Face Dancers
Shape Shifters
A thousand miles
All machines are tools. Not all tools are machines. Do you know what I am saying Punta. Yes I do old man. There is no wind on the bridge but the sea and the rigging scream like lost souls outside a bubble. Must say you handle the ship well. Our first Nico device thirty years ago cost a million bucks. Black Thabo was keeping the books. Conga cooks like a thumper hawk. It was Thabo’s custom to watch my back alone and keep the crew contained when I go ashore to pee and see what need be. Each device was one of a kind and created the energy to make the next one. They grew smaller and more powerful. Dart‘s macrospielen are # 19 21 and 22 back from the shadows again where the vegetables are green… and you can pee right in the stream. And that’s important.
There was a loner. There always is. Karl shouted down to him where he sat on a deck box. Hey there. Got a minute. Ja… got up and walked to the gunwale. You know of a boat called the Dart. Immediately looked around for those who were close enough to hear. Hopped off the boat and walked between two storage shacks. It was pretty clear to Karl… wanted him to follow. Once they were further into the shipyard the man turned and simply said: Ist ein geisterschiff. No. I just saw it yesterday comin’ in to port. Gone now, the military boats chased her and she cranked her speed right in the middle of the river and disappeared. She flies for a few seconds, then disappears into a cloud. No, more like a mist. When the mist dissipates she’s gone.
Folks have seen it happen before. I never put much stock in it until yesterday when I saw for myself. You say you actually saw the whole vessel fly. Fly and evaporate. Karl knew better than to laugh. He knew better than to ask for any of the other witnesses to such. He thanked him and gave him a few German bills. The man took them with a grateful nod, folding them and jamming them into his pocket. During the trip, he formulated what his next move should be. As soon as he reached Bremen, he needed to wire Albert. Albert wasn’t going want to hear about any ghost ship. Albert wanted a photograph of a dead Henry as well as documented proof. By the time they reached Bremen, he had decided not to wire Albert to even report his status for at least another week. Albert would regard any wire at this point as dallying or complaining. Albert did neither.
Henry was seemingly not allowed to dock in Germany. He had tried several times, but not unlike The Flying Dutchman, he found himself at odds to get home. He awoke, back in the middle of the North Sea, not a little bit drunk, but looking this time toward Denmark. As it had happened, Karl had already witnessed the Dart’s last traverse past Roter Sand.
Punta is a generative pre-trained transformer. Longing to leave the bridge. All the crew had returned and all knew Henry on sight… a sight that could inspire tears of fear… or peals of laughter. High-LEEE whistled officer on deck. Stand DOWN. Whump make way for the Captain. What you laughing at pussy face. Captain aye. Eye see you going near the gangplank I hit you so hard on the snoot that you’ll look to the heavens for a bass violin. Better yet… take him below and have Mister Snickerdoodle head-scrub the toilet in the place where the cat won’t go.
Then I heard the boom of the blood-lust song
Henry drew his new revolver with the 500 grain .45 bullets. Shock the muzzle blast would light up the woods and blow the faces clean off these flapping vulva-lipped dingle dongs. So you need not wave your butt at me Cap. Transformers are step and down silly old man. Henry was not listening. He was busy digging a cathode to take a dump. I handle the ship better than you… because I AM the ship. By then Henry had cleaned himself from his hat kinky orange tail to his nicked and bent years. The crew saw the ship’s cat streak aboard. The ones who knew the cat was Henry’s replica wished they didn’t. They were the ones who knew the Gatehouse and returned more of a line than polygons.
Echo and Narcissus
Out of Mind
Out of Sight
She will talk. He will look. What the hell are you talking about old man. Fair maiden if you search for something hard enough you’ll convince yourself that you have found what you’re searching for. Bridge of the Dart is too small for competition. You may as well admit it old man. She is the Dutchman now- no matter what you call her. I call her consciousness. The civil war was not about slavery- but union. Put simply, two different eras could not be expected to carve nature along the same joints. Perhaps most importantly, the very fact that we can recognize the differences as conflicts in the first place proves how much we have in common. Catching hell had a different meaning in those days. Keep my glass as your sidearm.
