@@@@@Hey, you rummies, pipe down goddammit we got
@@@@@Hey, you rummies, pipe down goddammit we got some paying guests in the next room
They're silent for a moment and then one of them says in his low mumbling voice, You ain't so smart, young feller, and ifen you don't shut your mouth I'll be obliged to whop you
Come on down in the street, and I'll take you on
Then one of them comes up to Red, and whispers to him, You better leave him alone 'cause he'll throw you down the stairs, the last night man he broke his neckI'm sorry I disturbed ya, pop, I'll be minding my manners
You do that, son, and you and me won't have no trouble
Across the street, they can hear a jukebox grinding in a barroom
Back behind the night desk, Red turns on his radio and plays it softly(THE LEAVES OF BROWN CAME TUMBLING DOWN One of the men awakens screamingRed goes into the hall and quiets him, patting him on the shoulder and leading him back to his cot
In the morning the bums dress hurriedly, and the big room is empty by sevenThey hustle along the chill streets in the dawn, their caps pulled down to their eyes, and their old jacket collars scrounged around their necksAs if they were ashamed, they won't look at one another, and like automatons most of them line up in the alleys off Canal Street for the coffee they receive from soup kitchensRed walks through the streets for a while before he catches the bus up to West 27thThe long night is always depressing
He looks at his feet striding alongNothing's worth a good goddam
But back in their furnished room, Lois is cooking his breakfast on a hotplate, and the kid, Jackie, comes running up to him, shows him a new schoolbookRed feels tired and happy
Yeah, that's nice, kid, he says, patting him on the shoulder
When Jackie has left for school, Lois sits down to eat breakfast with himSince he has been working in the flophouse they have only their mornings togetherAt eleven she leaves for the restaurant
The eggs dry enough for you, honey? she ask