american tragedy

Chapter 13 (2)
Chapter 19 (2)
Suddenly, he felt a faint shiver of hot and cold going up and down on his back and even his whole body.His hands and face were hot and then damp again, and his cheeks and forehead were flushed.Even he can feel it himself.All kinds of weird, erratic, fascinating and uneasy thoughts were churning back and forth in his heart.The roots of his hair were itchy, and various scenes appeared in front of his eyes, which were scenes of indulgence.He wanted to get them out of his mind at once, but he couldn't.These scenes kept coming back, and he expected them to come back.But he didn't really want to do that. He thought about these things over and over again, and couldn't help being a little scared.Damn it! Has he lost his guts? The other boys aren't disturbed by what's in front of them.People are still talking about those ridiculous things when they went there last time, joking with each other.But what if his mother knew? His mother! At this time, he dared not think of his mother, nor his father.So I resolutely squeezed them out of my heart.

Higby yelled, "Hey, Kinsella, that red-haired girl in that den on Pacific Street wanted you to elope with her to Chicago, don't you remember?"

"I don't remember? She even told me to quit the hotel business and asked her to start a business for me. As long as I follow her, I don't have to do anything." Kinsella replied enthusiastically, while Pick up the wine that was just delivered.

Ratterer exclaimed, "Oh, really, you don't have to do anything but one thing."

When the waiter put the glass of Rhine wine and mineral water that Clyde asked for next to him, he was interested in hearing these words, nervous, disturbed, and fascinated at the same time, so he raised the glass and tasted it. After taking a sip, I felt that my temper was still mild and suited my taste, so I drank it all in one gulp.But he was so excited that he didn't even think he had run out of wine.

Kinsella said in a very affectionate tone, "It suits you very well, you must like this thing."

"Ah, not bad," Clyde replied.

Hegglund saw that he finished his drink in one go, and felt that a fledgling novice like Clyde should be encouraged and cheered up more, so he greeted the waiter, covered his mouth with his hands and said in a low voice, "Hey! Jerry! Let's do this again One cup, another big cup."

So the supper went on, and it was almost eleven o'clock when they had finished all sorts of interesting stories, all about past love affairs, past positions, past love affairs, and so on.At this time, Clyde had had quite enough time to think about all these young people. He thought that he was not as naive as they thought. Cut above.What are these people? What ambition do they have? He sees that Hegglund is vain, loud, and confused, and that a tall hat can fool him and hold him in the palm of his hand; Both were amusing lads, and they both liked to be proud of Clyde's lay affairs.Higby knew a little about cars; he had an uncle who was in the business; Kinsella was proud of being able to gamble and even throw dice.As for Rattler and Hill, Clyde has long known that they are content with being a waiter, and they have nothing to do but want to keep doing it, but he doesn't believe this even in front of him. can keep him interested forever.

At the same time, he was faced with the question of how long he had to wait to go to a place he had never been to, to do things he could not even imagine, which made him somewhat flustered.Wouldn't it be better to just make an excuse and walk away as soon as you're out the gate, or wait for them to go either way and sneak off around a corner and go home? Didn't he hear that some of the most horrific Isn't that where people get their sickness sometimes? How do people start doing that kind of evil, and don't they suffer? He seems to have heard his mother preaching these things in her sermons, but there is nothing too personal about it. experience of.But none of the boys here was disturbed by what he wanted to do, which can refute the above statement.Not only was there no uneasiness, but they also talked about this matter with great interest and joy.

Ratterer really liked Clyde now, not so much because of what Clyde did or said, but because of the way he looked, listened, and asked questions that made him Have a good impression.This Ratterer always pushes him with his arms, and asks with a smile, "How is it, Clyde? How about some meat tonight?" Then he smiles all over his face, and sometimes he finds that Clyde is silent, Thinking about his own thoughts, he said, "The most he can do is bite you."

And that Hegglund, at a few quips from Ratterer, stopped his boastful remarks and added, "You won't be like this all the time, everybody's fine, but in case something happens Yes, all of us will help you."

Clyde, disturbed and angry, retorted, "Shut up, you two. Don't lie, and what's the use of pretending you know more than I do?"

Rattler winked at Hegglund, telling him not to go on, and then whispered to Clyde: "Come on, man, don't be angry, you know, we were just joking, nothing else " Clyde was already very close to Rattler, and his heart softened, regretting that he shouldn't have been so stupid just now, and revealed his thoughts.

