Strangers

Barnaby approaches the city cupping his hands at his mouth and hooting to the sky. Sometimes he breaks off hooting and skips in zig-zags across the path while he points at the city apartment-blocks. His clothes have picked up some of the dust. He stops and smacks his suit. He polishes his black shoes until the shine returns - then clatters round the corner in a rush to where the people are.  

In the city thoroughfare, Barnaby smiles at an office-boy who is aware of him but taking no notice as he is preoccupied with unlocking a bicycle from the lamp-post, and riding away. Barnaby runs after him stretching out his arms; runs another way to where a woman is wiping the face of a child with a licked handkerchief, sees an old man carrying bags of food in both hands, laughs and runs after him, but cannot reach him before he is round a corner and gone, peers into the faces of the women who walk by, peers and grins, and peers, and must sometimes frown, and peers into the faces of couples who walk laughing at one another and holding one another around the shoulders, hears a shop-girl whistling to herself, turns and starts towards her, and is nearly knocked down by a tram despite the urgent ringing of the bell by the tram-driver, is just in time to see the shop-girl walking up a wide bank of steps and into a store. Then, bewildered by all these strangers thus far seemingly set on frustrating him, Barnaby stands on the shop-steps and grips the lapels of the very next stranger to walk by, brings the stranger's face close to his own and forces him to meet his eye. This stranger glances sideways, indeed they both do, at a girl who passes with short mincing steps while yawning and patting her mouth with her gloved hand. Nearby, a group of agricultural men in loose corduroy pants start up a lively discussion, raising and lowering their arms to emphasize their points of conversation. Barnaby is sufficiently distracted to allow the stranger to shrug his shoulders and walk away. 

Having stumbled into the municipal park, Barnaby finds a small child, a girl, smoothes her lap, and rests his head upon it. The girl is at first angry; then she cries loudly. Rushing through the park gates, Barnaby's family call his name. He looks up and laughs. On either side of him they stand like human blinkers, chuck him under the chin, and give him unconditional attention.