Evening star., 1938-12-17
Home Uncomfortable.

ASooAC WCAt uOWu lOlIle LOT Lne
long vacation because there seemed
to be nowhere else to go. But in
his state of adventurous unrest he
found home altogether unendurabIe
before week was out.
His father with a manifest dis
position to administer discouraging
advice, his mother with her general
air OF asking him not to (whatever
1t Was) for her sake, and his BROTH
ers with their Uncontrolled jealousy
OF his Camford advantages. were
all SO tiresome that he felt himself
driving toward one of those smash
ing and screaming and abusive out
breaks that had disfigured his child
hood. But among the disciplines he
was imposing upon himself for am
bitlon's sake was the practice of
self-control. He had buried, even
If he had not killed, little Rud the
knlfe-thrower. But he had not
buried him very deep. Once or
twice his father exasperated him
almost to the verge of a resurrec-
ton.
Rud decided that somehow he
would wangle G5 out of his mother
and 60 off for walking tour. ANY,
where. He was wasting his time
mere. He couldn't even study: he
had no room to work in and no Sc
clusion. He felt perhaps if he went
through the country looking in on
meetings, listening to speakers at
street corners, talking to people, he
might get ideas. He'd wear old
clothes, take his stuff in rucksack.
be university gentleman, incognito.
so to speak. A lot of fellows nova
days were doing that. Odd lodgings
and doss houses. And weren't there
mixers camps and roadhouses? He'd
manage all right.
Mother had been watching him,
She was ready for his appeal and
helped him out with it. She got the
f5 somehow. She got together f6
10 shillings.
OF course, dear, you want more
OF change than you get here -
meets up With Chiffan.
He found little to excite him in
the first two days of his pilgrimage
and he was beginning to feel more
than little solitary when he came
upon Chiffan. 1t was in the late
afternoon and he was consuming as
big tea as he could manage with
eggs and cake and jam at a pleasant,
generous little Wayside cottage. He
was going on a two-meal system,
hearty breakfast and late high tea.
and that was all. He found it the
most economical way of feeding
And perforce he had become a strict
teetotaler.
Chlf1an, it seemed, was on the road
IN much the same spirit. He was
an older man than Rudie, he
might have been 26 or q and he
had a pale, intelligent face, with a
decided nose, faint, wry smile
bright, rather distraught, gray-blue
eyes and untidy, dark-broWn hair
His trousers were relaxed gray slacks
and he wore knitted blue pulfover
IN place of jacket. His gear be-
side him was in an ancient japanese
valise which he carried by a strap
and he had stout cabbage stick
laid across the table. He studied
Rudie for time and Rudie, looking
up from a copy of the Daily Worker
found he was being accosted.
Doing lonesome hike?" asked
Chiffan.
Looking about at things" said
Rudie.
Sociology? Mass observation?
something OF that sort? I see
you're reading the Daily Worker
Communist maybe?'"
Moo" said Rudie, finding him.
self hard to explain and making a
mystery of it. mo. Just interested.
What are you doing?"
1 make no secret of it. I'm a
disgruntled Communist wandering
about like a lost dog. The Let's
gone to pieces. Stain and
Trotsky.
Spain. =.
United Front rot. When there
is no sort of unity. :"
Rudie was in the completest
agreement.
"Anti-Fascist. Anti-Purple Shirts
What a lot they are! What good
Is 1t being just Anti? 1t lets
the other side choose the battlefield
and you have to run after them and
attack. They say it first and you
say No Look at this rag"
He smacked the Daily Worker
so to speak, in the face.
Now that's an ideal" said Chif-
fan alertly, taking in what Rud
had said. That's real good idea.
Yes. Anti. If you're lust
Anti. That lets the other chap
choose his battlefield, Good! Oh
good!"
Rudie felt he could like this
stranger. We'll, that's how I see
it," he said modestly. I'VE want
something positive Surely we do.
I've been feeling that lately.
tell you-"
Chif1an stuck out a long FORE
finger. THE old game is up" he
said. you've got it. We want a
new formula. And until we get it,
I'm going back to my brothers at
Booksham to help him get out the
Booksham Messenger and do gen.
eral printing. I'm disgruntled, I
tell you-deadly disgruntled, and
that's all about it. I'm just going
to drop in to the New World sum-
mer School at Wexley on the way,
but don't expect anything much
from that"
And what might be the New
World Summer School be?" asked
Rudie.
Particulars we're forthcoming. They
discovered themselves similar and
sympathetic from the outset. There
seemed no reason why they should
not visit this school together.
Exchange Views.
They set out for four-day trip
to the New World Summer School
and as they tramped they talked
and while they ate they talked
49,