american tragedy

Chapter 42

Chapter 210
At this time, a servant came in and said that dinner was ready.Gilbert left immediately.So they stood up, and Mrs. Griffiths asked the maid, "Has Bella called?"

"Oh, not yet, ma'am," answered the servant.

"Then you go and tell Trustel to call Finchley's, and if she's here, tell her to come right back, and say it was me."

The maid walked away, and the people all headed for the dining room.The location of the restaurant is on the west side behind the stairs.Clyde found that this was also a gorgeous ecru room, with a large walnut table in the middle, surrounded by some high-backed chairs, and candlesticks in the shape of seven stars placed evenly on the table. , on the other side of the long table, there is a room with a relatively low ceiling, which is a very spacious circular room, from which you can see the beautiful garden to the south.In this room, there is a smaller table for six.And their dinner was held here, which was more or less different from what Clyde thought.

He sits very peacefully while people keep asking him questions: How was it? How is it now? How old is his father? Where is his mother? Where did they live before they went to Denver? Siblings? How old is her sister Esta? What is she doing? Anyone else? Does his father like running hotels? What did his father do in Kansas? How long has he lived there?

A series of questions came out of Samuel Griffiths and his wife, which made Clyde a little uneasy.From his hesitant answer, they all felt that there seemed to be something wrong.They felt that poverty was the reason for the relative's embarrassment, and they asked, "Did you enter the Kansas hotel business after you left school?" Clyde blushed a little, remembering his car theft.He didn't want it to be known that he'd done it in a Kansas hotel, and he didn't want it to be known that he had done it in the Greene Davidson Hotel.

Bella and the two girls opened the door and came in to rescue Clyde. Clyde had already confirmed that they belonged to this circle with just one glance.And how different they were from the Rita and Zerah he'd recently fallen for—there was nobility in them.A girl greeted the family very affectionately, and he knew it was Bella.The other two girls, one was Sandra Finchley, she was the most beautiful and lovely girl Clyde had ever seen, which was different from all the girls he had known before.Her clothes fit her well, which matched her attractive figure.On her head was a small black leather hat, the brim of which was pressed a little above her eyes, which made her look even more attractive.A black fur scarf around his neck, holding a rope in his hand, tied to a French lap dog.On the arm of the other hand was a black grid coat, which looked like a man's clothes.To Clyde, this was the favorite woman he had ever seen in his life.Of course, she seemed to be able to do some kind of magic, making his whole body hot, with an impulse, and then a feeling of elusiveness gushed out.He wanted her, but it was simply impossible! He felt so uncomfortable, he could only close his eyes and stop looking at her, and immediately, he wanted to open his eyes to look at her again, which was really hard what!

I don't know if she saw him, but from the beginning, she just reprimanded her dog: "Hey, Bissell, you have to be honest, or I'll chain you out, baby, be quiet Hurry up, or I'll have to get out of here." Just then, the little dog spotted a kitten and was about to run over there.

Clyde was not much interested in the other girl with her, who, nonetheless, was as pretty as Sandra, and had her own charm.Perhaps in the eyes of others, she is equally charming.She was fair, fair-haired, bright-eyed, slender, kitten-like, and as soon as she entered the house, she went straight to Mrs Griffiths' table, snuggled up to her, and greeted her. .

"Mrs. Griffiths, how are you? It's a pleasure to see you again. It's been a while since I last came, and I haven't seen you in the meantime mainly because Mum and I have left the country. Even now, Mum Still in Albany, and Grant was there. I happened to meet Bella and Sandra at dinner at Rembert's." She said hello, touching Myla lightly with one hand. His arm looked very casual, as if he was just showing off.

Clyde thought Bella was the second most beautiful of the three, after Sandra, but in terms of charm she was the most attractive of the three.She greeted her father: "I'm sorry, Dad, Mom, I'm late, please forgive me this time." Then, she saw Clyde, as if she had just noticed him—even though he was in her He stood up when he entered the door.Like everyone else, she had a sudden hesitation, and it happened that Clyde was particularly sensitive to the arrogance born of this eminent social position.He was very flustered, knowing that he was better than him in every way.He didn't know what to do, he just stayed there and waited for someone's introduction. For him, the greatest success of a woman was her youth and beauty coupled with her prominent status. Obviously, the few people in front of her Both are.Leaving Rita aside, there was Hortense Briggs, who, though not as much as anyone here, was just as attractive to him at first sight.Therefore, as long as a woman is beautiful, regardless of her size and personality, she is very attractive to him.

"Bella," Samuel Griffiths said slowly seeing Clyde standing there silently, "this is your cousin Clyde."

"Oh, is it?" Bella replied.She had noticed that Clyde looked very much like Gilbert. "Hi, mom has been mentioning that you are coming to see us these days." Then, she stretched out a finger, walked up to the two girls, and said, "This is my friend, Finch Miss Ray, Miss Cranston, this is Mr Griffiths."

The young lady bowed politely, her expression was very formal, but at the same time she looked at Clyde carefully. "Oh, he really looks like Jill, doesn't he?" Sandra whispered to Bettina, who was beside her.Bettina replied, "That's right, but he's even more handsome, much handsomer."

Sandra hummed. She noticed at the beginning that she was more handsome than the Gilbert she didn't like. She was very happy. The second point was that he was obviously paying attention to her too.Made her feel very proud.She always reacted that way to young people who were infatuated with her, but when she noticed his eyes kept rolling over her, she thought it was okay to put him aside, at least temporarily, he was too easy Tempted, this is not reliable at all.

