U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [362]
-424-Gladys could quit work and get married and the old people could buy a big house and live in the country. Momma used to tel him about how when she was a young maiden in the old country they used to go out in the woods after strawberries and mushrooms and stop by a farmhouse and drink milk al warm and foamy from the cow. Benny was going to get rich and take them al out in the country for a trip to a summer resort. When Pop was wel enough to work again he rented
half a twofamily house in Flatbush where at least they'd be away from the noise of the elevated. The same year Benny graduated from highschool and won a prize for an essay on The American Government. He'd gotten very
tal and thin and had terrible headaches. The old people said he'd outgrown himself and took him to see Dr. Cohen who lived on the same block but had his office downtown near Borough Hal . The doctor said he'd have to give up night work and studying too hard, what he needed was something that would keep him outdoors and develop his body. "Al work and no play makes Jack a dul boy," he said, scratching the grizzled beard under his chin. Benny said he had to make some money this summer because he wanted to go to New York University in the fal . Dr. Cohen said he ought to eat plenty, of milkdishes and fresh eggs and go somewhere where he could be out in the sun and take it easy al summer. He charged two dol ars. Walking home the old man kept striking his forehead with the flat of his hand and saying he was a failure, thirty years he had worked in America and now he was a sick old man al used up and couldn't provide for his children. Momma cried. Gladys told them not to be sil y, Benny was a clever boy and a bright student and what was the use of al his booklearning if he couldn't think up some way of getting a job in the country. Benny went to bed without saying anything. A few days later Izzy came home. He rang the door--425-bel as soon as the old man had gone to work one morn-ing. "You almost met Pop," said Benny who opened the door.
"Nutten doin'. I waited round the corner til I seen him go. . . . How's everybody?" Izzy had on a light grey suit and a green necktie and wore a fedora hat to match the suit. He said he had to get to Lancaster, Penn-sylvania, to fight a Filipino featherweight on Saturday.
"Take me with you," said Benny. "You ain't tough enough, kid . . . too much the momma's boy." In the end Benny went with him. They rode on the L to Brooklyn Bridge and then walked across. New York to the ferry. They bought tickets to Elizabeth. When the train stopped in a freightyard they sneaked forward into the blind baggage. At West Philadelphia they dropped off and got chased by the yard detective. A brewery wagon picked them up and carried them along the road as far as West Chester. They had to walk the rest of the way. A Mennonite farmer let them spend the night in his barn, but in the morning he wouldn't let them have any breakfast until they'd chopped wood for two hours. By the time they got to Lancaster Benny was al in. He went to sleep in the lockerroom at the Athletic Club and didn't wake up until the fight was over. Izzy had knocked out the Filipino featherweight in the third round and won a purse of twentyfive dol ars. He sent Benny over to a lodginghouse with the shine who took care of the lockerroom and went out with the boys to paint the town red. Next morning he turned up with his face green and his eyes bloodshot; he'd spent al his money, but he'd gotten Benny a job helping a fel er who did a little smal time fightpromoting and ran a canteen in a construction camp up near Mauch Chunk.
It was a road job. Ben stayed there for two months earn-ing ten dol ars a week and his keep. He learned to drive a team and to keep books. The boss of the canteen, Hiram Vol e, gypped the construction workers in their accounts, but Benny