Pilgrim brings you once again ‘The Adventures of Jonathan Tyne.’
The thick corked door of the dark cubicle opened and a balding man, erect,
dressed in a conservative business suit, entered. He carried a manila
envelope in his left hand; he reached over and extended his right hand to
the colonel. He spoke quietly,
12
but not in a whisper. ‘Hello, Ed. Nice to see you again. I don’t have to
tell you your call was a surprise.’
‘I guess it was. How are you, Jack? … Lieutenant, meet Mr. John Ryan;
formerly Major John N. M. 1. Ryan of Six Corps.’
The officer rose to his feet.
‘Sit down, lieutenant,’ said Ryan, shaking the young man’s hand.
‘Nice to meet you, sir. Thank you, sir.’
Ryan edged his way around the rows of black leather armchairs and sat down
next to the colonel in front of the glass partition. The organ music once
more swelled, matching the reintroduced sounds of the howling dogs. Several
actors and actresses crowded around two microphones, all watching a man
behind a panel in another glass booth – this one lighted – on the other
side of the studio.
‘How’s JaneTasked Ryan.,’And the childrenT
‘She hates Washington; so does the boy. They’d rather be back in Oahu.
Cynthia loves it, though. She’s eighteen, now; all those D.C. dances.’
A hand signal was given by the man in the lighted booth across the way. The
actors began their dialogue.
Ryan continued. ‘How about you? “Washington” looks good on the roster
sheet.’
‘I suppose it does, but nobody knows I’m there. That won’t help me.’
‘OhT
‘G-2.’
‘Yes, I gathered that.’
‘You look as though you’re thriving, Jack.’
Ryan smiled a little awkwardly. ‘No sweat. Ten other guys in the agency
could do what I’m doing … better. But they don’t have the Point on their
r6sum6s. I’m an agency symbol, strongintegrity version. The clients sort of
fall in for muster.’
The colonel laughed. ‘Horseshit. You were always good with the beady-bags.
Even the high brass used to turn the congressmen over to you.’
‘You flatter me. At least I think you’re flattering me.’
‘Eeaagh!’ The obese actress, still chewing her gum, had screeched into the
second microphone. She backed away, goosing a thin, effeminate-looking
actor who was about to speak.
‘There’s a lot of screaming, isn’t there.’ The colonel wasn’t
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really asking a question.
‘And dogs barkinj and off-key organ music and a hell of a lot of groaning
and heavy breathing. “Tyne’s” the most popular program we have.’
‘I admit I’ve listened to it. The whole family has; since we’ve been back.’
‘You wouldn’t believe it if I told you who writes most of the scripts!
‘What do you meanT
‘A Pulitzer poet. Under another name, of course!
‘That seems strange!
‘Not at all. Survival. We pay. Poetry doesn’t.’
‘Is that why he’s onr The colonel gestured with a nod of his head toward
the tall, dark-haired man who had put down the newspaper but still remained
in the comer of the studio, away from the other actors, leaning against the
white corked wall.
‘Beats the hell out of me. I mean, I didn’t know who he was – that is, I
knew who he was, but I didn’t know anything about him – until you called!
Ryan handed the colonel the manila envelope. ‘Here’s a list of the shows
and the agencies he’s worked for. I called around; implied that we were
considering him for a running lead. The Hammerts use him a lot. . . .
‘The whoT
‘They’re packagers. They’ve got about fifteen programs; daytime serials and
evening shows. They say he’s reliable; no sauce problems. He’s used
exclusively for dialects, it seems. And language fluency when it’s called
for.’
‘German and Spanish.’ It was a statement.
‘That’s right …. I
‘Only,it’s not Spanish, ies Portuguese!
‘Who can tell the difference? You know who his parents are.’ Another
statement, only agreement anticipated.
‘Richard and Margo Spaulding. Concert pianists, very big in England and the
Continent. Current status: semi-retirement in Costa del Santiago, Portugal!
‘They’re American, though, aren’t theyT
‘Very. Made sure their son was born here. Sent him to American settlement
schools wherever they lived. Shipped him back here for his final two years
in prep school and college.’
