Chapter 81 Chapter Eightieth

On the train back to Washington, Pug shared a private room with Peters.As soon as the train left, both of them hung up their wet clothes.Pug declined the army officer's offer of whiskey.He didn't feel very happy drinking with his wife's current lover.Sim.Anderson came into the room at the call of the colonel.When the two of them started talking, Pug got up to leave. "You don't have to go," Peters said to Pug. "I want you to participate in this matter." Pug quickly surmised that the Army had suddenly and eagerly taken an interest in one of the Navy's methods of handling uranium.He remained silent.The colonel's figure looked tall in the small private room, puffing on a cigar and sipping whiskey, asking Anderson carefully.The train picked up speed, the wheels rumbled, the rain beat on the darkened windows, and Pug was beginning to feel a little hungry.

"Colonel, I'm on a special mission directly to the lab," Anderson said when asked about the Navy's chain of command in the project. "You need to talk to Dr. Abelson." "I'm going to him. I see only one way out of all this chaos," Peters said, putting the notebook into a breast pocket. "We had to build twenty replicas of your factory. Just duplicate it and line them up. Designing a new factory with two thousand pillars could take many months." "You can design it for greater effectiveness, Colonel." "Yes, for the next war. But the plan is to make a weapon for this war. Well, Major. Thank you very much."

After Anderson left, Peters asked Pug: "Do you know Admiral Parnell of the Navy? I was wondering how to proceed. I will get the Navy's heat dissipation blueprint soon." "The person you should be looking for is Oster. Kim." "Kim probably didn't even have the intelligence material on uranium. Parnell was a Navy guy on the military policy committee." "I know, but it's all right. Go find Kim." "Can you do this?" "What? Find General Jin for the army? I'll go find him?" At the skeptical tone, Colonel Peters' thick mouth parted in a grin.It was the simple, cheerful smile of a mature man who had not known much grief, and of a gray-haired, boyish man; it certainly fascinated women. "You see, Henry, on the matter of uranium, I can't get my hands dirty, and I can't write a letter. Normally, I take this to the next meeting of the Military Policy Committee, but I To act now. The difficulty is - and this is not my fault - that we have been ignoring the Navy for years. We have kept Aibelson out. Got impatient, and it turned out, by Christ, the first to produce this material for us was Abelson. I just found out about it today. Stupid policy. Now we need the Navy again. You You know Kim, don't you?"

"I know him well." "I feel that you can act as a middleman in this matter." "Look, Colonel, just to see Oster. King. It might take days. But I'll tell you what to do. You get rid of these connectors—I mean, tomorrow." Call the Pennsylvania company from Federal Station—I'm in a cab right away, trying to break in and see the Chief of Naval Operations." "Pug, only the army general can waive that priority." Peters' wide, toothy smile was wary and elusive. "I'd kill my head that way." "Really? Breaking in to find Oster without a prior appointment. Kim, I'll have my head cut off too. Especially with a request from the Army."

Colonel Peters glared at Pug, wiped his mouth vigorously, and then laughed. "Hell, didn't those guys at Oak Ridge go through your connector? You're doing well. Let's have a drink for this." "I'd rather eat. I'm starving. Are you coming?" "You go first." Peters was visibly unhappy about the second rejection. "I'll be right here." Sim.Standing in the long line outside the dining car, Anderson mused on a common wartime conundrum—whether to propose to a lover before setting off to serve the country in a faraway land.He could take Madeleine to that Fangshan in New Mexico, but would she agree?Even if she agreed, would she be happy in such a place?Oppenheimer once alluded to troubles with his wife.When Madeline's father joined the party, Sim seized the opportunity to join him at a table for two in the crowded dining car.He told Pug his problem as they ate lukewarm tomato soup and oily tonkatsu while the train shook and rattled, with streaks of drizzle slanting against the windows.Pug listened to him go on and on, and waited a while longer to speak. .

