Son, I hope you will never surrender to that awfulcraving. Did you think enough
of himthis summer to send him a post-card? Eliza, in the rush andbusiness of
the summer trade, had added a few practical lines.
Theyre taking her into the
stream to get it on.
He kissed the boy with his bristlingcropped mustache.
The
wretched conspiracy in the face of death filled himwith horror. Eugene reeled
away with his valise, and with a head full ofexploding rockets. Sodont wonder
if your kids arent grateful to you.
But we are all part of the Army now;we are
all enlisted in the Service of Liberty. Youre notthe one who has to pay the
bills.
Ah-h, said Ben, with an ugly sneer, you little fool!
The supper hour
came, upon the heated pier, with the sudden noiseof silence.
He found Eliza
busy over several bright bubbling pots of water onthe gas-stove. To think
thatthis should be put upon me, old and sick as I am.
By God, I know the
valueof a dollar better than you do. He maybe here long after some of the rest
of us are under the sod.
Once or twice again, in the dying summer, Eugene went
to Norfolk.
The lights were dull and weary: a fewburned with slow lust in the
cheap station-hotels.
Eugene pulled on his shoes and dropped to the floor,
stuffing hiscollar and tie into a coat pocket. I wantyou to get in on some of
the easy money. The checkerordered a bottle of milk, a box of crackers, and a
big block ofcheese.
He was a fine healthy man in the prime oflife. If I had
thought ofthis long ago, I would have been afraid.
Im afraid B-B-B-Ben is one
sick boy, Luke began. Theyre taking her into the stream to get it on. If that
boydies its because he c-c-c-couldnt keep warm. Ah-h, said Ben, with an ugly
sneer, you little fool! But, since theeditor was enlisted in the corps, the
entire work of publicationfell to the boy.
What the hells good has it ever been
to any one? Id go back and sayhello before you see Ben if I were you. He
thrilled to the glory of the secretlife. In the Greeks lunchroom a man sat
sprawled faceddownward on the counter.
Young men who wereeighteen years old
were being admitted into the officers trainingcorps. He was possessed of the
inspiration formurder. The tug came at nightfall and took him off. He
wasthinner and more like old ivory than ever.
Eliza, in the rush andbusiness of
the summer trade, had added a few practical lines.
In that G-g-g-god dam cold
barn, Luke burst out.
He lit a cigarette to show his indifference.
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