U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [170]
He talked Grassi into going down to New Orleans
with him. They had a little money saved up and they'd run down there and get a job and be there for the Mardi Gras. The first day that he'd felt very good since he left St. Paul was the sleety January day they pul ed out of Louisvil e with the engine hitting on al four cylinders
-396-and a pile of thirdhand spare tires in the back, headed south.
They got down through Nashvil e and Birmingham
and Mobile, but the roads were terrible and they had to remake the car as they went along and they almost froze to death in a blizzard near Guntersvil e and had to lay over for a couple of days, so that by the time they'd gotten down to Bay St. Louis and were bowling along the shore road under a blue sky and feeling the warm sun and seeing palms and bananatrees and Grassi was tel ing about Vesuvio and Bel a Napoli and his girl in Torino that he'd never see again on account of the bastardly capitalista war, their money had run out. They got into New
Orleans with a dol ar five between them and not more than a teacupful of gasoline in the tank, but by a lucky break Charley managed to sel the car as it stood for twentyfive dol ars to a colored undertaker.
They got a room in a house near the levee for three dol ars a week. The landlady was a yel owfaced woman from Panama and there was a parrot on the balcony out-side their room and the sun was warm on their shoulders walking along the street. Grassi was very happy. "This is lika the Italia," he kept saying. They walked around and tried to find out about jobs but they couldn't seem to find out about anything except that Mardi Gras was next week. They walked along Canal Street that was
crowded with colored people, Chinamen, pretty girls in brightcolored dresses, racetrack hangerson, tal elderly men in palmbeach suits. They stopped to have a beer in a bar open to the street with tables along the outside where al kinds of men sat smoking cigars and drinking. When they came out Grassi bought an afternoon paper. He turned pale and showed the headline, WAR WITH
GERMANY IMMINENT. "If America go to war with Ger-many cops wil arrest al Italian man to send back to Italy for fight, see? My friend tel who work in consule'soffice; tel me, see? I wil not go fight in capitalista war."
-397-office; tel me, see? I wil not go fight in capitalista war." Charley tried to kid him along, but a worried set look came over Grassi's face and as soon as it was dark he left Charley saying he was going back to the flop and going to bed.
Charley walked round the streets alone. There was a warm molasses smel from the sugar refineries, whiffs of gardens and garlic and pepper and oil cookery. There seemed to be women everywhere, in bars, standing round streetcorners, looking out invitingly behind shutters ajar in al the doors and windows; but he had twenty dol ars on him and was afraid one of them might lift it off him, so he just walked around until he was tired and then went back to the room, where he found Grassi already asleep with the covers over his head.
It was late when he woke up. The parrot was squawking on the gal ery outside the window, hot sunlight fil ed the room. Grassi was not there.
Charley had dressed and was combing his hair when
Grassi came in looking very much excited. He had taken a berth as donkey-engineman on a freighter bound for South America. "When I get Buenos Aires goodby and no more war," he said. "If Argentina go to war, goodby again." He kissed Charley on the mouth, and insisted on giving him his accordion and there were tears in his eyes when he went off to join the boat that was leaving at noon. Charley walked al over town inquiring at garages and machineshops if there was any chance of a job. The streets were broad and dusty, bordered by low shuttered frame houses, and distances were huge. He got tired and dusty and sweaty. People he talked to were darned agreeable but nobody seemed to know where he could get a job. He decided he ought to stay through the Mardi Gras
anyway and then he would go up North again. Men he
talked