The black letters spoke to me:
MR. AND MRS. CLAYTON MARK
DIE IN STRANGE MOTOR MISHAP
L. I. Garage Man Held
Well-Known Society Leaders Crushed to Death
as Front Wheel Flies Off
Only Son is Dr. John Mark of Institute
Well, John Mark, here is fact, whatever truth lie under.
Mother and father are dead. You’ll no more see them. They are bodies arrogantly aloof from your erectness, from the touch of your longing. The white head man who said: “I am your slave” ... that’s a fact, too ... doomed the car that slew your mother and your father. You possess half a million ... a fact! ... and you love Mildred, you can marry Mildred. Is that the truth? Philip LaMotte is dead. The white head man who said: “I am your slave,” rose ... you saw how he rises ... rose above Philip LaMotte and with your surgeon’s science struck him dead. Philip LaMotte dead, your mother and your father dead: —I can marry Mildred?