When the bed was smoothly made he waited until Alice had left the room before he slipped off his trousers and crawled inside.
His feet jutted out from beh the cover and his wiry-haired chest was very dark against the pillow. He was glad he had not told Alice about what had happeo the drunk. He had wao talkto somebody about it, because maybe if he told all the facts out loud he could put his finger ohing that puzzled him.
The poor son-of-a-bitch talking and talking and not ever getting anybody to uand what he meant. Not knowing himself, most likely. And the way he gravitated around the deaf-mute and picked him out and tried to make him a free present of everything in him.
Why？
Because in some men it is io give up everything personal at some time, before it ferments and poisons—throw it to some human being or some humahey have to. In some men it is ihe text is All men seek for Thee. Maybe that was why—maybe—He was a aman, the fellow had said. And a nigger and a wop and a Jew. And if he believed it hard enough maybe it was so. Every person and every thing he said he was------Biff stretched both of his arms outward and crossed his naked feet. His face was older in the m light, with the closed, shrunken eyelids and the heavy, iron-like beard on his cheeks and jaw. Gradually his mouth softened and relaxed. The hard, yellow rays of the sun came in through the window so that the room was hot and bright. Biff turned wearily and covered his eyes with his hands. And he was nobody but—Bartholomew—old Biff with two fists and a quick tongue—Mister Brannon—by himself.
J. HE sun woke Mick early, although she had stayed out mighty late the night before. It was too hot even to drink coffee for breakfast, so she had ice water with syrup in it and cold biscuits. She messed around the kit for a while and the out on the front porch to read the funnies. She had thought maybe Mister Singer would be reading the paper on the porch like he did most Sunday ms. But Mister
Singer was not there, and later on her Dad said he came in very late the night before and had pany in his room. She waited for Mister Singer a long time. All the other boarders came down except him. Fi-nally she went ba the kit and took Ralph out of his high chair and put a dress on him and wiped off his face.
Then when Bubber got home from Sunday School she was ready to take the kids out. She let Bubber ride in the wagon with Ralph because he was barefooted and the hot sidewalk burned his feet. She pulled the wagon for about eight blocks until they came to the big, new house that was being built. The ladder was still propped against the edge of the roof, and she screwed up nerve and began to climb.
You mind Ralph, she called back to Bubber. Mind the gnats dont sit on his eyelids.』
Five minutes later Mick stood up and held herself very straight. She spread out her arms like wings. This was the place where everybody wao stand. The very top. But not many kids could do it. Most of them were scared, for if you lost yrip and rolled off the edge it would kill you. All arouhe roofs of other houses and the green tops of trees. Oher side of towhe church steeples and the smokestacks from the mills. The sky was bright blue and hot as fire. The sun made everything on the grouher dizzy white or black.
She wao sing. All the songs she knew pushed up toward her throat, but there was no sound. One big boy who had got to the highest part of the roof