"Are you in love?" he asked finally. "Yes, Colonel." "Since they are in love, what's the problem? Young naval officers are used to living in strange places." "She's gone to New York to try to break a young naval officer's way of life." Until then, Sim had said nothing about Hugh.cleveland.But the sad tone of his voice, the pained look in his eyes at the father, made it clear to Pug that Madeline had told it all, and that it had taken an effort for him to take it all. "Sim, she's come home." "Yes. Come to another big city and take another radio station job."

"Are you asking for my opinion?" "Yes, Colonel." "Heard of indecisives and pretty women? Try your luck. I think she'll come and stay with you." The father held out his hand. "Wish you good luck." "Thank you, Colonel." They shook each other's hands. In the rest car, Pug happily sipped a large glass of brandy.For several years, Madeline had seemed an irreparable catastrophe, but now it was!He mulled over the images of Madeleine over the years: the charming little girl; the fairy princess in the school play; Dressing up for a ball is not sophisticated enough; being a brazen monster in New York.Now, poor Madeline seemed to have a home; after a terrible start, she had at least one very good chance.

Pug was in a good mood at the moment and didn't want to talk to Harrison.Colonel Peters spoiled the mood by spending the night in a private room.He has always been used to sitting up and sleeping on trains and planes, so he decided to take a nap in the rest car.Peters didn't come to dinner.It is probable that he had gone to sleep in his bunk after a few whiskeys to his heart's content.Pug gave the barman ten dollars for the quiet, and then fell asleep in a slumber in the bright light, amidst the noise of drinkers all around him. When he was woken up, the light in the carriage was very dark, except for the rapid rumble of the wheels, there was silence around him.A tall figure in pajamas swayed before his eyes.Peters said, "There's a very comfortable berth made for you."

Pug stiffened and yawned, unable to think of a reasonable way out.He staggered back to the compartment after Peters; it was no better than the rest car, because of the smell of whiskey and stale cigars, but the top bunk, with its crisp sheets, looked comfortable.He undressed quickly. "Want to have a drink before bed?" Peters was pouring out a nearly empty wine bottle. "No, thank you." "Pug, don't you want to have a drink with me?" Pug took the glass without comment.After drinking, they got into the berth and turned out the lights.After all, Pug was quite happy to sleep under the covers.He relaxed, sighed, and was falling asleep.

"Pug." Peters' voice was excited and drunk, coming from the lower bunk. "That Anderson is a very promising guy. Rhoda thinks he and Madeleine are really close. You always agree?" "meet." There was silence for a while, only the sound of the train moving. "Pug, may I ask you a completely personal question?" no answer. "I'm sorry to disturb you. But this question is very important to me." "Go on." "Why did you and Rhoda break up?" Victor.It was precisely because of the danger of such an inquiry that Henry took great pains to avoid spending the night with the army officer.He didn't answer.

