December 1998 Your contribution to Goodwill will mean more than you may know . To help you see how much your contribution means COMMA I 'm sharing with you The words of people who have lived Goodwill 's mission . We want you to Know why your support of Goodwill is so important . Your gift to Goodwill is important because people with physical and Mental disabilities sometimes need an extra hand to know the pride that comes with work . " I was sad when I could n't go to the snack bar to buy a soda . Now I can buy a soda and spend money . I like working and making money . I have a savings account . I can write my name on the deposit slip . If I was n't working here ... I would be sad ... " -- Maureen Because turning welfare recipients into tax payers just makes sense . " When I first came to Goodwill I was a single parent with little or no self-esteem . I was on welfare and without my diploma . Coming to Goodwill was the first step toward my becoming totally independent . I am now ... totally off of welfare . I really like my job . " -- Sherry Because people want to work . " I 'd never finished high school . I had no experience or skills ... The only thing I did know for sure was here 's a chance to change things for me and my children ... I rode a bike to Goodwill in the rain and snow . I wanted to be there ... I had my second chance to change my life . " -- Donna Because teaching a man to fish will keep him fed for his entire life . " Before I got to Goodwill COMMA I was on a mission . I just wanted a job . It did n't matter what the job was COMMA I just wanted one . Now COMMA I 'm on a journey . I 've got more than a job ; I 've got a career . My instructor played a role like no other instructor I 've ever had I appreciate everything that Goodwill has done for me . " -- Cornell Each year COMMA we help thousands of people who face tremendous obstacles . Their one common goal : they all want to work . A robust economy helps by providing job opportunities COMMA but to be honest COMMA most of the people who are n't working today are quite simply the ones who face the greatest obstacles . The kinds of services we provide help people deal with obstacles like health care COMMA transportation and child care - problems that are big enough on their own without being compounded by factors like physical and mental disabilities COMMA illiteracy and lack of job skills . Last year COMMA Goodwill helped 3COMMA300 people find jobs that increased their self-sufficiency . Your gift to Goodwill will be used directly to support services that will help even more find jobs . Right now COMMA there are thousands of people who do not know what it feels like to support themselves . You can help them to know that feeling . Please help Goodwill and help people find jobs . Use the enclosed card and give a generous gift to Goodwill today ! Sincerely COMMA James M. McClelland President March 17 COMMA 2000 Name Address City COMMA ST COMMA Zip Dear Name : When Jerry was released from prison COMMA he knew it would take hard work and determination to straighten out his life . He knew he had made a bad mistake COMMA but despite his commitment to rebuilding his life COMMA he just did n't count on the obstacles that would be thrown up in his path . Reality hit when he was unable to reconcile with his wife and ended up on the street . He went to the Center Township Trustee for food stamps until he could find a job and a place to live . The Trustee referred him to the Blue Triangle where he consulted Goodwill 's Career Academy staff for job search assistance . Jerry 's Goodwill caseworker found him a job immediately . But Jerry 's troubles did n't end there . The seasonal construction job he obtained soon ended COMMA and he returned to Career Academy for help once more . Unemployed COMMA homeless and with a prison record COMMA Jerry now faced going back to prison for failure to pay child support . It took some time and hard work COMMA but with the help of Goodwill COMMA Jerry was able to work out a payment plan with the prosecutor 's office COMMA find housing and conduct a more thorough job search . With unemployment at its lowest point in years in central Indiana COMMA many people still have a hard time finding meaningful employment . Of the more than 42COMMA000 people Goodwill served in 1999 COMMA over 5COMMA000 of them have multiple barriers to finding and keeping a job . Some COMMA like Jerry COMMA are ex-offenders . Some are blind COMMA deaf or have other physical disabilities . More than 100 were homeless . But Goodwill offers hope even to people with numerous obstacles to overcome COMMA like Jerry . With a promising new job at a plastic injection molding manufacturer COMMA his legal troubles in check and a safe place to live COMMA Jerry can get on with the business of building a life for himself and contributing to his community . For as long as he needs it COMMA Goodwill will continue to help . Your support of Goodwill will provide job training and placement services to help the hardest to serve in central Indiana find meaningful employment . And COMMA with your assistance COMMA Goodwill can help employers develop resources to keep workers on the job . Please make an investment in the stability of our community by sending a gift to Goodwill . Your generosity will help people help themselves . Sincerely COMMA James M. McClelland President June 1 COMMA 1998 BOYS & Girls Club OF INDIANAPOLIS Dear Friend COMMA It 's summertime COMMA so it must be time for CAMP ! Yes COMMA it 's that time of the year -- the start of the Boys & Girls clubs of Indianapolis ' Camp . Six weeks of learning and exploring COMMA sports COMMA arts COMMA and fellowship . A time for a youngster to enjoy the fun and benefits of residential camp living COMMA dedicated staff and instruction COMMA and a chance to make special friends . I know you 're committed to ensuring today 's children have safe COMMA healthy COMMA and positive summer experiences . That 's why I want you to learn more about the Super Summer Safari Camp . At Super Summer Safari Camp COMMA there are daily sports COMMA nature COMMA and arts activities . In addition to the fun stuff COMMA important life-skills such as self-esteem COMMA leadership COMMA and interpersonal cooperation are being developed . Please read the enclosed brochure for more information on the wonderful Super Summer Safari Camp ! It costs $ 225 to send one child to camp . Many members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis ca n't afford to go to camp without financial assistance COMMA and that 's why we need you ! Please make camp possible for all deserving Indianapolis children and send in a tax deductible contribution today in the enclosed envelope . Consider sponsoring 1 COMMA 2 COMMA or 3 children . No matter the size of the donation COMMA please know that your gift will be appreciated and make a difference . Sincerely COMMA Richard Dickinson July 30 COMMA 1999 Name Address City COMMA ST Zip Dear Mr. Ratcliff : CCI is a federation of 13 neighborhood - based multi-service centers whose mission is to identify and meet the human service needs of residents throughout Marion County in the most effective COMMA efficient and comprehensive way possible . In 1998 COMMA we served a total of 31COMMA484 low-income individuals through job training and placement assistance COMMA youth and senior programming COMMA family counseling COMMA emergency assistance COMMA and much more . As you can see from the enclosed map COMMA your Target store is located in the heart of four of our service areas . The centers that serve these areas COMMA Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center COMMA Hawthorne Community Center COMMA Southwest Multi-Service Center COMMA and Christamore House COMMA have teamed up to run an exciting job readiness program for 14 and 15 year