Now trivial as this contact may seem to some, it was of the utmost significance to Clyde. Up to this time he hadnever seen a girl with so much charm who would deign1 to look at him, or so he imagined. And now he had foundone, and she was pretty and actually interested sufficiently2 to accompany him to dinner and to a show. It wastrue, perhaps, that she was a flirt3, and not really sincere with any one, and that maybe at first he could not expecther to center her attentions on him, but who knew--who could tell?
And true to her promise on the following Tuesday she met him at the corner of 14th Street and Wyandotte, nearthe Green-Davidson. And so excited and flattered and enraptured4 was he that he could scarcely arrange hisjumbled thoughts and emotions in any seemly way. But to show that he was worthy5 of her, he had made analmost exotic toilet--hair pomaded, a butterfly tie, new silk muffler and silk socks to emphasize his bright brownshoes, purchased especially for the occasion.
But once he had reencountered Hortense, whether all this was of any import to her he could not tell. For, after all,it was her own appearance, not his, that interested her. And what was more--a trick with her--she chose to keephim waiting until nearly seven o'clock, a delay which brought about in him the deepest dejection of spirit for thetime being. For supposing, after all, in the interval6, she had decided7 that she did not care for him and did not wishto see him any more. Well, then he would have to do without her, of course. But that would prove that he was notinteresting to a girl as pretty as she was, despite all the nice clothes he was now able to wear and the money hecould spend. He was determined8 that, girl or no girl, he would not have one who was not pretty. Ratterer andHegglund did not seem to mind whether the girl they knew was attractive or not, but with him it was a passion.
The thought of being content with one not so attractive almost nauseated9 him.
And yet here he was now, on the street corner in the dark--the flare10 of many signs and lights about, hundreds ofpedestrians hurrying hither and thither11, the thought of pleasurable intentions and engagements written upon the faces of many--and he, he alone, might have to turn and go somewhere else--eat alone, go to a theater alone, gohome alone, and then to work again in the morning. He had just about concluded that he was a failure when outof the crowd, a little distance away, emerged the face and figure of Hortense. She was smartly dressed in a blackvelvet jacket with a reddish-brown collar and cuffs12, and a bulgy13, round tam of the same material with a redleather buckle14 on the side. And her cheeks and lips were rouged15 a little. And her eyes sparkled. And as usual shegave herself all the airs of one very well content with herself.
"Oh, hello, I'm late, ain't I? I couldn't help it. You see, I forgot I had another appointment with a fella, a friend ofmine--gee16, a peach of a boy, too, and it was only at six I remembered that I had the two dates. Well, I was in amess then. So I had to do something about one of you. I was just about to call you up and make a date for anothernight, only I remembered you wouldn't be at your place after six. Tom never is. And Charlie always is in hisplace till six-thirty, anyhow, sometimes later, and he's a peach of a fella that way--never grouchy17 or nothing. Andhe was goin' to take me to the theater and to dinner, too. He has charge of the cigar stand over here at the Orphia.
So I called him up. Well, he didn't like it so very much. But I told him I'd make it another night. Now, aintchaglad? Dontcha think I'm pretty nice to you, disappointin' a good-lookin' fella like Charlie for you?"She had caught a glimpse of the disturbed and jealous and yet fearsome look in Clyde's eyes as she talked ofanother. And the thought of making him jealous was a delight to her. She realized that he was very much smittenwith her. So she tossed her head and smiled, falling into step with him as he moved up the street.
"You bet it was nice of you to come," he forced himself to say, even though the reference to Charlie as a "peachof a fella" seemed to affect his throat and his heart at the same time. What chance had he to hold a girl who wasso pretty and self-willed? "Gee, you look swell18 to-night," he went on, forcing himself to talk and surprisinghimself a little with his ability to do so. "I like the way that hat looks on you, and your coat too." He lookeddirectly at her, his eyes lit with admiration19, an eager yearning20 filling them. He would have liked to have kissedher--her pretty mouth-- only he did not dare here, or anywhere as yet.
