 
      quotations on an interminable amount of stock, then I fell asleep in my   swivel-chair.   Just  before noon the phone woke me, and I started up with sweat   breaking out on my forehead.   It   was 
      Jordan Baker; she often called me up at this  hour  because  the  uncertainty  of  her  own movements between hotels and clubs and private houses made  her  hard  to  find  in  any  other    
      way. Usually her voice came over the wire as something fresh and cool, as  if  a    divot    from a green golf-links had come sailing in at      the  office  window,     but  this  morning  it 
        seemed harsh and dry. ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ve left Daisyââ¬â¢s house,ââ¬Â she  said.   ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢m  at  Hempstead, and Iââ¬â¢m going down to Southampton this afternoon.ââ¬Â   Probably it had been tactful to leave  Daisyââ¬â¢s  house,   but 
          the act annoyed me, and her next remark made me rigid. ââ¬Å"You werenââ¬â¢t so nice to me last night.ââ¬Â ââ¬Å"How could it have mattered then?ââ¬Â Silence for a moment. Then:    
          ââ¬Å"However ââ¬â I want to see   you.ââ¬Â ââ¬Å"I want to see you, too.ââ¬Â ââ¬Å"Suppose I donââ¬â¢t go to    Southampton,   and  come  into  town this afternoon?ââ¬Â ââ¬Å"No ââ¬â I donââ¬â¢t think this afternoon.ââ¬Â 
        ââ¬Å"Very well.ââ¬Â ââ¬Å"Itââ¬â¢s  impossible    this    afternoon.         Various    ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬Â   We talked like that for  a  while,   and  then    abruptly  we werenââ¬â¢t talking any longer.   I 
      donââ¬â¢t know which of us hung up with a sharp  click,   but  I know I  didnââ¬â¢t care. I couldnââ¬â¢t have talked to her across a tea-table that day    if  I    never 
        talked to her again in this world. I called Gatsbyââ¬â¢s house a few minutes later,  but  the  line was busy. I tried four times; finally an exasperated central told me the  wire  was  being    
      kept open for long distance from Detroit. Taking out my  time-table,   I  drew  a  small circle around the three-fifty train. Then I leaned back in my chair and  tried    to  think. 
      It was just noon. when i phied the ashheaps  on  the  train  that  morning  i had crossed deliberately to   the other side of   the car.   I  suppose  thereââ¬â¢d  be  a  curious 
      crowd around there all day with little   boys searching for    dark    spots  in  the  dust,   and some garrulous man telling over and over what had happened, until it became  less  and    less 
      real   even to him and he could tell it no longer, and   Myrtle  Wilsonââ¬â¢s  tragic    achievement was forgotten. Now I want to go back a little  and  tell  what  happened    at  the  garage 
        after we left there the night before. They had difficulty  in  locating  the  sister,   Catherine. She must have broken her rule against drinking that night, for when she  arrived  she  was    
      stupid with liquor and unable to  understand  that  the  ambulance  had  already  gone  to Flushing. When they convinced her of this, she  immediately  fainted,   as  if  that  was  the    
        intolerable part   of the affair. Some one, kind or curious, took her in  his  car  and  drove her in the wake of   her sisterââ¬â¢s body.   Until  long  after  midnight  a  changing  crowd  lapped  up 
      against the front of the garage, while George Wilson rocked himself back  and  forth  on    the couch inside. For a while the door of the office was open, and every  one  who  came  into   .
                   
No comments:
Post a Comment