‘‘Twas three days of looking down toward Nepal. From the top of Roter Sand the ocean below did look much like a mountain climber’s view of the Himalayas. The wind moaned and whined in every seam of the sturdy lighthouse, but much as it tried, it was unable to invade the portholes, larger windows or doors of their shelter. Every time Gunther climbed up to the beacon, Karl was unnerved at the sound up there. It was as if a huge sea monster was trying to pull the lighthouse apart for the sole purpose of getting to them: slamming around after them in order to devour them both. But Gunther assured him it was effective enough and a mighty welcoming sight for any maverick ship trying to find land nearby in such weather.
There she was. As the Dart made its way past them, he raised the binoculars to his eyes once again to inspect the crew that were visible topside. There were two younger men, at horseplay, pretending to be ring boxing with each other. Three more were standing under one of the strange looking masts with mugs in their hands. Finally, there were three old bearded men standing together, appearing to be almost holding each other erect. They stood soberly watching the lighthouse. One of them raised his own pair of binoculars and aimed it toward the deck where Karl and Gunther stood.
Burning in Hell for his hand-maimed host.
Henry got a good impression of Karl in between the use of his own binoculars, and Karl could plainly identify the man he was to eliminate as Henry. Simultaneously, they let their binoculars fall, and regarded each other with half hearted salutes. Henry first. No one issued forth a facial expression and continued to stare toward each other until the Dart’s stern was all that was visible. It dutifully headed toward Bremerhaven as expected. Karl had a very brief glimpse of one young deckhand getting ready to hoist a flag. Then they shrunk into a small black speck. Gunther was not sorry to see him leave. Although Karl had tried to seem pleasant at times… an obvious stretch… a feeling more than the obvious. Karl was already below packing.
HAAW! Did ja see how the sea smacked her ass like she was a Bavarian bar maid. She never moved a millimeter off keel. She is one of a kind- little girl- just like our deck guns. Goddammit I hate the ocean. I belong in a forest by the river, you know. Punta had gone aft to hoist her own personal banner to show that she was now in command of the ship. Our perfected Hotchkiss gun could blow an iron hulled clipper clean apart with one shot. Dilger would not have believed it even if I told him. Heading zero nine zero sir with thirty degree wing. Punta was born one year after the war. Then swimming in a dry creek and fetching her skirt with little mucky black feet. The banner had Henry’s lion pony… and bat-winged quill of Punta- the fashion designer.
She was still the CSS Tallahassee when the Buoys took her in ’65 (the year Punta was born). The Southrons built her in ’64. Since then the Schatzenputz people had improved Nicolas power transceivers and through years of Henry’s bullying whining and wheedling- told them the ship could fly. Chaska and Thabo pronounced the idea insane and it was. Until the ship came out of the water. Now Henry’s main shitzundgiggle (he says) is flying because of speed. But he is old and crazy and bind as a bat but the ship would not fly for anybody else. Nobody knew why. Now it does not matter because they found the little girl that Henry called fat.
And bells on their ankles and little black feet.
Hm. Then there’s that…
Puntas Pistoles
Light the Saber
Where the travellers journey is done.
War is to killing what fucking is to love. My father always said that pistols are toys. They certainly are- compared to real weapons of war. War is to weapons what business is to sex. My father never spent much time aboard a ship or gambling with rogues. Your sidearm looks like watercolors. Yes. I sketched you my first day here. You looked like an old sunflower mated with a small cactus. Now look at a decade’s progress. There is Mrs. Asa Candler jr. little girl as they are today. Except Buddie is a boy. Hell Asa Sr. was a crafty war profiteer just like me… dodging the draft as an Atlanta medicine man. We were both operating in Georgia on the red string line and he brags about the Creek war. Doughface red string man. Gave him a saber lesson and made him an offer he could not refuse: here is 300 in gold. You will make a purchase for me.
