sound. People stood silently in dooreps.
t Jake ared back at the hairy back of his hand.
At t block. It omobiles. Rusted pieces of macorn inner tubes still littered trailer , and near-by ly covered h canvas.
Jake approactle younguns in overalls stood before ted on a box, a Negro man droe suns eaced ce.
Jake cick hem slowly.
?fit?’
t fingers between ongue. all I know, Capn.’
heres he now?’
largest wagon.’
Jake slipped off ie as affed it into . to set in t. Above tops tood smoking a cigarette by op of ared at Jake h gray, flabby eyes.
quot;You the manager?’
*Utersons my name.’
I come about this mornings paper.’
*Yea no greenhorn. I need a experienced mechanic.’
I got plenty of experience, Jake said.
you ever done?’
tve omobile assembly ss of different things.’
Patterson guided oly covered flying-jinny.
tionless ic in te afternoon sun. tatically, pierced by t bars. t Jake ery s dingy rump and tic, s peeled from ts. tionless merry-go-round seemed to Jake like something in a liquor dream.
I a experienced meco run tterson said.
?I can do t all right.’
If s a terson explained. Youre in ctraction. Besides looking after t to keep t to be sure t everybody gets on icket. You got to be sure t tickets are O.K. and not some old dance-icket. Everybody s to ride t niggers ry to put over on you o keep time.’
Patterson led o ted out ts. ed a lever and to cut t of topped, Jake asked a feions and operated the mechanism himself.
t on me, Patterson said o t. I alo break in a ne?’
tomorroernoon. e run six days and nig four and sting up at to come about t t takes about a er to fold up for t. about pay? twelve dollars.’
Jake nodded, and Patterson a dead-we, boneless y fingernails.
It e lot. t te moon. Dusk softened tline of treet. Jake did
not return immediately t ain smells, certain voices ance, made op s noy street. ically, jerking from one direction to anot very lig aking place in ored so continuously in em set in a reaction. reets reet, and as Jake o rise nearer to do a teleptled ably, crossing urkisaco o himself.
?Resentment is t precious floy. Yeah.’
It o talk. the sound of his voice gave him pleasure.
tones seemed to ec eaco return to tes quiet room and tell s t were in his mind.
It o to talk e. But he was lonesome.
treet before he coming evening.
Occasionally men passed along treet very close to alking in monotones to eac rising around t ep. Or girls passed by toget numbly for some time, and at last to and walked on.
eavers Lane rembling patc in tirely dark and t on t steps ions from a neigo see by. A of a er into treet. A fe splashe peaceful sound
of a chair slowly rocking.
Jake stopped before a toget steps. A pale yello no ss and ed. One of tall and loose-jointed.
t and trousers.
raw on his knee.
hey, Jake said.
tared at h mill-sallow, dead-pan faces.
t did not cions. Jake pulled target from and passed it around.
dotom step and took off good to .
orking no of time.’
Jake picked bet t to tell it to somebody.’
treet ttes ill air. A little youngun passing along treet stopped and opened bis fly to make er.
tent around ts Sunday, tell all t.’
Its not t kind. Its better. Its truth.’
kind?’
Jake sucked ac anser a wrikes here?’
Once, said tall man. trikes around six years ago.’
happened?’
t and dropped tub of te to t quit ed ty cents a t. t reets all day. So t out trucks, and in a oo get a job.’
Jake turned so t teps
above o raise o look into t it make you mad? he asked.
how do you mean—mad?’
t.
Camigo t door room tand. In ted sleeping in a car.
I rucks, tall man said.
t makes no difference. Im trying to tell youis plain and simple. tards s quiet. See? So s and. t it and see people and ricket-legged young-uns, dont it make you mad? Dont it?’
Jakes face rao laugh.
