In the same way Clyde, on encountering her, was greatly stirred. Since the abortive contact with Dillard, Rita andZella, and afterwards the seemingly meaningless invitation to the Griffiths with its introduction to and yet onlypassing glimpse of such personages as Bella, Sondra Finchley and Bertine Cranston, he was lonely indeed. Thathigh world! But plainly he was not to be allowed to share in it. And yet because of his vain hope in connectionwith it, he had chosen to cut himself off in this way. And to what end? Was he not if anything more lonely thanever? Mrs. Peyton! Going to and from his work but merely nodding to people or talking casually--or howeversociably with one or another of the storekeepers along Central Avenue who chose to hail him--or even some ofthe factory girls here in whom he was not interested or with whom he did not dare to develop a friendship. Whatwas that? Just nothing really. And yet as an offset to all this, of course, was he not a Griffiths and so entitled totheir respect and reverence even on this account? What a situation really! What to do
And at the same time, this Roberta Alden, once she was placed here in this fashion and becoming more familiarwith local conditions, as well as the standing of Clyde, his charm, his evasive and yet sensible interest in her, wasbecoming troubled as to her state too. For once part and parcel of this local home she had joined she wasbecoming conscious of various local taboos and restrictions which made it seem likely that never at any timehere would it be possible to express an interest in Clyde or any one above her officially. For there was a localtaboo in regard to factory girls aspiring toward or allowing themselves to become interested in their officialsuperiors. Religious, moral and reserved girls didn't do it. And again, as she soon discovered, the line ofdemarcation and stratification between the rich and the poor in Lycurgus was as sharp as though cut by a knife ordivided by a high wall. And another taboo in regard to all the foreign family girls and men,--ignorant, low,immoral, un-American! One should--above all--have nothing to do with them.
But among these people as she could see--the religious and moral, lower middle-class group to which she and allof her intimates belonged--dancing or local adventurous gayety, such as walking the streets or going to a movingpicture theater--was also taboo. And yet she, herself, at this time, was becoming interested in dancing. Worsethan this, the various young men and girls of the particular church which she and Grace Marr attended at first,were not inclined to see Roberta or Grace as equals, since they, for the most part, were members of older andmore successful families of the town. And so it was that after a very few weeks of attendance of church affairsand services, they were about where they had been when they started--conventional and acceptable, but withoutthe amount of entertainment and diversion which was normally reaching those who were of their same churchbut better placed.
And so it was that Roberta, after encountering Clyde and sensing the superior world in which she imagined hemoved, and being so taken with the charm of his personality, was seized with the very virus of ambition andunrest that afflicted him. And every day that she went to the factory now she could not help but feel that his eyeswere upon her in a quiet, seeking and yet doubtful way. Yet she also felt that he was too uncertain as to what shewould think of any overture that he might make in her direction to risk a repulse or any offensive interpretationon her part. And yet at times, after the first two weeks of her stay here, she wishing that he would speak to her- that he would make some beginning--at other times that he must not dare--that it would be dreadful andimpossible. The other girls there would see at once. And since they all plainly felt that he was too good or tooremote for them, they would at once note that he was making an exception in her case and would put their owninterpretation on it. And she knew the type of a girl who worked in the Griffiths stamping room would put butone interpretation on it,--that of looseness.
At the same time in so far as Clyde and his leaning toward her was concerned there was that rule laid down byGilbert. And although, because of it, he had hitherto appeared not to notice or to give any more attention to onegirl than another, still, once Roberta arrived, he was almost unconsciously inclined to drift by her table and pausein her vicinity to see how she was progressing. And, as he saw from the first, she was a quick and intelligentworker, soon mastering without much advice of any kind all the tricks of the work, and thereafter earning aboutas much as any of the others-- fifteen dollars a week. And her manner was always that of one who enjoyed it andwas happy to have the privilege of working here. And pleased to have him pay any little attention to her.
At the same time he noted to his surprise and especially since to him she seemed so refined and different, acertain exuberance and gayety that was not only emotional, but in a delicate poetic way, sensual. Also thatdespite her difference and reserve she was able to make friends with and seemed to be able to understand theviewpoint of most of the foreign girls who were essentially so different from her. For, listening to her discuss thework here, first with Lena Schlict, Hoda Petkanas, Angelina Pitti and some others who soon chose to speak toher, he reached the conclusion that she was not nearly so conventional or standoffish as most of the otherAmerican girls. And yet she did not appear to lose their respect either.
Thus, one noontime, coming back from the office lunch downstairs a little earlier than usual, he found her andseveral of the foreign-family girls, as well as four of the American girls, surrounding Polish Mary, one of thegayest and roughest of the foreign-family girls, who was explaining in rather a high key how a certain "feller"whom she had met the night before had given her a beaded bag, and for what purpose.
I should go with heem to be his sweetheart," she announced with a flourish, the while she waved the bag beforethe interested group. "And I say, I tack heem an' think on heem. Pretty nice bag, eh?" she added, holding it aloftand turning it about. "Tell me," she added with provoking and yet probably only mock serious eyes and wavingthe bag toward Roberta, "what shall I do with heem? Keep heem an' go with heem to be his sweetheart or giveheem back? I like heem pretty much, that bag, you bet."And although, according to the laws of her upbringing, as Clyde suspected, Roberta should have been shockedby all this, she was not, as he noticed--far from it. If one might have judged from her face, she was very muchamused.
