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Recoroed
Roaldu2, ;:ichmond Writers' Section Files
TE: 1940 ___
YAKEZE MaL
"I'm seventy," said Rank Davis. "And I ain't so awful
bad off. I don't do nothin' much by way of real work now,
Just help the boys out around the mill. I got three boys grown
up, pretty good boys they are too. But I still help them out
and take ore of them. V4.4 by God, I made more money in one
year than all of themill sake in a.lifstime. Kind of funny
when you stop to think of it. /Jut it's true."
rank lighted a fresh cigar and leaned beak in his chair.
A worn hut was pushed back on his head and scattered looks of
gray Lair fell on his forehead. U. had a beak of a nose that
curved over his toothless grin. Lis chin jutted out. he wore
a rusty suit and no necktie.
81. can still work when I want toe" hank said. nbut I get
up when I please now. No more early ruin' for me unless
I feel like it. If I'm tired and want to stay in bad I stay.
I leave orders at home that I won't accept no phone calls be
rare eight o'clock anyway. Lhen I get up I get up and eat a
good breakfast if I feel hungry. Then I go over to the mill
and build a good fire in the on:ice stove. And I sit around
there and smoke and road and think, handle the orders that cone
in for lumber, write letters, answer the phone, things like that.
Sometimes the boys come, to got some edvioe and I go along into
the mill and help them out. I don't do ;glitch no mores but I
guess I do enough. I got a comfortable chair in the off Los.
It's warm and nice with the fire gall'. I set right back and
enjoy life. I figger I done enough in my time so I deservs
a little bit of rest now. les, by God, that's how I figger it.
"The boys are good boys but they'll never do what I dons
or make the money0I did. Maybe I spoiled fina, made it too
easy for 'em, I don't know. Ralph's the best one. He's a
worker, that boy. Never leaves that mill. Right by that old
saw .all the Um*. ti's a great worker but he ain't got much
of a head for business. The other boys are all right too.
One of 'em runs a story; the other one's on a farm. I gave
them both their start, set 'en both up. They're doine all
right too. thy hadn't they ought to be doinl all right? I
give lom a hand whenever I can. Glad to do it. Glad to be
able to do it, you know. Nobody ever helped me much, but that's
all right too. I didn't need nobody.
"I made six hundred dollars yesterdays Yessirs I sold
that house I 4ot last week and cleared six hundred on it."
hank cackled in his throat. "The bank was going to auction
it off and they asked me to bid on it. I allowed I had enough
property on my hands Alreedy. Well, I finally put in my bid
and went horns. Guise it kind of soured on their minds after
I bid. Come to find out mine was the only damn bid made at
all*" The laugh cackled out again. "Nobody bid against Hank
Davis. I had a blouse I didn't even at fts, and had it abow0.
tow a house you buy to live in ain't askint you no money, is
it? No moveln a suit of clothes you buy to moor oaks. you
a.
money. Just kind of nsoossary, that's neoemplary to have
but no moneymaker. Now a house you buy and sell at a good
profit or rent it out that's whirs you're =akin' money.
The man that buys or pays you rent is the man spendinl the
money. Course I didn't make a whole lot on this deal. Sold
out too cheap; might's well given the place away. But I wanted
to get rid of it.; I got enough to tend to without no more.
"I was always buyinl and sallint and tradinle I been
stuck and I've stuck others. Otiose the balanoi is on my side,
if any. 'ishy„ I made a trade with BOA Ellington the other day.
tam said he'd quit drinkin' if I quit amokint. Well sir, I
put my pipes right in tha stove. And tquit drinkinf too
to kind of keep Sam company. When I board Sam bad broke over
I started amokinl cigars. And I take a drink now when I foal
like it. But I ain't smoked a pips sines. I would've kept
the bargain fair and above -board if Sam had dons his 'Art*
Lam's a good feller, damn good worker, but he likes his drivikint
liquor awful well, Sam doss. It'll take a firet-olasst under.
taker to stop Sam tram drInkinl.
"Years bask I used to loan out money to proviso folks as
had to haya its you know, and maybe couldn't raise it from the
batiks. Lots of 'on used to ours* me for a crock and a skini.
flint and a bloodsucker, but I don't know. I rigger, by Ood,
I was doinf lam a favor: They media(' the money bad. I had it.
They had debts I had *ash. let tem use it and they paid
no for it. Ain't that a solid business preposition? Maybe I
did aharso Ion nor, than the banks*, Vh7 not?* Hank creaked
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with laughter. "If a feller wanted a hundred dollars I took
his note for a hundred and twenty-five, you see? Then by God
I charged him six percent on the hundredi.and..a...quarter. You
got to pay to get credit in this world. I always had to. If
a man's got money he's a fool not to capitalise on it. I been
accused of a lot of things in my time. But it's hard world
and a man's got to be hard to got along.