old area residents called the Summer Enrichment Program . Between June 21 and August 31 COMMA 45 youth will spend 20 hours a week developing life management and work ethic skills COMMA learning the computer COMMA visiting area colleges COMMA and interacting with guest speakers . The end result will be kids who have a better understanding of and vision for their own future COMMA be it college or a career . The Summer Enrichment Program will conclude with a celebration that includes family and friends . We would like to offer our youth a small reward for their participation by presenting them with gift certificates from Target . Therefore COMMA we are asking you to donate 45 COMMA $ 10 gift certificates that can be used toward the purchase of school supplies or clothing COMMA in the total amount of $ 450 . In return COMMA we will recognize Target as a sponsor during our event and in the event program . Target is well known for its support of the community COMMA and we believe that the Summer Enrichment Program represents your interests and concerns quite well . I will be happy to supply any additional information you may need and thank you for your consideration of our request . We look forward to hearing from you . Sincerely COMMA Valery De Long Director of Development July 28 COMMA 1999 Dear Join us for the " Sale of the Century " at JCC Auction '99 COMMA on Saturday COMMA November 13 COMMA 1999 . The 9th annual JCC Auction will benefit the numerous scholarship programs of the Jewish Community Center of Indianapolis COMMA a United Way agency . Because you are an organization that cares COMMA you are invited to become an integral part of this fabulous event by becoming a corporate sponsor for JCC Auction '99 . The JCC would be very pleased to welcome your organization as a corporate sponsor . We are seeking to build partnerships between businesses and our not-for-profit agency . As a sponsor COMMA you and your guests will have a special evening COMMA knowing that your tax deductible contribution will help support preschool COMMA childcare COMMA senior and resettlement services COMMA as well as quality cultural events in our community . Enclosed is a corporate sponsorship package that includes a sample auction book from last year 's event COMMA JCC market statistics and an overview of the many programs that will be preserved and strengthened through your generous support . One of us will call you to discuss how your company can become an important highly visible partner with the JCC in support of our scholarship programs . If you have any questions COMMA please feel free to call Myrna Weinberger at 251-9467 COMMA ext. 256 . Thank you in advance for your consideration . Sincerely COMMA Judy Laikin COMMA Chair Auction '99 Sponsor Committee Husbands and Wives Chatterbox feels a little dense for not realizing sooner that the subtext ( and hence much of the appeal ) of a Hillary Clinton - Rudy Giuliani Senate race would be Wronged Wife vs. Neglectful Husband . By running against Giuliani ( who has been reported in Vanity Fair to have a mistress -- he denies it -- and COMMA by all accounts COMMA has a sham marriage ) COMMA the first lady could exact symbolic revenge on her philandering husband while advancing the fortunes of the Democratic party at the same time ! That 's almost enough for Chatterbox to jump on the Hillary for Senate bandwagon . The media conventional wisdom is that Giuliani would make Hillary Clinton 's marital problems a major campaign issue . " Giuliani makes Ken Starr look like a patsy COMMA " cried Time this week . But COMMA er COMMA would n't that be kind of a risky strategy COMMA given his own problematic union ? Many have already opined that the mayor is too vituperative COMMA too much of a loner to practice the congenial COMMA teamwork - oriented politics of the Senate ; other doubters have pointed to his hardhearted COMMA uncaring social policies . The last thing he needs is to draw more attention to these qualities in his personal life . Giuliani 's estrangement from his wife COMMA Donna Hanover COMMA is made clear in an interview with Hanover that appears in today 's New York Times . Hanover " would not say whether Giuliani would run for the Senate COMMA whether she would like him to run for Senate COMMA or whether she would campaign for him if he did . But she did say in the interview COMMA which was conducted before the recent frenzy of speculation about Hillary Rodham Clinton 's interest in the same New York Senate seat COMMA that Mrs. Clinton is a ' very interesting ' person . ' I think she 's dynamic COMMA and I think she 's very smart COMMA and she 's an amazing speaker COMMA ' Ms. Hanover said . " And COMMA for a punch line : " Ms. Hanover 's press secretary COMMA Joannie Danielides COMMA said this week that Ms. Hanover had no comment on Mrs. Clinton 's potential Senate campaign . " Does she have any comment on whether Ms. Hanover plans to be Hillary Clinton 's campaign manager ? Indis Index Update : NBC COMMA in its Juanita Broaddrick broadcast last night COMMA turned up an additional three witnesses who recall being told by Broaddrick in the late 1970s that Bill Clinton raped her . This diminishes -- slightly -- the significance of Norma Kelsey 's possible motives in verifying parts of Broaddrick 's story . ( One of the three is Kelsey 's sister COMMA whose motives can be similarly questioned ; the other two heard Broaddrick tell her story but did not see her bruised lip COMMA as only Kelsey and Broaddrick 's husband claim to have . ) However COMMA Chatterbox notes that NBC COMMA like every other responsible news organization that 's covered this story COMMA reported that Norma Kelsey 's father 's killer was pardoned by Gov. Bill Clinton COMMA and remains perplexed that the Journal editorial page wo n't . Its Indis Index is today up to seven . -- Timothy Noah and Jodi Kantor She was just another freighter from the States COMMA and she seemed as commonplace as her name . She was the John Harvey COMMA one of those Atlantic sea - horses that had sailed to Bari to bring beans COMMA bombs COMMA and bullets to the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force COMMA to Field Marshal Montgomery 's Eighth Army then racing up the calf of the boot of Italy in that early December of 1943 . The John Harvey arrived in Bari COMMA a port on the Adriatic COMMA on November 28th COMMA making for Porto Nuovo COMMA which COMMA as the name indicates COMMA was the ancient city 's new and modern harbor . Hardly anyone ashore marked her as she anchored stern-to off Berth 29 on the mole . If anyone thought of the John Harvey COMMA it was to observe that she was straddled by a pair of ships heavily laden with high explosive and if they were hit the John Harvey would likely be blown up with her own ammo and whatever else it was that she carried . Which was poison gas . It had required the approval of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt before the John Harvey could be loaded with 100 tons of mustard gas and despatched to the Italian warfront . For in a world as yet unacquainted with the horrors of the mushroom cloud COMMA poison gas was still regarded as the ultimate in hideous weapons . Throughout the early years of World War 2 COMMA COMMA reports persisted that the Axis powers had used gas -- Germany in Russia COMMA Japan in China again . They were always denied . Influential people in America were warning the Pentagon to be prepared against desperation gas attacks by the Germans in future campaigns . Some extremists went so far as to urge our using it first . To silence extremists COMMA to warn the Axis COMMA President Roosevelt issued this statement for the Allies in August : `` From time to time since the present war began there have been reports that one or more of the Axis powers were seriously contemplating