american tragedy

Chapter 139 (5)
Chapter 324 (5)
"I see. But, Clyde, among the evidence here is the letter found in Alden's coat pocket, written on Grass Lake Hotel stationery, to be sent to her mother." She told her mother that she was going to be married. Did you tell her that morning at Grass Lake that you were going to marry her?"

"No, sir. Not quite that. I did say, however, when I set off that day, that this was our defining day, that she could decide whether or not she wanted me to marry her at all."

"I see, that's how it is," Jefferson smiled, as if greatly relieved. (Mason, Newcomb, Burleigh, and Senator Redmond of the Chamber, all listening carefully, mutter in almost unison: "Big lie!")

"Well, now we come to the matter of the trip. You have also heard the testimony here, and it is said that everything involved in this trip had nefarious motives and plots. Now I will let you explain this, The testimony here is that you took two trunks—yours and hers—but when you got to Ken Lodge you left hers at Ken Lodge and took yours aboard. Why? Do it and tell the jury."

"Well, the reason is," he said, his throat became dry again, and he almost couldn't even speak. "We didn't know if we could have lunch in Big Berton, so we decided to bring some food from Grass Lake. Her suitcase was full, but mine was still empty, and there were cameras and tripod, so I just decided to keep hers and take my suitcase."

"You decided?"

"Well, I asked her opinion, and she said it would be best."

"Where did you ask her?"

"On the car going down."

"Did you know at the time that you were going back to Ken Lodge after playing on the lake?"

"Yes, sir, I know. We must, they told us at Grass Lake."

"On the way to Great Patton, you remember the testimony of the driver who drove you, saying that you were "very disturbed" and that you asked him if there were many people there that day, didn't you?"

"I remember, sir, but I'm not disturbed. I may have asked about tourists, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think anyone would ask that."

"I think so, too," began Jefferson. "You checked in at the Great Buckton Hotel, and got on board with Miss Alden, and what happened after you sailed away? Did you or she feel particularly disturbed?" Or are you different from the average tourist? Are you extra happy, extra gloomy, or what?"

"Well, I'm not particularly gloomy, no, sir, and of course I'm thinking about what I'm going to tell her, and what's going to happen to me if she decides yes or no. I'm not particularly happy, wherever I go Either way, I have decided to marry her."

"What about her? Is she happy?"

"Yes, she seems to be happier for some reason."

"What did you talk about?"

"Ah, first about the lake, how beautiful it is, and where we're going to have lunch and all that. Then we went along the west bank looking for lotus. She was very happy, and I didn't want to mention anything at that time, so we just rowed , didn't stop for lunch until two o'clock."

"Where the hell is it? You stand up and point out on the map with your sticks where exactly have you been, how long have you been, and why?"

So Clyde picked up the pointer, and on the large map of the Lake District, which was especially related to this tragedy, pointed out in detail the long-drawn route along the coast, and the clump of trees they rowed to look at after lunch, and There was a lot of beautiful lotus flowers, and they played there for a while, and there was a place where they stayed.Finally, we arrived at Moon Lake around [-]:[-] pm.According to him, they were fascinated by the beautiful scenery of Moon Lake, and just sat on the boat and watched with wide-eyed eyes.Afterwards, he wanted to take a few pictures, and they landed near the nearby woods. At this moment, he has been planning to tell the whole story about Miss X and let her make a decision.Then he put the suitcase on the shore for a while, and they paddled out, took a few snapshots on the boat, and then paddled around in the tranquil beauty of the lake before he worked up the courage to confess.

He said Roberta seemed shocked and depressed at first, and sobbed for a while, saying she was too miserable to die, but then he kept telling her he was really sorry and willing to make amends, and she turned around , the mood lifted a little; then, suddenly with infinite warmth—he didn’t know why—she jumped up, trying to jump at him, she opened her arms, and almost threw herself at his feet or knees, but at this moment her A foot or clothes tripped and fell, and with the camera in his hand (this was Jefferson's final decision, it could also be said that it was a legal move just in case), he stood up instinctively, wanting to Hold her up so she doesn't fall.Maybe—he couldn't be sure of this—her face or a hand touched the camera.Anyway, before he knew what was going on at that moment, the two sides fell into the water unexpectedly, and the overturned boat seemed to hit Roberta, because she seemed to faint like that.

"The boat was drifting away, and I told her to try to swim up to it and catch it, but she didn't seem to hear, or else didn't understand me, and at first I didn't dare swim to her because she was scratching, I After swimming towards her less than ten times, her head sank and popped up again, and then sank again. At that time, the boat had drifted [-] to [-] feet away. I knew it was impossible to rescue her, so I decided to protect myself first. Better to swim back to shore."

He said that as soon as he landed, he suddenly thought of his situation, and everything was so bizarre that no one could believe it.He said he suddenly felt that this was wrong in the first place, registering a false name, as long as her suitcase was there, and now he went back and explained it all so that everyone would know that his life was over, Miss So-and-so, His job, his social status, everything.If he had remained silent (he swore it was the first time he had thought of it), it might have been thought that he, too, had drowned.In view of this, and the fact that there was nothing he could do at the time, and admitting it would only get him into trouble and shame her, he decided to keep silent.In order to cover all traces, he took off his clothes, wrung them dry and packed them, and then put the tripod on the shore with the suitcase, and later hid the tripod, and the hat with no label on his head (however, he stated that he did not know beforehand. Knowing that the tag was missing), since it was lost when the boat capsized, he put on another one, though he could still wear a cap, (he often took an extra hat when he traveled, as there seemed to be accidents often.) Then He wanted to go through the woods to the railroad to the south, which he thought was over there, when he had no idea that there was a branch road going there.As for why he went directly to Cranston's house, he could only say that it was natural, because they were his friends, and he needed a place to calm down and think about all this.

Then, since he had been talking for so long, and as if he had nothing more to say, Jefferson paused, and then said calmly over his shoulder:

"So, Clyde, you said before the jury, before the judge, before everyone, and above all before God, that you would tell the truth, and the whole truth was true, and you know what that means?"

"Yes, sir, I understand."

"Did you swear before God that you didn't hit Roberta Alden on board?"

"I swear I never did."

"Didn't you drop her in the lake too?"

"I swear not."

"Nor did she capsize, intentionally or intentionally, in any way, or use some other means to cause her tragic death?"

"I swear!" cried Clyde firmly and passionately.

"Did you swear it was an accident and not a murder?"

"I swear," Clyde lied.He thought that what he said was partly true, because this accident was not premeditated, and this incident did not match his original plan, which can also be sworn.

At this time, Jefferson touched his face with his big strong hand, glanced at the jurors in the court calmly, pressed his thin lips into a line, and announced: "The prosecution may wish to question the witnesses. "

(End of this chapter)