"I don't wonder you have to turn down engagements. You're pretty enough. Don't you want some roses to wear?"They were passing a flower store at the moment and the sight of them put the thought of the gift in his mind. Hehad heard Hegglund say that women liked fellows who did things for them.
"Oh, sure, I would like some roses," she replied, turning into the place. "Or maybe some of those violets. Theylook pretty. They go better with this jacket, I think."She was pleased to think that Clyde was sporty enough to think of flowers. Also that he was saying such nicethings about her. At the same time she was convinced that he was a boy who had had little, if anything, to dowith girls. And she preferred youths and men who were more experienced, not so easily flattered by her--not soeasy to hold. Yet she could not help thinking that Clyde was a better type of boy or man than she wasaccustomed to--more refined. And for that reason, in spite of his gaucheness21 (in her eyes) she was inclined totolerate him--to see how he would do.
"Well, these are pretty nifty," she exclaimed, picking up a rather large bouquet22 of violets and pinning them on. "Ithink I'll wear these." And while Clyde paid for them, she posed before the mirror, adjusting them to her taste. Atlast, being satisfied as to their effect, she turned and exclaimed, "Well, I'm ready," and took him by the arm.
Clyde, being not a little overawed by her spirit and mannerisms, was at a loss what else to say for the moment,but he need not have worried--her chief interest in life was herself.
"Gee, I tell you I had a swift week of it last week. Out every night until three. An' Sunday until nearly morning.
My, that was some rough party I was to last night, all right. Ever been down to Burkett's at Gifford's Ferry? Oh, anifty place, all right, right over the Big Blue at 39th. Dancing in summer and you can skate outside when it'sfrozen in winter or dance on the ice. An' the niftiest little orchestra."Clyde watched the play of her mouth and the brightness of her eyes and the swiftness of her gestures withoutthinking so much of what she said--very little.
"Wallace Trone was along with us--gee, he's a scream of a kid--and afterwards when we was sittin' down to eatice cream, he went out in the kitchen and blacked up an' put on a waiter's apron23 and coat and then comes backand serves us. That's one funny boy. An' he did all sorts of funny stuff with the dishes and spoons." Clyde sighedbecause he was by no means as gifted as the gifted Trone.
"An' then, Monday morning, when we all got back it was nearly four, and I had to get up again at seven. I was allin. I coulda chucked my job, and I woulda, only for the nice people down at the store and Mr. Beck. He's thehead of my department, you know, and say, how I do plague that poor man. I sure am hard on that store. One dayI comes in late after lunch; one of the other girls punched the clock for me with my key, see, and he was out inthe hall and he saw her, and he says to me afterwards, about two in the afternoon, 'Say look here, Miss Briggs'
(he always calls me Miss Briggs, 'cause I won't let him call me nothing else. He'd try to get fresh if I did), 'thatloanin' that key stuff don't go. Cut that stuff out now. This ain't no Follies24.' I had to laugh. He does get so sore attimes at all of us. But I put him in his place just the same. He's kinda soft on me, you know--he wouldn't fire mefor worlds, not him. So I says to him, 'See here, Mr. Beck, you can't talk to me in any such style as that. I'm notin the habit of comin' late often. An' wot's more, this ain't the only place I can work in K.C. If I can't be late oncein a while without hearin' about it, you can just send up for my time, that's all, see.' I wasn't goin' to let him getaway with that stuff. And just as I thought, he weakened. All he says was, 'Well, just the same, I'm warnin' you.
Next time maybe Mr. Tierney'll see you an' then you'll get a chance to try some other store, all right.' He knew hewas bluffing25 and that I did, too. I had to laugh. An' I saw him laughin' with Mr. Scott about two minutes later.
But, gee, I certainly do pull some raw stuff around there at times."By then she and Clyde, with scarcely a word on his part, and much to his ease and relief, had reached Frissell's.
