J R

  —No but I have to leave Mister Gibbs, I told you I . . .

  —Good. I hope every reader will, from this history, take warning, and stamp improvement on the wings of time problem most God damned readers rather be at the movies. Pay attention here bring something to it take something away problem most God damned writing’s written for readers perfectly happy who they are rather be at the movies, come in empty-handed go out the same God damned way what I told him Bast. Ask them to bring one God damned bit of effort want everything done for them they get up and go to the movies I mean I’m the one who told him about agapē Bast, formulated the law of common foci did I tell you that? Promised to tell you about Grynszpan I tell you that?

  —No but I have to leave now Mister Gibbs I . . .

  —Bast? Listen the better among us, said I’d tell you what Beethoven listen . . .

  —You did Mister Gibbs now I really wait no don’t try to get up just, I really have to leave . . . his armload of papers bumped 36 Boxes 200 2-Ply backing past—I’ll be . . .

  —What he wrote the countess of, the better among us Bast?

  —Yes . . .? he got the door poised on one hinge.

  —God damn it listen! Bast? The, the better among us bear one another in mind . . .

  For a moment he hesitated there and then put down his papers on the descending stair behind him taking both hands to fit the door closed silent as the dim hall till he made for the stairs, the separating sole of his shoe lending a percussive effect to his haste down them broken only for his pause on the pavement where he stared at the vacant limousine double parked there, abruptly recovering a rhythm double time past a fleet of garbage cans, another, down a curb, curbs, declining at last to a flapping cadence up the wide range of museum steps to find brief echo through the rotunda and recover silence in a sudden glide toward the sculpture gallery, as a horde emerged from the armor collection.

  —Bast?

  —What? I . . .

  —Not you back there is it? Mister Bast?

  —No I, I think so yes . . . he peered round the marble buttock of a marble Hermes—I mean I, I didn’t expect to see you here Mister Crawley I . . .

  —Can’t say I expected to see you here either no, might have looked for you in the Museum of Natural what the devil’s happened to you, you look . . .

  —Nothing no I’m, I think I cut myself shaving a few times shaving I haven’t had much sleep because I’ve been . . .

  —Good good yes, been working hard have you? Looks like you’ve got something there about ready for me to listen to?

  —Yes well not quite no, no you see I . . .

  —Expected to hear something from you before this you know, called your office and your girl said you were out of town on business. Want to get yourself back to your music Mister Bast.

  —Yes there’s nothing I’d rather . . .

  —Didn’t want to press you on that of course, reason I called was just to let that associate of yours know I think I can unload that, what was it? wallpaper you brought in?

  —Yes Eagle Mills, yes, well that’s where I’ve just . . .

  —Might get him twelve or thirteen cents on the dollar, kind of a favor of course, how many lots you say he has?

  —Well he doesn’t have it anymore, they gave him some stock in place of it and now . . .

  —Oh, heard about that have you? Yes, you’re well out of it Mister Bast, and now back to the music, eh? That’s the right spirit, want to see you have a little more room there to exercise your talents.

  —Yes well I certainly . . .

  —Good, yes, now the idea is, Bast, they’re having one hell of a problem there in the Uganda with elephant damage, overgrazing and all the rest of it, don’t do a damned thing for sixteen hours a day but stand around and eat you know . . .

  —Yes I, I see . . . Bast sidled toward a marble raised in the contorted grace of sport as the cafeteria horde reappeared.

  —Talking about cropping around four thousand of them to preserve the habitat, of course Stamper and I want to get in there and do our part but it’s a damned nuisance when they could ship them right over set them up a habitat right down in the Everglades is Stamper’s idea, give us all the hunting we could ask for preserving a habitat like that one, he came on stalking Bast beyond the athlete’s flanks,—think we can work in a little elephant music, Bast?

  —A, little elephant . . .?

  —Big fellows Bast, big fellows, eat five or six hundred pounds of rubbish a day you know, grass and tree bark, a good bull runs up over ten feet and damned smart too, see all eight tons of him coming down on you and he’s the most dangerous game you could ask for. Of course this time we’ll bring along our own boy to run the camera but don’t let that hold you up, got a good imagination have you?

  —I, I think so, I . . . Bast retreated round sarcophagi edging deeper among the marbles as the dispersing horde spreading down the gallery toward the splash of fountains shed an unkempt fragment knelt knotting a knotted lace at the foot of the Sardis column.

  —Want to leave yes, I won’t keep you from your work but take your time to it Bast, don’t want to hurry you, Bast? Exit’s out that way . . .

  —Yes I, I was just going to stop in the men’s room.

  —You all right there Bast?

  —Fine yes I, I’m fine.

  —Don’t look fine to me. Outdoors, when you’ve cleaned up this work of course. Have something for me to hear in a day or two will you?

  And his—I’ll try, was lost to the cadenced flap of his shoe taking up toward the splash of water, round the column’s base, where he tripped.

  —Hey look out you . . . oh hi, boy am I glad to see you Bast!

  —Well get up off the floor.