"It's not my fault, is it? When someone is overseas, it's too shameful to try to take away his wife. I know that you have already had a bad relationship." "That's right." "Otherwise, please believe me, I would avoid her, despite her charms." "I believe you." "You and Rhoda are two of the noblest men I know. What's the matter?" "I'm in love with an Englishwoman." paused for a while. "That's what Rhoda said." "That's what happened." "It doesn't seem like your usual behavior." Pagmer was silent. "Are you going to marry her?" "I probably would, but she turned me down." With that, Peters pressed Victor.For the first time Henry mentioned Pamela's astonishing letter, which he had tried so hard to get out of his mind. "Jesus! Women keep you in the dark, Pug, don't you? I'm sorry to hear that." "Good night, Colonel." It was an irritating closing note. "One more question, Pug. Does Dr. Fred Kirby have anything to do with all this?" Here it comes.Because of this forced intimacy, what Rhoda feared happened.Victor.What Henry said next could make or break the rest of Rhoda's life.He had to answer quickly, because every second of hesitation was damaging to her, to himself, and to their marriage. "What the hell do you mean by that?" Pug hoped the tone would convey just the right amount of bewilderment, mixed with a touch of exasperation. "I got some letters, Pug, damned anonymous letters, about Rhoda and Dr. Kirby. I took them as a thing, and was ashamed of myself, but—" "You should be ashamed. Fred. Kirby is an old friend of mine. I met him when I was assigned to Berlin. When the war broke out, Rhoda had to come home. At that time, Fred Ryder's in Washington, he plays tennis with her, takes her to the theater and all, sort of like what you've been doing lately, but it doesn't matter. I know that, and I appreciate it. I don't like it. This kind of talk makes me sleepy." "I'm sorry, Pug." "It doesn't matter." There was a moment of silence.Then came Peters' voice again, soft, distressed, drunk. "Just because I adore Rhoda so much, that's why I'm so distraught. More than distraught, I'm in pain. Pug, I've known many, many women who were more beautiful than Rhoda and more beautiful than her." Sexy. But she's clean. That's what makes her special. It may sound strange for me to say this, but I do feel it. Rhoda is the first woman I've ever known besides my own mother. A well-bred lady, in every sense of the word. She was perfect: dignified, honest, and decent. She never lied. Christ, most women lie as often as they breathe. You are I know. You can't blame them either. We try to fuck them all the time, and they do whatever they can, and it's all just and right. Do you agree with me?" Pug thought that Peters drank the bottle just to muster up the courage to ask.This nagging may continue throughout the night.So he didn't answer. "I don't mean old-fashioned women, Pug. I mean fashionable women. My mother was a figure until she was eighty-two. Christ, she slept in a coffin and looked like a The choir girl. But, I'll tell you, she's a saint. Like Rhoda, she goes to church every Sunday, rain or shine. Rhoda is stylish like a movie queen, but she also has a The grace of a saint. That's why it hit me like an earthquake, Pug. I'm sorry if I offended you, because I have a lot of respect for you." "Tomorrow, we're both very busy, Colonel." "Yes, Pug." A few minutes later, Peters was already snoring. From Federation Station Pug went directly to King's office, where the two admirals were in the outer room.Pug persuaded the adjutant to go in with a brief note.Jin immediately called him into the office.The Chief of Naval Operations was sitting behind his big desk in the bleak room, smoking a cigarette through a mouthpiece. "You look better than in Tehran," he said, without telling Pug to sit down. "What are you talking about that has anything to do with uranium? I tore up your note and threw it in the wastebasket that should be burned." Pug briefly described the situation in Oak Ridge.Kim's lanky, bald head and wrinkled face flushed slightly.The stern mouth was pursed strangely; Pug guessed he was trying to hold back a laugh. "You mean," Jin interrupted him in a rough voice, "the Army recruited all the scientists and all the factories in the country, spent billions of dollars, and it didn't produce a single bomb, and we have Did that puny Anacostia Experimental Station make one?" "Not quite, General. There's a technical hole in the Army's method. The Navy's process fills that hole. They want to take our method and do it on an industrial scale." "So they will make this weapon? Or else they can't make it?" "As far as I know, it is. Otherwise, it would be too late to use it in this war." "Hell, well, I'll give 'em what they want. Why not? It'll make us look good in