| He wheels his horse to the left and rides out to turn back a straggler
The first time Croft ever killed a man he was in a National Guard uniformThere was a strike on at Lilliput in the oil fields, and some scabs had been hurt
They called the Guard(The sonsofbitches started this strike come from up north, New YorkThey's some good boys in the oil fields but they got they heads turned by Reds, an' next thing they'll have ya kissin' niggers' asses The guardsmen made a line against the gate to the plant and stood sweating in a muggy summer sunThe pickets yelled and jeered at them
Hey, drillers, they called out the Boy discount chanel quilted handbag ScoutsThey're jus' company scabs too
Croft stands in line with his mouth tightening
They're gonna rush us, the soldier next to him says
The Guard lieutenant is a haberdashery salesmanIf there're rocks being thrown you better lie down, menIf it should git real bad, fire a couple of rounds over their heads
A stone lofts through the airThe crowd is sullen outside the gate, and every now and then one of them shouts some curses at the soldiers
No sonofabitch'll talk to me that way, Croft says
A rock strikes one of the soldiers, and they lie down on the ground and point their rifles above the heads of the advancing dolce |
| 