Tramping on Life Part 97

We ourselves had not as yet begun to perceive what it would lead to--a state-wide scandal that would echo in the Chicago, San Francisco and New York newspapers, and result in severe criticism of the university faculty for remaining blind to such a condition of affairs ... and how there would be interrogations in the Kansas Legislature and a complete shake-up of the political power in Laurel.

News of the forthcoming expose spread mysteriously in "The Bottoms"

before the paper was off the press. To avoid the coming storm, already negro malefactors and white, were "streaming" as Travers phrased it, "in dark clouds" out of town, for brief sojourns, beyond reach of the compelling subpoena, in Kansas City, Missouri.

By five o'clock the edition, an extra large one, had been almost exhausted, and people were lining up at the newspaper office, paying five cents a copy....

"Senator" Blair rushed back, having heard of what he called our "treachery" and abuse of his confidence, over telephone....

He looked sick and worried, as if he had run in all the way from the little lake, five miles from town, where he had gone for his week-end of idyllic, peaceful fis.h.i.+ng....

"You've ruined me, you boys have!" he almost sobbed, collapsing fatly in his chair, then he flamed, "by G.o.d, I'll have you each investigated personally and clapped in jail," ... which threat, however, he did not even try to carry through....

Instead, his paper, and the other two town papers, tried to turn off the affair as a mere college joke, played on a whole community....

But we had expected just such action--rather the executive genius of Jerome had expected it--for which reason we had confronted the readers of the _Globe_ with d.a.m.ning facts and statistics, carefully gathered, which presented an insurmountable barrier to evasion.

And as we also had expected, the Civic Betterment League was also dead against us....

"Why," cried Langworth to me, "why didn't you bring all the evidence to us, and let _us_ proceed calmly and soberly with the case?"

"Professor Langworth, you are a friend of mine, and a very good one--but you know very well that the conditions exposed you people knew of all along ... and for years you have dallied along without acting on it."

"We were biding the proper time!"

"The reason you never started something was your fear of involving the university in the publicity that was sure to follow!..."

Langworth was a good man, but he knew I had him. He hemmed and hawed, then covered his retreat in half-hearted anger at me....

"You know well enough, Johnnie Gregory, that all you boys did it for was to 'pull a stunt'--indulge in a little youthful horseplay."

"Granted--but we have effected results!"

"What results? merely a lot of trouble for everybody!"

"The Civic Betterment League now has a chance afforded it to make good ... we've provided you with the indisputable data, the evidence ... it's up to you, now, to go ahead."

"So G.o.d help me, Johnnie, sometimes you make me wish I had never sponsored you here."

The editor of the _Globe_ made a right-about-face--repudiating us.

Jack Travers, in the style of his beloved Brisbane, put an editorial in the school paper, the _Laurelian_, addressed to Blair, beginning, "Get back into the collar of your masters, you contemptible cur."

The usual thing took place. Most of the worst criminals were mysteriously given ample time to make their get-away ... probably aided in it. The humorous side of the resulting investigation and trials of various minor malefactors were played up almost exclusively.

Little by little the town dropped back to its outward observance of not seeing in its civic life what it did not care to see, and which no one could radically remedy till human nature is itself different.

The school year was drawing to a close, my last year at Laurel.

Professor Black, of the English department, had a.s.sured me that, if I would tone down a bit, I could easily win a scholars.h.i.+p in his department, and, later, an a.s.sistant professors.h.i.+p.

But I preferred my rambling, haphazard course of life, which was less comfortable, but better for the freedom of mind and spirit that poets must preserve....

Dr. Hammond, when I had given him that luncheon on the borrowed money, had taken me aside and informed me that one of the professors--an influential man on the Hill (beyond that, he refused to identify him further) had advised him, Hammond, not to accept the luncheon in his honour....

"We don't approve generally of Gregory, on the Hill, you know...."

And Hammond had, he told me, replied--

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Gregory is my friend, and Dr. Ward, our literary editor, looks on him as a distinguished contributor to the _Independent_, and a young writer of great and growing promise" ... so the luncheon was given ... I wonder if the protesting professor was one of those invited, and if so, if he attended?...

I saw clearly that I could never fit into the formal, academic life of the college--where professors were ashamed to be seen carrying packages and bags home from the stores, but must have them delivered ... for fear of losing their social status!

There was a park on the outskirts of town where I loved to loaf, when the weather was sunny,--a place where the blue jays fought with the squirrels and the leaves flickered in the sun ... sometimes I lay on the gra.s.s, reading ... sometimes I lounged on a bench ... I read my Greek and Latin poets there ... and my English and German poets ... and, when hungry, I sauntered home to my bread and cheese, or, now that I was in receipt of Derek's weekly stipend, to a frugal meal at some lunch counter. I dearly liked rib-ends of beef....

One day, when I was in my park, lying on my belly, reading Josephus, I was aware of the deputy sheriff, Small, whom I knew, standing over me....

"Oh, it's _you_, Gregory!"

"Yes, what's the matter, Deputy Small? what do you want?"

"People who drove in from the country complained about your lying here."

"Complained about my lying here? what the h.e.l.l!... look'e here, Jim Small, there's no ordinance to prevent me from lying on the gra.s.s."

"Well, Johnnie, you either got to git up and sit, proper, on a bench, or I'll have to pull you in, much as I dislike to do it."

"Jim, you just 'pull' ahead, if you think you're lucky ... it'll be a fine thing for me ... I'll sue the city for false arrest."

Deputy Small was puzzled. He pushed his hat back and scratched his head....

"Jim, who put you up to this?"

"The people what saw you lying here, as they drove in, stopped off at the office of the _Globe_ ... it was 'Senator' Blair telephoned the courthouse--"

"Blair, eh?... trying to get even for what we boys did with his dirty paper ... he knows I like to lie out here and read my books of poetry!"

I was thoroughly aroused. I jumped to my feet.