use of poisonous gas or noxious gases or other inhumane devices of warfare . I have been loath to believe that any nation COMMA even our present enemies COMMA could or would be willing to loose upon mankind such terrible and inhumane weapons . `` However COMMA evidence that the Axis powers are making significant preparations indicative of such an intention is being reported with increasing frequency from a variety of sources . `` Use of such weapons has been outlawed by the general opinion of civilized mankind . This country has not used them COMMA and I hope that we never will be compelled to use them . I state categorically that we shall under no circumstances resort to the use of such weapons unless they are first used by our enemies '' . The following month the invasion of Italy was begun COMMA and Roosevelt gave effect to his warning by consenting to the stockpiling of poison gas in southern Italy . Bari was chosen as a depot COMMA not only for its seeming safety COMMA but because of its proximity to airfields . Any retaliatory gas attack would be airborne . It would be made in three waves -- the first to lay down a smokescreen COMMA the second to drop the gas bombs COMMA the third to shower incendiaries which would burn everything below . So the vile cargo went into the hole of the John Harvey . A detachment of six men from the 701st Chemical Maintenance Company under First Lt. Howard D. Beckstrom went aboard COMMA followed by Lt. Thomas H. Richardson COMMA the Cargo Security Officer . Secrecy was paramount . Only a few other people -- very important people -- knew of the nitrogen - mustard eggs nestled below decks . No one else must know . Thus COMMA in the immemorial way -- in the way of the right hand that knows and the left that does not -- was the stage set for tragedy at Bari . It was the night of December 2 COMMA 1943 COMMA and it was growing dark in Bari . It was getting on toward 7 o'clock and the German Me-210 plane had been and gone on its eighth straight visit . Capt. A.B. Jenks of the Office of Harbor Defense was very worried . He knew that German long-range bombers had been returning to the attack in Italy . On November 24th COMMA they had made a raid on La Maddalena . Two days later COMMA some 30 of them had struck at a convoy off Bougie COMMA sinking a troopship -- and it had been that very night that the Me-210 had made its first appearance . After it had reappeared the next two nights COMMA Jenks went to higher headquarters and said : `` For three days now a German reconnaissance plane has been over the city taking pictures . They 're just waiting for the proper time to come over here and dump this place into the Adriatic '' . But the older and wiser heads had dismissed his warning as alarmist . Even though it was known that the Luftwaffe in the north was now being directed by the young and energetic General Peltz COMMA the commander who would conduct the `` Little Blitz '' on London in 1944 COMMA a major raid on Bari at this juncture of the war was not to be considered seriously . True COMMA there had been raids on Naples -- but Naples was pretty far north on the opposite coast . No COMMA Bari was out of range . More than that COMMA Allied air had complete superiority in the Eighth Army 's sector . So Captain Jenks returned to his harbor post to watch the scouting plane put in five more appearances COMMA and to feel the certainty of this dread rising within him . For Jenks knew that Bari 's defenses were made of paper . The Royal Air Force had but a single light anti-aircraft squadron and two balloon units available . There were no R.A.F. fighter squadrons on Bari airfield . The radar station with the best location was still not serviceable . Telephone communication was bad . And everywhere in evidence among the few remaining defensive units was that old handmaiden of disaster -- multiple command . It had been made shockingly evident that very morning to Ensign Kay K. Vesole COMMA in charge of the armed guard aboard the John Bascom . A British officer had come aboard and told him that in case of enemy air attack he was not to open fire until bombs were actually dropped . Then he was to co-ordinate his fire with a radar - controlled shore gun firing white tracers . `` This harbor is a bomber 's paradise '' COMMA the Britisher had said with frank grimness . `` It 's up to you to protect yourselves . We ca n't expect any help from the fighters at Foggia COMMA either . They 're all being used on offensive missions '' . Vesole had been stunned . Not fire until the bombs came down ! He thought of the tons and tons of flammable fluid beneath his feet and shook his head . Like hell ! Like hell he 'd wait -- and supposing the radar - controlled gun got knocked out ? What would his guns guide on then -- the North Star ? Ensign Vesole decided that he would not tarry until he heard the whispering of the bombs COMMA and when night began to fall COMMA he put Seaman 2 Donald L. Norton and Seaman 1 William A. Rochford on the guns and told them to start shooting the moment they saw an enemy silhouette . Below decks COMMA Seaman 1 Stanley Bishop had begun to write a letter home . Above decks on the John Harvey COMMA Lieutenant Richardson gazed at the lights still burning on the port wall and felt uneasy . There were lights glinting in the city COMMA too COMMA even though it was now dark enough for a few stars to become visible . Bari was asking for it COMMA he thought . For five days now COMMA they had been in port and that filthy stuff was still in the hold . Richardson wondered when it would be unloaded . He hoped they would put in somewhere way COMMA way down in the earth . The burden of his secret was pressing down on him COMMA as it was on Lieutenant Beckstrom and his six enlisted men . Lieutenant Richardson could envy the officers and men of the John Harvey in their innocent assumption that the ship contained nothing more dangerous than high explosive bombs . They seemed happy at the delay in unloading COMMA glad at the chance to go ashore in a lively liberty port such as Bari . Nine of them had gone down the gangplank already . Deck Cadet James L. Cahill and Seaman Walter Brooks had been the first to leave . Richardson had returned their departing grins with the noncommittal nod that is the security officer 's stock in trade . The other half of the crew COMMA plus Beckstrom and his men COMMA had remained aboard . Richardson glanced to sea and started slightly . Damned if that was n't a sailing ship standing out of the old harbor -- Porto Vecchio . The night was so clear that Richardson had no difficulty making out the silhouette . Then the thought of a cloudless sky made him shiver COMMA and he glanced upward . His eyes boggled . It was a clear night and it was raining ! Capt. Michael A. Musmanno COMMA Military governor of the Sorrentine Peninsula COMMA had also seen and felt the `` rain '' . But he had mistaken it for bugs . Captain Musmanno 's renovated schooner with the flamboyant name Unsinkable had just left Porto Vecchio with a cargo of badly - needed olive oil for the Sorrentine 's civilian population . Musmanno was on deck . At exactly 7:30 COMMA he felt a fluttering object brush his face . He snatched at it savagely . He turned the beam of his flashlight on it . He laughed . It was the silver foil from the chocolate bar he had been eating . He frowned . But how could ? Another COMMA longer strip of tinsel whipped his mouth . It was two feet long . It was not candy wrapping . It was `` window '' -- the tinsel paper dropped by bombers to jam radar sets COMMA to fill the scope with hundreds of blips that would seem to be approaching bombers . `` Fermate '' ! Musmanno bellowed to his Italian crewmen . `` Stop ! Stop the engines '' ! Unsinkable slowed and stopped COMMA hundreds of brilliant white flares swayed eerily down from the black COMMA the air raid sirens ashore rose in a keening shriek COMMA the anti-aircraft guns coughed and chattered -- and above it all motors roared and the bombs came whispering and wailing and crashing down among the ships at anchor at Bari . They had come from airports in the Balkans COMMA these hundred - odd Junkers 88's . They had winged over the Adriatic COMMA they had taken Bari by complete surprise and now they were battering her COMMA attacking with deadly skill . They had ruined the radar warning system with their window COMMA they had made themselves invisible above their flares . And they also had the lights of the city COMMA the port wall lanterns COMMA and a shore crane 's spotlight to guide on . After the first two were blacked out COMMA the third light was abandoned by a terrified Italian crew COMMA who left their light to shine for nine minutes like an unerring homing beacon until British MP's shot it out . In that interval COMMA the German bombers made a hell of Bari harbor . Merchant ships illuminated in the light of the flares COMMA made to seem like stones imbedded in a lake of polished mud COMMA were impossible to miss . The little Unsinkable sank almost immediately . Captain Musmanno roared at his men to lash three of the casks of olive oil together for a raft . They got it over the side and clambered aboard only a few minutes before their schooner went under . John Bascom went down early COMMA too . Ensign Vesole and his gunners had fought valiantly COMMA but they had no targets . Most of the Junkers were above the blinding light of the flares COMMA and the radar - controlled shore gun had been knocked out by one of the first sticks of bombs . Vesole rushed from gun to gun COMMA attempting to direct fire . He was wounded COMMA but fought on . Norton and Rochford fired wildly at the sounds of the motors . Bishop rushed on deck to grab a 20 - mm gun COMMA pumping out 400 rounds before sticks of three bombs each crashed into Holds One COMMA Three and Five . Now the Bascom was mortally wounded . Luckily COMMA she was not completely aflame and would go down before the gasoline could erupt . The order to abandon ship was given COMMA but cries of pain could be heard from the wounded below decks . Thirty-three Scotty did not go back to school . His parents talked seriously and lengthily to their own doctor and to a specialist at the University Hospital -- Mr. McKinley was entitled to a discount for members of his family -- and it was decided it would be best for him to take the remainder of the term off COMMA spend a lot of time in bed and COMMA for the rest COMMA do pretty much as he chose -- provided COMMA of course COMMA he chose to do nothing too exciting or too debilitating . His teacher and his school principal were conferred with and everyone agreed that COMMA if he kept up with a certain amount of work at home COMMA there was little danger of his losing a term . Scotty accepted the decision with indifference and did not enter the arguments . He was discharged from the hospital after a two - day checkup and he and his parents had what Mr. McKinley described as a `` celebration lunch '' at the cafeteria on the campus . Rachel wore a smart hat and COMMA because she had been warned recently about smoking COMMA puffed at her cigarettes through a long ivory holder stained with lipstick . Scotty 's father sat sprawled in his chair COMMA angular COMMA alert as a cricket COMMA looking about at the huge stainless-steel appointments of the room with an expression of proprietorship . Teachers -- men who wore brown suits and had gray hair and pleasant smiles -- came to their table to talk shop and to be introduced to Scotty and Rachel . Rachel was polite COMMA Scotty indifferent . They ate the cafeteria food with its orange sauces and Scotty gazed without interest at his food COMMA the teachers COMMA the heroic baronial windows COMMA and the bright ranks of college banners . His father tried to make the food a topic . `` The blueberry pie is good COMMA Scotty . I recommend it '' . He looked at his son COMMA his face worried . Scotty murmured COMMA `` No COMMA thanks '' COMMA so softly his father had to bend his gaunt height across the table and turn a round brown ear to him . Scotty regarded the ear and the grizzled hair around it with a moment of interest . He said more loudly COMMA `` I 'm full COMMA old Pop '' . He had eaten almost nothing on the crested COMMA three - sectioned plate and had drunk about half the milk in its paper container . `` He 's all right COMMA Craig '' COMMA Rachel said . `` I can fix him something later in the afternoon when we get home '' . Since his seizure COMMA Scotty had had little appetite ; yet his changed appearance COMMA surprisingly COMMA was one of plumpness . His face was fuller ; his lips and the usually sharp lines of his jaw had become swollen - looking . He breathed now with his mouth open COMMA showing a whitely curving section of lower teeth ; he kept his eyes COMMA with their puffed blurred lids COMMA always lowered COMMA though not COMMA apparently COMMA focusing . Even his neck seemed thicker and COMMA therefore COMMA shorter . His hands COMMA which had been as quick as a pair of fluttering birds COMMA were now neither active nor really relaxed . They lay on his lap COMMA palms up COMMA stiffly motionless COMMA the tapered fingers a little thick at the joints . Altogether he had COMMA since the seizure COMMA the appearance of a boy who overindulged in food and took no exercise . He looked lazy COMMA spoiled COMMA a little querulous . Rachel had little to say . She greeted her husband 's colleagues with smiling politeness COMMA offering nothing . Mr. McKinley COMMA for all his sprawling and his easy familiarity COMMA was completely alert to his son COMMA eyes always on the still face COMMA jumping to anticipate Scotty 's desires . It was a strained COMMA silent lunch . Rachel said COMMA `` I 'd better get him to bed '' . The doctors had suggested Scotty remain most of every afternoon in bed until he was stronger . Since Mr. McKinley had to give a lecture COMMA Rachel and Scotty drove home alone in the Plymouth . They did not speak much . Scotty gazed out at ugly gray slums and said softly COMMA `` Look at those stupid kids '' . It was a Negro section of peeling row houses COMMA store - front churches and ragged children . Rachel had to bend toward Scotty and ask him to repeat . He said COMMA `` Nothing '' . And then : `` There are lots of kids around here '' . Scotty looked at the children COMMA his mouth slightly opened COMMA his eyes dull . He felt tired and full and calm . Thirty-four the days seemed short COMMA perhaps because his routine was COMMA each day COMMA almost the same . He rose late and went down in his bathrobe and slippers to have breakfast either alone or with Rachel . Virginia treated him with attention and tried to tempt his appetite with special food : biscuits COMMA cookies COMMA candies -- the result of devoted hours in the tiled kitchen . She would hover over him and COMMA looking like her brother COMMA anxiously watch the progress of Scotty 's fork or spoon . `` You do n't eat enough COMMA honey . Try to get that down '' . Rachel COMMA observing COMMA would say COMMA `` He has to rediscover his own capacity . It 'll take time '' . Virginia and Rachel talked to each other quietly now COMMA as allies who are political rather than natural might in a war atmosphere . Both watched Scotty constantly COMMA Rachel without seeming to COMMA Virginia openly COMMA her eyes filled with concern . Scotty was neutral . He did not resent their supervision or Virginia 's sometimes tiring sympathy . He ate what he felt like COMMA slept as much or as little as he pleased COMMA and moved about the draughty rooms of the house COMMA when he was not in bed COMMA with slow COMMA dubious steps COMMA like an elderly tourist in a cathedral . His energy was gone . He was able COMMA now COMMA to sit for hours in a chair in the living room and stare out at the bleak yard without moving . His hands lay loosely COMMA yet stiffly -- they were like wax hands : almost lifelike COMMA not quite -- folded in his lap ; his mouth hung slightly open . When he was asked a question or addressed in such a way that some response was inescapable COMMA he would answer ; if COMMA as often happened COMMA he had to repeat because he had spoken too softly COMMA he would repeat his words in the same way COMMA without emphasis or impatience COMMA only a little louder . He had not mentioned Kate . He had not even thought about her much except once or twice at night in bed when his slowly ranging thoughts would abruptly COMMA almost accidentally COMMA encounter her . At these times he felt a kind of pain in his upper chest COMMA but it was an objective pain COMMA in no way different from others in intensity and not different in kind ; it was like the bandaged wound on the back of his head which occasionally throbbed ; it was merely another part of his weakness . He was calm COMMA drugged COMMA and lazy . He did not care . Rachel mentioned Kate . She said COMMA `` I notice the girl from across the street has n't bothered to phone or visit '' . Scotty said COMMA `` That 's all right . Kate 's all right '' . He thought about it briefly COMMA then deliberately turned the talk to something else . Once COMMA sitting at the front window in his parents ' room COMMA he saw Kate come out of her house . She was with Elizabeth . They were far off and looked tiny . The heavy branches in his front yard would hide and then reveal them . They turned at the bottom of Kate 's steps and moved off in the direction of the park . He thought he saw -- it awakened and COMMA for a moment COMMA interested him -- that Elizabeth held a leash in her hand and that a round fuzzy puppy was on the end of the leash . Then they disappeared and Scotty got up and went into his own room and got into bed . By the time he was under the covers he had forgotten about seeing Kate . The doctor COMMA since Scotty was no longer allowed to make his regular trips into town to see him COMMA came often and informally to the house . He would sit COMMA slim-waisted and spare COMMA on the edge of Scotty 's bed COMMA his legs crossed so elaborately that the crossed foot could tap the floor . Scotty did not mind the doctor 's unsmiling teasing as he used to . `` Husky young man '' COMMA he said with mock distaste . `` I imagine you 're always battling in school '' . `` I do n't go to school any more '' . `` Pardon '' ? The doctor had to bend close to hear ; his delicate hand COMMA as veined as a moth 's wing COMMA rested absently on Scotty 's chest . Scotty said the same words more loudly . `` Oh . Well COMMA we 're taking a little vacation COMMA that 's all '' . He turned unsmilingly to Rachel . `` I think by the end of next week he could get out in the air a little . He could now but the weakness is very definite ; it would exhaust him further and unnecessarily . He 'll be stronger soon '' . His stethoscope was on the table by Scotty 's bed and he picked it up and wagged it at Scotty . He said fussily COMMA `` Just keep the cap on those strong emotions '' . The stethoscope glinted silver in the darkening room . `` I 'll drop by again in a few days '' . Rachel stayed on after the doctor had gone . She smoothed the covers on Scotty 's bed and picked things up from the floor . She did not touch him . Scotty watched with disinterest . He did not speak . He had no desire to . She said COMMA `` Do you think you 'll miss school '' ? He had noticed how formal and irritably exact Rachel had grown . He did not care . He felt her irritability did not concern him COMMA yet he knew he would not care even if it did . He shook his head . `` We 've had any number of calls about you . You could win a popularity contest at that school without any trouble . Miss Estherson called twice . She wants to pay you a visit . She says the children miss you . Apparently you were the light of their lives '' . Scotty shrugged slightly . Rachel came close to the bed COMMA bent as if she would kiss him COMMA then moved away . She was frowning . `` That doctor annoys me '' . She seemed to speak to herself . `` Do you suppose his self - consciousness is characteristic of the new Negro professionals or merely of doctors in general '' ? She turned to him again . `` Well COMMA Mrs. Charles -- Sally -- has phoned too . She was very worried '' . Rachel 's tone was dry . `` She did n't really say '' -- She glanced away at the floor COMMA then swooped gracefully and picked up one of Scotty 's slippers . `` I mean COMMA do you feel like seeing Kate '' ? Scotty said COMMA `` I do n't know '' . It was true . He did not . There was the slight pain COMMA but it was no different from the throbbing in his head . `` Well COMMA there 's time COMMA in any case . We 'll wait till you 're stronger and then talk about it '' . She put the slipper neatly by its mate at the foot of the bed . Scotty said COMMA `` Okay '' . This time Rachel kissed him lightly on the forehead . Scotty was pleased . His father was a constant visitor . Scotty would hear the front door in the evening and then his father 's deep slow voice ; it floated up the stairs . `` How 's Scotty '' ? And Rachel 's or Virginia 's reply : `` better . He 's getting plenty of rest '' . `` Is his appetite improved '' ? Or : `` Does he get exercise '' ? The exchange was almost invariable COMMA and Scotty COMMA in his bed COMMA could hear every word of it . He never smiled . It required an energy he no longer possessed to be satirical about his father . His father would come upstairs and stand self-consciously at the foot of the bed and look at his son . After a pause COMMA during which he studied Scotty 's face as if Scotty were not there and could not study him too COMMA Mr. McKinley would ask the same questions he had asked downstairs . Scotty would reply softly and his father COMMA apologetically COMMA would ask him to repeat . `` I 'm eating more '' COMMA he would say . Or : `` I walk around the house a lot '' . `` Perhaps you should get out a little '' . `` I 'm not supposed to yet '' . He was not irritated . He did not mind the useless COMMA kindly questions . He looked at the lined face with vague interest ; he felt he was noting it COMMA as if it were something he might think about when he grew stronger . Mr. McKinley examined everything with critical care COMMA seeking something material to blame for his son 's illness . `` Have you got enough blankets '' ? And another time COMMA without accusation : `` You never wore that scarf I bought you '' . The expense and time involved are astronomical . However COMMA we sent a third vessel out COMMA a much smaller and faster one than the first two . We have learned much about interstellar drives since a hundred years ago ; that is all I can tell you about them . `` But the third ship came back several years ago and reported '' `` That it had found a planet on which human beings could live and which was already inhabited by sentient beings '' ! Said Hal COMMA forgetting in his enthusiasm that he had not been asked to speak . Macneff stopped pacing to stare at Hal with his pale blue eyes . `` How did you know '' ? He said sharply . `` Forgive me COMMA Sandalphon '' COMMA said Hal . `` But it was inevitable ! Did not the Forerunner predict in his Time and the World Line that such a planet would be found ? I believe it was on page 573 '' ! Macneff smiled and said COMMA `` I am glad that your scriptural lessons have left such an impression '' . How could they not ? Thought Hal . Besides COMMA they were not the only impressions . I still bear scars