beautiful friend

Chapter 4

Worried about spilling the coffee on the rug, Duroy drank it down in one gulp, and then began to think about how to approach the wife of his new boss and strike up a conversation with her.

At this moment, he suddenly saw that Mrs. Walter had finished drinking the coffee in her hand. Because she was far away from the table, he didn't know where to put the cup.He hurried forward and said:

"Let me come, ma'am."

"Thank you, sir."

After Duroy put the cup away, he came back again:
"Madame, do you know that during the two years in the desert, "Le Vie Française" has accompanied me through many wonderful times. This is the only newspaper we can read outside of France. It is both literary and , and thoughtful, not as monotonous as other publications. We can learn all the information in newspapers."

Mrs. Walter smiled slightly, with a friendly expression in her eyes, and said solemnly:

"In order to make this newspaper meet the needs of the times, Mr. Walter has indeed spent a lot of effort."

Then, they started chatting.Although the topic of each other was a bit simple and plain, but Duroy's voice was very pleasant, his eyes were piercing, and the two mustaches added a bit of charm to him.These two beautiful beards are distributed on both sides of the lips, naturally curly, golden with a little red; the ends are slightly upturned, and the color is slightly lighter.

Then they spoke of Paris and its environs, of the landscapes and cities along the Seine, of summer amusements, and so on.In short, they are light-hearted topics that can be talked about all day without bothering.

At this time, Mr. Noble de Wallen came towards them with a glass of drink, and Duroy immediately walked away knowingly.Madame de Marais, who had just finished chatting with Madame Forestier, stopped him and asked suddenly:

"So, sir, do you really want to try your hand at being a reporter?"

Duroy briefly talked about his plan to Mrs. Marelle, and then chatted with her about the topic he had just talked with Mrs. Walter.Because he is already very familiar with these topics, he appears calm and composed, and at the same time includes many anecdotes that he has just heard.He kept his eyes fixed on Madame de Marais, as if this might add some depth to his conversation.

Madame de Marais, like those women who are pretentious and eager to show their humor, talked to him about the amusing things of their travels.She was intimate, put her hand on his arm, and lowered her voice, as if she was speaking to him intimately, but in fact it was all insignificant things.Facing this lady who cared so much about him, Duroy couldn't help feeling agitated. He wished he could immediately show his loyalty to her, protect her at any time, and show her his talent.Just like that, Duroy was immersed in his own thoughts, and no longer listened to her speech.

At this moment, Madame de Marais suddenly called out: "Laorina."

The little girl ran over when she heard her mother calling her.

"Sit down, dear, it's easy to catch cold standing by the window."

Duroy suddenly had a crazy idea, and he wanted to kiss the little girl, as if this kiss could be passed on to her mother.

He asked kindly in an elder tone:

"Miss, can I kiss you?"

The little girl looked up at him in surprise.Madame de Marais said with a smile: "You can answer in this way: It is a great honor, sir, but only tonight, not as an example."

Duroy immediately sat down, picked up Luolina, put her on his knees, and kissed the little girl's wavy hair lightly.

The little girl's mother said in surprise:
"My God, it's shocking that she didn't dodge. You know, she only allows women to hug her. You are very charming, Monsieur Duroy."

Duroy blushed, and didn't know what to say for a moment, he just shook the little girl sitting on his lap gently.

Madame Forestier came up to them and uttered an exclamation:
"Oh my God, when did Luolina become so cute? It's really rare!"

Jacques Rival also came at this time, a cigar in his mouth.Duroy got up and was about to leave, for fear of ruining the bright future that had just started because of a momentary negligence and wrong words.

He bowed, gently held the slender hands extended by the ladies, and then shook the gentlemen's hands vigorously.It seemed to him that Jacques Rival's hand, with dry skin but warm, held Duroy's hand tightly as a sign of friendship; that of Noble de Valenne was damp and cool, just lightly Touched his fingers lightly and withdrew them; old Walter's hand was cold, powerless, and without expression; Forestier's was thick and very warm.He whispered to Duroy:

"Tomorrow at three o'clock in the afternoon, don't forget."

"Don't worry, I won't forget."

Duroy went to the stairs and really wanted to run downstairs.He was ecstatic that things were going so well.He turned every two steps into a step and rushed downstairs.When he got to the third floor, he suddenly saw in the mirror a hurried and bouncing gentleman approaching him, and he stopped immediately, as if his reckless behavior had been caught on the spot.

After a while, he stared at the opposite mirror for a long time, excited that he had become a handsome gentleman.He smiled smugly, bowed deeply to himself in the mirror like he did to those big shots, and then went downstairs.

Walking on the street, Georges Duroy hesitated, not knowing what to do.He wanted to run as fast as he could, or to dream as much as he could.He just walked forward aimlessly, breathing the fresh air at night while looking forward to a bright future.However, he was always thinking about the old man Walter asking him to write an article.So, he decided to go home and start working right away.

