Part 28 (1/2)
He had just finished putting on the shoulder holster when she ca hiun into the holster He looked up into theand Saw her He nodded approvingly ”That's a right pretty dress you have on”
”Thank you” She felt pleased that he had noticed It was her very favorite Beige and black Made her look sHe He finished knotting his tie ”You don't look too bad yerself”
He touched the bandage on his forehead ”Except for this”
”On'y a few one” She crossed the room for her coat while he put on his jacket ”Daniel”
He turned ”Yes?”
”Maybe I oughtn't to ask, but what are you runnin'
away from?” She tried to keep the nervousness she felt fro”
”But you bought a gun”
He turned away fro He buttoned his jacket and reached for his hat She came close to him
”You don't have to tell me if'n you don't want But if yer in trouble, mebbe I kin help”
He reached for her hand and pressed it gently ”I'm not in trouble Not with the law, not with anybody And I'o off and think”
”An' a gun helps you think better?”
”No” He laughed ”But I'o some men in a car took me as I came out of my office For three days they drove me around while they decided what to do with me They could have killedI could do about it Finally, they threw round around ht they'd killed me, and I was so scared I shi+t inthat never happened to eant York's squad in France and saw lots of death there I ht'then and there that nobody would ever again take ht”
”I don't understand What kind of a business are you in anyway that people would want to do a thing like that to you? Only gangsters have things like that happen to theanizer,” he said
”I don't knohat that is,” she said
”I'nanization of new unions in different industries' ”Are you one o' them Communists I been readin' about in the papers, then?”
He laughed again and shook his head ”Nothing like that Most of the h I myself lean toward the Democrats”
''I never heard of nothin' like that before,” she said
''Co her toward the door 'TU try to explain it to you over dinner”
''Looks too expensive,” he said ”We'd do better off the main streets”
They found a se was a dollar a night with bath included It was a new kind of hotel Motel, they called it You parked your car right in front of your roo she noticed when they entered the rooerator and dishes ”Hoould you like ht?”
He opened his valise and took out a bottle of whiskey He pulled the cork with his teeth, then took a long swig He put down the bottle without speaking
”Youin restaurants as I aood cook an' Fd like to make dinner for you”
He took another pull at the bottle, still without speaking
”I saw a market on the next block,” she said ”I kin run over there and git the fixin's You git into a hot bath an' rest yourself from all the drivin'”
”Sure you want to?” he asked
She nodded
He reached into his pocket and gave her a ten-dollar bill together with the car keys ”Get ars while you're at it”
She gave hih already”
Quickly she went out the door He stood there for aup, then the car pulling away He took another drink, then wearily began to undress He threw his clothes over a chair and naked went into the bathroom and turned on the water in the tub He went back into the other rooar from his pocket and lit it He rubbed his cheek reflectively He needed another shave He took his razor and shaving soap from his suitcase He saw her valise near theHe went over to it, picked it up and put it on a luggage rack, then stared out theThe raht He watched it for a moment, then went back, picked up the bottle of whiskey and went into the bathroom
The tub was almost fiill He pulled a chair close to the tub, put an ashtray and the bottle of whiskey on it and got into the tub The water was hot and it seeped into his bones He took another drink, then put the cigar in his ainst the ri
California He had to be crazy What was he doing here, anyway? There was nothing for him to do out here All the action was back East He had read in yesterday's paper that Lewis and Murray were setting up a Steelworkers Organizing Committee That here he should be If he were there, he would be right in the middle of it
He reached for the bottle of whiskey and took a long pull, then put the bottle back on the chkir and leaned back with a sigh He had to be crazy, all right For even thinking about being back East, He'd probably draw the shi+t end of the stick as usual and wind up getting his ass kicked off in the field He had had twenty years of that, and that was enough From the very first time he had met Phil Murray and Bill Foster back in 1919
He'd just been discharged fro US Steel plant in Pittsburgh They'd fixed hi from the belt around his waist He was one of a squad of twenty h as nails and ran his squad on strict army discipline
The first two ate eight hours a day and watch the workers coed They were mostly Hunkies and Polacks frolish They see any trouble, even if they didn't seem to se
Now they never smiled at all, and when they looked at him there was an expression of sullen resento to after his shi+ft was over, they would fall silent when he came in for his drink and quietly move away from him until he was alone in a small open space
One day the owner of the bar called him to one side
He was a small Italian who spoke with an accent that could be cut with a knife ”You a good-a boy, I Danny,” he said ''I know that But do-a me a favor
Don't come-a in the bar no more”
''Hey, Tony,” he said, astonished ''Why not?”
”There's a big-a trouble coettin' nervous They think you come-a to spy on them”
”shi+t,” he said ”How can I spy on the?”
”Do-a me a favor, Danny Don't come-a no ht the sergeant called aof his squad ”You fellers have been leadin' the easy life up to now But pretty soon you're goin' to have to earn your keep