Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-09

Il broken sticks and ODDS ana enOS
\" of refuse that burned the parched
bare ground still harder fence
divided lis from the road where
policeman walked, battered blistered fence
Of ancient rails. Another fence across the
white dusty road, a thing of wire with easily
swinging gates, inclosed that other, orderly
jungle where gas arabs parked their cars DC
meath tall elmS.
They were new creatures in these days and
highly popular That policeman eyed them in
diligently, but us he watched. This Maine city
gave them freely a park across the road ana
to us yielded grudgingly this corner OF waste
land where hemmed in by heaps of ash and
rubbish, we might linger our brief permitted
day, penned up under the eye Of the law.
We were the Elder Nomads and fully as hon.
est as these Others Yet there were fences be-
tween We were the Elder Nomads and the
clasp knife fingered was token of my stand
ing in the Lodge of the Itching Foot.
had left my New Brunswick farm home a
wear ago. that clasp knife and $40 in my
rocket high aspirations in my heart and at
my side tall Yonderbound, my father. / had
seen his world as he would have me see 1t, and
here we were at the end Of our circuit, with
New Brunswick just over the border.
GO it went, and as 1 fondled that battered old
~ knife memories came. I should have seen
tall mountains rising about dense forest, valleys
leading into silent hills Of mystery, trails beck
Oning. I saw instead the open door Of a
rangers cabin in the foothills and girls face
remembered now because it was girls.
I should have seen the blue grass, where men
were polite even to dusty folk like our pedes-
trian selves, where such horses as had never
seen showed in every line, in every graceful
movement, their aristocracy But I remem-
bered now only that girl who had smiled down
at us from atop load Of hay That, and my
kfVHGY
back.
Looking back? That, too, was part Of this
open road life. That and the fences For
fences we had found everywhere. Nor were
they always fences that a man could climb
So it went, memory upon memory-and my
self In a brown study gazing at the old clasp
knife. Till Tantramar Joe looked up from his
cooking and whistled in wonder. Till my
father, who had been watching me, turned and
6aw too, and said
Its him-Smoothface."
Smoothface it was, walking down the road
seedy and small yet strangely not unkempt
There was dust, thick white dust, on the lower
half of each boot, but above, worn leather and
shiny serge of trouser were clean. Smooth1ace
it was, holding to the law there swinging open
that oiled gate walking as by right across that
bit of parkland where now the gas arabs were
eating in strange tabernacles OF canvas;
gmoothface who paused by the long wash
stand under blue sky and unrolled a paper
parcel.
We watched him, as the law watched him;
saw him borrow a cake of soap from nearby
tourist; saw him brush his teeth carefully, slick
down the last stray lock Of hair across his fore
head; saw him wrap again in paper brush and
towel and by the same token, that tourists
soap; and finally greeted him as, walking out
Of that park, he strutted impudently by the po-
Nceman scrambled over our rickety fence and
Duuatted by our fire. But, watching, thought:
Crossing this ways easy. It's getting back
that counts, if ever you want to get back"
Then became aware that Smoothface was
talking.
THAT bull-he don't like me none-me that
hint no worse than others. A holy guy, likely,
he is-white collars meanin' righteousness"
And at that I remembered the Evangelist,
call and bearded and thin, SmoothfaceS part
mer, laid by the heels in Farley, doomed TO the
FockpIe. Remembered, too, how we had parted
9rom lonely Smoothface in Montreal almost o
gear ago, how we had not seen him since. One
moment he stood on NotTe Dame street, look
ing small and deceptively Intellectual and alone.
xhe next the crowd had swallowed him.s
"A LMOST a year since we had seen him. No
regrets at parting, no surprise at reunion.
: rais crossed and forked In our wandering
world and reason had no place in it.
Almost year, yet now I remembered clearly