The room which Clyde secured this same day with the aid of Mrs. Braley, was in Thorpe Street, a thoroughfareenormously removed in quality if not in distance from that in which his uncle resided. Indeed the difference wassufficient to decidedly qualify his mounting notions of himself as one who, after all, was connected with him.
The commonplace brown or gray or tan colored houses, rather smoked or decayed, which fronted it--the leaflessand winter harried trees which in spite of smoke and dust seemed to give promise of the newer life so near athand--the leaves and flowers of May. Yet as he walked into it with Mrs. Braley, many drab and commonplacefigures of men and girls, and elderly spinsters resembling Mrs. Braley in kind, were making their way home fromthe several factories beyond the river. And at the door Mrs. Braley and himself were received by a none-toopolishedwoman in a clean gingham apron over a dark brown dress, who led the way to a second floor room, nottoo small or uncomfortably furnished--which she assured him he could have for four dollars without board orseven and one-half dollars with--a proposition which, seeing that he was advised by Mrs. Braley that this wassomewhat better than he would get in most places for the same amount, he decided to take. And here, afterthanking Mrs. Braley, he decided to remain--later sitting down to dinner with a small group of mill-town storeand factory employees, such as partially he had been accustomed to in Paulina Street in Chicago, before movingto the better atmosphere of the Union League. And after dinner he made his way out into the principalthoroughfares of Lycurgus, only to observe such a crowd of nondescript mill-workers as, judging these streets byday, he would not have fancied swarmed here by night--girls and boys, men and women of various nationalities,and types--Americans, Poles, Hungarians, French, English--and for the most part--if not entirely touched with apeculiar something--ignorance or thickness of mind or body, or with a certain lack of taste and alertness ordaring, which seemed to mark them one and all as of the basement world which he had seen only this afternoon.
Yet in some streets and stores, particularly those nearer Wykeagy Avenue, a better type of girl and young manwho might have been and no doubt were of the various office groups of the different companies over the river-neatand active.
And Clyde, walking to and fro, from eight until ten, when as though by pre-arrangement, the crowd in the morecongested streets seemed suddenly to fade away, leaving them quite vacant. And throughout this time contrastingit all with Chicago and Kansas City. (What would Ratterer think if he could see him now--his uncle's great houseand factory?) And perhaps because of its smallness, liking it--the Lycurgus Hotel, neat and bright and with abrisk local life seeming to center about it. And the post-office and a handsomely spired church, together with anold and interesting graveyard, cheek by jowl with an automobile salesroom. And a new moving picture theater just around the corner in a side street. And various boys and girls, men and women, walking here and there, someof them flirting as Clyde could see. And with a suggestion somehow hovering over it all of hope and zest andyouth--the hope and zest and youth that is at the bottom of all the constructive energy of the world everywhere.
And finally returning to his room in Thorpe Street with the conclusion that he did like the place and would like tostay here. That beautiful Wykeagy Avenue! His uncle's great factory! The many pretty and eager girls he hadseen hurrying to and fro!
In the meantime, in so far as Gilbert Griffiths was concerned, and in the absence of his father, who was in NewYork at the time (a fact which Clyde did not know and of which Gilbert did not trouble to inform him) he hadconveyed to his mother and sisters that he had met Clyde, and if he were not the dullest, certainly he was not themost interesting person in the world, either. Encountering Myra, as he first entered at five-thirty, the same daythat Clyde had appeared, he troubled to observe: "Well, that Chicago cousin of ours blew in to-day.""Yes!" commented Myra. "What's he like?" The fact that her father had described Clyde as gentlemanly andintelligent had interested her, although knowing Lycurgus and the nature of the mill life here and itsopportunities for those who worked in factories such as her father owned, she had wondered why Clyde hadbothered to come.
"Well, I can't see that he's so much," replied Gilbert. "He's fairly intelligent and not bad-looking, but he admitsthat he's never had any business training of any kind. He's like all those young fellows who work for hotels. Hethinks clothes are the whole thing, I guess. He had on a light brown suit and a brown tie and hat to match andbrown shoes. His tie was too bright and he had on one of those bright pink striped shirts like they used to wearthree or four years ago. Besides his clothes aren't cut right. I didn't want to say anything because he's just comeon, and we don't know whether he'll hold out or not. But if he does, and he's going to pose around as a relative ofours, he'd better tone down, or I'd advise the governor to have a few words with him. Outside of that I guess he'lldo well enough in one of the departments after a while, as foreman or something. He might even be made into asalesman later on, I suppose. But what he sees in all that to make it worth while to come here is more than I canguess. As a matter of fact, I don't think the governor made it clear to him just how few the chances are here forany one who isn't really a wizard or something."He stood with his back to the large open fireplace.
"Oh, well, you know what Mother was saying the other day about his father. She thinks Daddy feels that he'snever had a chance in some way. He'll probably do something for him whether he wants to keep him in the millor not. She told me that she thought that Dad felt that his father hadn't been treated just right by their father."Myra paused, and Gilbert, who had had this same hint from his mother before now, chose to ignore theimplication of it.
"Oh, well, it's not my funeral," he went on. "If the governor wants to keep him on here whether he's fitted foranything special or not, that's his look-out. Only he's the one that's always talking about efficiency in everydepartment and cutting and keeping out dead timber."Meeting his mother and Bella later, he volunteered the same news and much the same ideas. Mrs. Griffithssighed; for after all, in a place like Lycurgus and established as they were, any one related to them and havingtheir name ought to be most circumspect and have careful manners and taste and judgment. It was not wise forher husband to bring on any one who was not all of that and more.
On the other hand, Bella was by no means satisfied with the accuracy of her brother's picture of Clyde. She didnot know Clyde, but she did know Gilbert, and as she knew he could decide very swiftly that this or that personwas lacking in almost every way, when, as a matter of fact, they might not be at all as she saw it.
"Oh, well," she finally observed, after hearing Gilbert comment on more of Clyde's peculiarities at dinner, "ifDaddy wants him, I presume he'll keep him, or do something with him eventually." At which Gi............