  —Okay just a, shit . . . no but this lousy lace broke again, what do you expect me to do . . . With a final yank he straightened up and hurried alongside, the attaché case he carried barely clearing the floor between them.—Where shall we go hey.

  —Anyplace, I just want to give you these papers and . . .

  —Because I just had this neat idea. See I could just sneak away for like an hour and we could go up to the office. Okay?

  —What office.

  —This here new office you said you just got to do your work at, okay?

  —No.

  —How come? See they’re all going down to this here snack bar anyway so . . .

  —I said no! now, now just . . .

  —Okay don’t get mad, I only thought . . .

  —I’m not mad I, I’m just tired and I don’t feel very well.

  —You don’t look very good, did you look like this up there hey? Hey Bast? Did something happen to your foot?

  —Nothing happened to my foot, no. Now . . .

  —No it’s just your shoe, I think I got this big rubber band hey wait. We can’t go down there, that’s where they all went to this here snack bar. You ever been here before hey Bast?

  —Of course, now will you hurry up?

  —You know where the Egypt exhibit is at?

  —Yes but why do you . . .

  —No I just wondered, wait I can’t hurry or my sneaker will come off . . . and side by side, left foot, right foot, they got through the door marked men.—Back here hey . . . he mounted the attaché case on the first flat surface he found and lifted out the battered portfolio mended, now, down one end with black friction tape.—See? he stepped back,—isn’t it neat?

  —Well why don’t you throw the old one away.

  —No see I got this one for you. Doesn’t it look like real leather hey?

  —Well it’s, it’s a little shiny but . . .

  —No but I mean if you don’t get real close, you know? So you won’t have to carry these papers and stuff around in this here dirty envelope for like when you go to these meetings, and when they see you on the train and all, you know?

  —When who sees me on the train.

  —I mean like these other businessmen and see I even got your initials on in gold, e
ven if they . . .

  —But, those aren’t my initials.

  —No I know see that’s what I was going to say, see when I sent away they must have thought this here B I made looked like a D but I was thinking maybe you could just change your . . .

  —Look it doesn’t matter now, just let me . . .

  —And anyway if some wiseass says something you can just say it says like E D for Edward, so what happened up there anyway I mean did everything . . .

  —I brought you the newspaper you can read about the whole thing later, now . . .

  —No but I mean didn’t they get mad when you just walked in and said we’re taking over? Let’s see hey what, holy look hey! I mean it’s the whole front page almost! Is this you?

  —Yes, it . . .

  —Who you shaking hands with?

  —That’s Mister Hopper, he runs the bank that took over the receivership and . . .

  —I didn’t know he looked like that, I mean like I’ve talked to him on the telephone and all but I didn’t know he’s this nigro.

  —Well he’s not, what makes you . . .

  —Because doesn’t he look like it in this here picture? No but I guess you do too wait let me read it hey. One of the oldest textile mills in the region and mainstay of the Union Falls economy for more than a century, Eagle Mills changed hands this week following a shrewd move by downstate financial interests headquartered in the New York area where hey that’s us right? I mean shrewd financial interests what are they trying to say we screwed them?

  —No, it just means . . .

  —Rumors of bankruptcy which have circulated here for many years were confirmed in an exclusive statement to the Union Falls Weekly Messenger by bank president Fred Hopper, who has also served on Eagle Mills’ Board of Directors since nineteen twenty-eight. In his exclusive statement Mister Hopper outlined the procedure by which outstanding stock of Eagle Mills, which has paid no dividends since nineteen thirty-four, was dissolved and the company assets handed over to bondholders in a court action presided over by Judge R V Begg, whose marriage to Mister Hopper’s younger sister Adeline in nineteen twenty-seven will be remembered by older Union Falls residents as the leading social what’s all this crap hey.

  —I told you to read it later, if you’ll just . . .

  —Okay wait a second, generally, it had been generally understood that wait where does it tell about us, that it came as a surprise to many that the bond issue, which had been selling at a discount in recent years, had been snapped up in a lightning like stroke by outside interests here it is, since it had been generally understood that the majority of Eagle bonds were held in this area. The recent rumor that the mills were to be closed and the extensive site converted to a public park and speedway had already been denied in an exclusive statement to the Union Falls Weekly Messenger by Park Commissioner Edgar Begg, reached at his home on North Main Street where he has been confined since returning from the service with injuries sustained in the Mouse Argonne. Again disclaiming these and sim continued on page five . . .

  —Look don’t read it all now, I just brought it so you could . . .

  —No that’s okay, came through the flurry of paper,—page five, end of the baseball season approaches the hometown Eagles have racked up another wait, here it is, ilar rumors in an exclusive statement to the Union Falls Weekly Messenger, the youthful representative of the downstate financial interests Mister Edwerd Bast asserted hey see? how they spelled it? See so you can just . . .

  —They got hold of one of those idiotic cards before I . . .

  —And like how come everybody’s always giving them these exclusive statements hey.

  —Because there’s nobody else to give them to, now . . .

