100%: the Story of a Patriot

by Upton Sinclair

  Then again, it appeared that very soon after the explosion some ofGuffey's men had taken a sledge hammer and smashed the sidewalk,also the wall of the building where the explosion had taken place.This was to fit in with the theory of the suit-case bomb, and theyhad taken a number of photographs of the damage. But now ittranspired that somebody had taken a photograph of the spot beforethis extra damage had been done, and that the defense was inpossession of this photograph. Who had taken this photograph, andhow could he be "fixed"? If Peter could help in such matters, hewould come out of the Goober case a rich man.

  Peter would go away from these meetings with McGivney with his headfull of visions, and would concentrate all his faculties upon thecollecting of information. He and Jennie and Sadie talked about thecase incessantly, and Jennie and Sadie would tell freely everythingthey had heard outside. Others would come in--young McCormick, andMiriam Yankovitch, and Miss Nebbins, the secretary to Andrews, andthey would tell what they had learned and what they suspected, andwhat the defense was hoping to find out. They got hold of a cousinof the man who had taken the photograph on the roof; they wereworking on him, to get him to persuade the photographer to tell thetruth. Next day Donald Gordon would come in, cast down with despair,because it had been learned that one of the most valuable witnessesof the defense, a groceryman, had once pleaded guilty to sellingspoilt cheese! Thus every evening, before he went to sleep, Peterwould jot down notes, and sew them up inside his jacket, and once aweek he would go to the meeting with McGivney, and the two wouldargue and bargain over the value of Peter's news.

  Section 23

  It had become a fascinating game, and Peter would never have tiredof it, but for the fact that he had to stay all day in the housewith little Jennie. A honeymoon is all right for a few weeks, but noman can stand it forever. Little Jennie apparently never tired ofbeing kissed, and never seemed satisfied that Peter thoroughly lovedher. A man got thru with his love-making after awhile, but a woman,it appeared, never knew how to drop the subject; she was alwayslooking before and after, and figuring consequences andresponsibilities, her duty and her reputation and all the rest ofit. Which, of course, was a bore.

  Jennie was unhappy because she was deceiving Sadie; she wanted totell Sadie, and yet somehow it was easier to go on concealing thanadmit that one had concealed. Peter didn't see why Sadie had to betold at all; he didn't see why things couldn't stay just as theywere, and why he and his sweetheart couldn't have some fun now andthen, instead of always being sentimental, always having agoniesover the class war, to say nothing of the world war, and theprospects of America becoming involved in it.

  This did not mean that Peter was hard and feelingless. No, whenPeter clasped trembling little Jennie in his arms he was very deeplymoved; he had a real sense of what a gentle and good little soul shewas. He would have been glad to help her--but what could he do aboutit? The situation was such that he could not plead with her, hecould not try to change her; he had to give himself up to all hercrazy whims and pretend to agree with her. Little Jennie was by herweakness marked for destruction, and what good would it do for himto go to destruction along with her?

  Peter understood clearly that there are two kinds of people in theworld, those who eat, and those who are eaten; and it was hisintention to stay among the former, group. Peter had come in histwenty years of life to a definite understanding of the thingscalled "ideas" and "causes" and "religions." They were bait to catchsuckers; and there is a continual competition between the suckers,who of course don't want to be caught, and those people of superiorwits who want to catch them, and therefore are continually inventingnew and more plausible and alluring kinds of bait. Peter had by nowheard enough of the jargon of the "comrades" to realize that theirswas an especially effective kind; and here was poor little Jennie,stuck fast on the hook, and what could Peter do about it?

  Yet, this was Peter's first love, and when he was deeply thrilled,he understood the truth of Guffey's saying that a man in love wantsto tell the truth. Peter would have the impulse to say to her: "Oh,drop all that preaching, and give yourself a rest! Let's you and meenjoy life a bit."