the history books? Except the Army's going to write history, and then we'll probably forget about it." How did you get involved in this?" Jin listened to the struggle for the connector, smoked, nodded, and looked very serious again. "Colonel Peters has called Dreiser," Pug concluded. "Everything's set up. I'm flying over to Pennsylvania and get this stuff loaded and shipped out." "That's a good idea. How do you fly there?" "Departed from Andrews in a navy plane." "Do you have a means of transport?" "not yet." King picked up the phone and ordered a car and a driver to be prepared for Colonel Henry. "Hey. What do you want me to do, Henry?" "Assure Colonel Peters of naval cooperation, Admiral. He wants to make his position before proceeding with the idea of ​​duplicating our factory." "Give my adjutant his number. I'll call this man." "Yes, General." "I've heard about your speedy handling of the landing craft program. The Secretary of State is pleased." King stood up, stretching out a long, thin arm with gold thread coiled up the sleeve to the elbow. "lets go." Pug returned from Pennsylvania and had just paid for the taxi fare when Madeline opened the front door.She looked almost as she had looked at her first ball before: flushed, eyes sparkling, too richly made up.Without saying anything, she hugged him and led him into the living room.Rhoda sat there by a coffee table; it wasn't the weekend and she was at home, but she was all dressed up, and there was champagne chilled in a silver bucket on the coffee table.Sim.Anderson stood beside Rhoda with an embarrassed, goofy and happy expression on his face. "Hello, Colonel." "Hey! The veteran is back!" said Rhoda. "You used to remember you had a home! How nice! Are you free next Saturday?" "I don't think there's anything wrong, no." "Oh, no! That's very nice. Then go up to St. John's and hand Madeleine over to this young sailor, what do you think?" The mother, daughter and future son-in-law laughed happily.Pug pulled Madeline into his arms at once.She snuggled up to him, hugged her tightly, and pressed her wet cheek to his.Then he talked to Sim.Anderson shook hands and gave him a hug.The young man was wearing the same shaving perfume that Warren used; the scent made Pug startle slightly.Rhoda jumped up, kissed Pug, and called, "Okay! The surprises are over, now for the champagne." Then they talked about the actual business: wedding arrangements, dowries, office arrangements. The restaurant for the wedding, the list of guests, the accommodation of Sim's family, etc.Rhoda kept making neat notes in a shorthand book.Later Pug took Anderson into the study. "Sim, what's your financial situation?" The young man admits to two costly obsessions: hunting, which he learned from his father, and classical music.He spent over a thousand dollars on a Capehart record player and some records, and spent almost as much on a collection of rifles and shotguns.Of course, it was not wise to arrange life in such a mess as he was, and he could hardly turn around in the room he lived in, but he didn't pay much attention to the girls then.Now, he wants to put these things away and sell them all someday.Right now, he has only saved 1,200 yuan. "Well, that's a lot. You can live off your paycheck. Madeleine's got some savings, too; she's got a stake in that damn radio show." Anderson looked uncomfortable. "Yes. She is better off financially than I am." "Just live within your means, don't be too extravagant. Let her arrange her own money, but don't spend it randomly." "That's what I intend to do." "You see, Sim, I've got fifteen thousand dollars set aside for her. It's your money." "Oh, this is wonderful!" A simple greedy and joyful light flashed on the young man's face. "I didn't expect that." "I would suggest that you use the money to buy a house outside Washington, if you intend to remain in the Navy." "Of course I stayed in the Navy. We talked about it all. Research and development work will be important after the war." Pug put his hands on Anderson's shoulders. "She's said a thousand times over the years that she'll never marry a naval officer. You've got it right." The young unmarried couple happily and flustered off to celebrate.Pug and Rhoda sat in the living room, finishing their drinks. "Okay," said Rhoda, "the last little bird is up too. At least it's done before mother flies away." Rhoda sneered playfully at Pug over the rim of his wine glass. Eye. "Would you like me to accompany you out to dinner?" "No. There's enough roe for the two of us. And a bottle of champagne. How's your business trip going? Huck help you?" "It was a great help." "I'm so glad. He's got an important job, hasn't he, Pug?" "It can't be more important." Fresh flowers from the garden on a table lit by candles; a tossed salad with