  —Bast asserted that although present plans remain somewhat indefinite, he knew of no park or speedway being contemplated for the area at this time boy that’s no shit, a public park boy. Mister Bast, whose associate was unable to accompany him on his whirlwind visit due to is that me hey?

  —Who else would it be? Now will you just read that later and . . .

  —Okay but just let me finish this part hey, press of urgent demands in the New York city area, appeared somewhat surprised himself at the swift turn of events. Declining to discuss financial details related to the takeover, Mister Bast stressed the investment nature of his associate’s interest in Eagle Mills, hastening to reassure the many Eagle employees among loyal Weekly Messenger readers that he saw no reason for apprehension at this time. Hardly fitting the description of the hard driving financial interests he represents, Mister Bast’s modest and courteous manner won him many friends on his short visit. When not occupied with the demands of business he enjoys cultural and artistic pursuits, and music being the hobby Mister Bast enjoys most his visit fortunately coincided with the long awaited fall concert of no wait a second . . .

  —I said you could read that later! now . . .

  —No but see I have to see what you said up there. Following a repast of fruit cup . . .

  —That’s all I said! now will you . . .

  —No I’m almost to the bottom hey, roast turkey with giblet gravy accompanied by candle salad, the famed Union House specialty of pineapple ring with standing banana stuffed with peanut butter topped by marshmallow whip, Mister Bast accompanied by his hosts Mister and Mrs Hopper and son Bunky repaired to the basement of the former Masonic Temple to how come you repaired the basement of the . . .

  —Will you give me that!

  —Temple to enjoy selections rendered by the Eagle Mills Employees’ Glee Club including Stout Hearted Men, their famed colored light rendition of God Bless America and the perennial favorite Okla hey!

  —Well I said put it down! Now . . .

  —Okay but you didn’t need to rip it, I mean it ripped right through this picture of this here big brick boy it looks like a prison hey, what’s this over here.

  —That’s where the offices are.

  —How come if the mill’s over here the office is way over here?

  —Look I wasn’t there when they built it, I don’t . . .

  —And like what’s this here long thing with all these doors and hey is this a train track? they’ve got a train there?

  —They’re just rusty tracks, and that’s a garage.

  —What do they need this tremendous garage for.

  —They don’t, they let the town keep all its trucks and snowplows there and . . .

  —What’s this big place over here where it says Eagles Visitors.

  —It’s where they play softball, now look . . .

  —Who.

  —The company softball team, they . . .

  —That’s these hometown Eagles? What does the company need a softball team for.

  —Because they like softball! I had to sit through three games of softball, now look. These papers from Mister Hopper . . .

  —But why should they get paid to play softball?

  —Who said they got paid! They just play weekends and after work, now . . .

  —Okay but it’s on company property isn’t it?

  —Well what’s wrong with . . .

  —No but see that’s the whole thing of when we sell everything off on this here leaseback deal, you know?

  —No, I don’t know! All I know is I told those people up there they didn’t have to worry, you saw it right there in the paper, and now if you think you can . . .

  —No but see all you do is you sell it then you lease it right back like, see that’s why they call it leaseback.

  —Well then why sell it in the first place, if you . . .

  —Because that’s what you do. See I read in this thing where you sell everything and lease it right back off the people you sold it to on this like ninety-nine years lease because I mean who cares what’s going to happen in ninety-nine years, see so then you stay right in business and get to keep losing money just like before only now you have all this here cash. But see what I was just thinking was like why should we lease back this
here ballfield and these garages and this whole building of all these here offices if we . . .

  —Look if you sell people’s offices how do you expect them to . . .

  —No but see look . . . he pieced the paper together on the radiator top,—see instead of they’re probably like running back and forth from the mills to the offices all the time and calling each other up on the telephone if we just move all their desks and stuff over here in the mills someplace then the office building and this here ballfield makes like this one parcel which then you . . .

  —Look this is, this is ridiculous even if you really could do things like this, I just told you how they feel up there and . . .

  —What, like they’d get pissed off if we sold their ballfield? So if we sell it to the bank let the bank let them play softball and like with these here garages, why should we pay taxes and leases and all so the town can keep some broken down trucks there, I mean let somebody else let them. Like I mean selling something doesn’t change it into something else and like if the bank won’t let them play softball or park their trucks let them get pissed off at the bank, you know? he got a sneaker up on the radiator and started to work on a knot.—So anyway when we get all this here cash . . .

  —And what makes you think anybody’s going to give you all this cash you keep talking about is just as . . .

  —No but see that’s the thing because like even if they buy it off you for way under this book value of what it’s worth see then they get this here real bargain and you get to subtract what they pay you from that and you get this whole other bunch of tax credits see which then you can . . .

  —Look can’t you understand? Just because you read about these things it doesn’t mean you can just step in there and do them even if you could, you can’t even if you could, you . . .

  —How come?

  —Because these are real people up there that’s how come! A lot of them who owned the stock still can’t believe it’s not worth anything and even the ones who owned bonds, a lot of them are old and when they first bought the bonds it was almost like they were lending money to, to someone in the family. And the ones who work there, even if you could sell their ballfield and put their offices in the mills how long do you think they’d . . .