The early morning walk to the docks was the same as usual, but
Jim felt different. His body ached, but his steps were quicker than
they had been in months.
37
He joined the group of men at the fence. Finally, the foreman
Jake appeared and began pointing to men.
"Six, seven, eight. . ." Jake's eyes passed Jim, then returned to
him. The foreman said Jim's name and everybody turned to look.
"Nine."
Jim closed his eyes in relief. As he passed through the gate, Jake
said to him, "I listened to the fight last night." He took out his
newspaper. Jim's eyes ran over the words: