U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [435]
. . ."
"In the distant future," echoed Savage, laughing, as he fol owed Merritt and Charley out from under the stone portico of Senator Planet's house. A taxi was waiting for him.
"Where can I drop you, gentlemen? . . . The trou-ble with us is we are in the distant future and don't know it."
"They certainly don't know it in Washington," said Merritt as they got into the cab. Savage giggled. "The senator and the general were pricelessly archaic . . . like something dug up. . . . But don't worry about the gen-eral . . . once he knows he's dealing with . . . you know
. . . presentable people, he's gentle as Santa Claus . . . .
-215-He believes in a government of gentlemen, for gentlemen and by gentlemen."
"Wel , don't we al ?" said Merritt sternly. Savage let out a hooting laugh. "Nature's gentlemen
. . . been looking for one for years." Then he turned his bulging alcoholic eyes and his laughing pugface to Char-ley. "The senator thinks you're the whiteheaded boy. . . . He asked me to bring you around to see him . . . the senator is very susceptible, you know." He let out another laugh.
The guy must be pretty tight, thought Charley. He was a little woozy himself from the Napoleon brandy drunk out of bal oonshaped glasses they'd finished off the dinner with. Savage let them out at the Waldman Park and his taxi went on. "Say, who is that guy, Andy?""He's a wild man," said Merritt. "He is one of Moorehouse's bright young men. He's bright enough, but I don't like the stories I hear about him. He wants the AskewMerritt contract but we're not in that class yet. Those publicrelations people wil eat you out of house and home."
As they were going up in the elevator Charley said, yawning, "Gee, I hoped those pretty girls were comin' to dinner.""Senator Planet never has women to dinner. . . . He's got a funny reputation. . . . There are some funny people in this town.""I guess there are," said Charley. He was al in, he'd hardly got his clothes off before he was asleep. At the end of the week Charley and Bil flew back to New York leaving Andy Merritt to negotiate contracts with the government experts. When they'd run the ship into the hangar Charley said he'd wheel Bil home to Jamaica in his car. They stopped off in a kind of hofbrau for a beer. They were hungry and Bil thought his wife would be through supper so they ate noodlesoup and
schnitzels. Charley found they had some fake rhinewine and ordered it. They drank the wine and ordered another
-216-set of schnitzels. Charley was tel ing Bil how Andy Mer-ritt said the government contracts were going through and Andy Merritt was always right and he'd said it was a patriotic duty to capitalize production on a broad base.
"Bil , goddam it, we'l be in the money. How about an-other bottle? . . . Good old Bil , the pilot's nothin' with-out his mechanic, the promotor's nothin' without produc-tion. . . . You and me, Bil , we're in production, and by God I'm goin' to see we don't lose out. If they try to rook us we'l fight, already I've had offers, big offers from De-troit . . . in five years now we'l be in the money and I'l see you're in the big money too." They ate applecake and then the proprietor brought out a bottle of kümmel. Charley bought the bottle. "Cheaper than payin' for it drink by drink, don't you think so, Bil ?" Bil began to start saying he was a family man and had better be getting along home. "Me," said Charley, pour-ing out some kümmel into a tumbler, "I haven't got no home to go to. . .
. If she wanted she could have a home. I'd make her a wonderful home." Charley discovered that Bil Cermak had gone and that he was tel ing al this to a stout blonde lady of uncertain age with a rich German accent. He was cal ing her Aunt Hartmann and tel ing her that if he ever had a home she'd be his housekeeper. They finished up the kümmel and started drinking beer. She stroked his head and cal ed him her vandering yunge. There was an orchestra