Read The Journey to the End of the World (Joel Gustafson Stories) for Free Online Page B

off somewhere? And what had Joel told him? I’ve just arrived. From up north.
    How stupid could you get?
    ‘We’re in a bit of a mess now,’ said Samuel. ‘We’d better find a policeman and report this.’
    ‘Maybe he’s still around somewhere,’ said Joel.
    ‘No chance,’ said Samuel. ‘You can bet your life there’ll be no trace of him.’
    ‘But what use would my rucksack be to him?’ Joel asked. ‘There was nothing in it. Only my old clothes.’
    ‘A good question,’ said Samuel. ‘But we’re not going to get an answer.’
    Samuel walked purposefully towards a police constable who was patrolling the concourse. He explained what had happened. Joel noticed that Samuel was different now. It was as if his back had straightened itself out. The policeman escorted them to the police station. Another officer noted down everything Joel said. What the rucksack looked like. And what had been inside it.
    But what the policeman wanted to know most of all was what The Black Wave had looked like.
    Joel could remember him well. The shirt and the suit, the tie and the pointed shoes.
    When they finished, Samuel signed a document.
    ‘We don’t have a local address,’ said Samuel. ‘We’re only here for a visit.’
    ‘Then you’ll have to come back here to ask if we’ve managed to catch the thief,’ said the police constable.
    They went back out into the station concourse. Joel looked round.
    ‘They’ll never find him,’ said Samuel. ‘He’s vanished.’
    ‘My toothbrush, though,’ said Joel. ‘What does he want my toothbrush for?’
    Samuel didn’t answer.
    ‘We’d better find ourselves a hotel now,’ he said. ‘And then we can try to buy you a few items of clothing.’
    ‘I don’t need anything,’ said Joel.
    Samuel looked him up and down, worried.
    ‘We mustn’t forget why we’re here,’ he said. ‘And after all, we can be pleased that we still have the Celestine .’
    They left the station and went into the street.
    Joel was overwhelmed by all the traffic.
    Samuel looked around to establish his bearings.
    Then they started walking.

4
    Samuel spotted a building displaying a hotel sign.
    At that very moment it started raining.
    The building was old and gloomy. It was squeezed into a block next to the railway station. Samuel stopped several times, hesitated, then started walking again with Joel a couple of paces behind him.
    Joel was still fretting about being so stupid as to allow The Black Wave to make a fool of him.
    All kinds of thoughts went shooting through his head.
    He ought to have stayed at home.
    He was too stupid to be let loose in the world.
    He ought to forget all about the possibility of becoming a sailor one of these days.
    He should do what Samuel had done. Become a lumberjack. Nothing else.
    He ought to acquire a stoop, shave carelessly and get drunk whenever things were getting him down.
    Joel was so angry and bitter that he sometimes started talking to himself aloud. Samuel turned round.
    ‘What was that you said?’ he asked.
    ‘Nothing.’
    ‘But I heard you say something.’
    ‘You heard wrong.’
    Samuel eyed him thoughtfully. Then they carried on walking.
    They stopped outside the hotel. The building was in a bad state of repair. Patches of plaster had fallen off the façade. An upstairs window was banging in the breeze.
    ‘This place looks good,’ said Samuel, as if he were trying to cheer himself up.
    ‘It looks awful,’ muttered Joel; but he was careful not to speak loudly enough for Samuel to hear what he said.
    They went into the lobby. There was a strong smell of disinfectant. A bald man with thick-lensed glasses was sitting at a desk, peering at a newspaper.
    They took a double room. Samuel paid in advance for two nights.
    ‘Will breakfast be served?’ Samuel asked, as he stood with the key in his hand.
    ‘Of course it will,’ said the bald man. ‘But not here.’
    Joel saw that Samuel was blushing. He’d never seen that happen before.
    ‘If I