Page 88 - The Great Gatsby

Wilson's revenge 79
The Creat Gatshy
78

But Wilson srood rhcre a long time, his face closc to rhe
window, staring knowingly into rhc half-light.
By six o'clock Michaelis was exhausted, and very grateful
when anorher neighbor carne to sit with Wilson. Michaelis wenr
home to slcep, and when he hurricd back to the garage four
hours latcr, Wilson was gonc.
Afterwards it wasn't diffü:ult to discover whcre he went, ar
least unril midday. Therc werc boys who saw a man 'acting sort
of crazy', and motorists at whom he starcd oddly from the sidc
of rhe road. Then for tl1ree hours he di,appearcd from vicw.
The police supposed that he spent rhar time going from garage
to garage, asking about the yellow cae But pcrhaps he had an
easier, surcr way oí finding out wha1 he wanred ro know. By half­
past two he was in Wesr Egg, where he asked someone the way
to Gatsby's house. So by that time he knew Gatsby's name.

Ar two o'clock Gatsby pur on his barhing-suit and rold the butler
ro bring any phone message to him ar the pool. He took a rubber
mattress that his guests had used during the summer, and walked
off among the ycllowing trees toward the pool.
No telcphone messagc arrived, bur rhe butler waitcd for ir
until four o'clock - unril long after there was anyone to give it
to if it carne. l have an idea that Garsby himself didn't bclieve
it would come, and perhaps he no longer cared. Tf that was
true, he must have felr 1hat he had lose rhe old warm world,
and paid a high price for living too long with a single dream.
He must have looked up through frightening lcaves ar a new
world, full of poor ghosts breathing dreams ... like that ashen,
fanrastic figure coming slowly toward him rhrough rhe trees.
Up ar rhe house, Gatsby's driver hcard rhc shots, but
Wilson '.s dazed eyes /ooked 011/ of the window at the ash-hea/JS. :ifterwards he only said he didn't think anything much about