And for the first time in his life he had the satisfaction of escorting a girl to a table in such a place. Now he reallywas beginning to have a few experiences worthy of the name. He was quite on edge with the romance of it.
Because of her very high estimate of herself, her very emphatic26 picture of herself as one who was intimate withso many youths and girls who were having a good time, he felt that up to this hour he had not lived at all. Swiftlyhe thought of the different things she had told him--Burkett's on the Big Blue, skating and dancing on the ice-CharlieTrone--the young tobacco clerk with whom she had had the engagement for to-night--Mr. Beck at thestore who was so struck on her that he couldn't bring himself to fire her. And as he saw her order whatever sheliked, without any thought of his purse, he contemplated27 quickly her face, figure, the shape of her hands, sosuggestive always of the delicacy28 or roundness of the arm, the swell of her bust29, already very pronounced, thecurve of her eyebrows30, the rounded appeal of her smooth cheeks and chin. There was something also about the tone of her voice, unctuous31, smooth, which somehow appealed to and disturbed him. To him it was delicious.
Gee, if he could only have such a girl all for himself!
And in here, as without, she clattered32 on about herself, not at all impressed, apparently33, by the fact that she wasdining here, a place that to him had seemed quite remarkable34. When she was not looking at herself in a mirror,she was studying the bill of fare and deciding what she liked--lamb with mint jelly--no omelette, no beef--oh,yes, filet35 of mignon with mushrooms. She finally compromised on that with celery and cauliflower. And shewould like a cocktail36. Oh, yes, Clyde had heard Hegglund say that no meal was worth anything without a fewdrinks, so now he had mildly suggested a cocktail. And having secured that and a second, she seemed warmerand gayer and more gossipy than ever.
But all the while, as Clyde noticed, her attitude in so far as he was concerned was rather distant--impersonal. Iffor so much as a moment, he ventured to veer37 the conversation ever so slightly to themselves, his deep personalinterest in her, whether she was really very deeply concerned about any other youth, she threw him off byannouncing that she liked all the boys, really. They were all so lovely--so nice to her. They had to be. When theyweren't, she didn't have anything more to do with them. She "tied a can to them," as she once expressed it. Herquick eyes clicked and she tossed her head defiantly38.
And Clyde was captivated by all this. Her gestures, her poses, moues and attitudes were sensuous39 and suggestive.
She seemed to like to tease, promise, lay herself open to certain charges and conclusions and then to withholdand pretend that there was nothing to all of this--that she was very unconscious of anything save the mostreserved thoughts in regard to herself. In the main, Clyde was thrilled and nourished by this mere40 proximity41 toher. It was torture, and yet a sweet kind of torture. He was full of the most tantalizing42 thoughts about howwonderful it would be if only he were permitted to hold her close, kiss her mouth, bite her, even. To cover hermouth with his! To smother43 her with kisses! To crush and pet her pretty figure! She would look at him atmoments with deliberate, swimming eyes, and he actually felt a little sick and weak--almost nauseated. His onedream was that by some process, either of charm or money, he could make himself interesting to her.
And yet after going with her to the theater and taking her home again, he could not see that he had made anynoticeable progress. For throughout the performance of "The Corsair" at Libby's, Hortense, who, because of heruncertain interest in him was really interested in the play, talked of nothing but similar shows she had seen, aswell as of actors and actresses and what she thought of them, and what particular youth had taken her. AndClyde, instead of leading her in wit and defiance44 and matching her experiences with his own, was compelled tocontent himself with approving of her.
And all the time she was thinking that she had made another real conquest. And because she was no longervirtuous, and she was convinced that he had some little money to spend, and could be made to spend it on her,she conceived the notion of being sufficiently agreeable--nothing more--to hold him, keep him attentive45, ifpossible, while at the same time she went her own way, enjoying herself as much as possible with others andgetting Clyde to buy and do such things for her as might fill gaps--when she was not sufficiently or amusinglyenough engaged elsewhere.
