38
PARTISAN REVIEW
that sowbelly dean got a gang to beat you up, what could a fel–
low do but muscle in on the excitement?"
Lanky drummed his fingers on the windowsill. Maybe the
strings had been too tight. It might be best to loosen up and
let the swashbuckler find himself. This being slashed off sud–
denly without a cent was still too hard to bear.
Slumped back in his chair, Gordon drawled, "Lanky, what
can you expect of a fellow whose fatass father run away with
his plant to Pennsylvania? Yeh, if both of us hadn't helped
engineer the strike he'd still be frigging his men during work
hours and his girls day and night. His guts stink the air. What
can you expect of the son of such a son of a bitch?"
"Don't be a baby and go pitying yourself. The Party uses
even a pin on the road. You'll feel better about it when you
can sit in one place and not shove around like you got oats in
your behind. Forget your old man. Why in Russia they had a
Prince come over. You're far from being a Prince." And Lanky
let himself smile.
Gordon creaked up on his feet. He'd been sponging too
long on Lanky. His year's stay in New York no success. No
relief because he was single and an out-of-towner. He must find
some work in the country.
The two friends eyed each other. Lanky turned to his
desk wearily. "Don't forget to write."
Gordon grabbed his shabby gladstone bag and walked out.
He thumbed his way out of the city. He bummed his way thru
southern Pennsylvania, across the mountains. He got himself
a job as hand at the foot of the mountains.
Gordon was .the only hired man on the Hendrickson farm.
HendricksAA and ·his big-haunched Mennonite wife were friend–
ly people. Hendrickson considered the depression a cow that
had dried up in order finally to come in. He had switched over
to voting Democratic in a Republican county. But when Gordon
gave him a pamphlet on the Chicago Farm Convention which
pointed out that Roosevelt was the same old egg with a tricky
shell on it, Hendrickson shrugged his shoulders and read no
further.
Gordon was an expert dairyman and could handle a tractor
as easily as whipping a top. Evenings after chores he played
the harmonica or sang for them. Though there was a swell bar
at McFarlane's hotel in town, he kept away from it. He even
went to church with the boss family to see how life lumped out
