Dapprima pensò di andare a Clayton a piedi, ma ci sarebbero volute tre ore di cammino faticoso e probabilmente sarebbe magari arrivato in tempo per sentirsi dire che tutti i posti disponibili erano già occupati.
= Initially/At first, he thought to go to Clayton by walk/on foot/walking but, it would have taken three hours of strenuous walk/tiring journey. Probably he would have got there in time to be told that all available seats were already occupied.
E’ vero che secondo il manifesto il numero dei concorrenti era illimitato, ma generalmente tutte queste offerte di lavoro sono scritte così. Karl perciò comprese che doveva rinunziare al posto, oppure prendere la ferrovia.
= It’s true that according to the manifesto/poster the number of competitors was unlimited but, generally all these job offers are written in that way. For this reason Karl realized/saw /understood that he had to/must renounce the seat or take the train.
Contò il denaro che aveva, quelle poche monetine che senza questo viaggio gli sarebbero bastate per otto giorni. Si decise subito, contò i soldi necessari per il viaggio e corse verso la ferrovia.
= He counted the money he had, those few pennies which would have been enough for 8 days without this journey. Immediately he was decided, he counted the needed money for the trip and he run towards the railway.
Appena discesa a Clayton sentì subito il rumore di molte trombe. Era un rumore confuso, poiché le trombe suonavano ognuna per conto suo. Ma Karl non ne rimase deluso, ne dedusse piuttosto che il teatro di Oklahoma era veramente una grande impresa.
= Just in Clayton he heard the sound of many/a lot of trumpets. It was a confused noise because the trumpets were playing each his own. However, Karl wasn’t disappointed and he rather deduced that Oklahoma theatre was a very big deal.
Ma quando fu uscito dalla stazione; vide che tutto era molto più importante di quello che si sarebbe potuto immaginare, e non riuscì a comprendere come mai un’impresa facesse simili spese solamente con lo scopo di assumere personale.
=But, when he got out of the train station he realized that everything was much more important of what he could have ever imagined. He wasn’t able to understand the reason why a business did such expenses/charges only for the purpose/aim of recruiting/hiring people.