Finally at eleven o'clock they had had enough talking and eating, and were ready to go, with Hegglund leading the way.They were about to do a dirty, furtive affair, and without invoking any reflection or reprimand, they talked and laughed, as though they were performing a fine pleasure.They also talked about their past experiences of seeking flowers and flowers, which disgusted and surprised Clyde. They talked about a certain experience in particular, which seemed to produce special happiness. The so-called "nest" is called "Bettina's house".It turned out that a libertine named "Lucky" Jones from another local hotel had taken them there.This man and another Birmingham Fowler, and a drunken mad Hegglund, had put on some ridiculous nonsense there and were nearly arrested, and when Clyde heard them talk of such debauchery, he felt With the intelligence and neatness of these lads it seemed impossible that such a thing could be done, and their nonsense was so rough and repulsive that he could hardly have liked it.

"Yo ho, that girl up on the second floor threw that jug of water over me when I ran out," cried Hegglund, laughing loudly.

Kinsella laughed and said, "And that fat guy on the second floor came to the door. Remember? I think he thought there was a fire, or there was a fight."

"And you and that little fat girl named Piggy, Piggy, do you remember? Ratterer." Hill screamed, wanting to talk about the situation at that time, laughing loudly, even I can't breathe.

Hegglund yelled, "Rattler's so drunk he can't keep his feet on his feet and he's slipping down the steps, that's a great shot."

"It's all your fault, Hegglund," Higby yelled, helping Dorcella. "If you didn't want to play that hand, we would never let people blow us out."

Rattler protested, "I'm really drunk, it's all because of the red eye wine sold there."

Kinsella went on, "You remember that lanky, bearded Texan, don't you? The way he laughed! He wouldn't help them with us, remember?"

"We didn't have people thrown into the street and the police locked up, which was amazing," Ratterer recalled. "What a great night."

But the revelation of their secret made Clyde a little dizzy. "Out of gear", that can only reflect one thing.

One might expect him to join them in such nonsense, too.That's not okay, he's not that kind of person.How would his parents feel if they heard of such absurdities? But...

As they walked, they came to a house in a broad, dark street, with many carriages and automobiles parked sparsely along a section of the road.At a street not far from here, several young people were standing and talking.Going forward, there were other people, and halfway across the road, they saw two policemen chatting.There was no light in any of the windows or the transoms in the tops of the doors in this dark street; one could still feel a lively, cheerful atmosphere.Some taxis whizzed past, honking their horns; two old-fashioned hansoms went here and there with the curtains of the windows drawn.

Then, without a word from anyone, Hegglund, Higby and Hill, went up the steps of the house and rang the bell.A black girl in red opened the door. "Hello, please come in?" He greeted so courteously.The six of them swarmed past her, and Clyde found himself in a brightly lit, rather tacky drawing room, with gold-framed portraits of nude women on the walls, and high wall murals. There is a bright red thick carpet on the floor, and many golden chairs are placed randomly on it.Inside, before some scarlet draperies, was a golden upright piano.But apart from the black girl, there seemed to be no one else.

"You're welcome, please sit down, I'll greet my wife." Then she ran up the stairs on the left and called. "Mary! Sadie! Caroline! There are some young gentlemen in the drawing room."

At this moment, a tall, slender, pale woman of about 40 years old came out from the back door, with a straight body, wearing transparent and plain clothes, smiling sadly but charmingly, and saying, "Ah! Hello, Oscar, is that you? And Paul, Davies, you're welcome. Finny will be here in a minute, and she'll bring you something to drink. I just got a pianist from St. Joe's, wait You can listen to him play the piano at once."

Then she called, "Hello, Sam."

When she greeted her in this way, nine girls of different ages and appearances came down the stairs on the back side. They were all talking and laughing, and they were obviously satisfied and unembarrassed.From Clyde's point of view, some of them were dressed in a very special way. Some of their costumes were the most flamboyant, transparent and thin casual clothes in the boudoir, and some were quieter but equally sensual dance costumes. They were really varied.Their postures, figures, and faces are all different.They all seem to be young.Always with a warm smile on his face.

"Ah, baby, hello! Wanna dance with me?" or "Would you like a drink?"

(End of this chapter)