这次相识，在某些人看来，也许太微不足道了，可是对克莱德来说，却是至关重要的大事。截至目前为止，他还没见过如此一位妩媚动人的姑娘竟然向他俯赐青睐……至少他自己就是这样想象的。如今，他终于找到了一位漂亮姑娘，对他很感兴趣，答应陪他一块去吃饭。看戏。也许，她真的是个卖弄风骚的姑娘，和谁都说不上真心相待，也许一开头他还不能指望她就专一于他，不过……谁知道呢?
谁又能说得准呢?
下星期二，她果然遵约，在格林－戴维逊附近第十四街和威恩多特街拐角处跟他见了面。他是那么受宠。那么兴奋。那么狂喜，连自己乱成一团的思想感情，几乎也很难理出个头绪来了。不过，为了表示他与她完全般配，克莱德给自己打扮得几乎太奇特。太华丽了……头发搽了油，系上蝶形领结与崭新丝围巾，脚下穿着短丝袜，使他专门为这次约会买的那双闪闪发亮的棕色皮鞋更为显眼。
不过，当他与霍丹斯再次相见时，她对这些东西到底注意了没有，他就说不准了。因为，她注意的毕竟只是她自个儿的外貌，而不是他的外貌。再说……这是惯用的花招，故意让克莱德久等，直到将近七点钟才来;她的姗姗来迟，使他心情一时间极度沮丧。因为假定说，要是她这些天来对他早已不感兴趣，因而再也不乐意跟他见面呢?
得了，那他当然就不跟她来往了。不过，那也足以证明:
尽管他现在穿上漂亮衣服，也有钱可以挥霍了，可他还是不能让象她那样一个漂亮姑娘发生兴趣。他暗自思忖，他非交一个漂亮的女友不可……如果是不漂亮的，他就不要。拉特勒和赫格伦看来都不计较女友漂亮不漂亮，可是对他来说，那是一种癖好。如果仅仅满足于找到一个不漂亮的姑娘，那他一想到这里，几乎就恶心。
可是此刻，他却伫立在黑黝黝的大街交岔口……四周围许许多多广告招牌和灯光照得几乎令人眩目，成百的过往行人总是来去匆匆，很多人的脸部表情都说明:
他们心里想的是寻欢作乐和约会……而他呢，也许只有他一个人不得不往回走，上别处去……孤零零一个人吃饭，孤零零一个人去看戏，孤零零一个人回家转，然后转天早上再去上班。正当他认定自己倒楣透顶的时候，蓦然间，离这儿不远的地方，从人群里出现了霍丹斯的脸孔和身影。她打扮得很俊俏，身穿一件黑天鹅绒短外套，衣领和袖口是茶色带红，头戴一只圆鼓鼓的天鹅绒苏格兰人宽顶无檐便帽，边上还有一个红色皮扣子;两颊和唇边略敷脂粉口红。
一双眼眸忽闪忽闪的。如同往常一样，她看来还是露出踌躇满志的神气。
"哦，你好，我来晚了，是不是?
我可实在没办法。你看，我忘了还有个约会，那也是我的一个朋友……嘿，还是一个顶呱呱的小伙子;我到六点钟才想起来我有两个约会。天哪，这真叫我为难了。这样，你们两个，我得决定先会见哪一位才行。我正要给你打电话，想改到另一个晚上，忽然想起你六点以后就不在那儿了。汤姆也是六点一过就走了。可查理总在那儿，直到六点半才下班，反正有时候还要晚一些。何况他是个呱呱叫的好小子……从来不发脾气，也不嘀嘀咕咕的。本来他也要带我一块去看戏。吃饭。他是在奥菲亚剧院管香烟摊。
所以，我就给他打了个电话。不用说，他老大不高兴呀。不过，我告诉他说，我会改到另一个晚上同他见面。怎么样，现在你该高兴了吧?
为了你，硬是让查理那样一个漂亮小伙子落空，你说说我对你够意思了吧?