Roquefort cheese; perfectly cooked eel roe with dry, fresh bacon ; potatoes with skin on, topped with sour cream and shallots; a freshly baked straw pie.It was obvious that Rhoda had arranged all this and waited for his return.She cooked it herself, served it, and sat down to eat.Dressed in gray silk this day, with handsome hair, she looked as if she had been a handsome guest at her own table.She was in a very good spirits, giving Pug her opinion of the wedding, or else she was putting on a good drama.Champagne sparkled in her eyes. For all his familiar faults in Rhoda--irritability, frivolity--this was the Rhoda who had made him a happy man for twenty-five years, Pug thought.She was charming, capable, energetic, attentive to men, and so gentle that she could arouse their passion; she charmed Kirby and Peters, and any man her age.What's the matter?Why should he drive her away?What is so irreparable?Early on, he had faced the fact that the war had created her and Kirby's affair, a personal catastrophe amidst a world upheaval.Even Sim.Regardless of Madeline's past, Anderson happily started a new life. The answer is always the same.He no longer loves Rhoda.He doesn't like her anymore.There was nothing he could do about it.This has nothing to do with forgiveness at all.He had already forgiven her.But a freshness of vigor now overwhelmed Sim.Anderson and Madeline were united, and Rhoda cut off the vitality of their marriage.The vitality between them dries up and dies.Some people's marriages survived an infidelity, but theirs didn't.He had been prepared to hold on, thinking of his dead son, but it would have been better for Rhoda to live with someone who loved her.The fact that she had quarreled with Peters only made him pity her. "Fantastic pie," said Pug. "Thank you, good sir, do you know what I propose next? I propose going out to the garden for coffee and armagnac, that's all. All the iris are in full bloom; the scent It's just unbelievable." "You're a little drunk." It took Rhoda two or three years to weed and replant the barren quarter-acre.Now it was a colorful and fragrant nook surrounded by brick walls, with a small gurgling, splashing fountain she had built at considerable expense in the center.Meanwhile she carried the coffeepot and the like outside on a wrought-iron table between the cushioned chaise longues; Pug carried the bottle of Armagnac and the glass. "You know," she said, when they were seated, "there's a letter from Byron. In all the excitement I've just forgotten. He's fine. Only one page." "Is there any important news?" Pug tried not to let the relief come out of his voice. "Well, the first patrol was a success. He's qualified to command operations. You know Byron's temper. He never talks much." "Did he get the Bronze Medal?" "Not a word. He just kept worrying about Natalie. Let's wire him whatever news we get." Pug sat staring at the flower beds.In the dimming light, the colors of the flowers gradually lost their luster.A breeze blows a strong fragrance from the constantly swinging pansies. "We should make another call to the State Department." "I called today. The Danish Red Cross is going to visit Theresienstadt, so maybe something will come in." At this moment, Pug felt that the time seemed to have gone wrong, and he was reliving a past scene.He realized that Rhoda's remark, "You know, there's a letter from Byron," aroused this feeling in him.They had also sat drinking Armagnac in the dim twilight before the war, the day Admiral Prieber assigned him the post of Naval Attaché in Berlin. "You know, there's a letter from Byron," Rhoda once said.He was equally relieved that they hadn't heard from him for months.That was the first letter he had mentioned Natalie.That day, Warren announced, he had submitted his application for flight training.That day, Madeleine wanted to go to New York instead of going to class, but he finally stopped her.Looking back now, that day was a turning point. "Didn't I say, Rhoda, that I was going to tell you all about any private conversation I had with Peters?" "Yes?" Rhoda sat up. "We talked a little bit." She took a swig of brandy. "Go on." Pug related the conversation in the dark box on the train.Rhoda kept sipping nervously the brandy.She let out a breath when he said that Peters had quieted down and started snoring. "Hi! You're so nice," she said. "I'm counting on you, Pug. Thank you, and God bless you." "It didn't end there, Ro." She stared at her husband with wide eyes, her face pale and tense in the dim light. "Didn't you say he was asleep?" "Yes. I woke up early and crept out of the room to have some breakfast. The waiter brought me orange juice. Just then your colonel came, clean-shaven and fully dressed. Neat, he sat down with me. It was just the two of us in the dining