‘How come Portugal, thenT
‘Who knows? They had their first successes in Europe and
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decided to stay there. A fact I think we’re going to be grateful for. They
only return here for tours; which aren’t very frequent anymore…. Did you
know that he’s a construction engineer?’
‘No, I didn’t. That’s interesting.’
‘Interesting? Just “interesting”?’
Ryan smiled; there was a trace of sadness in his eyes. ‘Wen, during the
last six years or so there hasn’t been a lot of building, has there? I
mean, there’s no great call for engineers … outside of the CCC and the
NRA.’ He lifted his right hand and waved it laterally in front of him,
encompassing the group of men and women inside the studio. ‘Do you know
what’s in there? A trial lawyer whose clients – when he can get a few –
can’t pay him; a Rolls-Royce executive who’s been laid off since
thirty-eight; and a former state senator whose campaign a few years ago not
only cost him his job but also a lot of potential employers. They think
he’s a Red. Don’t fool yourself, Ed. You’ve got it good. The Depression
isn’t over by a long shot. These people are the lucky ones. They found
avocations they’ve turned into careers…. As long as they last.’
. ‘If I do my job, his career won’t last any longer than a month from now.’
‘I figured it was something like that. The storm’s building, isn’t it?
We’ll be in it pretty soon. And I’ll be back, too …..
Where do you want to use him?’
Usbon.’
David Spaulding pushed himself away from the white studio wall. He held up
the pages of his script as he approached the microphone, preparing for his
cue.
Pace watched him through the glass partition, wondering how Spaulding’s
voice would sound. He noticed that as Spaulding came closer to the group of
actors clustered around the microphone, there was a conscious – or it
seemed conscious – parting of bodies, as if the new participant was in some
way a stranger. Perhaps it was only normal courtesy, allowing the new per-
former a chance to position himself, but the colonel didn’t think so. There
were no smiles, no looks, no indications of familiarity as there seemed to
be among the others.
No one winked. Even the obese woman who screamed and chewed gum and goosed
her fellow actors just stood and watched Spaulding, her gum immobile in her
mouth.
.15
And then it happened-, a curious moment.
Spaulding grinned, and the others, even the thin, effeminate man who was in
the middle of a monologue, responded with bright smiles and nods. The obese
woman winked.
A curious moment, thought Colonel Pace.
Spaulding’s voice – mid-deep, incisive, heavily accented -came through the
webbed boxes. His role was that of a mad doctor and bordered on the comic.
It would have been comic, thought Pace, except for the authority Spaulding
gave the writer’s words. Pace didn’t know anything about acting, but he
knew when a man was being convincing, Spaulding was convincing.
That would be necessary in Lisbon.
In a few minutes Spaulding’s role was obviously over. The obese woman
screamed again; Spaulding retreated to the comer and quietly, making sure
the pages did not rustle, picked up his folded newspaper. He leaned against
the wall and withdrew a pencil from his pocket. He appeared to be doing The
New York Times crossword puzzle.
Pace couldn’t take his eyes off Spaulding. It was important for him to
observe closely any subject with whom he had to make contact whenever
possible. Observe the small things: the way a man walked; the way he held
his head; the steadiness or lack of it in his eyes. The clothes, the watch,
the cuff links; whether the shoes were shined, if the heels were worn down;
the quality -or lack of quality – in a man’s posture.
Pace tried to match the human being leaning against the wall, writing on
the newspaper, with the dossier in his Washington office.
His name first surfaced from the files of the Army Corps of Engineers.
David Spaulding had inquired about the possibilities of a commission – not
volunteered: what would his opportunities be? were , there any challenging
construction projects? what about the length-of-service commitments? The
sort of questions thousands of men – skilled men – were asking, knowing
that the Selective Service Act would become law within a week or two. If
enlistment meant a shorter commitment and/or the continued practice of
their professional skills, then better an enlistment than be drafted with
the mobs.
Spaulding had filled out all the appropriate forms and had been told the