CHAPTER EIGHT

Connie began to feel more and more helpless. She did not like Clifford anymore. She knew it. Those feelings she had once had for him: the feeling that he had power over her, her physical attraction to him, they were all gone now. And there was no one in the world who could help her. Everyone was much too deeply involved in the craziness of society to care about anything more than money and love. All of society was crazy in this way, especially when it came to money.

Mrs Bolton was replacing Connie, more and more, as Clifford's caregiver and companion. She began to practice typing every day, so that she could help Sir Clifford with his stories. She also replaced Connie in the evening games that Clifford liked to play, usually card games and chess. Mrs Bolton was unfamiliar with many of the games, but Clifford gladly taught her the rules, for it made him feel intelligent and powerful. She loved being taught them, for she felt that she was learning more and more about upper class people.

They began to enjoy one another's company more and more. Mrs Bolton loved being with a man who wrote published books and was well known in society. And it is understandable that Clifford should have enjoyed all the attention Mrs Bolton showed him. He certainly never got that kind of attention from Connie.

Eventually they became so comfortable with one another that Mrs Bolton began to tell him stories about the people of Tevershall Village. She had all kinds of information to share about her many friends and acquaintances there, for she knew many people and gossip was always going around town among the older women. Clifford enjoyed listening to her stories, because it gave him ideas for his books. Connie then realized that his talent was nothing more than re-telling other peoples' stories. She found nothing great in that at all.

Listening to the nurse's stories made Connie feel a little ashamed. As interesting as they were, Mrs Bolton told them with great excitement, but without any sympathy or feelings of pity for the people involved. This upset Connie, for she realized that Clifford's books were written in the same way, cold and distant, with no feeling for the characters, who were nothing more than tools toward 'success' for him.

At the same time, however, Mrs Bolton's stories certainly brought life to the horribly dead-looking village of Tevershall. Hearing some of them, Connie was surprised to find how similar the poor people were to the rich. Both wanted money. The only difference between them was that some had it and even more did not.

All this talk of Tevershall started to make Clifford think more about the mines. Up until then, he had done his best to avoid them, but now he felt somehow a part of them. They were his family's, after all. He suddenly remembered the power that he could really have over the people of Tevershall and over all of the workers in the mines. He knew that the Tevershall mine was in terrible condition now, compared to other mines nearby. And he listened with great interest to Mrs Bolton's news about the neighboring mines.

"Tevershall used to be the best in England and now look at it. Just terrible! Everyone thinks it will be shut down in a couple of years or so. Then what will happen to this poor little town? I don't even want to think about it. Those new mines, they've got all new equipment and some kind of chemical works, which they say is better than just burning the coal. I guess they're making all kinds of money from that. But I don't really know much about it. It sure would be nice if someone could get Tevershall up and running again. Show all those people who are leaving town how foolish they were to give up on us!"

Clifford suddenly saw the world clearly. He recognized that success was not only to be found in writing books, but in the physical world, as well. He had been involved in the soft side of success, but now there was this dark and dirty side of it to consider, as well. And this side seemed more admirable to Clifford. These were real men making real money the hard way, with their hands and muscle, even with their blood. He felt power suddenly flowing through his body. He was a man again, thanks to Mrs Bolton.

The next day he visited the mines and took a tour of them with the manager, who showed him the machinery and different drilling areas. Then he returned home and started to study the mining industry. He learned all the new mining methods and read all kinds of reports about experiments that succeeded and failed. All of this seemed much more interesting to Clifford than art and literature. He was excited by the mining industry and now he wanted more than anything to bring Tevershall back to life.

He felt more alive now than ever. Looking back at his artistic work, it all seemed boring and empty to him. Now he could really do something with his life. Now he could make a difference in the world.

Soon, with the help of a talented engineer, Clifford started to experiment with energy at the mines. Based on a lot of modern research from Germany, he found a way to possibly bring more efficient power and electricity to Tevershall. He saw success approaching in the distance and this excited him a great deal.

(end of section)