Dreadful Summit by Stanley Ellin Read Free Book Online Page B

Joe?’
    I tried to tell him but it stuck in my throat so I held out the ten-dollar bill and he grabbed it and looked at it. He said, ‘That’s all I want to know,’ and he shoved me hard up against the wall and almost leaned on top of me. ‘Don’t you know you can’t go around peddling tickets like that, bud? You ain’t as dumb as allo that, are you?’
    There was a radiator up against the back of my legs, and it must have been red hot because I started to get all warm there and my whole body started to sweat. And he had his face right in mine and I could smell beer on him and it smelled awful. Only I was afraid to move my face away or my legs because it might make him sore, and if he moved one little inch he would be pushing right up against the gun. I tried to stand as still as I could, even with the radiator scorching through my pants, and I said, ‘I didn’t know it was wrong to sell a ticket. Honest, mister, I wouldn’t do it if I knew it was wrong. My father got two tickets, only he’s sick so he couldn’t come along with me. Honest, mister, I didn’t know it was wrong.’
    I talked as fast as I could, and he stood there blowing that beer in my face and not even blinking his eyes. ‘Got any identification, Joe?’
    I said, ‘No,’ and that was no lie. Everything was in the top dresser drawer. That was my drawer, and I knew my library card and my G.O. card from school were there, but all I had with me was the ticket and the gun. I was thinking fast. If I could shove him away with one hand, I could have a chance to get at the gun and make a break for it, and that was the only way I could see it. I would lay for Al Judge until the fights were over and then see if I could find him.
    I started to let my right hand underneath my overcoat very slow, and the cop didn’t notice. He said, ‘Where’s your draft card? Don’t you have sense enough to carry that around?’
    I got my hand down into my pocket so my fingers touched the gun. My legs were burning so I didn’t think I could stay like that much longer. I said, ‘I don’t have any draft card. I’m not old enough.’
    I got a good grip on the gun and started to draw it out of the pocket with my thumb on the safety. I started to slip the safety off but I stopped. It was better to wait until I had the gun out of my pocket. The backs of my legs were so hot they were one pain up and down, but I braced them against the radiator, so that when I shoved I wouldn’t be pushed off balance.
    One second before I was ready to shove, he stepped back away from me and held out the ten-dollar bill. He said, ‘Bud, as long as I got this evidence here you’re in plenty of trouble. But you know, if there wasn’t no evidence there isn’t a damn thing I could do. Got any ideas?’
    Then I saw the way he was looking at me and I caught on. I said, ‘That isn’t my money. I don’t know anything about it.’
    He pushed his face close to mine again. ‘You sure?’
    â€˜I don’t know anything about it.’
    â€˜You picked it up when you seen it fall out of my pocket, didn’t you?’
    I said, ‘Yes, that’s what happened.’
    He looked at the money, and then he folded it up very small and shoved it into his pants pocket. ‘Bud, let me give you some advice. The next time you see somebody drop money, don’t think about it so long before you give it back. Now go on, get the hell out of here.’
    My legs were so bad when I pulled away from the radiator that when the air hit my pants it felt like ice water. I didn’t stop though, and I kept my hand on the gun while I walked over to the guard at the door. It felt like the cop was looking at the back of my neck every step I took. After I gave my ticket in and the guard tore it in half and gave me half back, I got up my nerve and looked around, but the cop was