Answer: So the police don't recognize them.
Explanation: Johnny killed (I forgot his name, been awhile) for trying to jump Johnny and Pony, so they ran away and disguised themselves so they weren't jailed.
The major obsticle is how Lennie Small keeps getting into trouble with the police. The characters deal with it by running to a new ttown. This reveals that the character does not want to get into trouble and tends to run away from his problems. Example includes: "<span>We run. They was lookin' for us, but they didn't catch us.". Hope this helped!
Thanks!
~Steve</span>