stamp paid was still fingering the ribbon and it made a little motion in his pants pocket.
paul d looked up, noticed the side pocket agitation and snorted. "i can't read. you got any morenewspaper for me, just a waste of time."stamp withdrew the ribbon and sat down on the steps. "no. this here's something else." hestroked the red cloth between forefinger and thumb. "something else."paul d didn't say anything so the two men sat in silence for a few moments.
"this is hard for me," said stamp. "but i got to do it. two things i got to say to you. i'm a take theeasy one first."paul d chuckled. "if it's hard for you, might kill me dead.""no, no. nothing like that. i come looking for you to ask your pardon. apologize.""for what?" paul d reached in his coat pocket for his bottle. "you pick any house, any housewhere colored live. in all of cincinnati. pick any and you welcome to stay there. i'mapologizingbecausetheydidn'tofferortellyou.butyou(one) welcome anywhere you want to be. myhouse is your house too. john and ella, miss lady, able woodruff, willie pike — anybody. youchoose. you ain't got to sleep in no cellar, and i apologize for each and every night you did. i don'tknow how that preacher let you do it. i knowed him since he was a boy.""whoa, stamp. he offered.""did? well?""well. i wanted, i didn't want to, i just wanted to be off by myself a spell. he offered. every time isee him he offers again.""that's a load off. i thought everybody gone crazy."paul d shook his head. "just me.""you planning to do anything about it?""oh, yeah. i got big plans." he swallowed twice from the bottle. any planning in a bottle is short,thought stamp, but he knew from personal experience the pointlessness of telling a drinking mannot to. he cleared his sinuses and began to think how to get to the second thing he had come tosay. very few people were out today. the canal was frozen so that traffic too had stopped. theyheard the dop of a horse approaching. its rider sat a high eastern saddle but everything else abouthim was ohio valley. as he rode by he looked at them and suddenly reined his horse, and came upto the path leading to the church. he leaned forward.
"hey," he said.
stamp put his ribbon in his pocket. "yes, sir?""i'm looking for a gal name of judy. works over by the slaughterhouse.""don't believe i know her. no, sir.""said she lived on plank road.""plank road. yes, sir. that's up a ways. mile, maybe.""you don't know her? judy. works in the slaughterhouse.""no, sir, but i know plank road. 'bout a mile up thataway."paul d lifted his bottle and swallowed. the rider looked at him and then back at stamp paid.
loosening the right rein, he turned his horse toward the road, then changed his mind and cameback.
"look here," he said to paul d. "there's a cross up there, so i guess this here's a church or used tobe. seems to me like you ought to show it some respect, you follow me?""yes, sir," said stamp. "you right about that. that's just what i come over to talk to him about. justthat."
