american tragedy

Chapter 19 (2)
Chapter 113 (2)
He found it very strange that under such circumstances, his mother's attitude was beyond his expectations.For Esta's sudden disappearance and her sudden appearance now, he can be said to be surprised, happy, curious, and sympathetic.Could it be that the mother took the hundred dollars to bring her back? He had such an idea. As for why he had such an idea, and where this idea came from, he couldn't say.He hesitated, but if so, why didn't she come back to her own house? Why didn't she tell the family that she was here?

He thought that his mother would be as surprised and confused as he was, so he wanted to inquire carefully.But, on the contrary, as far as he could tell, she was flustered and surprised by the news, as if what she had heard was exactly what she already knew, and as if all she was troubled with was the attitude she should adopt.

"Oh, did you really see it? Where? You said it was just now? On NO. 11th Street and Baltimore Street? Isn't that weird? I'm sure if she comes back, why doesn't she come home? That's weird." He I feel that there is no surprise in her eyes, but only confusion. Her mouth is just like when she is usually embarrassed, twitching strangely, not only her lips, but also her gums. move.

"Ah, ah," she said after pondering for a moment, "that's really strange, maybe someone looks like her."

But Clyde, watching her out of the corner of his eye, could not believe that she was as surprised as she pretended.Later, Asa came in, and Clyde hadn't left for the hotel yet.What puzzled him was that when he heard them talk about it, they sounded cool, as if they weren't as surprised as he was.After a long pause, he was called in to tell what he had seen.

Then, as if trying to solve the mystery for him, one day he saw his mother walking down Spruce Street, this time with a little basket slung over her arm.He had noticed recently that she was always out on certain mornings, afternoons and evenings.This time, she hadn't seen him yet, but he had already seen her seemingly particularly stout body, wearing the old brown overcoat she usually wore.He turned into Michael Street and waited for her to pass.There's a newsstand there, just enough to give him cover, and when she goes by, he's right behind her, keeping half a block away, and she's on Darling Bell Street, which turns into Portree Street, which is actually a spruce The extension of the street, but not so ugly.The house is very old, it was an old-fashioned house in the past, and now it has been converted into a rental house where meals can be provided.He saw her enter one of them, and then disappeared.But before you go in, take a look around.

After she had gone in, Clyde went into the house and examined it carefully.What was his mother doing here? Who was she looking at? Why was he so strange, even he couldn't explain it himself.However, since he thought he had seen Esta in the street, he was dubious, thinking that it might have something to do with her.And the letter, and the hundred dollars, and the Montrose Street furnished house and all.

Diagonally opposite the house in Portree Street, there was a huge tree, bare and bare in the winter wind.There is an electric pole next to it, very close together, and the two poles come together for shelter.He stood behind here, so people couldn't see him.And in this favorable terrain, you can see several windows, the ones on the side, the ones facing the street, the ones downstairs, and the ones on the second floor.He looked into a window facing the street upstairs, and saw his mother walking up and down, as if familiar.After a while he was startled when he saw Esta go to one of the two windows and put a package on the sill.She appeared to be wearing a thin gown with a shawl over her shoulders.This time, he was right.He recognized her and was with her.What on earth had she done to compel her to come back, and to hide like this? Had her husband, or the one with whom she had eloped, deserted her?

Anxious to make things clear, he decided to wait outside to see if her mother came out, and then he went to see Esta himself.He wanted so badly to see her again, to know what the secret was all about.He waited, thinking that he had always liked Esta, and that it was strange that she should be here, and so mysteriously hidden.

An hour later his mother came out, her basket evidently empty, for she held it lightly in her hand.Just like before, she first looked around carefully, and her face also showed the same numb and worried expression as before, which was a mixture of lofty belief and a confused psychology.

Clyde watched her as she walked south along Portree Street to the church.When he lost sight of her, he turned and entered the house.Inside, as he had supposed, he saw several furnished doors with the names of the tenants pasted on them.He had known that Esta lived in the room on the southeast side of the upper floor near the street, so he walked towards that room and knocked on the door.And so it was, there was a slight sound of footsteps inside, and after a moment's wait, which showed that the room had been hurriedly put into order, then a crack opened, and Esta put her head out to look, first bewildered, then alarmed. cried out softly.She found that it was Clyde she saw, and her inquiring and defensive psychology disappeared.She opened the door immediately.

She cried, "Oh, Clyde, how did you find me? I'm missing you!"

Clyde immediately hugged her and kissed her.At the same time, he could see that there were more of her, which surprised him and made him a little unhappy.She was thinner and paler, her eyes were almost sunken, and she was no better dressed than when he had last seen her.She appeared restless and depressed.The first thing that occurred to him was where was her husband, and why was she here? What was the matter with him now? He looked around, at her, and found Esta looking flustered, but glad to see him.Her mouth was parted because she wanted to smile, to welcome him, but her eyes showed that she had a difficult question on her mind.

When he let go, she immediately said: "I didn't expect to meet you here, you didn't see..." Then she paused, obviously about to spit out a piece of news that she didn't want Willing to speak up.

"Yes, I saw... saw mother too," he replied, "that's how I know you're here, I saw her come out just now, and I saw you here from the window." (He doesn't want to admit that he Been stalking mother for an hour.) "But when did you come back?" he went on. "It's strange that you don't let the rest of the family know about you. You're a pretty girl. You've been gone for months. , never write us with any news. You should have written to me and told me something."

He looked at her inquiringly, curiously, imploringly.She, too, was cowering, and therefore evasive, not knowing what to think, what to say, what to tell him.

She said, "I don't know who's here yet. Nobody's ever been here before. But, my God, you look so fine, Clyde, and now you're in a pretty dress. You Grow taller, Ma told me, that you worked at Greene-Davidson."

She looked at him enviously.The way she looked at him made a deep impression on him.At the same time, he couldn't get rid of her current situation in his heart. He couldn't help looking at her face, her eyes, and her thin and fat body.Seeing her waist and her haggard face, he felt deeply that something was wrong with her.She was about to have a baby, but the thought came back to him where was her husband—where was the man who had eloped with her, to say the least.According to my mother, the note she left at the beginning said that she was going to get married.But he realized now that she was unmarried, that she had been abandoned, left alone in this crappy room, and he saw it, felt it, and knew it.

(End of this chapter)