Today we complete the story "Pauls Case." It was written by Willa Cather. Here is Kay Gallant with the story.
Paul
was a student with a lot of problems. He hated school. He didnt like
living with his family on Cordelia Street in the industrial city of
Pittsburgh.
Paul wanted to be surrounded by beautiful things. He
loved his part-time job as an usher at the concert hall. He helped
people find their seats before the concert. Then he could listen to the
music and dream of exciting places.
Paul also spent a lot of time
at the local theater. He knew many of the actors who worked there. He
used to do little jobs for them. And they would let him see plays for
free.
Paul had little time left for his studies. So he was always
in trouble with his teachers. Finally, Pauls teachers complained again
to his father. His father took him out of school and made him take a job
in a large company. He would not let Paul go near the concert hall or
the theater.
Paul did not like his job as a messenger boy. He began to plan his escape.
A
few weeks later, Pauls boss, Mr. Denny, gave Paul a large amount of
money to take to the bank. He told Paul to hurry because it was Friday
afternoon. He said the bank would close soon and would not open again
until Monday. At the bank, Paul took the money out of his pocket. It was
five thousand dollars. Paul put the money back in his coat pocket. And
he walked out of the bank.
He went to the train station and bought a one way ticket for New York City. That afternoon Paul left Pittsburgh forever.
The
train traveled slowly through a January snowstorm. The slow movement
made Paul fall asleep. The train whistle blew just as the sun was coming
up. Paul awoke, feeling dirty and uncomfortable. He quickly touched his
coat pocket. The money was still there. It was not a dream. He really
was on his way to New York City with five thousand dollars in his
pocket.
Finally the train pulled into Central Station. Paul walked
quickly out of the station and went immediately to an expensive
clothing store for men.
The salesman was very polite when he saw
Pauls money. Paul bought two suits, several white silk shirts, some silk
ties of different colors. Then he bought a black tuxedo suit for the
theater, a warm winter coat, a red bathrobe, and the finest silk
underclothes. He told the salesman he wanted to wear one of the new
suits and the coat immediately. The salesman bowed and smiled.
Paul
then took a taxi to another shop where he bought several pairs of
leather shoes and boots. Next, he went to the famous jewelry store,
Tiffanys, and bought a tie pin and some brushes with silver handles. His
last stop was a luggage store where he had all his new clothes put into
several expensive suitcases.
It was a little before one oclock in
the afternoon when Paul arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. The
doormen opened the hotels glass doors for Paul and the boy entered. The
thick carpet under his feet had the colors of a thousand jewels. The
lights sparkled from crystal chandeliers.
Paul told the hotel
clerk he was from Washington, D.C. He said his mother and father were
arriving in a few days from Europe. He explained he was going to wait
for them at the hotel.
In his dreams Paul had planned this trip to
New York a hundred times. He knew all about the Waldorf-Astoria, one of
New Yorks most expensive hotels. As soon as he entered his rooms, he
saw that everything was perfect--except for one thing. He rang the bell
and asked for fresh flowers to be sent quickly to his rooms.
When
the flowers came, Paul put them in water and then he took a long, hot
bath. He came out the bathroom, wearing the red silk bathrobe. Outside
his windows, the snow was falling so fast that he could not see across
the street. But inside, the air was warm and sweet. He lay down on the
sofa in his sitting room.
It had all been so very simple, he
thought. When they had shut him out of the theater and the concert hall,
Paul knew he had to leave. But he was surprised that he had not been
afraid to go. He could not remember a time when he had not been afraid
of something. Even when he was a little boy. But now he felt free. He
wasnt afraid anymore. He watched the snow until he fell asleep.
It
was four oclock in the afternoon when Paul woke up. He spent nearly an
hour getting dressed. He looked at himself often in the mirror. His dark
blue suit fit him so well that he did not seem too thin. The white silk
shirt and the blue and lilac tie felt cool and smooth under his
fingers. He was exactly the kind of boy he had always wanted to be.
Paul
put on his new winter coat and went downstairs. He got into a taxi and
told the driver to take him for a ride along Fifth Avenue. Paul stared
at the expensive stores.
As the taxi stopped for a red light Paul
noticed a flower shop. Through the window, he could see all kinds of
flowers. Paul thought the violets, roses, and lilies-of-the valley
looked even more lovely because they were blooming in the middle of
winter.
Paul began to feel hungry so he asked the taxi driver to
take him back to the hotel. As he entered the dining room, the music of
the hotel orchestra floated up to greet him. He sat at a table near a
window. The fresh flowers, the white tablecloth, and the colored wine
glasses pleased Pauls eyes. The soft music, the low voices of the people
around him and the soft popping of champagne corks whispered into Pauls
ears.
This is what everyone wants, he thought. He could not
believed he had ever lived in Pittsburgh on Cordelia Street! That
belonged to another time and place. Paul lifted the crystal glass of
champagne and drank the cold, prescious, bubbling wine. He belonged
here.
Later that evening, Paul put on his black tuxedo and went to
the opera. He felt perfectly at ease. He had only to look at his tuxedo
to know he belonged with all the other beautiful people in the opera
house. He didnt talk to anyone. But his eyes recorded everything.
Pauls
golden days went by without a shadow. He made each one as perfect as he
could. On the eighth day after his arrival in New York, he found a
report in the newspaper about his crime. It said that his father had
paid the company the five thousand dollars that Paul had stolen. It said
Paul had been seen in a New York hotel. And it said Pauls father was in
New York. He was looking for Paul to bring him back to Pittsburgh.
Pauls
knees became weak. He sat down in a chair and put his head in his
hands. The dream was ended. He had to go back to Cordelia Street. Back
to the yellow-papered bedroom, the smell of cooked cabbage, the daily
ride to work on the crowded street cars.
Paul poured himself a glass of champagne and drank it quickly. He poured another glass and drank that one, too.
Paul
had a taxi take him out of the city and into the country. The taxi left
him near some railroad tracks. Paul suddenly remembered all the flowers
he had seen in a shop window his first night in New York. He realized
that by now every one of those flowers was dead. They had had only one
splendid moment to challenge winter.
A train whistle broke into
Pauls thoughts. He watched as the train grew bigger and bigger. As it
came closer, Pauls body shook. His lips wore a frightened smile. Paul
looked nervously around as if someone might be watching him.
When
the right moment came, Paul jumped. And as he jumped, he realized his
great mistake. The blue of the ocean and the yellow of the desert
flashed through his brain. He had not seen them yet! There was so much
he had not seen!
Paul felt something hit his chest. He felt his
body fly through the air far and fast. Then everything turned black and
Paul dropped back into the great design of things.
ANNOUNCER:
You
have just heard the American story "Pauls Case." It was written by
Willa Cather. Your storyteller was Kay Gallant. Listen again next week
at this time for another American story told in Special English on the
Voice of America. Im Steve Ember.

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