on my back where Pornsen COMMA my gapt COMMA whipped me because I had not learned my lessons well enough . He was a good impresser COMMA that Pornsen . Was ? Is ! As I grew older and was promoted COMMA so was he COMMA always where I was . He was my gapt in the creche . He was the dormitory gapt when I went to college and thought I was getting away from him . He is now my block gapt . He is the one responsible for my getting such low M.R.'s . Swiftly COMMA came the revulsion COMMA the protest . No COMMA not he COMMA for I COMMA and I alone COMMA am responsible for whatever happens to me . If I get a low M.R. COMMA I do so because I want it that way or my dark self does . If I die COMMA I die because I willed it so . So COMMA forgive me COMMA Sigmen COMMA for the contrary - to - reality thoughts ! `` Please pardon me again COMMA Sandalphon '' COMMA said Hal . `` But did the expedition find any records of the Forerunner having been on this planet ? Perhaps COMMA even COMMA though this is too much to wish COMMA find the Forerunner himself '' ? `` No '' COMMA said Macneff . `` Though that does not mean that there may not be such records there . The expedition was under orders to make a swift survey of conditions and then to return to Earth . I can't tell you now the distance in lightyears or what star this was COMMA though you can see it with the naked eye at night in this hemisphere . If you volunteer COMMA you will be told where you 're going after the ship leaves . And it leaves very soon '' . `` You need a linguist '' ? Said Hal . `` The ship is huge '' COMMA said Macneff COMMA `` but the number of military men and specialists we are taking limits the linguists to one . We have considered several of your professionals because they were lamechians and above suspicion . Unfortunately '' Hal waited : Macneff paced some more COMMA frowning . Then COMMA he said COMMA `` Unfortunately COMMA only one lamechian linguist exists COMMA and he is too old for this expedition . Therefore '' `` A thousand pardons '' COMMA said Hal . `` But I have just thought of one thing . I am married '' . `` No problem at all '' COMMA said Macneff . `` There will be no women aboard the Gabriel . And COMMA if a man is married COMMA he will automatically be given a divorce '' . Hal gasped COMMA and he said COMMA `` A divorce '' ? Macneff raised his hands apologetically and said COMMA `` You are horrified COMMA of course . But COMMA from our reading of the Western Talmud COMMA we Urielites believe that the Forerunner COMMA knowing this situation would arise COMMA made reference to and provision for divorce . It 's inevitable in this case COMMA for the couple will be separated for COMMA at the least COMMA forty years . Naturally COMMA he couched the provision in obscure language . In his great and glorious wisdom COMMA he knew that our enemies the Israelites must not be able to read therein what we planned '' . `` I volunteer '' COMMA said Hal . `` Tell me more COMMA Sandalphon '' . Six months later COMMA Hal Yarrow stood in the observation dome of the Gabriel and watched the ball of Earth dwindle above him . It was night on this hemisphere COMMA but the light blazed from the megalopolises of Australia COMMA Japan COMMA China COMMA Southeast Asia COMMA India COMMA Siberia . Hal COMMA the linguist COMMA saw the glittering discs and necklaces in terms of the languages spoken therein . Australia COMMA the Philippine Islands COMMA Japan COMMA and northern China were inhabited by those members of the Haijac Union that spoke American . Southern China COMMA all of southeast Asia COMMA southern India and Ceylon COMMA these states of the Malay Federation spoke Bazaar . Siberia spoke Icelandic . His mind turned the globe swiftly for him COMMA and he visualized Africa COMMA which used Swahili south of the Sahara Sea . All around the Mediterranean Sea COMMA Asia Minor COMMA northern India COMMA and Tibet COMMA Hebrew was the native tongue . In southern Europe COMMA between the Israeli Republics and the Icelandic - speaking peoples of northern Europe COMMA was a thin but long stretch of territory called March . This was no man 's land COMMA disputed by the Haijac Union and the Israeli Republic COMMA a potential source of war for the last two hundred years . Neither nation would give up their claim on it COMMA yet neither wished to make any move that might lead to a second Apocalyptic War . So COMMA for all practical purposes COMMA it was an independent nation and by now had its own organized government ( unrecognized outside its own borders ) . Its citizens spoke all of the world 's surviving tongues COMMA plus a new one called Lingo COMMA a pidgin whose vocabulary was derived from the other six and whose syntax was so simple it could be contained on half a sheet of paper . Hal saw in his mind the rest of Earth : Iceland COMMA Greenland COMMA the Caribbean Islands COMMA and the eastern half of South America . Here the peoples spoke the tongue of Iceland because that island had gotten the jump on the Hawaiian-Americans who were busy resettling North America and the western half of South America after the Apocalyptic War . Then there was North America COMMA where American was the native speech of all except the twenty descendants of French-Canadians living on the Hudson Bay Preserve . Hal knew that when that side of Earth rotated into the night zone COMMA Sigmen City would blaze out into space . And COMMA somewhere in that enormous light COMMA was his apartment . But Mary would soon no longer be living there COMMA for she would be notified in a few days that her husband had died in an accident while on a flight to Tahiti . She would weep in private COMMA he was sure COMMA for she loved him in her frigid way COMMA though in public she would be dry-eyed . Her friends and professional associates would sympathize with her COMMA not because she had lost a beloved husband COMMA but because she had been married to a man who thought unrealistically . If Hal Yarrow had been killed in a crash COMMA he must have wanted it that way . There was no such thing as an `` accident '' . Somehow COMMA all the other passengers ( also supposed to have died in this web of elaborate frauds to cover up the disappearance of the personnel of the Gabriel ) had simultaneously `` agreed '' to die . And COMMA therefore COMMA being in disgrace COMMA they would not be cremated and their ashes flung to the winds in public ceremony . No COMMA the fish could eat their bodies for all the Sturch cared . Hal felt sorry for Mary ; he had a time keeping the tears from welling to his own eyes as he stood in the crowd in the observation dome . Yet COMMA he told himself COMMA this was the best way . He and Mary would no longer have to tear and rend at each other ; their mutual torture would be over . Mary was free to marry again COMMA not knowing that the Sturch had secretly given her a divorce COMMA thinking that death had dissolved her marriage . She would have a year in which to make up her mind COMMA to choose a mate from a list selected by her gapt . Perhaps COMMA the psychological barriers that had prevented her from conceiving Hal 's child would no longer be present . Perhaps . Hal doubted if this happy event would occur . Mary was as frozen below the navel as he . No matter who the candidate for marriage selected by the gapt The gapt . Pornsen . He would no longer have to see that fat face COMMA hear that whining voice `` Hal Yarrow '' ! Said the whining voice . And COMMA slowly COMMA feeling himself icy yet burning COMMA Hal turned . There was the squat loose-jowled man COMMA smiling lopsidedly up at him . `` My beloved ward COMMA my perennial gadfly '' COMMA said the whining voice . `` I had no idea that you COMMA too COMMA would be on this glorious voyage . But I might have known ! We seem to be bound by love ; Sigmen himself must have foreseen it . Love to you COMMA my ward '' . `` Sigmen love you COMMA too COMMA my guardian '' COMMA said Hal COMMA choking . `` How wonderful to see your cherished self . I had thought we would never again speak to each other '' . 