american tragedy

Chapter 144 (5)
Chapter 325 (5)
"Yes, it's June eighteenth or nineteenth, right?"

"Well, now do you remember the letter Roberta NO.19 wrote to you?"

"Don't remember, sir."

"But these letters are very sentimental, as you say yourself."

"Yes, sir, it is very sad."

"Well, this letter was written when these photographs were taken," he turned to the jury. "I hope the jury will look at these photographs and hear a passage from Miss Alden's letter to the defendant that day. He has admitted I refuse to write or call her, though I feel sorry for her." He turned to the jury, at which point he opened a letter and read Roberta's long, mournful plea. "Now the other four pictures, please, unlike someone who has just come back after a horrible experience of doubt, worry and evil, and, unlike a woman who has just seen him brutally abused, he just Trying to save her, she suddenly drowned. From these photos, it seems that you are purely carefree in the world, don't you?"

"Well, these were taken together by everyone, and I couldn't help but participate."

"But this one on the water, just two or three days after Robert sank to the bottom of Great Patton Lake, and especially after you have just returned to her so preciously, don't you feel sad at all when you are on the water?"

"I don't want anyone to know that I was with her not long ago."

"We all know that, but what about the violin, look at this!" He handed him the card. "Happy?" he growled.Clyde was suspicious and afraid at this moment, so he replied:

"However, I was not happy at the time."

"Are you not happy playing the banjo here? Are you not happy playing golf and tennis with your friends the day after she just died? Are you not happy when you spend thirteen dollars on lunch? When you are again with someone You are the happiest when Miss is with you, were you not happy then?"

Mason now snarled, scolded, savagely, and sarcastically.

"Well, it wasn't happy anyway, not happy, sir."

"What did you mean then, didn't you arrive at your favorite place?"

"Well, in a sense, yes, of course," replied Clyde, thinking what Sandra would think when she read the words, which, yes, she must have read, and they were in the newspaper It is posted almost every day.He could not deny that he wished to be with her, but on the other hand he was not happy, how unfortunate and sad he was to be dragged into this shameful and cruel conspiracy! But now he knew how to explain, so that Sander Ra could understand him when he read this; and the jury, he had to make them understand him, too.So he swallowed with a dry throat, and licked his lips with a dry tongue, and said: "But, anyway, I'm very sorry for Miss Alden. I couldn't be happy then, Impossible. I was trying to convince people that I had nothing to do with her being there, and I didn't know of a better way to do it. I didn't want to get caught for something I didn't do."

"Do you know you're lying! Do you know you're lying!" Mason yelled.It was as if he were yelling at the world; and his air of disbelief and contempt convinced both the jury and the audience that Clyde was a perfect liar. "Did you hear the testimony of Rufus Martin, who was deputy in Bear Lake Kitchen?"

"I heard it, sir."

"You heard him swear that he saw you with Miss Somewhere looking out over Bear Lake, and said she kissed you lying in your arms, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"And it was four days after you threw Roberta Alden at the bottom of Great Patton Lake, and you were afraid of being caught then?"

"Yes, sir."

"Even when you're kissing her and holding her in your arms?"

"Yes, sir," said Clyde sadly and helplessly.

"Well, a big lie!" cried Mason. "If you hadn't heard it with your own ears, would you believe what was said tearfully in front of a jury? Did you really sit here and swear to the jury that your side and your arms The fooled girl in the movie is lingering, and the other girl is far away at the bottom of the lake a hundred miles away, but you feel sorry for what you did at that time?"

"At any rate, that is the case," replied Clyde.

"Well said! No one can compare!" Mason roared.

Speaking of this, he was very tired again, pulled out the big white handkerchief with great emotion, looked at the whole court, and wiped the sweat from his face, as if to say: Well, this is really impressive! Then, he was full of energy say:

"Griffiths, yesterday you swore in the witness stand that you had no plans for Great Patton when you left Lycurgus."

"No, sir, I have not."

"However, after the two of you arrived at the room at the Uti Garrenfro Hotel, you saw that she was very tired, so you proposed a small-scale trip within the scope of the economic situation that you two added together, yes Her health might be a little bit better, right?"

"Yes, sir, it is."

"But up to that time, you hadn't even given Atrondax a special thought."

"Well, no, sir, I mean I didn't think of any lake. I did think we might as well find a resort, preferably the Lake District, which is mostly the Lake District, but I didn't think of any lake that I was familiar with. "

"I see. After you mentioned it, she was the one who said it would be best to find some guidebooks or maps?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then how many copies did you go downstairs to find?"

"Yes, sir."

"At the Renfro Hotel in Utiga?"

"Yes, sir."

"Can't happen to be somewhere else?"

"No, sir."

"Later, after looking at the map, you decided to go to Grass Lake and Great Burton, didn't you?"

"Yes, that's right," Clyde lied, wishing he hadn't testified about finding these guidebooks at the Gallen Flo Hotel. Perhaps there was some trap here, too?

"You and Miss Alden?"

"Yes, sir."

"You chose Caohu, do you think it's the best and cheapest?"

"Yes, sir, it is."

"I see. Do you remember any of this now?" he went on, reaching for a stack of guidebooks from the table.These items were all duly certified as having been in the suitcase that Clyde had in Bear Lake when he was arrested.Now, Mason put these travel guides into Clyde's hands, "Look clearly, did I find them in your suitcase when I was at Bear Lake?"

"Hmm, looks like something I was there for."

"Are these the guidebooks you took upstairs to Miss Alden after you found them on the shelf at the Renfro Hotel?"

