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By Root 9000 0

Americans locked up in the same cel and the limeys in another cel . The police station was ful of drunks yel ing and singing. Maloney had a bloody nose. Olaf went to sleep. Joe couldn't sleep; he kept saying to Wil Stirp he was scared they sure would send him to a concentration camp for the duration of the war this time and each time Wil Stirp said they were the four of them Americans and wasn't he a Freeborn American Citizen and there wasn't a damn thing they could do to 'em. Freedom of the seas, God damn it. Next morning they were in court and it was funny as hel except that Joe was scared; it was solemn as Quaker-meetin' and the magistrate wore a little wig and they were everyone of 'em fined three and six and costs. It came to about a dol ar a head. Darned lucky they stil had some jack on them.

And the magistrate in the little wig gave 'em a hel of a talking to about how this was wartime and they had no right being drunk and disorderly on British soil but had ought to be fighting shoulder to shoulder with their broth-ers, Englishmen of their own blood and to whom the Americans owed everything, even their existence as a great nation, to defend civilization and free institutions and plucky little Belgium against the invading huns who were raping women and sinking peaceful merchantmen. When the magistrate had finished, the court attendants said, "Hear, hear," under their breath and they al looked

-45-very savage and solemn and turned the American boys loose after they'd paid their fines and the police sergeant had looked at their papers. They held Joe after the others on account of his paper being from the consulate and not having the stamp of the proper police station on it but after a while they let him go with a warning not to come ashore again and that if he did it would be worse for him.

Joe felt relieved when he'd seen the skipper and had been taken on and had rigged up his bunk and gone

ashore and gotten his bundle that he'd left with the nice flaxenhaired barmaid at the first pub he'd gone to the night before. At last he was on an American ship. She had an American flag painted on either side of the hul and her name Tampa, Pensacola, Florida, in white letters. There was a colored boy cooking and first thing they had cornmeal mush and karo syrup, and coffee instead of that lousy tea and the food tasted awful good. Joe felt better than any time since he'd left home. The bunks were clean and a fine feeling it was when the Tampa left the dock with her whistle blowing and started easing down the slatecolored stream of the Mersey towards the sea.

Fifteen days to Hampton Roads, with sunny weather

and a sea like glass every day up to the last two days and then a stiff northwesterly wind that kicked up considerable chop off the Capes. They landed the few bundles of cot-ton print goods that made up the cargo at the Union Terminal in Norfolk. It was a big day for Joe when he went ashore with his pay in his pocket to take a look around the town with Wil Stirp, who belonged there. They went to see Wil Stirp's folks and took in a bal game and after that hopped the trol ey down to Virginia Beach with some girls Wil Stirp knew. One of the girls'

-46-names was Del a; and she was very dark and Joe fel for her, kind of. When they were putting on their bathing suits in the bathhouse he asked Wil would she . . . ?

And Wil got sore and said, "Ain't you got the sense to tel a good girl from a hooker?" And Joe said wel , you never could tel nowadays.

They went in swimming and fooled around the beach

in their bathing suits and built a fire and toasted marsh-mal ows and then they took the girls home. Del a let Joe kiss her when they said good night and he began kinder planning that she'd be his steady girl.

Back in town they didn't know just what to do. They wanted some drinks and a couple of frails but they were afraid of getting tanked up and spending al their money. They went to a poolroom Wil knew and shot some pool and Joe was pretty good and cleaned up the local boys. After that they went and Joe set up a drink but it was