Mrs. Griffiths' plans for a family meal were disrupted.She was a little dissatisfied with Bella's behavior of bringing friends here without any notice.Because in this way, it will cause Clyde's identity problem.She said, "Put your clothes there, you two, and come and sit. I'll ask Nadina to take the seat for two more. Bella, take the seat next to your father."

"No, really," the two ladies replied, "we won't be staying long, we're going home." Notwithstanding what they said, they still wanted to find out what Clyde's identity was, and if possible, what it was After all, they met Clyde who was prettier than Gilbert whom they didn't like.As much as they liked Bella, they had no good impression of her brother, who seemed too strong and self-righteous to the two selfish beauties.And what about Clyde? On the surface, he looks very honest, at least better controlled than Gilbert.If it could be proved that he had an equally prominent social position, or the Griffiths thought so, then he should be able to participate in some social activities held locally.Even if this is not the case, it is good to know his income situation.Mrs. Griffiths seemed to read their minds, and explained to them, as if on purpose: "Well, Mr. Griffiths is one of our nephews out west. He's come to join us to see if he can get work." , he was a lad who had to start over. My husband got him a job in his factory."

Clyde blushed, the words obviously reminded him that his society here is not high-class, and his status is too far from the Griffith family or these girls.He also noticed: just noticed that the rich and powerful Bettina Cranston had changed from curious to indifferent.Sandra Finchley, on the other hand, was still watching him, even though she was prettier and richer than her friend.She looked at Clyde again, and the expression on her face told Clyde clearly: It's too possible, he is indeed very handsome.

Samuel Griffiths liked Sandra, but not Bettina.And Mrs. Griffiths thought her too thoughtful and cunning, and she did not like her very much.Samuel Griffiths said to Sandra, "Come on, Sandra, tie the dog to the chair, put the coat on the chair over there, and sit next to me."

"But I do have to go, Uncle Samuel!" Sandra exclaimed, with an air of amiability and a little hypocrisy.She probably intends to use this method to win people's joy. "It's very late. Besides, Bissell was too naughty today. Really, Bettina and I are going home."

"Yes, Dad," Bella interjected, "Bettina's horse accidentally got a nail stuck in its hoof yesterday, and it's limping today, but Grant and her dad are not at home, she wants to ask you What can I do."

"Oh, is it? Which foot?" Griffiths looked concerned.At this moment, Clyde just took the opportunity to look at Sandra again, alas, she is so beautiful, with a small nose, turned up, and her upper lip is raised up.

"Left front hoof. I was running on the East Kingston Road yesterday afternoon, and Jerry lost a shoe, and I thought it must be in a splinter, but John couldn't find it afterward."

"If you think about it carefully, how long have you been riding that horse since it was nailed?"

"About eight miles. I rode all the way back from there."

"Well, I think you'd better ask John to put some medicine on it, bandage it, and then ask a veterinarian to look at it. I think that can solve it."

The two of them did not leave.During this time Clyde was thrown aside.He thought that the social activities here must be very pleasant, and look at them, there is nothing on their minds.What they talked about was how to spend money and enjoy themselves, such as building a house, riding a horse, dating, traveling, all things they wanted to do, which naturally included the Gilbert who just left, He and a group of young people went for a drive somewhere.And his cousin Bella, who chatted with her young friends in this splendid house; and he, who could only live in a small room on the third floor of Mrs. Kirby's house, except I can't go anywhere else, and I only have a meager fifteen dollars a week, which includes all expenses for food, drink, clothing, and use.Early in the morning, he was going to toil at his post on the ground floor of the factory, while the ladies got up and went off to have fun.Also, his parents ran a small boarding house and church in Denver.This point, he simply couldn't say it openly here.

Suddenly the two girls said they must go, so they left, and now he and the Griffiths were alone in the house again, and he felt he had no place here, for they were so slight to him. .Samuel Griffiths and his wife and Bella seemed to be merely giving him a look at their world, which was not his.He was poor, he had no status, and although he dreamed of being in company with these three noble girls, he was not worthy of them at all, he felt sad, embarrassed, and his eyes showed that gloomy emotion, not only Samuel Well, even his wife and Myra noticed.He dreamed of being able to enter this circle, and it would be great if he could find a way.But in this group of people, except Myra, no one noticed that he was lonely and disappointed.Because of this, when everyone went back to the big room after dinner (Samuel kept criticizing Bella for being late and made everyone wait), Myra walked up to him and said to him: "I see, You might like Lycurgus if you wait here a little longer. There's a lot of fun here, lakes and mountains, and the Atrondax is about seventy miles north. place. In summer, we will live in Green Forest Lake, I believe, Mom and Dad will welcome you to visit there."

As for whether this is the case, she has no idea, but in the current situation, it is good for Clyde to say these things even if they may be false.And this way, he got a good impression of her, and he felt at ease with her, so he talked to her for a while without slighting the rest of the Griffiths family. At 09:30, he felt that he had been left out for a long time, so he got up and said that he had to go to work early tomorrow morning, so he had to go.Samuel Griffiths himself saw him out the door as he left.At this time, Griffith also began to think that Clyde was very handsome, but he was very poor. It seemed that they would not pay more attention to him in the future.Because of this, he appeared very kind, and wanted to make up for his indifference and arrogance just now, saying: "Come out often, we will definitely ask you to come out again in a few weeks." He raised his head, as if looking for What, and then took a deep breath, "Now Wakekey Street is not at its most beautiful time, but by then, the trees will be more blooming and the flowers will be blooming, so you can come and see, okay, Good night."

He smiled sincerely, and it made Clyde feel again the difference between Gilbert Griffiths and his father, who was clearly much better for him.

(End of this chapter)