Men Die
Page 15
Sulgrave came out of the hotel into the evening street as though coming once again into the world. It was a winter feeling he remembered from boyhood, of coming out of the Saturday matinee movie, of coming out into the bustle and bitter darkness of evening after having entered in the bright cold sunshine of afternoon. And in that instant he wondered if he would come through it alive. He remembered Vanna's last words as he left, but something within him brushed them aside. He thought of Vanna herself, and in that moment was mistakenly—it was always a mistake to be sure of the future—mistakenly certain he'd survive. The first thing that really struck his vision was a newspaper; a fur-coated woman was carrying it, reading as she walked. The tabloid bore a single six-inch black headline:
The word should have fallen on his life like a cleaver. It was absurd. He thought of Dolf us. He thought of the last thing he'd seen as they circled to set a course away from the island. Laughing Boy. The gigantic statue had looked small from the air, and even smaller as the ludicrous weeping features were obliterated in distance. He remembered watching it and holding his breath so as not to fog the cold plastic window, watching until even the spot where that statue stood was lost in hazy reflection of morning sun and sea.
H. L. “Doc” HUMES (1926-1992) was one of the originators of The Paris Review and the author of two novels, The Underground City and Men Die. His third novel, The Memoirs of Dorsey Slade, was never completed. He lived in Paris and Greenwich Village. Doc is also the subject of a documentary being produced by the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Immy Humes, his daughter.
For further information, please visit www.dochumes.com.
Copyright © 1959 by H. L. Humes, Jr.
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eISBN: 978-0-307-48814-5
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