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he was in a fevered state of mind owing to the blight his wife's action threatened to cast upon his entire future |
he would have to pay her the money which she would now regularly demand or there would be trouble it did not matter what he did |
hurstwood walked the floor mentally arranging the chief points of his situation |
he also thought of his managerial position |
how would the papers talk about it |
many little wrinkles gathered between his eyes as he contemplated this and his brow moistened |
he could arrange that satisfactorily for carrie would be glad to wait if necessary |
he would see how things turned out to morrow and then he would talk to her they were going to meet as usual |
for some reason he felt as if something might come that way and was relieved when all the envelopes had been scanned and nothing suspicious noticed |
while the danger had not lessened it had not as yet materialised and with him no news was good news |
so little did he consider drouet that it never once occurred to him to worry about his finding out |
he grew restless as he ruminated and then decided that perhaps it was nothing |
she had not been able to get away this morning |
he would get one to day it would probably be on his desk when he got back he would look for it at once |
after a time he gave up waiting and drearily headed for the madison car |
he went in and examined his letters but there was nothing from carrie |
fortunately there was nothing from his wife either |
at one thirty he went to rector's for lunch and when he returned a messenger was waiting for him |
his first impulse was to write but four words in reply go to the devil |
but he compromised by telling the boy that there would be no reply |
then he sat down in his chair and gazed without seeing contemplating the result of his work |
what would she do about that the confounded wretch |
later however his old discretion asserted itself |
something had to be done a climax was near and she would not sit idle |
he knew her well enough to know that when she had decided upon a plan she would follow it up |
he arose from his chair and went and looked out into the street |
the long drizzle had begun pedestrians had turned up collars and trousers at the bottom |
hurstwood almost exclaimed out loud at the insistency of this thing |
he put on his hat and looked around for his umbrella |
he would have some arrangement of this thing |
he began to wish that he had compromised in some way or other that he had sent the money perhaps he could do it up here |
he would go in and see anyhow he would have no row |
by the time he reached his own street he was keenly alive to the difficulties of his situation and wished over and over that some solution would offer itself that he could see his way out |
then he rang the bell no answer |
he rang again this time harder still no answer |
when hurstwood got back to his office again he was in a greater quandary than ever |
he could hardly realise how it had all come about |
no letter had come no word of any kind and yet here it was late in the evening and she had agreed to meet him that morning |
he saw that in the excitement of recent events he had not formulated a plan upon that score |
he was getting some vague comfort out of a good cigar but it was no panacea for the ill which affected him |
it was with great opposition after two or three hours of the most urgent mental affirmation and denial that at last he got an envelope placed in it the requested amount and slowly sealed it up |
then he called harry the boy of all work around the place |
you take this to this address he said handing him the envelope and give it to missus hurstwood yes sir said the boy |
any answer i guess not |
the boy hastened away and the manager fell to his musings |
he was beaten for to night and he might just as well make the best of it |
she would take the envelope and know that she had triumphed |
if he only had that letter back he wouldn't send it |
for relief he arose and joined in conversation with a few friends who were drinking |
all the time his thoughts would run out to his home and see the scene being therein enacted |
in about an hour and three quarters the boy returned |
he fancied as he sat at his desk that nothing would be done for a week or two meanwhile he would have time to think |
how about that now his pain at her failure to meet or write him rapidly increased as he devoted himself to this subject |
he decided to write her care of the west side post office and ask for an explanation as well as to have her meet him |
three o'clock came four five six and no letter |
the helpless manager paced the floor and grimly endured the gloom of defeat |
he saw a busy saturday ushered out the sabbath in and nothing done |
all day the bar being closed he brooded alone shut out from home from the excitement of his resort from carrie and without the ability to alter his condition one iota |
it was the worst sunday he had spent in his life |
it seemed as if his family troubles were just beginning |
he was quite certain now that she knew he was married and was angered at his perfidy |
he had loved her earnestly enough but now that the possibility of losing her stared him in the face she seemed much more attractive |
he would go to her and tell her all his family complications |
he would explain to her just where he stood and how much he needed her |
he did manage to bring himself into the mood to go out to carrie but when he got in ogden place he thought he saw a man watching him and went away |
he did not go within a block of the house |
he troubled over many little details and talked perfunctorily to everybody |
he stayed at his desk long after all others had gone and only quitted it when the night watchman on his round pulled at the front door to see if it was safely locked |
on wednesday he received another polite note from mc gregor james and hay it read |
dear sir we beg to inform you that we are instructed to wait until to morrow thursday at one o'clock before filing suit against you on behalf of missus julia hurstwood for divorce and alimony |
very truly yours et cetera compromise |
so here it was spread out clear before him and now he knew what to expect |
if he didn't go and see them they would sue him promptly |
minnie's flat as the one floor resident apartments were then being called was in a part of west van buren street inhabited by families of labourers and clerks men who had come and were still coming with the rush of population pouring in at the rate of fifty thousand a year |
to carrie the sound of the little bells upon the horse cars as they tinkled in and out of hearing was as pleasing as it was novel |
to him the presence or absence of his wife's sister was a matter of indifference |
he was of a clean saving disposition and had already paid a number of monthly instalments on two lots far out on the west side |
his ambition was some day to build a house on them |
she had some slight gift of observation and that sense so rich in every woman intuition |
the walls of the rooms were discordantly papered |
the floors were covered with matting and the hall laid with a thin rag carpet |
then she walked and sang to it until hanson disturbed in his reading came and took it |
one could see that he was very much wrapped up in his offspring |
now now he said walking there there and there was a certain swedish accent noticeable in his voice |
he seemed to be thinking of something else |
minnie began to explain but her husband took this part of the conversation to himself |
you could get home easy too it isn't very far |
she asked minnie for ink and paper which were upon the mantel in the dining room and when the latter had gone to bed at ten got out drouet's card and wrote him |
she wanted to make some reference to their relations upon the train but was too timid |
anything was good enough so long as it paid say five dollars a week to begin with |
a shop girl was the destiny prefigured for the newcomer |
it was under such auspicious circumstances that she started out this morning to look for work |
narrow board walks extended out passing here a house and there a store at far intervals eventually ending on the open prairie |
it gave an imposing appearance to most of the wholesale houses whose offices were upon the ground floor and in plain view of the street |
these vast buildings what were they |
she was four years older than i to be sure and had seen more of the world but i was a boy and she was a girl and i resented her protecting manner |
this change came about from an adventure we had together |
one day when i rode over to the shimerdas i found antonia starting off on foot for russian peter's house to borrow a spade ambrosch needed |
there had been another black frost the night before and the air was clear and heady as wine |
it was on one of these gravel beds that i met my adventure |
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