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Show 3^ "The strong must strengthen their positions." He filled Stanley's glass from his flask and Stanley held himself from sipping the whiskey immediately. "The weakest will go. There\j little anyone can do now. This is going to last a long time. But there are some people, Mr. Pell, like yourself, who the xxixxxxxxxxxxaxxaixx community will need later, but who might not make it on their own." Stanley drank. He wouldn't get anything for free beyond the cigar and whiskey, so he finished the glass and Strong filled it again. "If you're not making money, taxes will take everything. I'm sure you know that. But if you were offered a good price for what you owned, and a job, say staying on and managing PELL'S, then you could have a living and something to start over with when this xxx ended." "I'm not doing badly," said Stanley. Strong nodded abstractly, then looked Stanley in the eye again. "It's a time to be practical," said Strong. He looked down momentarily, as if trying to save Stanley's pride, but it was beyond that now, far beyond that. "You're not going to think about it?" asked Strong. Stanley shrugged. "I'll send my boy by in a couple days," said Strong. "He runs my store downtown, I'm sure you know. He knows furniture. Maybe you two can talk." He finished his drink, as did Stanley, stood, and nodded again, xxxixxxxxxx After he left Stanley wmlsc Sgat^cxftacWKX drove to his woods and went for a walk. He finished the contents of his flask. He watched the sun lay light on the bare branches of the ixaxx leaf trees and make blue puddles of shadow beneath the pines. He stood on the hill at the edge of his land and watched the sun become mWr an orange patch on the Bay. He remembered his walks in v/inter when the sun fell from the xxx sky much further south. The days were growing again. So what if he was just a little man. So what. At home Bush had baked fresh bread. Thefewas duck's blood soup and home made egg noodles. It seemed he could not remember eating so well. His children, he realized, now spoke at the table, freely, xxxixxxxxxxiixxxax without permission. Little Stan was doing well at Georgetown. Jon had been accepted at Bxxxxxxx Penn on scholarship. David ^ « ™>ftdy -to work at the store, and Helen would skip a grade |