The Gruff Man

The Gruff Man is a middle-aged man with long, unwashed hair and an unshaven face. He wears a large coat.

He is first seen in inner Lowtown laying a duffel bag near Meyer, the Keeper checking papers at a gate leading to Midtown.

When Ricky tails him through the gate, the Gruff Man pulls him into an alley and aggressively confronts him.

Having gotten a good look at each other, they accuse each other of not belonging in this interlocal area between Midtown and Lowtown, though Gruff is clearly more streetwise than Ricky. In an apparent threat, he tells the printer’s apprentice that he will disappear without anyone noticing, and seems quite certain of it.

When Gruff gets a look at Ricky’s pamphlet, however, he is caught off guard - spooked, even.

Meyer arrives on the scene, and he and Gruff speak to each other with an almost friendly familiarity.