  Yes, it would be all he could do to keep from saying this--despitethe fact that he knew it would ruin everything. Once little Jennieappeared in a new silk dress, brought to her by one of the richladies whose heart was touched by her dowdy appearance. It was ofsoft grey silk--cheap silk, but fresh and new, and Peter had neverhad anything so fine in his arms before. It matched Jennie's greyeyes, and its freshness gave her a pink glow; or was it that Peteradmired her, and loved her more, and so brought the blood to hercheeks? Peter had an impulse to take her out and show her off, andhe pressed his face into the soft folds of the dress and whispered,"Say kid, some day you an me got to cut all this hard luck businessfor a bit!"

  He felt little Jennie stiffen, and draw away from him; so quickly hehad to set to work to patch up the damage. "I want you to get well,"he pleaded. "You're so good to everybody--you treat everybody wellbut yourself!"

  It had been something in his tone rather than his actual words thathad frightened the girl. "Oh Peter!" she cried. "What does it matterabout me, or about any other one person, when millions of young menare being shot to fragments, and millions of women and children arestarving to death!"

  So there they were, fighting the war again; Peter had to take up herburden, be a hero, and a martyr, and a "Red." That same afternoon,as fate willed it, three "wobblies" out of a job came to call; andoh, how tired Peter was of these wandering agitators--insufferable"grouches!" Peter would want to say: "Oh, cut it out! What you callyour `cause' is nothing but your scheme to work with your tonguesinstead of with a pick and a shovel." And this would start animaginary quarrel in Peter's mind. He would hear one of the fellowsdemanding, "How much pick and shovel work you ever done?" Anothersaying, "Looks to me like you been finding the easy jobs whereveryou go!" The fact that this was true did not make Peter's irritationany less, did not make it easier for him to meet with Comrade Smith,and Brother Jones, and Fellow-worker Brown just out of jail, andlisten to their hard-luck stories, and watch them take from thetable food that Peter wanted, and--the bitterest pill of all--letthem think that they were fooling him with their patter!

  The time came when Peter wasn't able to stand it any longer. Shut upin the house all day, he was becoming as irritable as a chained dog.Unless he could get out in the world again, he would surely givehimself away. He pleaded that the doctors had warned him that hishealth would not stand indoor life; he must get some fresh air. Sohe got away by himself, and after that he found things much easier.He could spend a little of his money; he could find a quiet cornerin a restaurant and get himself a beefsteak, and eat all he wantedof it, without feeling the eyes of any "comrades" resting upon himreprovingly. Peter had lived in a jail, and in an orphan asylum, andin the home of Shoemaker Smithers, but nowhere had he fared someagerly as in the home of the Todd sisters, who were contributingnearly everything they owned to the Goober defense, and to the"Clarion," the Socialist paper of American City.

  Section 24

  Peter went to see Andrews, the lawyer, and asked for a job; hewanted to be active in the case, he said, so he was set to work inthe offices of the Defense Committee, where he heard people talkingabout the case all day, and he could pick up no end of valuabletips. He made himself agreeable and gained friends; before long hewas intimate with one of the best witnesses of the defense, anddiscovered that this man had once been named as co-respondent in adivorce case. Peter found out the name of the woman, and Guffey setto work to bring her to American City. The job was to be donecleverly, without the woman's even knowing that she was being used.She would have a little holiday, and the spell of old love wouldreassert itself, and Guffey would have a half dozen men to springthe trap--and there would be a star witness of the Goober defenseclean down and out! "There's always something you can get them on!"said McGivney, and cheerfully paid Peter Gudge five hundred dollarsfor the information he had brought.

  Peter wou
ld have been wildly happy, but just at this moment adreadful calamity befell him. Jennie had been talking about marriagemore and more, and now she revealed to him a reason which mademarriage imperative. She revealed it with downcast eyes, withblushes and trembling; and Peter was so overcome with consternationthat he could not play the part that was expected of him. Hithertoin these love crises he had caught Jennie in his arms and comfortedher; but now for a moment he let her see his real emotions.

  Jennie promptly had a fit. What was the matter with him? Didn't hemean to marry her, as he had promised? Surely he must realize nowthat they could no longer delay! And Peter, who was not familiarwith the symptoms of hysterics, lost his head completely and couldthink of nothing to do but rush out of the house and slam the door.

