Stories of Love and Loneliness, Section 1. The Adventure of a Soldier; The Adventure of a Bather; & The Adventure of a Clerk Summary

In "The Adventure of a Soldier," Private Tomagra, a young soldier, is riding home on a train when an older, but curvaceous, widow comes on board and sits next to him. Although they do not flirt with one another, there is some accidental physical contact between them, and Tomagra begins to wonder if the widow is trying to invite intimacy by sitting next to him. Over the course of the ride, the woman seems to fall asleep, and Tomagra gives in to temptation, groping her timidly, all the while hoping that she will not be offended. When they go through a long, dark...