car. He asked for a cup of coffee, and right away he said—very serious and serene—oh guess you were in Hobby last night The doctor is not willing to answer me directly on the question.'” "Oh, God. What do you say?" "Wan Cheng didn't expect that at all, you know. So I said: Oh, how can I be more frank?" It's always the same thing. Then he answered me like this-I tried to quote him Saying—'I didn't mean to cross-examine you, Pug. I didn't want to dump Rhoda either. But I thought I should know the facts. A marriage shouldn't start with a lie. If you get a chance to tell Rhoda Da, please tell her so. It may help dispel the suspicion.'" "How do you answer that?" Her voice trembled, and her hands trembled a little as she refilled her glass. "I said, 'There's no air of suspicion to get rid of, or it's in your heart. If malicious anonymous letters can get you under the rug, you don't deserve the love of any woman, let alone Rhoda's. gone.'" "Well done, dear, well done." "I'm not sure. He looked straight at me and said, 'All right, Pug. ’ Then he changed the subject, talked about business, and never mentioned you again. " Rhoda took a swig of his wine. "I'm done. You're not a liar, Pug, though God knows you did your best." "Rhoda can lie, and sometimes I lie very well." "On duty!" She waved her hand up contemptuously. "That's not what I'm talking about now." She finished her drink, poured another glass, and said, "I'm screwed, that's all. That damned woman! Don't ask who she is, I could kill her— - Oh!" The wine glass was full. "You'll be dead drunk." "Why don't you get drunk?" "Rhoda, he said he didn't want to abandon you." "No. He'll marry me. A man of honor, one way or another. I'll probably have to let him go. What else can I do? But I'm all ruined in the end." "Why don't you tell him the truth, Rhoda?" Rhoda sat there, staring at him, without answering. "I mean it. Look at Madeline and Sim. She told him. They couldn't be happier." She said, with some of her old soft sarcasm, "Pug, you dear fool, what's the comparison? I'm an old monster, for God's sake. Sim isn't thirty years old, Madeleine is a pretty girl again. It would have been very pleasant for Huck to come to haunt me, but at our age we're mostly sensible. Now I'm in a dilemma. If I tell the truth, it's over; No, it's over. I'm a good wife, you know; I know I can make him happy. But he must keep such a perfect image of me. That's all." "It's an illusion, Lo." "What's wrong with fantasizing?" Rhoda's voice changed, appearing a little nervous. "I'm sorry, I'm going to bed. Thank you, honey. Thank you for doing what you can for me. You're such a nice person, and I love you for that." They stood up.Rhoda took a light step or two forward, put her arms around him, pressed herself against his body, and kissed him emotionally, smelling of brandy.They haven't kissed like this in a year.As far as this intimacy is concerned, it still worked.Pug couldn't help but hug her a little tighter, reacting. She laughed hoarsely, and broke away slightly. "Keep it for Pamela, good man." "Pamela turned me down." Rhoda's body stiffened in his arms, his eyes were wide open. "Is that what was said in the letter that came last week? She won't!" "yes." "By God, how tight-lipped you are. For what? How could she? Is she going to marry Burner-Walker?" "Not yet. Burner-Walker was wounded in India. They came back to England. She nursed him and—Rhoda, she turned me down. That's all." Rhoda giggled gruffly. "Did you accept it?" "Why can't I accept it?" "Honey, I'm so drunk to show you what to do. Go after her! That's all she wants." "I don't think she is. The letter is pretty firm." "We're all like that. I say, I'm pretty drunk. You might have to help me up the stairs." "Success, let's go." "I was just joking." She patted his arm lightly. "Drink up your brandy, my dear, and enjoy the moonlight. I can go," "Is it really worth it?" "Got up. Good night, dear." Rhoda kissed him lightly with icy lips, and staggered into the house. When Pug came upstairs nearly an hour later, Rhoda's door was wide open.It was dark in the bedroom.The door had not been opened like this since his return from Tehran. "Pug, is that you?" "it's me." "Well, good night to you again, my dear." Totally pleasing tones.Rhoda was a signal sender, not a talker.Pug saw the signal clearly.Clearly, with Peters' suspicions, Pam's refusal, and the joy Madeline's happiness brings to the family, she has reassessed her chances.This was his original marriage, calling him back.Rhoda This is the last attempt. "They do whatever it takes," Peters once said.That's true.And it's a powerful tool.All he had to do was step through the door and walk into the still-unforgotten scent of that dark room. He walked through the door, his eyes wet. "Good night, Rhoda."