  The more he considered it, the more clearly he realized that he wasin the devil of a predicament. As a servant of the Traction Trust,he had taken it for granted that he was immune to all legalpenalties and obligations; but here, he had a feeling, was a troublefrom which the powerful ones of the city would be unable to shieldtheir agent. Were they able to arrange it so that one could marry agirl, and then get out of it when one's job was done?

  Peter was so uneasy that he had to call up the office of Guffey andget hold of McGivney. This was dangerous, because the prosecutionwas tapping telephone wires, and they feared the defense might bedoing the same. But Peter took a chance; he told McGivney to comeand meet him at the usual place; and there they argued the matterout, and Peter's worst fears were confirmed. When he put theproposition up to McGivney, the rat-faced man guffawed in his face.He found it so funny that he did not stop laughing until he saw thathe was putting his spy into a rage.

  "What's the joke?" demanded Peter. "If I'm ruined, where'll you getany more information?"

  "But, my God!" said McGivney. "What did you have to go and get thatkind of a girl for?"

  "I had to take what I could," answered Peter. "Besides, they're allalike--they get into trouble, and you can't help it."

  "Sure, you can help it!" said McGivney. "Why didn't you ask longago? Now if you've got yourself tied up with a marrying proposition,it's your own lookout; you can't put it off on me."

  They argued back and forth. The rat-faced man was positive thatthere was no way Peter could pretend to marry Jennie and not havethe marriage count. He might get himself into no end of trouble andcertainly he would be ruined as a spy. What he must do was to paythe girl some money and send her somewhere to get fixed up. McGivneywould find out the name of a doctor to do the job.

  "Yes, but what excuse can I give her?" cried Peter. "I mean, why Idon't marry her!"

  "Make something up," said McGivney. "Why not have a wife already?"Then, seeing Peter's look of dismay: "Sure, you can fix that. I'llget you one, if you need her. But you won't have to take thattrouble--just tell your girl a hard luck story. You've got a wife,you thought you could get free from her, but now you find you can't;your wife's got wind of what you're doing here, and she's trying toblackmail you. Fix it up so your girl can't do anything on accountof hurting the Goober defense. If she's really sincere about it, shewon't disgrace you; maybe she won't even tell her sister."

  Peter hated to do anything like that. He had a vision of littleJennie lying on the sofa in hysterics as he had left her, and hedreaded the long emotional scene that would be necessary. However,it seemed that he must go thru with it; there was no better way thathe could think of. Also, he must be quick, because in a couple ofhours Sadie would be coming home from work, and it might be toolate.

  Section 25

  Peter hurried back to the Todd home, and there was white-facedlittle Jennie lying on the bed, still sobbing. One would think shemight have used up her surplus stock of emotions; but no, there isnever any limit to the emotions a woman can pour out. As soon asPeter had got fairly started on the humiliating confession that hehad a wife, little Jennie sprang up from the bed with a terrifiedshriek, and confronted him with a face like the ghost of an escapedlunatic. Peter tried to explain that it wasn't his fault, he hadreally expected to be free any day. But Jennie only clasped herhands to her forehead and screamed: "You have deceived me! You havebetrayed me!" It was just like a scene in the movies, the boredlittle devil inside Peter was whispering.

  He tried to take her hand and reason with her, but she sprang awayfrom him, she rushed to the other side of the room and stood there,staring at him as if she were some wild thing that he had in acorner and was threatening to kill. She made so much noise that hewas afraid that she would bring the neighbors in; he had to pointout to her that if this matter became public he would be ruinedforever as a witness, and thus she might be the means of sending JimGoober to the gallows.

  Thereupon Jennie fell silent, and it was possible for Peter to getin a word. He told her of the intrigues against him; the other sidehad sent somebody to him and offered him ten thousand dollars if hewould sell out the Goober defense. Now, since he had refused, theywere trying to blackmail him, using his wife. They had somehow cometo suspect that he was involved in a love affair, and this was to bethe means of ruining him.