5 the Gabriel pointed towards her destination and COMMA under one - gee acceleration COMMA began to build up towards her ultimate velocity COMMA 99.1 percent of the speed of light . Meanwhile COMMA all the personnel except those few needed to carry out the performance of the ship COMMA went into the suspensor . Here they would lie in suspended animation for many years . Some time later COMMA after a check had been made of all automatic equipment COMMA the crew would join the others . They would sleep while the Gabriel 's drive would increase the acceleration to a point which the unfrozen bodies of the personnel could not have endured . Upon reaching the desired speed COMMA the automatic equipment would cut off the drive COMMA and the silent but not empty vessel would hurl towards the star which was its journey 's end . Many years later COMMA the photon - counting apparatus in the nose of the ship would determine that the star was close enough to actuate deceleration . Again COMMA a force too strong for unfrozen bodies to endure would be applied . Then COMMA after slowing the vessel considerably COMMA the drive would adjust to a one - gee deceleration . And the crew would be automatically brought out of their suspended animation . These members would then unthaw the rest of the personnel . And COMMA in the half-year left before reaching their destination COMMA the men would carry out whatever preparations were needed . Hal Yarrow was among the last to go into the suspensor and among the first to come out . He had to study the recordings of the language of the chief nation of Ozagen COMMA Siddo . And COMMA from the first COMMA he faced a difficult task . The expedition that had discovered Ozagen had succeeded in correlating two thousand Siddo words with an equal number of American words . The description of the Siddo syntax was very restricted . And COMMA as Hal found out COMMA obviously mistaken in many cases . This discovery caused Hal anxiety . His duty was to write a school text and to teach the entire personnel of the Gabriel how to speak Ozagen . Yet COMMA if he used all of the little means at his disposal COMMA he would be instructing his students wrongly . Moreover COMMA even getting this across would be difficult . For one thing COMMA the organs of speech of the Ozagen natives differed somewhat from Earthmen 's ; the sounds made by these organs were COMMA therefore COMMA dissimilar . It was true that they could be approximated COMMA but would the Ozagenians understand these approximations ? Another obstacle was the grammatical construction of Siddo . Consider the tense system . Instead of inflecting a verb or using an unattached particle to indicate the past or future COMMA Siddo used an entirely different word . Thus COMMA the masculine animate infinitive dabhumaksanigalu'ahai COMMA meaning to live COMMA was COMMA in the perfect tense COMMA ksu'u'peli'afo COMMA and COMMA in the future COMMA mai'teipa . The same use of an entirely different word applied for all the other tenses . Plus the fact that Siddo not only had the normal ( to Earthmen ) three genders of masculine COMMA feminine COMMA and neuter COMMA but the two extra of inanimate and spiritual . Fortunately COMMA gender was inflected COMMA though the expression of it would be difficult for anybody not born in Siddo . The system of indicating gender varied according to tense . All the other parts of speech : nouns COMMA pronouns COMMA adjectives COMMA adverbs COMMA and conjunctions operated under the same system as the verbs . They neither liked nor disliked the Old Man . To them he could have been the broken bell in the church tower which rang before and after Mass COMMA and at noon COMMA and at six each evening -- its tone COMMA repetitive COMMA monotonous COMMA never breaking the boredom of the streets . The Old Man was unimportant . Yet if he were not there COMMA they would have missed him COMMA as they would have missed the sounds of bees buzzing against the screen door in early June ; or the smell of thick tomato paste -- the ripe smell that was both sweet and sour -- rising up from aluminum trays wrapped in fly - dotted cheesecloth . Or the surging whirling sounds of bats at night COMMA when their black bodies dived into the blackness above and below the amber street lights . Or the bay of female dogs in heat . They never called him by name COMMA although he had one . Filippo Rossi COMMA that 's what he was called in the old country ; but here he was just Signore or the Old Man . But this was not unusual COMMA because youth in these quarters was always pushed at a distance from its elders . Youth obeyed when commanded . It went to church on Sunday and one Saturday a month went to confession . But youth asked nothing of its parents -- not a touch of the hand or a kiss given in passing . The only thing unusual about the Old Man had long since happened . But the past was dead here as the present was dead . Once the Old Man had had a wife . And once she COMMA too COMMA ignored him . With a tiny fur - piece wrapped around her shoulders COMMA she wiggled her satin - covered buttocks down the street before him and did n't stop . In one hand she clutched a hundred dollar bill and in the other a straw suitcase . The way she strutted down the street COMMA the Old Man would have been blind not to have noticed both . Without looking at him COMMA without looking at anything except Drexel Street directly in front of her COMMA she climbed up into one of those orange streetcars COMMA rode away in it COMMA and never came back . `` But she should n't have come here in the first place '' COMMA the women had said . `` No COMMA no . Not that one . She thought she was bigger than we are because she came from Torino '' . `` Eh COMMA Torino ! She gave herself fancy airs ! Just because she had a part on the stage in the old country COMMA she thought she could carry her head higher than ours '' . They had slapped their thighs . `` It 's not for making pretty speeches about Dante those actresses get paid so good '' . `` Henh '' ! Calloused fingers COMMA caressed only by the smoothness of polished rosaries COMMA had swayed excitedly beneath puckered chins where tiny black hairs sprouted COMMA never to be tweezed away . Mauve - colored mouths that had never known anything sweeter than the taste of new wine and the passion of man 's tongue had not smiled COMMA but had condemned again and again . `` Puttana '' ! But if the Old Man even thought about his wife now COMMA nobody cared a fig . It was enough for people to know that at one time he had looked down the street at the fleshy suppleness of a woman he had consumed -- watching her become thinner and thinner in the distance COMMA as thin as the seams on her stockings COMMA and still thinner . His voice had not commanded her to stop . It had not questioned why . The women said they had seen him wave an exhausted farewell ; but he might have been shooing away the fleas that hopped from his yellow dog onto him . ( He was never without that dog . ) And his eyes -- those miniature sundials of variegated yellow -- had not altered their expression or direction . The Old Man 's very soul could have left him and flown down that street COMMA but he would n't have had anyone know it . Perhaps he had known then where that hundred dollar bill had come from and where it was taking his wife . But when he called for his withered COMMA wrinkled sister Rose to care for him and the children COMMA had he guessed that all he would remember of his woman was the memory of her climbing into that streetcar ? There seemed to be a