"她一眼就看出:
只要她一说到别的小伙子，克莱德眼里马上露出惊恐。嫉妒，而又有点儿惧怕的神色。她一想到自己能使他嫉妒，心里就很高兴。她知道她终于把他征服了。于是，她把脑袋往上一扬，微微一笑，她就跟他在街上一块往前走去。
"你来了，不用说，你是够意思的了，"他很勉强说了这么一句话，尽管她一提到查理这个"呱呱叫的好小子"，似乎使他的嗓子和心儿同时都给梗塞了。这样一个又漂亮。又任性的姑娘……难道说他就掌握不住她吗?
"嗨，今儿晚上你真是美极了，"他又勉强地说了一句。他居然能说出这么一句口彩，连自个儿也吃惊。
"你这顶帽子，还有这件外套，太合身了，我真喜欢。
"他两眼直楞楞瞅着她，露出爱慕的闪光，溢满了一种热切的渴望。他很想吻她……吻她那朱唇小口……只是在这里他还不敢，不论在哪儿，谅他也没有这份胆量。
"难怪你有这么多的约会，还得一一回绝呢。你太漂亮了。要不要戴几朵玫瑰花?
"这会儿他们正走过一家鲜花铺，他一看见玫瑰花，就想起要送一点东西给她。他听赫格伦说过，女人就喜欢男人给她们献殷勤。
"哦，当然罗，玫瑰花我可喜欢，"她回答说，一面走进鲜花铺。"或者就来点紫罗兰吧。这种花很美。依我看，跟外套相配就更好看啦。"她很高兴，想到克莱德竟然还有买花这种闲情逸致。还有他说了那些恭维她的话。与此同时，她相信他这个小伙子对女人知之甚少，也许压根儿都不了解。她喜欢的是经验比较丰富的年轻人和成年人，既不是这么容易就向她俯首贴耳，也不是那样易如反掌即可掌握住的。不过，她也不能不想到:
克莱德是她所熟知的那些男人中的佼佼者……举止态度比他们文雅些。所以，尽管(在她眼里)他有点儿笨拙，她还是有雅量包涵他……且看他以后怎样。
"哦，这些花真漂亮呀，"她大声嚷嚷说，随手捡起一大束紫罗兰，给自己别在身上。"我说我就戴上吧。"克莱德付钱的时候，她伫立在镜子前骚首弄姿，又按照自己的嗜好，把花儿别别好。直到最后她认为满意了，才转过身来，大声说:
"得了，走吧，"随即挽起了他的胳膊。
克莱德对她那副毫不客气的神气不免有点儿吃惊，一时简直不知道再说些什么才好。不过，他也用不着着急……霍丹斯全神贯注的，只是她自个儿罢了。
"嘿，我跟你说，上星期我简直是一晃而过。每天晚上都是舞会，直到转天凌晨三点钟才回家。星期天几乎跳到快要天亮哩。我的天哪，昨儿晚上的舞会，这才够劲儿。你去过伯克特舞厅没有?
就是在吉福德渡口那边的，你知道吗?
