The Signal-Man

I

I

“HALLOA! Below there!”

“Halo! Di bawah sana!”

When he heard a voice thus calling to him, he was standing at the door of his box, with a flag in his hand, furled round its short pole. One would have thought, considering the nature of the ground, that he could not have doubted from what quarter the voice came; but instead of looking up to where I stood on the top of the steep cutting nearly over his head, he turned himself about, and looked down the Line. There was something remarkable in his manner of doing so, though I could not have said for my life what. But I know it was remarkable enough to attract my notice, even though his figure was foreshortened and shadowed, down in the deep trench, and mine was high above him, so steeped in the glow of an angry sunset, that I had shaded my eyes with my hand before I saw him at all.

Ketika mendengar suara yang memanggilnya demikian, ia sedang berdiri di ambang pintu pondoknya, dengan sebuah bendera di tangan, tergulung pada tongkatnya yang pendek. Orang akan mengira, mengingat keadaan medannya, bahwa ia tidak mungkin ragu dari arah mana suara itu datang; tetapi alih-alih menengadah ke tempatku berdiri di puncak galian yang curam itu, hampir tepat di atas kepalanya, ia memutar tubuhnya dan memandang ke arah Jalur. Ada sesuatu yang luar biasa dalam caranya melakukan hal itu, meski aku tidak sanggup mengatakan apa, sekalipun nyawaku taruhannya. Tetapi aku tahu hal itu cukup luar biasa untuk menarik perhatianku, padahal sosoknya tampak memendek dan terbayang gelap di dalam parit yang dalam itu, sedangkan sosokku berada jauh di atasnya, begitu terendam cahaya senja yang merah menyala, sehingga aku harus menaungi mataku dengan tangan sebelum dapat melihatnya sama sekali.

“Halloa! Below!”

“Halo! Di bawah!”

From looking down the Line, he turned himself about again, and, raising his eyes, saw my figure high above him.

Setelah memandang ke arah Jalur, ia berbalik lagi dan, sambil menengadah, melihat sosokku jauh di atasnya.

“Is there any path by which I can come down and speak to you?”

“Adakah jalan setapak yang bisa kulalui untuk turun dan berbicara dengan Anda?”

He looked up at me without replying, and I looked down at him without pressing him too soon with a repetition of my idle question. Just then there came a vague vibration in the earth and air, quickly changing into a violent pulsation, and an oncoming rush that caused me to start back, as though it had force to draw me down. When such vapour as rose to my height from this rapid train had passed me, and was skimming away over the landscape, I looked down again, and saw him refurling the flag he had shown while the train went by.

Ia menengadah memandangku tanpa menjawab, dan aku menunduk memandangnya tanpa terlalu cepat mendesaknya dengan mengulang pertanyaanku yang sia-sia itu. Tepat pada saat itu terasa getaran samar di tanah dan udara, yang segera berubah menjadi denyut yang keras, dan deru yang mendekat sehingga aku tersentak mundur, seakan-akan deru itu sanggup menarikku ke bawah. Ketika uap yang naik sampai ke ketinggianku dari kereta yang melaju cepat itu telah melewatiku dan melayang pergi menyusuri pemandangan, aku menunduk lagi, dan melihatnya sedang menggulung kembali bendera yang tadi ia kibarkan selama kereta lewat.

I repeated my inquiry. After a pause, during which he seemed to regard me with fixed attention, he motioned with his rolled-up flag towards a point on my level, some two or three hundred yards distant. I called down to him, “All right!” and made for that point. There, by dint of looking closely about me, I found a rough zigzag descending path notched out, which I followed.

Aku mengulang pertanyaanku. Setelah jeda, yang selama itu ia tampak memandangku dengan perhatian yang tak beralih, ia menunjuk dengan gulungan benderanya ke sebuah titik yang sejajar dengan tempatku berdiri, sekitar dua atau tiga ratus yard jauhnya. Aku berseru kepadanya, “Baiklah!” lalu menuju titik itu. Di sana, setelah mengamati sekelilingku dengan saksama, aku menemukan sebuah jalan turun berkelok-kelok yang kasar, dipahat pada tebing, dan aku pun menyusurinya.

The cutting was extremely deep, and unusually precipitate. It was made through a clammy stone, that became oozier and wetter as I went down. For these reasons, I found the way long enough to give me time to recall a singular air of reluctance or compulsion with which he had pointed out the path.

Galian itu sangat dalam dan luar biasa curam. Galian itu dibuat menembus batu yang lembap dan dingin, yang kian berlendir dan basah seiring aku turun. Karena itu, perjalanan itu terasa cukup panjang sehingga aku sempat mengingat sikap yang ganjil, antara enggan dan terpaksa, ketika ia menunjukkan jalan itu.

When I came down low enough upon the zigzag descent to see him again, I saw that he was standing between the rails on the way by which the train had lately passed, in an attitude as if he were waiting for me to appear. He had his left hand at his chin, and that left elbow rested on his right hand, crossed over his breast. His attitude was one of such expectation and watchfulness that I stopped a moment, wondering at it.

Ketika aku telah turun cukup rendah di jalan berkelok itu sehingga dapat melihatnya lagi, tampak olehku ia berdiri di antara rel, di jalur yang baru saja dilewati kereta, dengan sikap seolah-olah menunggu kemunculanku. Tangan kirinya berada di dagunya, dan siku kirinya bertumpu pada tangan kanannya yang bersilang di depan dadanya. Sikapnya begitu penuh penantian dan kewaspadaan sehingga aku berhenti sejenak, heran melihatnya.