Page 28
By Jack Joseph Smith
The only thing young men knew about evil then was that it was
fast. Gibbons gate was always slow. He wore soft black sandles
that didn't click. The alleys were always gentle when he was alone.
In the night, Shades. Trees from moon, from house light, from his
eyes picking up crome plated cans. Elm, oak, cedar. He called his
hands small for a quarterback. Trees too at the ends with huge arms
that could whip with any wind? Slow, thin faced he moved, almost
young enough to be a cat. The dragsters from under the lights who
went to the country would wait for him to drink at shotgun?
Harry squinted his eyes inside the restraunt. He was strange.
He was prostant and looked exactly Spanish. He didn't see Gibbons
mount the hill, but he saw him now in front of the glass. Gibbons
and John seemed shy the way they shrugged and paced one another with
slight smiles. Murf came by in a green car. He was laughing through
the side of his face like he didn't know if his teeth should be in
it or not. Harry was intellectual. He knew that Murf's rotten teeth
were no fault of his own. The door swung open and a shuffle from John
yelled, "let's go Harry. Murf knows where to go."
"I'm eating eggs." replied Harry. Gibbons looked through the yellow
electric light and caught a glimpse of Harry bent elbow coffie on his
stool, took a step towards Murf's green car, and then slipped into John's
black one shutting the door leaving the shuffle on the sidewalk.
The shuffle came into the restraunt and explained that although he
had just had prime rib the Irish went over his head. Harry's smile let
it be known that that was just slop off his yokes.
No two persons know where Murf went. But John turned down a long hill,
and Gibbons still haden't had a drink.