Go on and snicker. Sit t your sides open.’
t t one. Jake brus from t and put on s igorted s all youre good for. I til you rot! As iffly doreet, ter and catcalls still followed him.
treet ered on a corner, fondling t. e and ed urgently to go back and sit and candy store afternoon ed a basket of fruit y cents, so t of the
store t seemed a funny one to take a hem off hungrily.
Singer by t before able. t as Jake it, urned on and tcer beside table. t on t seemed t te come in. o table and puso one side.
s, and o question Jake about t on table. For ternoon, he said.
tto and find an octopus and put socks on it.’
te smiled, but Jake could not tell if t s tried to understand tumped. tly.
I got a job ternoon of so run the flying-jinny.’
te seemed not at all surprised. into t and broug a bottle of t room. t above ion of ure of iced many times before on tcin mugs—acraggling almost up to e o ering again the kaleidoscope of drunkenness.
Excitement made acremble jerkily. ened a wide, searching gaze on Singer.
I bet Im tos been mad— Im
talking about really mean mad—for ten solid long years. I damn near got in a fig a little seems to me like I mig dont know.’
Singer pusotle and rubbed top of his head.
You see, its like Im ted man. I been in some of t libraries in try. I read. I read all time. I read books t tell t trutcase I ein Veblen and sucers as tudy t. I knoed on every page. to begin h I like words.
Dialectic materialism—Jesuitical prevarication— Jake rolled ty—teleological propensity.’
te wiped ly folded handkerchief.
But ting at is t make tand, w does he do?’
Singer reac to t it firmly into Jakes bruised drunk, spilled drops of rousers. But listen! ion. ttle of grape s in t, are all products of profit and loss. A fello live giving ance to meanness.
Somebody o a frazzle for every mout and every stitco know.
Everybody is blind, dumb, and blunt-upid and mean.’
Jake pressed s to emples. s ions and get control of ted to go berserk. ed to get out and figly reet.
Still looking at ient interest, te took out e very carefully on a slip of paper, Are you Democrat or Republican? and passed table. Jake crumpled it in o
turn around even read.
es face to steady did not seem to move. t bro t ized to be riotous and felt calm again. to understand all t to say and to er a weady again.
You get it, I mean.’
From afar off t, silver ring of church bells.
t door and tle summer blue. It Jake ay il he found a room.
eput a mattress on t removing any of antly asleep.
JL AR from treet, in one of tions of toor Benedict Mady Copeland sat in c nine oclock and t no ove. Doctor Copeland sat close to it, leaning forraigcove s purple against ig ook on a bluis motionless in tion for a long time. Even ared from beacles, did not c o o tove to make out t. tonig ricate play of ideas and t as rong, true purpose be t understood.
Often at nig room ient t disturbed. And after tary sitting in tc o side and from tia came.
Doctor Copeland kne outside t t turning on t t door. step out on t stood in t reet. tor Copelands from any ot solidly of brick and stucco.
Around t yard t fence. Portia said good-bye to te and knocked on the screen door.
his?’
t togeto tchen.
You ric lig dont seem natural ting in this.’
Doctor Copeland ted table and t. ts me, he said.
tcable tand—on te. Doctor Copeland uprig first Portia sat stiffly, too.
ter rong resemblance to eac noses, t Portias skin was very ligo hers.
It sure is roasting in o me you would
let t when you cooking.’
If you prefer o my office, Doctor Copeland said.
I be all rig prefer.’
Doctor Copeland adjusted together?’
Portia relaxed and slipped out of s along just fine.’
illiam still boards h you?’
Sure ia said. You see—us . I buys all t of my money. And illie—ends to all of our curday Nigs.tJAKSUINDoctor Copeland sat il s. t s—beloer in color t of yelloer.
forgot w I brougia said. ?’
Doctor Copeland al eaco be filtered t eaten.’
Portia opened a paper sack scable. I done broug maybe a piece of side meat, too. to be seasoned . You dont care if t cooked in meat, do you?’
It does not matter.’
You still dont eat nair meat?’
*No. For purely private reasons I am a vegetarian, but it does not matter if you ’