Dad went along with me, and after I had assembled a
lunch and sat down to it, he decided that his pipe needed refilling,
lit it, poured a cup of coffee and sat down with me.
"You know, Walt, I've been thinking, lately," he began.
Oh-oh, I thought. When Dad makes that remark, in just that tone, it's
all hands to secure ship for diving.
"We've all had to do a lot of thinking, lately," I agreed.
"Yes. You know, they want me to be mayor of Port Sandor."
I nodded and waited till I got my mouth empty. I could see a lot of
sense in that. Dad is honest and scrupulous and public-spirited; too
much so, sometimes, for his own good. There wasn't any question of his
ability, and while there had always been antagonism between the
hunter-ship crews and waterfront people and the uptown business crowd,
Dad was well liked and trusted by both parties.
"Are you going to take it?" I asked.
"I suppose I'll have to, if they really want me. Be a sort of
obligation."
That would throw a lot more work on me. Dad could give some attention
to the paper as mayor, but not as much as now.
"What do you want me to try to handle for you?" I asked.
"Well, Walt, that's what I've been thinking about," he said. "I've
been thinking about it for a long time, and particularly since things
got changed around here. I think you ought to go to school some more."
That made me laugh. "What, back to Hartzenbosch?" I asked.
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