About these guidebooks, Mason asked so carefully that Clyde was very frightened, so he opened them and looked through them, because the seal of the Lycurgus Hotel (“Laycurgus, New York, presented by the Lycurgus Hotel”) ’) was red, like the rest of the guidebook, so even then he didn’t notice it at first.He rummaged through it to make sure there were no traps, and replied, "I think that's it." "Well, then," said Mason slyly, "in which of these guidebooks did you find Grass Lake? The hotel's advertisement and their price list? Is it on this one?" At this point, he handed the printed copy to Clyde.There was a page on it, which Mason pointed out with his left index finger. It was the advertisement that Clyde wanted Roberta to see. There was also a map showing the Indian Hill Wharf. , Grass Lake and many others.Below this map, a route is clearly drawn, going south from Grass Lake and Kenloch, passing through the southern tip of Great Burton, and passing through Three Mile Bay.After such a long time, he looked at the picture again, and immediately concluded that what Mason wanted to prove must be that he knew in advance that there was such a road.He was a little shuddering, a little creepy, and replied, "Yes, maybe this one, it looks like it, and I think it might be."

"Do you know it or not?" Mason demanded darkly and sternly. "You read this passage first, and then can you say for sure?"

"Well, it seems to be." He carefully read the advertisement that prompted him to go to Caohu, and then said evasively, "I think it may be."

"You think! You think! Now that we're getting down to the real stuff, you're getting a little overcautious. Well, look at that map again and tell me what you see. Tell me if you see anything marked from grass The road that goes south from the lake!"

"Yes," said Clyde, after a moment, somewhat sullenly and angrily, that this man was so determined that he was driven to his grave, that he had been beaten to the bone and drained of his bones.He pointed at the map, pretending to be following instructions, but in fact he saw only what he had seen early in Lycurgus, when he set off for Fonda to talk to Roberta. Saw it not long before we met.But this thing was being used against himself here and now.

"Will you please tell the jury, where does this road lead? From where to where?"

Clyde was flustered and frightened, exhausted, so he replied, "Well, this road leads from Grass Lake to Three Mile Bay."

"Somewhere else in the middle? Or is there something beside this road?" Mason went on, looking at the map over his shoulder.

"Ken Loach. That's it."

"Where's Great Berton? Doesn't this road go south near Great Berton?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you notice or study this map before going from Utiga to Grass Lake?" Mason asked nervously and forcefully.

"No, sir, I haven't."

"Never knew there was such a road over there?"

"Well, maybe I saw such a road," Clyde replied, "but didn't notice it if I did."

"Surely there is no chance of seeing or studying this map and this road before you set out from Utiga?"

"Yes, sir."

"I see. Are you absolutely sure of that?"

"Yes, I am absolutely sure, sir."

"Well, then if you could do it, and explain it to me or the jury after your solemn, sacred oath, how does this guidebook say 'Laycurgus Inn, New York State' lettering." He folded the guidebook, turned the back out, and showed Clyde the faint red seal in the middle of the scarlet letters.Clyde stared at the seal, as if unconscious.His originally pale face was now gray again, his long, thin fingers stretched and squeezed, his red, swollen and tired eyelids blinked, trying to resist the pressure of the damned fact in front of him.

"I don't know," he said feebly after a while, "it must be on the shelf at the Renfro Hotel."

"Ah? Surely? If I bring two witnesses here to testify under oath that they saw you walking into Lycurgus on the second of July, three days before leaving Lycurgos for Fonda. Hotel, I took four or five travel guidebooks on the shelf over there, so would you still say that it was on the shelf at the Renfro Hotel on July 15th?" Mason paused for a while as he said this , looking around with a victorious look, as if to say: Ah, if you have a way, then you can answer! He had to wait at least [-] seconds before pulling himself together and answering the following: "Well, it must be, I didn't find it in Lycurgus."

"Very well, but in the meantime, let's show the gentlemen here," he handed the guidebook to the chief juror, who in turn passed it to another juror, and so on.At this moment, there was a clear murmur and hum throughout the court.

After looking at them one by one, the audience thought that there would be continuous attacks and accusations, but to the audience's surprise, Mason turned his head and said: "It's over." Many audience members in the court immediately began to whisper: "Caught it!" Judge Bowers announced that it was getting late, as there were additional witnesses on the defendant's side and several rebutters on the prosecution's side, and he suggested that the day be closed.Belknap and Jefferson happily agreed.As for Clyde, the doors in the courtroom were firmly locked, and they could not be opened until he was escorted back to his cell.He was escorted on both sides by Clout and Sissel, passing the door and the stone steps he had been looking at and thinking about these days.After he was escorted away, Belknap and Jefferson immediately remained silent.When they returned to the office and the door was securely locked, Belknap said: "...From the beginning to the end, that look has been pretending not to be home.

It's the best defense possible, but he lacks courage. ’ Jefferson threw himself back in his chair, in his overcoat and hat. ‘No, no doubt, the real trouble is that he actually killed her.However, as far as I can see, we cannot just give up.He's done better than I expected. ’ Belknap went on: ‘Well, I must give him as hard as I can while I debate.I can do this. Jefferson replied wearily: "That's right, Alvin, it's mostly up to me now, and in the meantime, I'll go to the cell to cheer him up."Tomorrow, if you are still downcast as if you have lost a battle, that's not okay.He had to sit there in good spirits and let the jury feel that, whatever they were, he thought he was innocent. He stood up, put both hands in the opening of the coat, and went to see Clyde in the dark and cold winter night in this bleak town.

(End of this chapter)