"I made my money from lumber and real estate mostly. I
got started young and worked hard. First I used my hands
and muscle; then I started usini my brain and lettint other
men work with their hands. A lot more strong backs in this
country than there are sharp minds. Didn't take me long to
figzer it out neither. I was a young feller, in my twenties,
and doin' pretty well. I owned a sawmill and a store and a
lot of land. I had eome good timberlands, some of the best
around. I always knew my lumber. I took to lumber like a
redheaded woodpeoker.
"Feller tried to get me to buy into the granite business
ono time. Told him I didn't want no part of it. I was dant
all right with lumber and land. He said 1 was a fool not to
step in where there was real money. He says, 'There's always
people dyini and they always need gravestones.' I told him
there was always people bet& born too, and they always needed
wood for houses and land to build 'em on. "Another thing,"
I says, "the boys that work for me are workint outdoors where
it's clean and healthy. A little sawdust don't hurt 'em none.
But the men in your sheds are breathini in dust that'll put
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'em under one of them stones before their time. If they've
got enough money to afford one.
"Well, this big New York company wanted to buy some of
my timberland. They sent men up here to look it all over, and
they liked the lOoke of it first-rate. I made sure they saw
the best stuff standint. Well, after fussint and foolint around
they went back to New York to report. Had some correspondence
with the company. I was supposed to go to New York to close
the deal. I knew them fellers thought I was pretty green, so
I thought I'd have some fun with tem.
"I bought a whole new outfit for the trip down to New
York. I bought me some overalls, a jumper, boots, sheepskin
leggin's, and I dressed up in 'em and wore 'em down. Them
city fellers liked to die when they see me come in the office.
"I says to 'em: 'Had a tarnation of a time findint this
place. So many big high buildints and so many people. You're
way up in the air here, ain't you? How fur you sipose it is
down to the ground? I ain't used to all tlis commotion. Al-
most wish I had stayed to home.'
"I says to 'em: 'This is my best outfit I got on here.
Only wear it to dress up for somethint special. Couple of
years I'll buy me a new one, and I'll put this one right on
for everyday. Up home we have to be sparint of our clothes.'
"I says: 'What be them cars that run up on top of them
tall poles and make such an awful racket. I wouldn't dare to
walk under 'em let alone ride in tem. I never see such con-
traptions as you got here in the city.'
"Well, by God, them city fellers was havint more fun with
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me, you know but not half so much fun as I was howl& with
them. Finally we got 'round to talkinl business. They wanted
to give me three thousand dollars, down payment. I held out
for five thousand. They begin to sweat and squirm a little
then. After quite a spell they got ready to write me off a
check for five thousand. I stalled 'ow off some more, said
I'd promised my wife not to close the deal till I talked with
her. They wanted me to use the office phone but I said I had
to have a private telephone booth when I talked to my wife, on
account she had such a loud voice it might rupture folks' ear-
drums that wa'n't used to listeninl to it. So they let me go
out. I stopped in a place I knew before and got a couple drinks.
I gave the bartender some more of that farmer lingo, and the
fellers in there liked to died laughins at me. What I really
went out for was to go to a bank and see if their check was any
good. I found out it was and I went back to the office and
picked it up. Them fellers didn't appear none too happy.
"Then I asks 'em how I'm goin' to get back to the depot.
I told 'em I was pretty apt to get lost in all the crowds and
traffic and noise. I said I couldn't keep from lookinl up at
the high buildin's and it made me dizzy and I was apt to fall
down and get run over. Well, by God, you know what they did?
They sent a man right along with me clear up as far as White
River Junctionl" Hank Davis cackled gleefully and pounded his
knee. His cold blue eyes sparkled under the tangle of thin
white hair.
"Well, in the spring them city fellers came up to take
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over, you know, and I collected the rest on the land. After
they talked to some of the local lumbermen they began to think
maybe they hadn't made such a good deal as they thought. They
found out they hadn't stung Rank Davis a whole hell of a lot.
And here's the best part of it all now. That company went
bankrupt tryint to get the lumber out of there1
"Oh, I've pulled some pretty good ones, I have. And
ttwouldn't surprise me none if I pull a few more before I'm
done. Naturally I got caught up with once in awhile, and I've
spent a good deal of time in the courtroom. But I never minded
that nc:le. Matter of fact I used to get a big kick out of
fightin' them trials. 'Specially when old lawyer Dunkirk
the old judge, you know
was in on 'tom.