哦，那地方可漂亮，离第三十九街比格布罗不太远。夏天跳舞;冬天结了冰，就在室外溜冰，或是在冰上跳舞。还有那个小乐队，可棒极了。"克莱德只顾欣赏她那撅动的小嘴。闪亮的眼睛和迅捷的手势，却很少留意她所说的话。
"华莱士。特朗跟我们在一块……嘿，他这小子真叫人逗死呢……后来我们坐下来吃冰淇淋，他就上厨房去，把自己脸抹黑了，戴上侍者的围裙和大褂，回过来侍候我们。那真是个令人发笑的小鬼。他还用碟子和勺儿耍把戏，真逗人。"克莱德叹了一口气，因为他远不及这个天才特朗那样有天才。
"后来，星期一早上，我们大家回去的时候，差不多快四点了，可我七点还得起来。我简直累得快死了。我差点儿给炒鱿鱼了，要不是店里那些好人，还有那位贝克先生，我包管给炒鱿鱼了。他是我们的部主任，你知道吧，老实说，我真的叫这个可怜的人吃足了苦头。我在店里真是够调皮捣蛋的。有一天，我午后迟到了，另一个姑娘就替我按规定时间在我的考勤卡上打孔，你知道吗，不料这时他正好走了进来，看见了她。后来，已是午后两点钟，他就对我说，'
''''
听我说，布里格斯小姐，(他一向称我布里格斯小姐，因为我不许他叫别的名字。
我要是让他随便叫的话，那他就会乱来一气)'
''''叫别人给你考勤卡上打孔，是不算数的。往后少来这一套。人家都不是傻瓜啊。，我听了只好哈哈大笑起来。尽管有时候他对我们都会发火，可是我照样把他弄得服服帖帖的。所以，他对我多少比较客气，你知道吗……他怎么也不肯开掉我，说真的，他才不乐意呢。我就对他说，'
''''听我说，贝克先生，你可不能用这种口气对我说话。我可不是回回迟到呀。说穿了，偌大的堪萨斯城，我并不是只能在贵处工作。要是偶尔迟到一下，我就得听你唠叨，那你干脆把我送牢房，这就得了，明白吗。，我决不能容忍他用那种口气对我说话。我心里正琢磨着会有啥结果……他却马上软下来了。他只是说:
"得了，反正我已警告过你了。下次说不定你要是给蒂尔尼先生瞧见了，那你就得上别的铺子去试试了。，他知道他这是在虚张声势，这一点我也是心照不宣。我只好格格大笑起来。两分钟后，我就看见他跟斯科特先生在一起仰天大笑。不过，说真的，嘿，我有时候也真能逗弄人。"这时候，她跟克莱德终于走到了弗里塞尔酒家;一路上，他几乎没有说话，倒也使他感到很轻松自在。他破天荒头一回感到洋洋得意的，就是他能陪女友到这样阔气的地方去吃饭。说真的，现在他已开始品尝个中况味了。他心里急巴巴地，真想也能沾上一点儿罗曼蒂克情调。由于她对自己估计很高，竭力强调自己同这么多寻欢作乐的年轻男女交往密切，就使他觉得，截至此刻为止，仿佛自己压根儿没过上一天好日子。他马上想到了她刚才对他说过的那些事……在比格布罗附近的伯克特舞厅，在冰上溜冰跳舞……还有查理。特朗……同她约定今晚见面的那个香烟摊的年轻掌柜……还有那位一见她几乎脉脉含情。舍不得开掉她的贝克先生。他眼看着她一点也不考虑到他的钱袋，只按自己口味点菜的时候，赶快端详了一下她的脸蛋。她的身段，以及她的双手从腕到指尖的模样儿，使人一望可知她的整个儿手臂该有多么纤巧圆浑，还有她那高高耸起。丰满的胸脯，她那眉毛的曲线，她那光滑的脸颊和下巴颏儿长得完美的那种魅力。此外，她说话时那种矫揉造作。光滑流畅的声调，也有某种味儿，不知怎的，吸引了他，使他心烦意乱。他觉得，那是很动人的。哎哟哟，老天哪，这样一个姑娘，要是能完全属于他，该有多好!