contemptuous purpose in the way he sat there with his eyes glued to Drexel Street and his back in opposition to the church behind him . For all he saw or cared to see COMMA this could have been a town in Italy COMMA not the outskirts of Philadelphia . It could have been Bari or Chieti for the way it smelled . What did it matter to him that the park at the foot of Ash Road stretched beneath elevated trains that roared from the stucco station into the city 's center at half-hour intervals ? Or that the tiny creek spun its silent course toward the Schuylkill ? This place was hatred to him COMMA just as hatred was his only companion in his aloneness . To him they were one and the same . Sameness for the Old Man was framed in by a wall of ginkgo trees which divided these quarters from the city . Sameness lined the streets with two - story houses the color of ash . It slashed the sloping manure - scented lawns with concrete steps which climbed upward to white wooden porches . It swayed with the wicker swings and screeched with the rusted hinges of screen doors . Even the stable - garage COMMA which housed nothing now but the scent of rot COMMA had a lawn before it . And the coffee shop on Drexel Street COMMA where the men spent their evenings and Sundays playing cards COMMA had a rose hedge beneath its window . The hedge reeked of coffee dregs thrown against it . Only one house on the street had no lawn before it . It squatted low and square upon the sidewalk with a heavy iron grating supporting a glass facade . That was Bartoli 's shop . Above it COMMA from a second-story showroom COMMA wooden angels surveyed the neighborhood . Did the Old Man remember them there ? Yet everywhere else sameness was stucco and wood in square blocks -- like fortresses perched against the slant of the hill COMMA rising with the hill to the top where the church was and beyond that to the cemetery . Only paved alleyways tunneled through the walls of those fortresses into the mysterious core of intimacy behind the houses where backyards owned no fences COMMA where one man 's property blended with the next to form courtyards in which no one knew privacy . Love and hatred and fear were one here COMMA shaded only by fig trees and grape vines . And the forked tongue of gossip licked its sinister way from back porch to back porch . The Old Man silently fed upon these streets . They kept him alive COMMA waiting . Waiting for what and for whom COMMA only he could tell and would not . It was as though he had made a pact with the devil himself COMMA but it was not yet time to pay the price . He was holding out for something . He was determined to hold out . The Old Man 's son threw himself down COMMA belly first COMMA upon a concrete step COMMA taking in the coolness of it COMMA and dreaming of the day he would be rich . At fifteen he did n't care that he had no mother COMMA that he could n't remember her face or her touch ; neither did he care that Aunt Rose provided for him . He was named Pompeii as a tribute to his heritage COMMA and he could n't have cared less about that either . To him life was a restless boredom that began with the rising sun and ended only with sleep . When he would be a man COMMA he would be a rich man . He would not be like the `` rich Americans '' who lived in white - columned houses on the other side of the park . He would not ride the eight-thirty local to the city each morning . He would not carry a brief case . Nor would he work at all . He would square his shoulders and carry a cane before each step . He would sit inside the coffee shop and pound a gloved fist upon the table and a girl would hear him and come running COMMA bowing with her running COMMA calling out in her bowing COMMA `` At your service '' . He would order her to bring coffee COMMA and would take from his vest pocket a thin black pipe which he would stuff -- he would not remove his gloves -- and light and smoke . He could do that when he would be a man . `` Hey COMMA Laura '' ! He called to his sister on the porch above the steps . She was only ten months older than he . `` Laura COMMA what would you say if I smoked a pipe '' ? Laura did not answer him . She leaned unconcerned against the broken porch fence COMMA brushing and drying her wet COMMA gilded hair in the sun . One lithe leg straddled the railing and swung loosely before the creaking COMMA torn pales . Her tanned foot COMMA whose arch swept high and white COMMA pointed artfully toward tapering toes -- toes like fingers COMMA whose tips glowed white . All the while she sat there COMMA her sinewy arms swirled before her chest . Her face showed no sign of having heard Pompeii . It was a face that had lost its childlike softness and was beginning to fold within its fragile features a harshness that belied the lyric lines of its contours . The eyes COMMA blue and always somewhat downcast COMMA possessed a sullen quality . Even though the boy could not see them COMMA he knew they were clouded by distance . He was never sure they fully took him in . Pompeii called again COMMA `` Laura '' ! But the only answer that reached him was the screeching of the porch rail from her leg moving against it . `` She 's in a mood '' COMMA he thought `` There 's not a month she does n't get herself in a mood '' . Well COMMA what did that matter when the sun was shining and there were dreams to dream about ? And as for his pipe COMMA if he wanted to smoke one COMMA nobody would stop him . Not even Laura . Suddenly he was interrupted in his daydreaming by a warm wetness lapping against his chin COMMA and his eyes opened wide and long at the sight of a goat 's claret tongue COMMA feasting against the salt taste of him . Above the tongue COMMA an aged yellow eye COMMA sallow and time - cast COMMA encrusted within a sphere of marbleized pink skin COMMA stared unfalteringly at him . `` Christ sake COMMA goat COMMA git '' ! But the goat would not . `` You 're boiling milk COMMA ai n't you '' ? Soothing it with his hand COMMA knowing the whiskered jowls and the swollen smoothness of teats that wrinkled expectantly to his touch . Pompeii rolled over . His head undulated gradually COMMA covering space COMMA to come straining beneath the taut belly within the warmth of those teats . With his mouth opened wide COMMA he squirted the warm white milk against the roof of his mouth and his tongue savored the light COMMA earthy taste of it . The boy 's fingers and mouth operated with the skilled unity of a bagpipe player COMMA pressing and pulling COMMA delighting in what he did . Above him slid the evasive shadow of a storm cloud . Its form was a heavy figure in a fluttering soutane . But the boy could see only the goat 's belly . The Old Man near the corner let the shadow pass over him COMMA sensing something portentous in it . He knew it was there COMMA knew also what it was about COMMA but he would n't raise a finger except to smooth his yellow dog 's back . There would be time enough COMMA perhaps the Old Man reassured himself COMMA to pay the devil his due . Time enough to give up his soul . In the meantime COMMA six sandals COMMA stained an ocher COMMA the same color as Pompeii 's shaved hair COMMA edged up close to him . The clapping they made on the concrete interrupted him in the ecstatic pleasure he knew COMMA so that he quickly released his hold on the goat and pretended to be examining its haunches for ticks . He knew at a glance that the biggest sandals belonged to Niobe COMMA the neatest ones to Concetta COMMA and the laced ones to Romeo COMMA Concetta 's idiot brother . Pompeii expected Romeo 's small body to sink closer and closer to the ground . He expected Concetta 's thin hand to reach down to grasp the boy COMMA and her shrill COMMA impetuous voice to sound against the rotundity of his disfigured flesh that was never sure of hearing anything .