Instantly she replied with a gay smile: "Well, it all depends on how handsome he is, Mary. If he's very attractive,I think I'd string him along for a while, anyhow, and keep the bag as long as I could.""Oh, but he no wait," declared Mary archly, and with plainly a keen sense of the riskiness of the situation, thewhile she winked at Clyde who had drawn near. "I got to give heem bag or be sweetheart to-night, and so swellbag I never can buy myself." She eyed the bag archly and roguishly, her own nose crinkling with the humor ofthe situation. "What I do then?""Gee, this is pretty strong stuff for a little country girl like Miss Alden. She won't like this, maybe," thoughtClyde to himself.
However, Roberta, as he now saw, appeared to be equal to the situation, for she pretended to be troubled. "Gee,you are in a fix," she commented. "I don't know what you'll do now." She opened her eyes wide and pretended tobe greatly concerned. However, as Clyde could see, she was merely acting, but carrying it off very well.
And frizzled-haired Dutch Lena now leaned over to say: "I take it and him too, you bet, if you don't want him.
Where is he? I got no feller now." She reached over as if to take the bag from Mary, who as quickly withdrew it.
And there were squeals of delight from nearly all the girls in the room, who were amused by this eccentrichorseplay. Even Roberta laughed loudly, a fact which Clyde noted with pleasure, for he liked all this roughhumor, considering it mere innocent play.
Well, maybe you're right, Lena," he heard her add just as the whistle blew and the hundreds of sewing machinesin the next room began to hum. "A good man isn't to be found every day." Her blue eyes were twinkling and herlips, which were most temptingly modeled, were parted in a broad smile. There was much banter and more bluffin what she said than anything else, as Clyde could see, but he felt that she was not nearly as narrow as he hadfeared. She was human and gay and tolerant and good-natured. There was decidedly a very liberal measure ofplay in her. And in spite of the fact that her clothes were poor, the same little round brown hat and blue clothdress that she had worn on first coming to work here, she was prettier than anyone else. And she never needed topaint her lips and cheeks like the foreign girls, whose faces at times looked like pink-frosted cakes. And howpretty were her arms and neck--plump and gracefully designed! And there was a certain grace and abandon abouther as she threw herself into her work as though she really enjoyed it. As she worked fast during the hottestportions of the day, there would gather on her upper lip and chin and forehead little beads of perspiration whichshe was always pausing in her work to touch with her handkerchief, while to him, like jewels, they seemed onlyto enhance her charm.
Wonderful days, these, now for Clyde. For once more and here, where he could be near her the long day through,he had a girl whom he could study and admire and by degrees proceed to crave with all of the desire of which heseemed to be capable--and with which he had craved Hortense Briggs--only with more satisfaction, since as hesaw it she was simpler, more kindly and respectable. And though for quite a while at first Roberta appeared orpretended to be quite indifferent to or unconscious of him, still from the very first this was not true. She was onlytroubled as to the appropriate attitude for her. The beauty of his face and hands--the blackness and softness ofhis hair, the darkness and melancholy and lure of his eyes. He was attractive--oh, very. Beautiful, really, to her.
And then one day shortly thereafter, Gilbert Griffiths walking through here and stopping to talk to Clyde, shewas led to imagine by this that Clyde was really much more of a figure socially and financially than she hadpreviously thought. For just as Gilbert was approaching, Lena Schlict, who was working beside her, leaned overto say: "Here comes Mr. Gilbert Griffiths. His father owns this whole factory and when he dies, he'll get it, theysay. And he's his cousin," she added, nodding toward Clyde. "They look a lot alike, don't they?""Yes, they do," replied Roberta, slyly studying not only Clyde but Gilbert, "only I think Mr. Clyde Griffiths is alittle nicer looking, don't you?"Hoda Petkanas, sitting on the other side of Roberta and overhearing this last remark, laughed. "That's what everyone here thinks. He's not stuck up like that Mr. Gilbert Griffiths, either.""Is he rich, too?" inquired Roberta, thinking of Clyde.
I don't know. They say not," she pursed her lips dubiously, herself rather interested in Clyde along with theothers. "He worked down in the shrinking room before he came up here. He was just working by the day, I guess.
But he only came on here a little while ago to learn the business. Maybe he won't work in here much longer."Roberta was suddenly troubled by this last remark. She had not been thinking, or so she had been trying to tellherself, of Clyde in any romantic way, and yet the thought that he might suddenly go at any moment, never to beseen by her any more, disturbed her now. He was so youthful, so brisk, so attractive. And so interested in her,too. Yes, that was plain. It was wrong to think that he would be interested in her--or to try to attract him by anyleast gesture of hers, since he was so important a person here--far above her.
For, true to her complex, the moment she heard that Clyde was so highly connected and might even have money,she was not so sure that he could have any legitimate interest in her. For was she not a poor working girl? Andwas he not a very rich man's nephew? He would not marry her, of course. And what other legitimate thing wouldhe want with her? She must be on her guard in regard to him.