He passed through a ravine of gray stone, walking stiffly, concentrating on every step. The city was filled with a constant din. A hammering, pounding, metal on metal. Sirens wailed.

He kept craning his head back. Scrollwork, gables, columns, even way up high. This was what he imagined Rome to be like, or Athens. Carl, take a look at this. He closed one eye. Was it the left or the right? A building with tall stone columns, mythological figures adorning the façade: NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE. Men in a hurry all around him. He himself seemed invisible; only when he stopped could he hear them chuffing with annoyance.

He lingered a long time in front of a gold-plated door. Through it he could see a lobby with ornate vaulted ceilings, chandeliers, and richly upholstered furniture. WOOLWORTH BUILDING read the letters above the entrance. A doorman gave him a warning look. Another one from these ships, from poor Europe!

The black suit smelled of moldy potato sprouts. Whenever he stood still the smell was everywhere, so intense that it horrified him. His mouth was dry, and there was a steady pain weighing down on his forehead. That night he found a boardinghouse for new arrivals. It was a squalid basement. He didn’t want to go see the Engelkings yet. He had to know what it was like to have to fend for himself in this city.

The light stayed on the whole night. Under the cardboard boxes and wooden boards the bare concrete floor. The blankets were full of holes. His head on his kit bag, his legs curled up; if he were to stretch them out, they would be in another man’s face. His bunk on the ship seemed like a luxury now. His exhaustion was great enough; he would close his eyes and make it through this night, this one night. He would look around for a better place to stay. With that, he fell asleep. With the first light that fell into the basement through the narrow street-level windows, he awoke and sat up, saw men slowly getting up, gathering their things, and trudging off toward the stairs, something ashamed in their movements, each of them wanting to put this experience behind him.