U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [207]
darn nice to him, asked him about his schooling and his folks. When Joe said he was old Cap'n Joe Wil iams' son, Cap'n Perry couldn't do enough for him. Him and Joe's old man had been on the Albert and Mary Smith together in the old clipper ship days. He said he'd have a berth for Joe as junior officer on the Henry B. Higginbotham as soon as she'd finished repairs and he must go to work at shore school over in Norfolk and get ready to go before the licensing board and get his ticket. He'd coach him up on the fine points himself. When he left the old man said, "Ma boy, if you work like you oughter, bein'
your Dad's son, an' this war keeps up, you'l be master of your own vessel in five years, I'l guarantee it." Joe couldn't wait to get hold of Del and tel her about it. That night he took her to the movies to see the Four Horsemen. It 'was darned exciting, they held hands al through and he kept his leg pressed against her plump little leg. Seeing it with her and the war and everything flickering on the screen and the music like in church and her hair against his cheek and being pressed close to her a little sweaty in the warm dark like to went to his head.
-66-When the picture was over he felt he'd go crazy if he couldn't have her right away. She was kinder kidding him along and he got sore and said God damn it, they'd have to get married right away or else he was through. She'd held out on him just about long enough. She began to cry and turned her face up to him al wet with tears and said if he real y loved her he wouldn't talk like that and that that was no way to talk to a lady and he felt awful bad about it. When they got back to her folks' house, every-body had gone to bed and they went out in the pantry back of the kitchen without turning the light on and she let him love her up. She said honestly she loved him so much she'd let him do anything he wanted only she knew he wouldn't respect her if she did. She said she was sick of living at home and having her mother keep tabs on her al the time, and she'd tel her folks in the morning about how he'd got a job as a ship's officer and they had to get married before he left and that he must get him his uni-form right away. When Joe left the house to look around and find a flop, he was walking on air. He hadn't planned to get married that soon but what the hel , a man had to have a girl of his own. He began doping out what he'd write Janey
about it, but he decided she wouldn't like it and that he'd better not write. He wished Janey wasn't getting so kind of uppish, but after al she was making a big success of business. When he was skipper of his owd ship she'd think it was al great. Joe was two months ashore that time. He went to shore school every day, lived at the Y.M.C.A. and didn't take a drink or shoot pool or anything. The pay he had saved up from the two trips on the North Star was just about enough to swing it. Every week or so he went over to Newport News to talk it over with old Cap'n Perry who told him what kind of questions the examining board would ask him and what kind of papers he'd need. Joe
-67-was pretty worried about his original A.B. certificate, but he had another now and recommendations from captains of ships he'd been on. What the hel , he'd been at sea four years, it was about time he knew a little about run-ning a ship. He almost worried himself sick over the ex-amination, but when he was actual y there standing before the old birds on the board it wasn't as bad as he thought it ud be. When he actual y got the third mate's license and showed it to Del, they were both of them pretty tickled. Joe bought his uniform when he got an advance of pay. From then on he was busy al day doing odd jobs round the drydock for old Cap'n Perry who hadn't gotten a crew together yet. Then in the evenings he worked painting up the little bedroom, kitchenette and bath he'd rented for him and Del to live in when he was ashore. Del's folks insisted on having a church wedding and Wil Stirp, who was making fifteen dol ars