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Chapter Twenty-One

Well, after that I was one sorry bastid

Dan an me stayed at the apartment that nite, but the nex mornin started packin up our shit an all, cause there wadn’t no reason to be in Indianapolis no longer Dan, he come to me an say, "Here, Forrest, take this ive us for rasslin The Professor

"I don’t want it," I says

"Well you better take it," says Dan, "cause it’s all we got"

"You keep it," I says

"At least take haf of it," he say "Look, you gotta have sooin"

"Ain’t you goin with me?" I axed

"I’e already I didn’t sleep none last night I’ree to bet all our hta have been apparent Jenny was about to freak out on us An it wadn’t your fault you got whupped by The Professor You did what you could I aood"

"Awe, Dan, it wadn’t your fault neither," I says "If I hadn’t of got the big head bout bein The Dunce, an begun to believe all that shit they was sayin bout ot in this fix in the first place"

"Whatever it is," Dan say, "I jus don’t feel right taggin along anyet about ood"

Well,time, but there wadn’t no convincin hiot his shit an I hepped him down the steps, an the last I seen of him, he was pushin hissef down the street on his little cart, with all his clothes an shit piled in his lap

I went down to the bus station an bought a ticket to Mobile It was sposed to be a two day an two nite trip, down thru Louisville, to Nashville, to Birham an then Mobile, an I was one

We passed thru Louisville durin the nite, an the nex day we stopped in Nashville an had to change busses It was about a three hour wait, so I decided to walk aroun town for a wile I got lass of iced tea an alkin down the street when I seen a big sign in front of a hotel say, "Welcome Grandmaster’s Invitational Chess Tournaot my curiosity up, on account of I had played all that chess back in the jungle with Big Saa n say, "Five dollars admission," and I didn’t want to spend none of my money, but I looked in thru the door for a wile, an then jus went an set down in the lobby by mysef

They was a chair across from me with a little ole rumpy-lookin an had on a black suit with spats an a bow tie an he had a chessboard set out on a table in front of him

As I set there, ever once in a wile he would un to dawn on ered I had bout another hour or so fore the bus lef, so I axed him if he wanted somebody to play with He jus looked at me an then looked back down at his chessboard an didn’t say nothin

A little bit later, the ole feller’d been studyin the chessboard for most of a half hour an then he moved his white bishop over to black square seven an was jus bout to take his han off it when I says, " ’scuse me"

The feller jularin across the table at me

"You make that move," I says, "an you be leavin yoursef wide open to lose your knight an then your queen an put your ass in a fix"

He look down at his chessboard, never takin his han off the bishop, an then he ht"

Well, he go on back to studyin the chessboard an I figger it’s tiet back to the bus station, but jus as I start to leave, the ole man say, "Pardon me, but that was a very shrewd observation you made"

I nod my head, an then he say, "Look, you’ve obviously played the game, why don’t you sit down an finish this one with me? Just take over the white in their positions now"

"I cain’t," I says, cause I got to catch the bus an all So he jus nods an gives me a little salute with his han an I went on back to the bus station

Tiet there, the damn bus done lef anyway, an here I am an ain’t no other bus till toot a day to kill, so I walked on back to the hotel an there is the little ole ainst hissef, an he seems to be winnin I went on up to him an he look up an motion for me to set down The situation I have coone an I ain’t got but one bishop an no rooks an my queen is about to be captured nex

It took it runtin an shakin his head evertiaot him in check

"I will be damned," he say "Just who are you, anyway?"

I tole him my name, an he say, "No, I nize you"

When I tole him I learnt to play in New Guinea, an he say, "Good heavens! An you ional competition?"

I shook my head an he says, "Well whether you know it or not, I arand ame you couldn’t possibily have won, and totally annihilated me!"

I axed how come he wadn’t playin in the room with the other people, an he says, "Oh, I played earlier I’hty years old now, an there is a sort of senior tournaer fello - their minds are jus sharper"