semble, get in line and start moving. But for a time no one did any of this, because the same individual who had proposed a toast earlier now banged on the table with his hand and embarked on a lengthy vote of thanks, even though Karl was getting quite agitated it had just been announced that their train would be leaving shortly. But the speaker, not even seeming to care that the head of personnel wasn't listening, he was giving the transport organizer some instructions, was now well into his speech, he listed all the dishes that had been served, gave his verdicts on each of them, and concluded with the cry: 'And that, gentleman, is the way to our hearts.' Everyone laughed, except those he had addressed, but there was more truth than humour in his remarks.

The comeuppance for the speech was that they now needed to run to the station. That wasn't very difficult, though, for Karl only noticed it now no one had any luggage really the only luggage was the pram, which, pushed along by the father at the head of the column, bounced wildly up and down. Suspicious, unpropertied people had a.s.sembled here, and had been so well received and looked after! And the head of transport in particular was so involved. At one moment he was helping to push the pram with one hand, while raising the other to exhort the recruits, at the next he was behind the last of the stragglers, driving them on, the next he was running down the flanks, fixing some of the slower ones in the middle with his eye, and by waving his arm, demonstrating to them how they should be running.

When they reached the station, the train was already standing there. The people in the station pointed to the group, called out such things as: 'They all belong to the Theatre of Oklahoma,' the theatre seemed to be far better known than Karl had supposed, although of course he'd never been at all interested in theatrical matters previously. A whole carriage had been reserved for the group, the head of transport was more a.s.siduous than the conductor in urging them in. First he looked into each compartment, arranging a thing or two here and there, and only then did he climb in himself. Karl had managed to get a window seat, and pulled Giacomo in next to him. So they sat pressed together, and both were really looking forward to the trip, they had yet to travel in such a carefree manner in America. When the train began to move, they put their hands out of the window to wave, at which the youths opposite dug each other in the ribs and found it stupid.

They rode for two days and two nights. Only now did Karl begin to grasp the size of America. He looked out of the window tirelessly, and Giacomo craned towards it with him, until the youths opposite, more interested in playing cards, had had enough, and gave him the window seat opposite. Karl thanked them Giacomo's English wasn't comprehensible to everyone and as time pa.s.sed, as happens with people sharing a compartment, they became much friendlier, though their friendliness often took trying forms, for instance each time they dropped a card and looked for it on the floor, they pinched Karl or Giacomo in the leg as hard as they could. Giacomo would cry out, and pull his legs up, Karl sometimes tried to reply with a kick, but otherwise bore it in silence. Everything that happened in the little smoke-filled compartment even though the windows were open paled into insignificance compared to what was outside.

On the first day they travelled over a high mountain range. Blue-black formations of rock approached the train in sharp wedges, they leaned out of the window and tried in vain to see their peaks, narrow dark cloven valleys opened, with a finger they traced the direction in which they disappeared, broad mountain streams came rushing like great waves on their hilly courses, and, pushing thousands of little foaming wavelets ahead of them, they plunged under the bridges over which the train pa.s.sed, so close that the chill breath of them made their faces shudder.