american tragedy

Chapter 101 (1)
Chapter 34 (1)
When Orville Mason saw the family, he felt that they might have had the same fate as himself, and he couldn't help feeling deeply sympathetic.He had come here by car from Bridgeburg about four o'clock on Saturday afternoon.He saw the rather dilapidated house, and Titus Alden himself, in shirt and overalls, coming up from the pigsty at the foot of the hill, his face and body showing the hardships of life.Mason regretted not calling first.He knew very well that the news of his daughter's death would knock such a man unconscious.Titus, seeing him approaching, thought he was asking for directions, and approached him very politely.

"Mr. Titus Alden?"

"Yes, sir, it is I."

"Mr. Alden, my name is Mason. I'm the District Attorney for Kadalaki County from Bridgeburg."

"Well, sir," replied Titus, wondering why the District Attorney came to him at such a distance.Mason just looked at him, not knowing how to speak.What a sad news he brought, a blow to such an apparently cowardly man.The two of them stood still under the pine tree in front of the house, and the wind in the pine needles was softly whispering an eternal whisper.

"Mr. Alden," Mason began, his expression serious and polite, "you have a daughter called Bert, or Roberta, don't you? I'm not sure the name is right."

"Roberta," corrected Titus Alden.As he spoke, an inexplicable feeling stimulated his nerves.

Mason, in order to get the man to tell him exactly what he wanted to know before he might go broke, asked him, "Also, do you know a Clifford G. Eldon's young man?"

"I don't seem to have heard of the man," replied Titus slowly.

"Or, a Carl Graham?"

"I don't know, sir, and I can't recall anyone with that name."

"I thought so too," Mason exclaimed.This speaks less to Titus than to himself. "Besides," he said tactfully and commandingly, "where is your daughter now?"

"Why, she's at Lycurgus now, where she works. But why do you ask that? What has she done that she shouldn't have done, or visited you for?" he forced smile.At the same time, because of this inexplicable question, his blue eyes showed a very disturbed look.

"Wait a minute, Mr. Alden," Mason went on, very mildly, yet firmly. "Wait a minute, and I'll tell you all about it. Now I must ask you some necessary questions," he said, looking earnestly and sympathetically at Mr. Titus. "How long ago was the last time you saw your daughter?"

"Why, she started here last Tuesday morning for Lycurgus. She works for the Griffith Collar Shirt Company there. But . . . ?"

"Wait a minute," said the District Attorney firmly. "Wait a minute, and I'll tell you everything. She's here for the weekend, maybe, isn't she?"

"She's been here on leave for about a month," Titus explained slowly and precisely. "She's not in very good health. She's coming home to rest. But she's recovered when she leaves. You mean, Mr. Mason, there's something wrong with her, don't you?" He raised a long, dark hand, and stroked his chin, his cheek, with a very disturbed expression. "If only I'd thought it was going to happen..." He stroked his thinning gray hair vigorously.

"Have you heard from her since she left here?" Mason continued serenely.He was determined to find out as many practical situations as possible before the heavy blow fell. "Is there any news of her going elsewhere before returning there?"

"No, sir, no. She wasn't hurt, was she? She didn't do anything, did she? But no, it's absolutely impossible. But you're asking these questions and talking like this." He was a little now. Trembling, one hand wanted to touch his pale thin lips, but he touched his chin blankly.The prosecutor did not respond to his question, but took out the letter from Roberta to her mother from his pocket, showed him only the handwriting on the envelope, and asked, "Is this your daughter's handwriting?"

"Yes, sir, it is her handwriting," replied Titus, raising his voice a little. "But, what's going on, Mr. District Attorney? How did you have this letter? What's in it?" He clenched his hands uneasily, because from Mason's eyes, he could clearly see that A tragedy of a certain nature. "What is this... what is this... what did she say in the letter? You must tell me...in case something happens to my daughter!" He looked around nervously, as if he wanted to go into the house and ask for help.Wanting to tell him that disaster was imminent, Mason, noticing how much pain he had caused him, seized his arm tightly, but kindly, and went on:

"Mr. Alden, this is one of the most unfortunate times in our lives that demands all of our courage. I'm going to tell you that it's hard for me, too, because I've tasted life myself, and I understand you How uncomfortable it will be."

"She's hurt. Maybe she's dead," Titus cried, almost screaming, his pupils dilated.

Orville Mason nodded.

