Free The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway Page A

again until she came back from San Sebastian. One card came from her from there. It had a picture of the Concha, and said: “Darling. Very quiet and healthy. Love to all the chaps. Brett.”

    Nor did I see Robert Cohn again. I heard Frances had left for England and I had a note from Cohn saying he was going out in the country for a couple of weeks, he did not know where, but that he wanted to hold me to the fishing trip in Spain we had talked about last winter. I could reach him always, he wrote, through his bankers.

    Brett was gone, I was not bothered by Cohn’s troubles, I rather enjoyed not having to play tennis, there was plenty of work to do, I went often to the races, dined with friends, and put in some extra time at the office getting things ahead so I could leave it in charge of my secretary when Bill Gorton and I should shove off to Spain the end of June. Bill Gorton arrived, put up a couple of days at the flat and went off to Vienna. He was very cheerful and said the States were wonderful. New York was wonderful. There had been a grand theatrical season and a whole crop of great young light heavyweights. Anyone of them was a good prospect to grow up, put on weight and trim Dempsey. Bill was very happy. He had made a lot of money on his last book, and was going to make a lot more. We had a good time while he was in Paris, and then he went off to Vienna. He was coming back in three weeks and we would leave for Spain to get in some fishing and go to the fiesta at Pamplona. He wrote that Vienna was wonderful. Then a card from Budapest: “Jake, Budapest is wonderful.” Then I got a wire: “Back on Monday.”

    Monday evening he turned up at the flat. I heard his taxi stop and went to the window and called to him; he waved and started upstairs carrying his bags. I met him on the stairs, and took one of the bags.

    â€œWell,” I said, “I hear you had a wonderful trip.”

    â€œWonderful,” he said. “Budapest is absolutely wonderful.”

    â€œHow about Vienna?”

    â€œNot so good, Jake. Not so good. It seemed better than it was.”

    â€œHow do you mean?” I was getting glasses and a siphon.

    â€œTight, Jake. I was tight.”

    â€œThat’s strange. Better have a drink.”

    Bill rubbed his forehead. “Remarkable thing,” he said. “Don’t know how it happened. Suddenly it happened.”

    â€œLast long?”

    â€œFour days, Jake. Lasted just four days.”

    â€œWhere did you go?”

    â€œDon’t remember. Wrote you a postcard. Remember that perfectly.”

    â€œDo anything else?”

    â€œNot so sure. Possible.”

    â€œGo on. Tell me about it.”

    â€œCan’t remember. Tell you anything I could remember.”

    â€œGo on. Take that drink and remember.”

    â€œMight remember a little,” Bill said. “Remember something about a prize fight. Enormous Vienna prize fight. Had a nigger in it. Remember the nigger perfectly.”

    â€œGo on.”

    â€œWonderful nigger. Looked like Tiger Flowers, only four times as big. All of a sudden everybody started to throw things. Not me. Nigger’d just knocked local boy down. Nigger put up his glove. Wanted to make a speech. Awful noble-looking nigger. Started to make a speech. Then local white boy hit him. Then he knocked white boy cold. Then everybody commenced to throw chairs. Nigger went home with us in our car. Couldn’t get his clothes. Wore my coat. Remember the whole thing now. Big sporting evening.”

    â€œWhat happened?”

    â€œLoaned the nigger some clothes and went around with him to try and get his money. Claimed nigger owed them money on account of wrecking hall. Wonder who translated? Was it me?”

    â€œProbably it wasn’t you.”

    â€œYou’re right. Wasn’t me at all. Was another fellow. Think we called him the local Harvard man. Remember him now. Studying