Duroy strode back, along the boulevard until he came to the Boulevard where he lived.This is a seven-storey building, in which twenty families live, and they are all workers and urban civilians.Duroy lit the wax cord for lighting and went upstairs.The stairs are dirty, paper scraps, cigarette butts, and vegetable waste are scattered all over the floor, making people feel sick for a while, wishing to leave this ghost place immediately and move into a carpeted, clean and tidy building where rich people live.From top to bottom there was a stench of food, sweat, overflowing toilet troughs, and musty smells from old stains and dilapidated walls, which even the strongest winds could not blow away. scattered.

Duroy's room was on the sixth floor, facing a deep and long trench of the Western Railway Company, not far from the exit of the tunnel not far from Bartimuur station.Looking down from the room, it is like facing an abyss.Duroy opened the window and leaned his arm against the rusted window rail.

Below is a dark and deep passage, in which stood three motionless red signal lights, like the eyes of a beast.There are a few lights a little further away, and a few more lights in the distance.Siren sounds of different lengths pierced the night sky from time to time, some were close at hand, some were far away, coming from the direction of Aniel, it was hardly audible.The siren is like people's shouts, with ups and downs.Among them, there was a siren from far to near, and the mournful sound became louder and louder, and soon a strong yellow light was seen, accompanied by the roar of the train, galloping here.In a blink of an eye, a long line of carriages rushed into the tunnel.

After a while, Duroy said to himself: "Okay, it's time to start working!" He put the lamp on the table, and when he was about to write, he realized that there was only a stack of letter paper at home.

Forget it, just write on these stationery.Duroy spread out the letter paper, dipped the tip of a pen in some ink, and wrote a few beautiful big characters on the top of the letter paper:
"African Service"

Then, he began to think about how to write.

He rested his cheeks on his hands, staring intently at the blank sheet of paper in front of him, still unable to write.

what happened?Why couldn't he recall the anecdotes and experiences he had just told at Forestier's?Suddenly, he thought: "I should start writing from the day I set out." So he wrote: "It was about May [-], [-], after a catastrophic year in France with exhausted resources. Is in the process of recuperating."

At this point, he stopped suddenly, not knowing how to continue, so as to bring out the scene when he boarded the ship, the experience of the sea travel and the excitement when he first arrived in Africa.

After thinking about it for about 10 minutes, Duroy decided to save this opening paragraph until tomorrow.Now let me introduce the situation in Algiers.

He wrote on the paper: "Algiers is a white city..." Then he didn't know what to write.He tried hard to recall, and this beautiful and bright city appeared in his mind.A large area of ​​low bungalows cascaded down like a waterfall, stretching from the top of the mountain to the sea, but Duroy couldn't find a complete sentence to describe the scene in his mind and the feeling in his heart.

After some hard thinking, Duroy finally wrote again: "Parts of this city are inhabited by Arabs..." Then, he put down his pen and stood up.

There was a small iron bed beside Duroy, and the center of the iron bed had collapsed under his body.He caught a glimpse of the few clothes he usually wore lying around on the bed, crumpled and huddled, like the tattered clothes in a mortuary waiting to be claimed.On a chair made of straw, lay his only silk top hat with the brim up, as if he was waiting for alms from others.

There is gray background blue flower wallpaper on the wall, but it has been stained and stained. Due to the age, it has long been impossible to tell their origins. Fingerprints of pomade or slop from the washbasin.In Paris, this kind of cheap furnished rental house is so shabby and shabby.A wave of anger towards the poor life rose spontaneously from the bottom of Duroy's heart.He told himself that he must move out of here tomorrow and get rid of this poor life.

A desire to work suddenly seized him, and he sat down at the table again, thinking about how to describe Algiers, a unique and fascinating city.This is the gateway to Africa, inhabited by wandering Arabs and unknown blacks.This mysterious and vast land is waiting for people to know and develop.So far, people's understanding of Africa is limited to those animals in the park.These animals seem to have been created for all kinds of magical fairy tales of human beings.Such as the ostrich-a mutant breed of pheasant, the antelope-a strange goat, the tall and ridiculously tall giraffe, the hulking camel, the huge hippopotamus, the ugly rhinoceros, and the gorilla, our fearsome brother.

Duroy vaguely felt that he already had some vague ideas.He might be able to dictate them, but as for writing, he was helpless.Duroy felt very irritated by his powerlessness, he stood up again, his palms were sweating, and the blood rushed to his temples.

At this time, his eyes accidentally fell on a laundry bill sent by the janitor at night.Suddenly, he felt very desperate.In a blink of an eye, the inner joy, self-confidence and longing for the future disappeared without a trace.It's over, it's over.He couldn't do anything, he was useless.He is so empty and incompetent, and he is destined not to have a great day.

Duroy turned around and came to the window, and stood by the window.At this moment, a train roared out of the tunnel.It followed the railway, through fields, plains, and headed for the sea.Duroy couldn't help thinking of his parents.

You know, their home is only a dozen kilometers away from the railway track, so this train will definitely pass by his parents.Duroy seemed to see the small house again. It was located on the hillside at the entrance of the village of Guntereau, overlooking the entire city of Rouen and the boundless Seine River valley.