"Roberta, my own daughter! My God, my God!" He swayed, leaning against a nearby tree as if he had been punched, and then stood up. Steady. "But what? Where? By the machines in the factory? Oh, my God!" He turned around, as if to go to his wife, and the strong, broken-nosed D.A. hold him.

"Wait a minute, Mr. Alden, a moment. You must not go to your wife now. I know it's very hard, it's terrible, but let me explain to you first. Not in Lycurgus, no By some factory machine. No! No... drowned! At Great Berton. On Thursday, she played there, you understand? Did you hear? Thursday, Thursday, at Great Berton, she sat in a The boat was drowned, the boat capsized."

Titus looked agitated and spoke agitatedly, much to the dismay of the District Attorney.He always liked to explain what happened calmly, even if it was an accidental drowning, he did.But now, he found that he couldn't explain clearly calmly.When Mason told about Roberta, when the word "death" was mentioned, Alden's mental state became frantic.He had asked some questions before, but now he just groaned like a beast, as if his body was no longer breathing well.At the same time, his body rushed forward, as if shrinking into a ball in pain, then he slapped his hands vigorously, and then beat his forehead with both hands.

"My Roberta is dead! My daughter, oh, no, no, Roberta! Oh, my God, not drowned! That's impossible! Her mother was talking about it an hour ago And she. She will die when she hears the news. Mine will die too. Yes, sure. Ah, my poor dear daughter! My darling! I can't bear it This blow, Mr. District Attorney."

He fell heavily on Mason's arms, and Mason held him up hard.After a while, as if inquiringly, he looked back at the door of the house strangely, staring straight at him like a man who is completely mad. "Who's going to tell her?" he asked. "Who can tell her?"

"But, Mr. Alden," said Mason reassuringly, "for your own sake, and for your wife's, I must ask you to calm down now, and help me to consider this matter seriously, as if she were not your own daughter. That. There's a lot more to it than what I'm telling you. But you have to be calm. You must let me go on. It's all very terrible, and I sympathize with you too, I know what it's like .But there are a few terrible and sad facts that you would like to know. Listen to me, listen to me."

Then, still holding Titus by the arm, he explained with haste and force all the supplementary facts and doubtful points concerning Roberta's death, and finally handed him her letter, And ended with these words: "A crime! A crime, Mr. Alden! That's what we think at Bridgeburg, or at least we're so worried, Mr. To use an ugly, cold word for it, it's obvious murder." He paused, and Alden stared at the criminal word, as if he hadn't quite figured out what was going on.Then, while he was staring, Mason went on to say: "I respect your present state of mind, but, as the justice in charge of my county, I feel that it is my duty to come to the house today and ask you Or your wife, or your other family, look into this Clifford Golden, or Carl Graham, or whoever he is, the one who lured your daughter into the deserted Lake District Man, know what. I know, of course, how much grief you are feeling at this moment, Mr. Alden. But I insist that you must have the will, and the duty, to do the best you can. Strength, help us get to the bottom of this matter. This letter seems to be enough to prove that your wife at least knows something about this person, at least knows his name." He clapped his hands eagerly that letter.

Judging from the prosecutor's words, it seems that his daughter's tragic death was murdered by someone, so Titus' inner animal instincts, curiosity, anger, and inquisitiveness all played a role, making him Come to your senses and listen seriously to what the District Attorney has to say.His daughter was not just drowned, but assassinated, murdered by a young man.According to the letter, she still wanted to marry him! But her father didn't even know he existed! How strange that his wife knew and he didn't! And Roberta He didn't even let him know.

He has always lived in a religious and traditional environment, and he is skeptical of all urban life and all kinds of intricacies in cities that are against God's will.At this time, the image of a city man who first raped and then abandoned came to him, perhaps a young man with some money, who Roberta met after going to Lycurgus.This man lied to her that he would marry her, so he seduced her, but he refused to keep his promise.And at once a strangely strong, irrepressible desire arose in him to exact vengeance upon the man who had dared to commit a heinous crime against his daughter, whoever he might be.The rascal! The whore! The murderer!

He and his wife had always believed that Roberta was quietly working and happily living a hard, simple life in Lycurgus to help them, and to help herself.But from Thursday afternoon until Friday, her body lay at the bottom of the lake, while they slept in their comfortable beds or walked about, unaware of her dire condition.At this moment, her body is still parked in a strange room, or somewhere in the "wild corpse collection center". All the people who love her, none of them are watching her, taking care of her, until tomorrow, She was to be transported to Bridgeburg again by those ruthless and sympathetic officials.

(End of this chapter)