OCR Text |
Show 33 angry, but it left him too quickly. He sighed. "You are a woman," he said to Bush. "You live in this house. You're not out there. You don't understand. The people in the apartments have no jobs. There are none. I can't put them in the street. And I cannot deny my friends. They'll pay me back. I'll get it back jd»Maskxx£ double. This will end. I just have to hold out." "You haven't seen one of your friends since you lent out all your money," said Bush. "And people who don't have to pay rent don't have to look for work. Don't tell me I don't understand." She sat up in the bed and met Stanley eye to eye. "Stanley, there is no holding out. Sell the apartments and land to keep the store, or sell the store and find work to keep the land. You're going to lose everything by holding out. Do something!" Stanley went into the dawn, resolute, and got drunk. One morning a few weeks later, just after Jon left the store to go to the xxxjXXXEXHHi East side public high school, because Holy Rosary could no longer afford to keep its high school open, Roger Strong, a millionaire real estate man from one of the old families in town came to visit Stanley at xxixx PELL'S. He wore a fine wool suit and vest, a little derby and a diamond clip to hold his tie. His mustache was trimmed to the corners of his lips. He gave Stanley a cigar and shared a drink from his flask as they sat in one a£xxx# of PELL"S living room displays. Strong smiled at Stanley with closed lips and nodded. Stanley kept the cigar in his mouth and concentrated on Strong's tie pin. "Things are bad everywhere," said Strong. Stanley nodded. He could bargain with Poles. He knew them. He understood every word they never said. But this type of man he didn't know. "When things get really tough," said strong,"then sometimes even the very tough go down. It's not simply a matter of will power, or strength. I'm not condescending. I'm talking straight to you, as a hard working businessman." "Those of us xx with assets will hold out, I suppose," said Stanley. "What we have will be worth more after all this, then vie can start over." Strong breathed heavily and drank. Stanley felt his xi eyes like x-ryays, "J dnn't think there can be any holding out," he said. |