And if I do not… say he- and give me this bald faced squinty-eyed jaw. Then I shoot you in the head with this horse pistol says me. Fiddle dee dee. Irene was not on her usual bench. Daisy made her way casually through the park until she reached the Fifth Avenue townhouse at 1009. Although uninvited, she made her way up the stairs to the second story entrance and gingerly rang the service bell at the massive oak door. A very tall and very starched man answered her call in traditional butler apparel. Daisy was more annoyed than impressed. The man looked preoccupied rather than interested in her presence at the entryway. He did not inquire as to her presence, but rather waited for a declaration of her intrusion, so she spoke boldly, as if on cue. I… wonder if Mrs. Guggenheim might receive my unscheduled visit if she is available and so inclined. My name is Miss LaCroix
Who countest the steps of the Sun
Daisy felt somewhat awkward standing before the closed door, but was consoled by the idea that he had, at least, not slammed it in her face. She wondered how long it would take for him to locate Irene in the large building. Awkward did not look attractive on Daisy. Only a few moments later, He reappeared and asked her to follow him to the dining area. There she found Irene, sitting alone with a book, a muffin and coffee. Irene rose to greet her with a two cheek European kiss and motioned Daisy to the seat next to her. She pointed to the coffee urn and muffin, and the very starchy man served Daisy the identical service that had been in front of Irene. When the very starchy servant left the room, they both started talking at once, then laughed.
Heirs, legacy, whatever else falls into the category of never being able to disappear totally. May I ask why you never married Daisy. No need to reply if it might be a distressing subject, I marvel at you mostly and wonder of your marital status frequently, though clearly none of anyone else’s business. Trying to process such a statement was a huge mental chore for a woman like Daisy who never looked for motives in her relationships. Although proud of her husband, Irene was reaching… a woman she felt close to in order to tell her she felt like a collectible. Irene felt used. Daisy answered with concern, but simply said I never thought of it that way. For the rest of the day she tried to apply the thoughts to Henry. He seemed to require none of this. She wished she could see him briefly just once more.
Economic reforms in a social environment are pillars of society. Aboard the Dart we learn they always want something new because they are bored… nothing is trying to kill them… right now. Punta laughed. They have other ways to amuse themselves. Like this sweet sugar drink that tickles the tongue and whets the whistle. Like a tit… grumbled Henry. No. Kola nuts are cheaper than coffee. Yes. During the war the saber became an accessory for dress. Use the sidearm as a sign of authority and not a prop. Meaning pointed at me. I put up my hands. In a hurry!
Where my Sun-flower wishes to go.
Copperheads
Red String Pyramid Thing
Gabble and hiss, but heroes seek release
You were a little stick of a thing sitting on the dock with your friends. Fat dumb and happy we called you as the copper mining activity crashed all about. Children were common here in the Agawa- but you all were too little to be in school. Twenty years ago and shit. It’s all in controlling the angle of yaw with your feet. You have a fine touch on the collective power in your left hand and by now you know your sail is really a wing. We managed to lock the altitude at 304.8 meters and it was not easy synchronizing all of her bell eggs to you. Guess they like you better than my horse. But you never saw a goddam war. Little fatty eye am bound to tell you about it.
Only one last crossing and Karl was on the continent and headed further east. What should have been picturesque coastline was industrialized and ugly. It seemed every coastline of every country had become purposeful and dingy. All the prior beauty of sea strand had given way to profits and conveniences. Karl saw no changes of this to be promised to the future. He purposely neglected to mention the name of the boat he was looking for. It would have been too easy to connect Henry as the actual subject of his search. He would never mention Henry’s name publicly either. To do so would number his own days considerably. It was enough to worry about those whom Albert had entrusted to research Henry’s recent whereabouts for him.
About five kilometers before their destination, the man turned to face him. Karl tried to discourage him from talking by looking bored and disinterested in further exchange with him. He spoke anyway, holding out his hand to shake as he introduced himself. I’m sorry. My name is Cecil. Cecil Townshend. I’m from Derby, England originally. M’here to smooth over shipping problems ‘tween England and Germany. France has its bitches too. Guess I’ll be busy for awhile. Moving international supplies right now is sticky business. Gonna be shooting at each other afore long, they will. Karl reciprocated partially by shaking Cecil’s hand and offering a one word reply. Karl.
