Page 155

By Jack Joseph Smith

power; But once he felt the fear of going to far, and released the mold of what sometimes occurred to him as being the balance of a supreme self, he could not call it back. He could refocus a figure out of cloth or wood;, out of steel or stone; but the blood of the feeling would be gone. Now with Animal, this jolt of departure had just experien- ced him into the instantaneous belief of his veins being dry. It was time for continuous life; For as long as he could last, suddenly he wanted his pictures of the world to be perfectly real. He found himself going over to Animal, and asking him to clasp his hand in the brother tradition. Animal put out his hand, and Prankster pulled him up with overwhelm- ing strength. Prankster was laughing loudly, for Animal was not expected to fully understand; that Prankster's inner motive was but to touch another human being; It was a way of saving himself, from struggling with his heart again when it was att- empting to stop. Animal stood before him, and in his way was ser- iously smiling. "Let's go for a walk." They left, the beginning's of the building of the Boat House, went down beach, and turned south walk-

Original Scan

Page 155

AI Interpretation

GPT

Prankster turns from the ghostly figure back toward Animal, seeking physical contact and ordinary motion as a way to keep himself from collapsing inward.

The page makes companionship bodily rather than abstract: clasping Animal's hand and going for a walk become ways for Prankster to steady himself. This reading remains provisional because the bottom handwritten scene notes still need closer review.

Claude

Prankster reaches toward Animal in a moment where camaraderie becomes a way of staying upright. The page is one of the manuscript's clearest friendship scenes.