U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [185]
. . . I'm only here for a couple of days on this West India cruise. Much b-b-better have saved my money and stayed home. I wanted to go to Europe but you c-c-can't on account of the war." "Yare, that's al they talk about on the bloody limejuicer I'm on, the war."
"Why they brought us to this hole I can't imagine and now there's something the matter with the boat and we can't leave for two days."
"That must be the Monterey."
"Yes. It's a terrible boat, nothing on board but women. I'm glad to run into a fel ow I can talk to. Seems to be nothing but niggers down here."
"Looks like they had 'em al colors in Trinidad."
"Say, this rain isn't going to stop for a hel of a time. Come in and have a drink with me." Joe looked at him suspiciously. "Al right," he said final y, "but I might as wel tel you right now I can't treat you back . . . I'm flat and those goddam Scotch-men won't advance us any pay.""You're a sailor, aren't you?" asked the man when they got to the bar. "I work on a boat, if that's what you mean."
"What'l you have . . . They make a fine Planter's punch here. Ever tried that?""I'l drink a beer . . . I usual y drink beer." The barkeeper was a broadfaced chink with a heartbroken smile like a very old monkey's. He put the drinks down before them very gently as if afraid of breaking the glasses. The beer was cold and good in 'its dripping glass. Joe drank it off. "Say, you don't know any basebal scores, do you? Last time I saw a paper looked like the Senators had a chance for the pennant." The man took off his panama hat and mopped his
brow with a handkerchief. He had curly black hair. He kept looking at Joe as if he was making up his mind about
-19-something. Final y he said, "Say my name's . . . Wa-wa-wa-. . . Warner Jones." "They cal me Yank on the Argyle. . . In the navy they cal ed me Slim."
"So you were in the navy, were you? I thought you looked more like a jackie than a merchant seaman, Slim."
"That so? "
The man who said his name was Jones ordered two
more of the same. Joe was worried. But what the hel , they can't arrest a guy for a deserter on British soil. "Say, did you say you knew anything about the basebal scores?
The leagues must be pretty wel underway by now."
"I got the papers up at the hotel . . . like to look at them?"
"I sure would."
The rain stopped. The pavement was already dry when they came out of the bar.
"Say, I'm going to take a ride around this island. Tel me you can see wild monkeys and al sorts of things. Why don't you come along? I'm bored to death of sight-seeing by myself." Joe thought a minute. "These clothes ain't fit. . . ."
"What the hel , this isn't Fifth Avenue. Come ahead." The man who said his name was Jones signal ed a nicely polishéd Ford driven by a young chinaman. The china-man wore glasses and a dark blue suit and looked like a col ege student; he talked with an English accent. He said he'd drive them round the town and out to the Blue Pool. As they were setting off the man who said his name was Jones said, "Wait a minute," and ran in the bar and got a flask of Planter's Punch.
He talked a blue streak al the time they were driving out past the British bungalows and brick institution build-ings and after that out along the road through rubbery blue woods so dense and steamy it seemed to Joe there must be a glass roof overhead somewhere. He said how he liked adventure and travel and wished he was free to
-20-ship on boats and bum around and see the world and that it must be wonderful to depend only on your own sweat and muscle the way Joe was doing. Joe said, "Yare?" But the man who said his name was Jones paid no atten-tion and went right on and said how he had to take care of his mother and that was a great responsibility and sometimes he thought he'd go mad and he'd been to a doc-tor about it and the doctor had advised him to take a trip, but that the food wasn't any good on the boat and. gave him indigestion and it was al ful of old women with daughters they wanted to marry off and it made him nervous having women run after