Page 83

By Jack Joseph Smith

seemed to be running a halfway house without pay. Only two men in the house had any sense of order. One was Uncle Hambone the dealer; who was a friend of Colonel's; but an absolute loner. Recently an arguement over a bill owed the Uncle had turned into a knife fight. The Uncle had been correct, and the debtor with the knife had been subdued by a visitor and the Colonel. The assailant had been beaten down by the visitor, and talked to by the Colonel. But still the law had come on account of the disturbance. The other man was Prankster; who lived below the house in a wood framed basement. His room was spare; obviously a dope den, but for the amount of money he had the enviorment had an appealing Asian qual- ity. Colonel liked Prankster, but he was an addict appearing at a state of mind near madness. Things were getting tight, and Prankster was also a thief, Colonel showered, dressed in what were simply fresh work clothes, and went walking from the house toward the beach. Dogs ran in small packs, children also; and the electronic music was loud. Animal had finished his run. He was standing at the center of the beach looking at the gymnasts. He agreed with their movements; and thought they should

Original Scan

Page 83

AI Interpretation

GPT

The house appears as an unstable halfway refuge where Uncle Hambone, Prankster, Colonel, debt, addiction, and beach routine all coexist.

The page turns the house into a social container held together by fragile order and recent violence. Uncle Hambone and Prankster mark different kinds of survival inside the place, while Colonel's walk back toward the beach returns the narrative to public bodies, music, dogs, and Animal's completed run.


Claude

The boarding-house is drawn as half refuge and half criminal drift, held together by unstable loyalties. The page establishes the social container for Prankster, Colonel, and the tavern cast.