  Jennie still would not let Peter touch, her, but she consented tosit down quietly in a chair, and figure out what they were going todo. Whatever happened, she said, they must do no harm to the Goobercase. Peter had done her a monstrous wrong in keeping the truth fromher, but she would suffer the penalty, whatever it might be; shewould never involve him.

  Peter started to explain; perhaps it wasn't so serious as shefeared. He had been thinking things over; he knew where PericlesPriam, his old employer, was living, and Pericles was rich now, andPeter felt sure that he could borrow two hundred dollars, and therewere places where little Jennie could go--there were ways to get outof this trouble--

  But little Jennie stopped him. She was only a child in some ways,but in others she was a mature woman. She had strange fixed ideas,and when you ran into them it was like running into a stone wall.She would not hear of the idea Peter suggested; it would be murder.

  "Nonsense," said Peter, echoing McGivney. "It's nothing; everybodydoes it." But Jennie was apparently not listening. She sat staringwith her wild, terrified eyes, and pulling at her dress with herfingers. Peter got to watching these fingers, and they got on hisnerves. They behaved like insane fingers; they manifested all theemotions which the rest of little Jennie was choking back andrepressing.

  "If you would only not take it so seriously!" Peter pleaded. "It's amiserable accident, but it's happened, and now we've got to make thebest of it. Some day I'll get free; some day I'll marry you."

  "Stop, Peter!" the girl whispered, in her tense voice. "I don't wantto talk to you any more, if that's all you have to say. I don't knowthat I'd be willing to marry you--now that I know you could deceiveme--that you could go on deceiving me day after day for months."

  Peter thought she was going to break out into hysterics again, andhe was frightened. He tried to plead with her, but suddenly shesprang up. "Go away!" she exclaimed. "Please go away and let mealone. I'll think it over and decide what to do myself. Whatever Ido, I won't disgrace you, so leave me alone, go quickly!"

  Section 26

  She drove him out of the house, and Peter went, though with manymisgivings. He wandered about the streets, not knowing what to dowith himself, looking back over the blunders he had made andtormenting himself with that most tormenting of all thoughts: howdifferent my life might have been, if only I had had sense enough todo this, or not to do that! Dinner time came, and Peter blew himselfto a square meal, but even that did not comfort him entirely. Hepictured Sadie coming home at this hour. Was Jennie telling her ornot?

  There was a big mass meeting called by the Goober Defense Committeethat evening, and Peter attended, and it proved to be the worstthing he could have done. His mind was in no condition to encounterthe fierce passions of this crowded assemblage. Peter had thepicture of himself being exposed and denounced; he wasn't sure yetthat it mightn't happen to him. And here was this meeting--thousandsof workingmen
, horny handed blacksmiths, longshoremen with shoulderslike barns and truckmen with fists like battering rams, long-hairedradicals of a hundred dangerous varieties, women who waved redhandkerchiefs and shrieked until to Peter they seemed like gorgonswith snakes instead of hair.

  Such were the mob-frenzies engendered by the Goober case; and Peterknew, of course, that to all these people he was a traitor, apoisonous worm, a snake in the grass. If ever they were to find outwhat he was doing--if for instance, someone were to rise up andexpose him to this crowd--they would seize him and tear him topieces. And maybe, right now, little Jennie was telling Sadie; andSadie would tell Andrews, and Andrews would become suspicious, andset spies on Peter Gudge! Maybe they had spies on him already, andknew of his meetings with McGivney!

  Haunted by such terrors, Peter had to listen to the tirades ofDonald Gordon, of John Durand, and of Sorensen, the longshoremen'sleader. He had to listen to exposure after exposure of the trickswhich Guffey had played; he had to hear the district attorney of thecounty denounced as a suborner of perjury, and his agents asblackmailers and forgers. Peter couldn't understand why such thingsshould be permitted--why these speakers were not all clapped intojail. But instead, he had to sit there and listen; he even had toapplaud and pretend to approve! All the other secret operatives ofthe Traction Trust and of the district attorney's office had tolisten and pretend to approve! In the hall Peter had met MiriamYankovich, and was sitting next to her. "Look," she said, "there's acouple of dicks over there. Look at the mugs on them!"