Duroy's parents opened a tavern, which they named "The View Hotel".Every Sunday, some wealthy families living in the suburbs of Rouen come to eat here.The two old men wanted their son to be successful, so they sent him to middle school.Although Duroy completed his studies, he failed his baccalaureate.In the end, he decided to do military service, hoping to one day become an officer, colonel or even general.But just halfway through the five-year service period, he began to get tired of the monotonous military life and dreamed of trying his luck in Paris.

Parents have no illusions about him, just hope to keep him by their side.However, he ignored his parents' entreaties and came to Paris as soon as his service period was over.This time, he hoped that he could make a name for himself.He vaguely felt that he would become famous in one fell swoop, but he didn't know exactly what kind of opportunity it was; he only knew that he would seize the opportunity.

When he was in the cavalry regiment, Duroy was very popular, and even had a few affairs with some girls and wives of the upper class.He once seduced the daughter of a tax collector who was going to abandon everything to follow him;

His comrades-in-arms always commented on him like this: "Smart, scheming, calm and calm in situations, and always have a way to deal with it." In fact, he is also determined to be a smart, scheming, calm and calm person.

In the few years in Africa, although his life in the military camp was monotonous, he would often do some sneaky, fraudulent, looting, and lawless things.While accepting the concept of honor and patriotism popular in the army, they also heard about the great achievements of the officers and the chivalrous stories circulated among the junior officers and soldiers.The simple nature of the Normans has long since disappeared in Duroy, and what follows are those random and chaotic thoughts.

Chief among them, though, is the desire to climb, no matter what.

Before he knew it, Duroy began to dream, which he did almost every night.He dreams that he can have an affair that will make him reach the sky in one step.He fantasized that he would meet a banker or the daughter of an aristocrat in the street, she would fall in love with him at first sight, marry him, and he would be able to rise to the top ever since.

At this moment, there was a sharp siren sound.A locomotive, like a fat rabbit coming out of a hole, came out of the tunnel, along the tracks, and headed for the garage at full speed.The sound of the siren and the "boom" of the train brought Duroy back from his reverie.

But it didn't take long before the happy and hazy fantasy that haunted him all day came to his heart again.He blew a kiss to the night sky, a kiss for the lover of his dreams, and a kiss for good luck in the future.Then, closing the window, he murmured to himself as he undressed:

"Anyway, it's bound to get better tomorrow. Lack of clarity tonight, maybe from too many drinks! Who can work properly in this state?"

Duroy went to bed and turned off the light, and soon fell into a sound sleep.

The next day, he woke up very early.This is what people do when they feel hopeful or anxious.Duroy jumped up from the bed, went to open the window, and wanted to breathe fresh air.

On the other side of the railway, the houses on the opposite Roman street glistened in the morning light, as if painted with a layer of white oil paint.Through the cyan mist, you can vaguely see the Argente hills, the Sarovar Heights and the Orgemans Mill on the far right.The faint morning mist is like a layer of veil, fluttering with the wind in the distant sky.

Looking at the fields in the distance, Duroy murmured: "The weather is so good, the scenery over there must be beautiful." Then he thought that he had to start writing the article immediately.So he handed ten sou to the janitor's son, and sent him to the office to ask him sick.

Then, he sat down at the table, picked up the pen, dipped in some ink, put his hands on his cheeks, and thought about how to write, but still got nothing.

However, he was not discouraged, thinking: "Any industry needs a process of learning and adaptation. I have no experience in writing, and I must have someone to guide me at the beginning. I might as well go to Forestier. This An article is a piece of cake for him."

So Duroy got dressed and went out.

When he walked to the street, he realized that it was still early.His friend should have slept very late yesterday, and it is not appropriate to go to his house at this time.So Duroy strolled slowly along the ring road.

Just after nine o'clock, he walked into Monceau Park.In the park that had just been sprinkled with water, the air was moist and fresh.

He sat down on a bench and began to dream again.A handsome young man paced up and down in front of him, apparently waiting for a lady.

Soon, a veiled woman appeared.She was in a hurry, and as soon as she came over, she held the man's hand, then took his arm and left.

A longing for love immediately occupied Duroy's heart.How he hopes to have a different, gentle and sweet love!He got up and went on to Forestier's house, thinking: this guy is lucky!

When he went downstairs, he happened to meet his friend coming out.

"Huh? Why are you here? Looking for me at this time, what's the matter?"

Duroy did not expect to meet his friend here.It seemed that the other party was about to go out.He could only stammer and say:
"Well... well... the article on Algeria that Mr. Walter asked me to write, I really don't know how to start. You know, you need experience to do anything, and I have never written an article before. I I think I will adapt quickly, but at the beginning, I really didn't know how to write. I had a lot of good ideas, but I didn't know how to express them."

Having said that, he hesitated to speak.Forestier showed a sly smile and said:

"I see."

(End of this chapter)