When first the shaft into his vision shone
Karl thought long and hard after Cecil turned toward the front of the tram again. He couldn’t believe it. A lighthouse! He felt a bit of pain as an uncontrollable but genuine smile worked its way onto his face for the first time in ten years. He tapped Cecil gently on the shoulder and said, Cecil. You are positively correct. It sounds indeed like the ideal place. I would be delighted to meet up with Gunther when we get off. Tell him I’ll buy the meals. Impressive ones for us both. He would find Henry from a lighthouse. A German lighthouse. He could not get that damned smile from his face.
Some call it the leans: vertigo. Can’t tell up from down. Happened all the time during the war– except down was killing and up was opportunity, Got a bad case of the leans weeks before the battle. War means killing- but that’s not all. I had a suite in town and the finest rifles in the world buried behind the house of an old girlfriend. The Dart would shoot above the atmosphere without her governor, and she could probably override that if she wanted. Essentially the only control we have is a rheostat- but she makes her own power. Copperheads cut pennies but I learned to play the red string during the war and carved off millions.
Have heard her massive sandal set on stone.
Delivery Evil
Packaging & Transport
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”
Henry awoke face down on the chart table- his beard full of old man drool. Third pint of beer stood half-drunk. So did Henry, seeing that Punta’s first solo had been a success. Apparently so was her mission to Atlanta. A few white hairs… and smile lines a bit deeper. We can see the future, but travelling to the past seemed to stop at the battle of Gettysburg. It was a spectacle meant to be observed by something. It is the taught roundness of the fruit that indicates ripening designed to attract all kinds of things. That was over forty years ago. Time writes on your face. Go forward an hour- you can maybe move small solid objects.
Irene was much younger than Daisy, expecting her third child, facilitating her need to frequently rest during her strolls. On this morning, the sun was heating up to invade even the deepest shade of the trees in their park. Daisy sat next to her and babbled incessantly over Mother Jones and the march and how she’d love to join them. Irene had known nothing about this. She was instantly interested and appalled at the same time by the need for such action. The two formulated a plan for which Daisy could meet the march as it entered Manhattan and join its progress down to Wall Street. Daisy needed shoes to walk that far. Irene knew of such a store.
Politically, there was friction. Daisy was still well read on Socialism and the actions being promoted on behalf of the working class. Irene’s exposure to the working class thus far was condescending. She never dwelled on it much other than regularly thinking how fortunate any worker was to have entrepreneurial enterprises providing for them. Neither of them wished to upset the other with their opposing points of view, but Daisy’s excitement over the Children’s March resonated with Irene. There was so much evil in robbing that much of another’s life when it came to children. Without showing her inner horror, she promised herself to get involved by possibly using her influence whenever possible.
We emerged from the railroad cut and everybody assumes there was nobody alive behind us. Nobody asked who I was or what I was doing there. There is no doubt we were visible, so I tell them that the others are after me and to keep them back. The yanks are shooting reds like fish in a barrel. Horrible. I guess that happens with the shape shift. Red sign. They were partying with booze in the park and we asked for Buddie. Got back aboard and here I am while you snored on like Rip Van Bumblefuck. It was our costume. It checked all the ifs and whens. Got us to anchor in Agawa with nobody the wiser. That’s how it works. Right?
Your multiplication is superb. I could make doppelgangers too… so they say- but it was really my horse. Hi Berdan and his band of butt-scratchers asked if I could shoot. Stand up right. Hit that target 100 yards away said they. I did it standing on my horse. My Indian pony. Then she lay down and I shot a group the size of a dinner plate 300 yards away and they said hey you can be a sharpshooter and I say only if you rascals rob me blind. I did that with cards- but that’s another story- long ago. Our first advanced bell could detect living organisms… and we took it from there. US Buoys made the Dart as our proprietary dragon. She has her own porpoises. Like Thoth.
