laughed. They were all very serious.
Then Patsy got them calmed down and she started to talk. The minute she spoke they were quiet as mice, except every once in a while they'd applaud like mad, and Patsy would just stand as she was until they stopped.
Whatever she said they'd applaud. Like how the Party had grown so much they needed a bigger meeting-hall and She prayed the Divine Helper would find some way of building them one of their own. And how with a strong central organization the idea would go on sweeping and sweeping across the state like the great waves of the Pacific roll to our shores and when th e Plan went through every one would receive a weekly income, and then they'd have so much to spend that the prosperity would be so great the sales taxes would soon be growing faster than you would give out the weekly money. All they had to do to get that was to go out and fight along the Ecanaanomical Front and each member must promise to get two members within a week who would promise to also get two members in a week, who would get two more members, and so on.
They all got up, crossing their hands cross-way over their breasts and promised to get two members. Then Patsy crossed her hands the same way, and lifted up her head to look at the ceiling. The lights started to go down and they all began singing one of their songs. Maybe it was a hymn. It was to the tune of "Lead Kindly Light." It was easy to remember. It went:
Lead, Patsy, Lead,
Through economic gloom,
Lead thou us on.
Thy pathway lies
Toward a business boom,
Lead thou us on.
Though others sneer
Vie place our lasting trust in thee;
For us thy plan
Will soon bring back prosperity.
By that time the lights were all off and it was dark. When they went up, Patsy wasn't on the stage any more. Then the people all applauded like mad again—as if they were either pleased at the way she disappeared or because they liked their own chance to make a noise. Then Mamie came out again and they sang some more, and then they took up the collection for Patsy.
I pushed through the people and went round the backstage. There was a fellow wouldn't let me through and he started giving me an argument.
"I just want to see Patsy Perisho," I said.
"The Leader is exhauste d. She sees no one after a meet ing," he said. He was very snotty and important.
I was going to bop him one, but he looked so funny and he wore glasses. So I just took one finger and jabbed him quick right over the solar plexus. If you know how to do that, you can set a soft guy on his heels. This bird was funny. He just folded and he couldn't get his breath.
Mamie was in the dressing-room with Patsy and a slew of females and one man. She introduced me to this bird. He had a thin beard and s he said he was professor of eco nomics at the M. C. S. University of the radio. He said:
"And what do you think of your wife?"
"She was pretty good," I said.
"Pretty good?" he said. He smiled like I was a dimwit. "I think that hardly describes it."
"Well, husbands, you know, professor," said Mamie, smiling like she'd eaten a lemon.
The females all started cooing, and talking about new encampments and battle-fronts. I got tired and I blew. I was full up of it. I got to thinking again and I felt bad.
I went down the beach and watched the people down there, sitting there with fires going. There were some Japs on a party with some Hawaiians. The Hawaiians all had guitars and were singing. The Japs were getting the Hawai ians stewed. The Hawaiians began dancing. One fellow and one girl were good. They were dancing close together, but not touching; wiggling their fingers round each other like they were stroking each other, but never really touching. They were dancing like the strip acts, only they danced facing each other.
The Japs kept feeding them more liquor till they got plenty drunk.
Then someone shouted, "Come on, Kehoni. Do us a
Then Patsy got them calmed down and she started to talk. The minute she spoke they were quiet as mice, except every once in a while they'd applaud like mad, and Patsy would just stand as she was until they stopped.
Whatever she said they'd applaud. Like how the Party had grown so much they needed a bigger meeting-hall and She prayed the Divine Helper would find some way of building them one of their own. And how with a strong central organization the idea would go on sweeping and sweeping across the state like the great waves of the Pacific roll to our shores and when th e Plan went through every one would receive a weekly income, and then they'd have so much to spend that the prosperity would be so great the sales taxes would soon be growing faster than you would give out the weekly money. All they had to do to get that was to go out and fight along the Ecanaanomical Front and each member must promise to get two members within a week who would promise to also get two members in a week, who would get two more members, and so on.
They all got up, crossing their hands cross-way over their breasts and promised to get two members. Then Patsy crossed her hands the same way, and lifted up her head to look at the ceiling. The lights started to go down and they all began singing one of their songs. Maybe it was a hymn. It was to the tune of "Lead Kindly Light." It was easy to remember. It went:
Lead, Patsy, Lead,
Through economic gloom,
Lead thou us on.
Thy pathway lies
Toward a business boom,
Lead thou us on.
Though others sneer
Vie place our lasting trust in thee;
For us thy plan
Will soon bring back prosperity.
By that time the lights were all off and it was dark. When they went up, Patsy wasn't on the stage any more. Then the people all applauded like mad again—as if they were either pleased at the way she disappeared or because they liked their own chance to make a noise. Then Mamie came out again and they sang some more, and then they took up the collection for Patsy.
I pushed through the people and went round the backstage. There was a fellow wouldn't let me through and he started giving me an argument.
"I just want to see Patsy Perisho," I said.
"The Leader is exhauste d. She sees no one after a meet ing," he said. He was very snotty and important.
I was going to bop him one, but he looked so funny and he wore glasses. So I just took one finger and jabbed him quick right over the solar plexus. If you know how to do that, you can set a soft guy on his heels. This bird was funny. He just folded and he couldn't get his breath.
Mamie was in the dressing-room with Patsy and a slew of females and one man. She introduced me to this bird. He had a thin beard and s he said he was professor of eco nomics at the M. C. S. University of the radio. He said:
"And what do you think of your wife?"
"She was pretty good," I said.
"Pretty good?" he said. He smiled like I was a dimwit. "I think that hardly describes it."
"Well, husbands, you know, professor," said Mamie, smiling like she'd eaten a lemon.
The females all started cooing, and talking about new encampments and battle-fronts. I got tired and I blew. I was full up of it. I got to thinking again and I felt bad.
I went down the beach and watched the people down there, sitting there with fires going. There were some Japs on a party with some Hawaiians. The Hawaiians all had guitars and were singing. The Japs were getting the Hawai ians stewed. The Hawaiians began dancing. One fellow and one girl were good. They were dancing close together, but not touching; wiggling their fingers round each other like they were stroking each other, but never really touching. They were dancing like the strip acts, only they danced facing each other.
The Japs kept feeding them more liquor till they got plenty drunk.
Then someone shouted, "Come on, Kehoni. Do us a
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