U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [508]
"Poor guy," said Margo, looking away through the rows of palms at the brown reaches of Biscayne Bay. Here and there on the green islands new stucco construction stuck out
-383-raw, like stagescenery out on the sidewalk in the daytime.
"Honestly I did the best I could to straighten him out."
"Of course. . . . Of course he had very considerable holdings. . . . It was that crazy New York life. Down here we take things easily, we know how to let the fruit ripen on the tree."
"Orangaes," said Margo, "and lemons." She started to laugh but the judge didn't join in. Neither of them said anything for a while. They'd
reached the end of the causeway and turned past yel ow frame wharfbuildings into the dense traffic of the Miami waterfront. Everywhere new tal buildings iced like layer-cake were standing up out of scaffolding and builder's rubbish. Rumbling over the temporary wooden bridge
across the Miami River in a roar of concretemixers and a drive of dust from the construction work, Margo said, turning a roundeyed pokerface at the judge, "Wel , I guess I'l have to hock the old sparklers." The judge laughed. and said, "I can assure you the bank wil afford you every facility. . . . Don't bother your pretty little head about it. You hold some very considerable options right now if I'm not mistaken.""I don't suppose you could lend me a couple of grand to run on on the strength of them, judge." They were running on a broad new concrete road
through dense tropical scrub. "Ma dear young lady," said Judge Cassidy in his genial drawl, "I couldn't do that for your own sake . . . think of the false interpretations . . . the idle gossip. We're a little oldfashioned down here. We're easygoin' but once the breath of scandal . . . Why, even drivin' with such a charmin' passenger through the streets of Miamah is a fol y, a very pleasant fol y. But you must realize, ma dear young lady . . . A man in ma position can't afford . . . Don't misunderstand ma motive, ma dear young lady. I never turned down a friend in ma life. . . . But ma position would unfortunately not be understood that way. Only a husband or a . . ."
-384-"Is this a proposal, judge?" she broke in sharply. Her eyes were stinging. It was hard keeping back the tears.
"Just a little advice to a client. . . ." The judge sighed.
"Unfortunately I'm a family man."
"How long is this boom going to last?"
"I don't need to remind you what type of animal is born every minute."
"No need at al ," said Margo gruffly.
They were driving into the parkinglot behind the great new caramelcolored hotel. As she got out of the car Margo said, "Wel , I guess some of them can afford to lose their money but we can't, can we, judge?""Ma dear young lady, there's no such word in the bright lexicon of youth." The judge was ushering her into the diningroom in his fatherly way. "Ah, there are the boys now."
At a round table in the center of the crowded dining-room sat two fatfaced young men with big mouths wearing, pinkstriped shirts and nilegreen wash neckties and white suits. They got up stil chewing and pumped Margo's hand when the judge presented them. They were twins. As they sat down again one of them winked and shook a fat fore-finger.
"We used to see you at the Palms, girlie, naughty naughty."
"Wel , boys," said the judge, "how's tricks?""Couldn't be better," one of them said with his mouth ful . "You see, boys," said the judge, "this young lady wants to make a few smal investments with a quick turnover. . . ." The twins grunted and went on chewing. After lunch the judge drove them al down ta the
Venetian Pool where Wil iam Jennings Bryan sitting in an armchair on the float under a striped awning was talking to the crowd. From where they were they couldn't hear what he was saying, only the laughter and handclapping of the crowd in the pauses. "Do you know, judge," said one of the twins, as they worked their way through the fringes of the crowd around the pool, "if the old boy
-385-hadn't wasted his time with politics, he'da made a great auctioneer." Margo began