Halfway across the Atlantic, Karl amused himself in the aft deck house by witnessing a row between a Bostonian and a New Yorker of Irish descent. Availing himself of a view overlooking the water, he made a picture of himself gazing at the ocean while chuckling inwardly at the two men trying to outsmart each other in clever conversation. Karl enjoyed a rare sip of alcohol that afternoon when he agreed to a small glass of sherry with his smoke. He had just enjoyed a somewhat outstanding solitary and early dinner, but refused dessert due to the dining area filling in with passengers he wanted no part of. His unposted letter from a prior evening was presently a very decent bookmark for him. Otherwise, he imagined his upcoming initial contact with Henry.
This Henry who destroyed whole armies, deposed Kings, wooed their queens and quite possibly fathered half of present day Europe. And, in the evenings, for relaxation after all of his sordid work, this Henry would retire to the green felt, or velvet, depending. And, this Henry, he would gamble the evening away, or possibly, the entire night. It mattered not his winning or losing, but the passing of time itself. Karl had no knowledge as to why Albert needed Henry to be silenced so badly.
That silly little glass of sherry had Karl planning. He would meet Henry for the first time at one of his card games, possibly at a casino for the wealthy. Probably with women upstairs for those in need of companions so. They would become best of friends, or most bitter of enemies, mattering to no difference in Karl’s mind. Neither could be trusted: both serving the same purpose. The end would be swift, but only after Karl told him who hired him. He treasured those last seconds of the murdered. He usually leaned back to watch their eyes move, searching their own minds as to why.
Lead US not
Power and Glory
And they must not make grimaces,
Nor in party dresses roll
And must never black their faces.
Snot-nosed kids taking the wheel. There is no left or right. Come about to your heading dammit magnetic compasses are useless aboard the Dart. Your eyes are no good. Everybody wants to own a masterpiece. Nobody wants to make one. But you are not flying blind. Touch the artifact and what do you see. The point between your eyes is the exact center of a big globe the size of the moon. It can be blinding white or black as coal. What do you see. You are touching no bone of a saint. I got the wrong John Pemberton years ago and this is where Dart took me. Mind your speed. Ha. That is the most difficult- you must see the surface… but then the surface can see you.
Retiring to his cabin the first night, Karl searched the area for writing materials. There were several pieces of embossed stationery, two envelopes, two post cards and a fountain pen with a small vial of ink in a drawer in a bedside table. Karl seated himself with the pen, ink and one piece of the stationery and began to write. Whatever he wrote to her, it wouldn’t actually be headed in her direction until they reached Liverpool. Sealing the unaddressed envelope, he could always reopen and edit his writings at any time prior to reaching England. Karl always left room for alteration. He considered it to be perfecting. When finished, he retired to the bed almost immediately. Any unsolicited knock on his cabin door he left unanswered. There was no reason he could assign toward one.
They must sit quite still at table,
And must always eat the food
Put before them—if they’re able.
The Piccirilli family took over the city’s marble. With the growing neighborhood division, Albert saw less actual products than he did money…. moved as tariffs, gambling, alcohol and loose women, most of which angered Albert. Dealings that involved such things were asked for from his organizations, not imposed by them. And his people had to constantly be aware of the parameters for operation. It was extremely important for now, but the future held much promise for bloodshed. Albert was happy that it would, more than likely, be only a matter of days before Henry would be out of their lives forever. And he no longer needed Henry to deposit funds to his accounts. After Karl disappeared, Daisy would have no way of connecting anyone stateside to Henry’s demise. Life would be much less complicated indeed.
Lincoln got our letters ok- and if he answered who can say. The bells down below have a mind of their own. Guggenheim came over the same time I did. Don’t know if he was a 48er or not- but he was a miner for sure. Watch your altitude. It is easier above trees. I spent my youth learning trees like you learned textiles. You have enough power for a day- maybe two- and then the Dart must sleep… just like we do because she gathers energy like a tree. Needles and cones or leaves and seeds are hard to see at altitude. Buddie Candler is about your age… but you still fly like old people fuck. He likes to shoot animals and he likes airplanes. Your altitude control is perfect! We will make a sailor of you yet. He knows close magic and illusion.Exercise extreme caution. When you go 4d remember the Dart has eggs… and a dragon seldom misses.