"The old judge and I was great friends. Used to take our
dinners together down at the old hotel. That's when I kept
an office here in town. We had dinner together about every
noon. he was a great character, the judge, almighty sharp and
smart, he was. I was gettin' sued once and Dunkirk was defendint
me. We beat 'em too. After the trial he says to me: 'Flank,
you come near tellin' the truth there once, and by God, I was
afraid. If you had of, we'd lost the case surel'
"Ee was trying a case once, old Kirk was. Seems that this
one feller had a whole corporation buffaloed. They had got
hold of him somewhere planninl to use him, you know. Instead
of that Billings used them, and he near used 'em up before he
was through. Well sir, Kirk was address in' the jury and he
says? 'When I was a boy my father told ma never to Ilek up
a porcupine. Re told me to let porcupines alone, because once
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you got hold of gem you couldn't let go
WO+
no matter how much
you wanted to. The more you tried to get rid of 'em the more
quills they threw into you. 'That is,' he says, 'the same
advice that should've been given this corporation.' I won't
give it no name here They should've let Billings alone in
the first place. Now all they got is a big handfull of quills
and more stabbing them all the time.' Well sir, that jUry
they was all farmers anyway they roared and laughed and
roared some more. That meant more to them than all the fine
points of law there is. Judge Kirk understood human nature
and he knew men.
m: -e had a rape case once, the old Judge did. He asked
the woman if she screamed when the man attacked her. She says:
II always do.' Kirk threw the case out. The woman was nothing
but an old rip anyway. Usually is that kind that brings up
charges of rape, I fig6er... Kirk and I was good friends always.
I didn't go to his funeral, don't believe in gem much. Didn't
go to see him when he was sick even. Knew he was dying, and
he did too. Knew if I went up I'd get to bawlin' and so would
Kirk. Felt just as bad about it as any man alive, I did.
Never did have to go to funerals to show my feelings. There's
enough professional funeral -goers amongst the females in this
country.
"Speaking of funerals it's too bad that bomb didn't get
Eitler that time. Problly it's too late to do any good to kill
lim anyway. Begs got his machine all built up. But maybe if
ORO*
he had been blowed up, them Germangsgd start fighting amongst
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themselves. All they've done so far in this war is lie about
how many of each other's ships and submarines have been sunk,
or how many planes they've shot down on each other. This country
could stay out of that mess and get rich, if they knew enough
to.
"I remember when the Lusitania was sunk in fourteen or
fifteen nineteen -fifteen, I think it was. Them people had
been warned not to cross on that boat* They went ahead just
the same. 1 was arguin' with a feller about that, lie said
they ha' a right to go* I said maybe they did have a right to,
but just the same they'd been given warninle by God, and they
should've taken it. I says: 'If a feller was settint off a
bie blast of dynamite a piece down the road and you should come
along in your car. 14'd warn you to stop and wait for the
blast. You'd still have a right to go ahead and Eet blowed
to hell if you war damn fool enough. And knowing how bull-
headed you are that's probtly just what you'd dot But whose
fault would it really be? Yours or his?"
"I had another argument with the same feller. 1-41 was
standin' up for dictatorships. 1 was standint up for a dem-
ocracy. he tells how al7 the big improvements in the world
have been under dictators. He points out Napoleon, Frederick
the Great, Caesar, Alexander, all them old-timers. Then he
tries to show how much Mussolini has done for Italy, ritler
for ;-cormany„ 3tulin for Russia, and all them modern dictators*
let him rave on for a spell. Then I says to him: 'Look here
now. A democracy is a new form of government compared to the
others. It's still in the experimental sta6e. vet're the baby
amongst nations; our government is the baby amongst other forms
of government. Look right here,' I says. 'I'll show you the
difference between a dictatorship and a deLiocracy.
"I Your dietatorsYlp is like a big proud ship,' I says.
1',teamint away across the ocean with a great steel hulk and
great powerful engines drivinl it. It's goin' fast and it's
goin' atrong and it looks like nothinl oould stop it. that
happens? Your fine ship strikes something under the surfaoe.
Maybe it's a rune or a reef, maybe it's a torpedo or an toe-
berc. And your wonderful ship sinks.
"'Iow you take our denocrAcy01 t says to him. "It's like
we're ridinl on a raft, a rickety raft that was put together
in a hurry. We get tossed about on the waves, it's bad going,
tare our feet are always wet. 3ut that raft don't sink 'cause
you can't sink it/ You can sink your great ship, but you can't
sink our poor little raft. It's the raft that will get to
shore at last long after we're dead and buried; Lone after
your big ships, and their captains too, are sunk and forgot.
"That's the way I look at it, boys, that's just exactly
how I see it. You can do us you like, think as you like. I
fluor for mo I'll stay rirht on the raft, boy's... Until my
wave or my shark cnmes along, or somebody throws me off."