human
It's all very well, Hammond, he mused,
gpt
That's all right, cap'n, said Hammond, shrewdly. To him, Gramont was always
human
and nothing else.
gpt
But you know's well as I do it can't go on forever. I'm workin' for you, and that's the size of it. I ain't got the education to stack up alongside of you. I don't want you to get the notion that I'm figuring on takin' advantage of you----
human
Bosh! I suppose some day I'll be wealthy, married, and bound in the chains of social usage and custom, said Gramont, energetically.
gpt
But that day isn't here yet. If you think I'll accept deference and servility from any man who has endured the same hunger and cold and wounds that I endured in France--then guess again! We're friends in a democracy of Americans. You're just as good a man as I am, and vice versa. Besides, aren't we fellow criminals?
human
All that line o' bull sounds good, cap'n, only it's away off, he returned.
gpt
Trouble with you is, you ain't forgot the war yet.
human
I never will,
gpt
Sure you will! We all will. And you ain't as used to this country as I am, either. I've seen too much of it. You ain't seen enough.
human
I've seen enough to know that it's my country.
gpt
Anyhow, pursued Hammond,
human
America ain't a democracy, unless you're runnin' for Congress. It sounds good to the farmers, but wait till you've been here long enough to get out of your fine notions! Limousines and money ain't got much use for democracy. The men who have brains, like you, always will give orders, I reckon.
gpt
Bosh! said Gramont again.
human
It isn't a question of having brains. It's a question of knowing what to do with them. All men are born free and equal----
gpt
Not much! retorted the other with conviction.
human
All men were born free, but mighty few were born equal, cap'n. That sort o' talk sounds good in the newspapers, but it don't go very far with the guy at the bottom, nor the top, either!