Who will comfort them with kisses.
Party Line
Whipping up the Listening Post
Round and round they sped.
Well. I had a suite at the Springs Hotel. Now she’s with one of my good time buddies. They’re drinking’ in some cross-town bar. At first we controlled her altitude by varying her weight. At 1000 feet above the surface- any surface- she weighed nothing. That’s where the wind comes in. You learned sailing as well as riding like all proper schoolgirls. Many boyfriends were that age during the war. Later we added a thrust vector to her glockenspiels in the keel… but then time started to get weird. It is better to use the wind to cover distance. She only has two directions under power: up and forward. Remember our ceiling is governed… but our speed is not. Too much power forward and we get unstuck in time. On our first flight I left with passengers and crew and came back alone. It took two years to get home. I was gone for about an hour.
As the two women parted ways later that afternoon, Mother had discouraged Daisy from contacting anyone in the Hearst family. California was capitalizing on their own child labor in the fields and farms, on the wharfs and in the mines, and Mother was prone to localize her fights in order to maximize her efforts. She was focused for the time being on Philadelphia and the baron robbers of innocence. Albert was also separating himself from a group of men at the foot of the stairs of the brownstone as Daisy strolled up in excitement. Four of the men strode off together along the sidewalk toward midtown. One lone man slowly ambled in the opposite direction toward the north. Daisy almost bumped into him as they passed each other. She turned to look back toward him to make certain of his path and looked disapprovingly at Albert as she approached him.
“You can never —”
We found some of them later- and I know they didn’t come ashore with me. With no wind, she will hover at 1000 feet and no one will see you. At 500 feet you weigh about 150 tons and maybe half will see you. On the surface, the Dart displaces about 300 tons and looks like the fine transatlantic sailing yacht that she is. Punta looked up from the chart table where she was sketching fabric patterns. Did you say something. Yes. A good place to start when challenging these realities is to accept that the past was just as corrupt as the present. There were no good old days. It’s not about taking back anything but… creating something new to leave behind for future generations. I would brain you with this spyglass if you were not so goddam cute. You remind me of someone I worked with during the war. We are bound for Atlanta boyo. If I come back alone see you in the funny papers ye swab. Hell’s bells in our hold. We look for the red sign.
The next morning, Albert took tea and toast with Daisy and excused himself to get down to lower Manhattan for the day. He took a light coat and a light case with two of his heavy journals. He had the driver stop twice, once for his attorney and then once for a representative of his so called advertising company, then proceeded to Wall Street and dropped them for some stock acquisitions. After consulting his pocket watch, he had the driver take him to the Battery to Pier B where the Carpathia was docked and preparing to embark. Karl had been waiting by the carriage stops. Albert strode quickly toward him with the case and journals. He opened the case and handed Karl his passage paperwork to the ocean liner. One of the journals contained loose photographs of Henry in various poses and also of the Dart. Listed neatly were all Albert’s last known contacts and cohorts of Henry’s and last areas of activities of them all. Karl’s sneer was almost a smile of delight.
And ran on.
Road to Damascus
Rode to Durham
And near it, a stern spirit.
The disciplined hate the undisciplined to the point of murder. Even on Mr. Sammler’s planet there are those who pray, those who fight, and those who work. Which one are you. That depends on your discipline. But to be honest- your costume. Is your outfit of a holy wanderer or bishop and crook or a mounted baron in full battle array. Until you speak. Then your words will betray you. Men usually wear the costumes- but it is the women who make them these days and dress us like dolls. Then there is a difference between costume and outfit and that’s why Chaska and Thabo sent you. They think you can fly the Dart. Known as the Dutchman by now. I guess. Climb into the cockpit and pull up your dress boyo. She started up the stairs. If you agree, I would love to dine at the White Horse this evening and, you know, sort of explain our situation to Patrick on my account. I’ll see you in a couple of hours. Albert.
Albert came into the room with his hands in his pockets. The gold pocket watch chain swinging slightly as he jingled some change in the pocket to the right. He decided to test a somewhat contentious statement, hoping that Daisy wouldn’t have a setback. I had a meeting at the White Horse down in the Village the other day. She turned to look at him and shrugged as though it mattered little to her. I remember. You met your friends there that day because you thought I needed rest. Daisy…..they aren’t entirely just friends. Are you going to finish. I had been avoiding this, Daisy, but most people think I live here with my mother. That being, in appearance, you, my sweet lady. I’m so very sorry.
But the spirit grasped her arm.
So, with that gruesome confession, you will please excuse me to retire for an afternoon repose, after which I expect to be an entirely new woman. But Henry, you are older than myself. I…you really have not aged as I have, I suppose, but… well perhaps it’s that I must prefer to remember you as you were… and… such a foolish thing, as I think about it now, wasn’t it. Your age is most suitable for the generation you are of, and indeed I am old enough to have mothered you. She laughed very softly. He exhaled deeply, not aware that he had been holding his breath for a period. Once he heard her bedroom door close and the lock engage… over to the telephone. After two or three tries, only to find the line engaged by other parties, he asked for access to use the line for less than a minute and got through to one of his men who had been expecting to hear from him. Albert said three words once connected to his trusted accomplice. Time for Europe. They disconnected simultaneously.
I was a scout for General Schurz and General Early during the war. We were friends too. That doesn’t mean shit to you does it. Maybe. I design haute couture. High sewing. Know something about balloons too. They say this ship won’t fly for anyone else. It’s true goddamit. And this is all about time. Right. The Portal. I guess there are many. This is only one. The gatehouse at Gettysburg cemetery. Early’s boys smacked into Schurz’s boys and it was nasty as hell. You seem to be a generalist lost in an age of specialists. I was trying get my rifles- world-class and in-demand. Long story. Chaska told me. Thabo looked at the numbers. Red sign. Atlanta. Coke adds life. Let us see what they are wearing if you can get us there as ultra violet black sheep.
If the spirit was just,
Why did the maid weep?
The Knight Life
Ice under Strawberry Moon
whose slippery body is Death’s littlest pal,
Black Horse Tavern: Marsh Creek, 1863
They came with barbarian yells and smoking pistols, in such a desperate dash. Osh-Tisch (Finds Them and Kills Them) was a Crow bade. Henry met such fellows before on the Great Plains. Neither changelings nor scouts, they were flankers. Not crow or killers but part of an army. Where the hunt changes to slaughter, they were ahead of it. Yet there were kindred spirits among them. Henry remembered. After the battle, there was all kinds of religious ballyhoo because they realized war was serious business. Meeting god was a real possibility and you want to hedge your bets. We still had two years to go… and had no idea. Some of us got it- the idea that is. The idea is survival of the luckiest. Forest witches, shaman and fakes came to the Agawa region to seek their fortune. Others came to learn how to tell their fortune.
Chaska could spot the good ones. That’s who showed up at Marsh Creek back in ’63 about a week before the biggest clusterfuck of the whole war. Thabo could tell you that it had shit to do with black folks or slavery. It was all about property rats… stooges and scoundrels who would derail the union train- Thabo was an escape artist who had worked on the railroad all his life. Now Tom, please don’t snatch they heads off. Heh heh.
Daisy and Albert headed out to the White Horse Tavern. Daisy wanted to walk and Albert consented because of her good natured mood. She had not mentioned Henry since calling him unmentionable, and Albert had adhered to her request. It had been a long walk and areas they had walked through had sometimes seemed threatening. There were many derelicts along the way, but most had been internalizing their thoughts and actions. That majority seemed more content with themselves than those who might be watching them. He thought hard as she stared at him with a cunning look as though thinking his reaction to be somewhat of a game. As he weighed the past weeks and days since they’d been staying in Greenwich Village, it occurred to him that she probably hadn’t called him by name since she’d been in Bellevue.
The realization then settled upon him that Daisy had been so ill that she had convinced herself to have been with Henry this entire time. Had Henry stood in front of him, he would have threatened Henry’s very life…
common divisor of unequal souls.
waldopaper 
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