霍丹斯在这酒家，如同在街上一样，照样唠唠叨叨地谈她自己的事，看来她压根儿没注意到:
此刻她是在克莱德心目中很了不起的这个地方吃饭。当她不是在对镜欣赏自己的时候，她就仔细看菜单，决定点哪些她爱吃的菜……薄荷冻羊肉……不，她不爱吃蛋卷，牛肉她也不爱吃……哦，得了，还有冬菇溜肉片。末了，她又添上了芹菜和花菜。此外，她还想喝点鸡尾酒。哦，是的，克莱德听赫格伦说过，吃饭要是不喝一点酒，就太没意思了，所以，他就毫不迟疑地提议喝一点鸡尾酒。霍丹斯喝完一杯，又喝上一杯之后，仿佛比从前更热和。更快活。更饶舌了。
不过，克莱德注意到，她自始至终同他还是保持一种多少冷淡的……客观的态度。要是他怯生生地想要稍微转换一下话题，谈谈他们两人的关系，以及他对她的一往深情，问问清楚她是不是真的爱上了别的小伙子，她会公开说所有的男朋友真的她都喜欢，一下子就把他给甩了。她说他们都那么可爱……个个都待她那么好。他们非得这样不可。要不然，她就再也不睬他们了。正如有一次她所说，"给他们拴上一个洋铁罐。"(此处意谓霍丹斯玩弄男性，有如美国顽童恶作剧，即常常给狗尾巴拴上一只洋铁罐。)她那活灵灵的眼睛忽闪忽闪，脑袋昂然地晃动着。
克莱德已给这一切迷住了。她的表情。她的佯装。她的颦蹙，乃至于她的姿态，都是富于性感。令人想入非非。看来她喜爱捉弄人，随便允诺，让自己受到某种指控和定评，然后又不肯承认，推说这一切全属子虚乌有……装做她对自己只是极其谨慎以外，好象什么都不知道似的。一般地说，克莱德只要有她这个人在身边，心里就感到激奋。宽慰了。这是一种折磨，但也是一种甜蜜的折磨。他心心念念老是在想，想得干着急了:
他只要能紧紧地搂住她，吻她的嘴，甚至同她咬得紧紧的，该有多美!
用自己的嘴吻她的嘴!
不停地吻她!
紧紧地搂住她风姿绰约的身段，抚爱她!
有时，她那双故意露出泪汪汪的眼睛直望着他，说真的，他感到有点儿疲软无力……几乎产生厌恶。他只是梦想着:
不论自己的魅力或是金钱的威力，他硬是要使她爱上自己。
不过，即使他陪着她看戏，随后再送她回家，克莱德还是看不出有什么显著的进展。在利比剧院看《海盗》演出时，霍丹斯因为对克莱德尚未产生稳定的兴趣，说真的，始终注意剧情发展，她所说的，全是从前她看过的一些类似的剧目，以及她对那些男女演员的评论意见，此外，她还提到是哪个小伙子带她去看戏的。克莱德既然不能拿自己的经历同她试比高低，自然也不敢同她斗智取胜，所以，他就只好随声附和她的意见了。
可是，她自始至终在暗自思忖她眼前的新胜利。因为她一来早就不讲德行，二来知道他好歹有一点钱，而且他又乐意把它花在她身上，所以，她就算计着:
只要可能的话，就抓住他，使他一直巴结奉承她，无非如此而已……那倒也是够痛快的了。与此同时，她不妨照样我行我素，尽管跟别人一块寻欢作乐。赶上她得不到别处足够有趣的邀请，可能出现空档时候，就不妨让克莱德给她买这买那，为她效劳，陪她消愁解闷。
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deign
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| v. 屈尊, 惠允 ( 做某事) | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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flirt
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| v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者 | |
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enraptured
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| v.使狂喜( enrapture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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nauseated
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| adj.作呕的，厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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bulgy
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| a.膨胀的；凸出的 | |
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buckle
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| n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲 | |
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rouged
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| 胭脂，口红( rouge的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gee
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| n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转 | |
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grouchy
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| adj.好抱怨的；愠怒的 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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gaucheness
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bouquet
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| n.花束，酒香 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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bluffing
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| n. 威吓，唬人 动词bluff的现在分词形式 | |
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emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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bust
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| vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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unctuous
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| adj.油腔滑调的，大胆的 | |
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clattered
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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filet
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| n.肉片；鱼片 | |
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cocktail
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| n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物 | |
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veer
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| vt.转向，顺时针转，改变；n.转向 | |
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defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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sensuous
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| adj.激发美感的；感官的，感觉上的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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tantalizing
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| adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 ) | |
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smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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