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on the roof. She was nowhere around. Disappointedly I stood on the stoop watching the girls, making obscene remarks as they passed by.

      Big Maxie came hurriedly along. He waved to me. “Come on, Noodles.” I ran down the stoop.

      “What’s up, Max?” I asked.

      “Come on, we grab a ride with my uncle.”

      “The uncle picking up a stiff[63] with the hearse?” I asked delightedly.

      “Yep; up in Harlem. Madison Avenue. We give him a hand.[64] He’s got an unexpected job.”

      We reached the office all out of breath, just in time to give his uncle, the undertaker, a hand carrying the long wicker basket out to the hearse. Proudly we sat on the large front seat. Driving on upper Fifth Avenue along the park, Maxie’s uncle pointed out the rich homes.

      Sarcastically, he commented, “Just like down the East Side. I’ll bet they’ve barely got enough to eat in those houses.”

      The remark reminded me of my chronic hunger. I whispered to Max, “Maybe we can promote your uncle for some hot dogs or something.”

      Maxie nodded and winked. He nudged me. “Some day we’ll be able to buy plenty of hot dogs.”

      “It can’t be too quick for me,” I said.

      “You kids like a couple of hot dogs?” Maxie’s uncle grinned. “O.K., I can take a hint[65], after we pick the stiff up.”

      Riding back to the East Side after we had picked up the stif,f Maxie’s uncle stopped at a hot dog wagon and bought us each two frankfurters. We leaned against the hearse, eating our hot dogs. Back in the hearse, as a joke he handed us cigars. To his surprise, we took them, lit up and puffed away. He chuckled in admiration.

      “You kids are okay.” We helped him into the funeral parlor with the body. “Thanks, boys.” Then he chuckled and corrected himself, “Thanks, men.” He tossed us each a quarter.

      Maxie said, “Glad to have been a help to you, uncle. Any time you need us, let me know.”

      He looked fondly at Max. “You’re growing up to be a big boy.” He patted him affectionately.

      “Thanks for the ride and everything,” I said.

      “Not at all,” he said. “So long, men.” He smiled after us.

      We walked into Gelly’s candy store smoking the cigars, feeling like men of the world. Patsy, Dominick and Cockeye were already there, waiting for us. Patsy called out, “Hey, big shots, where you been?”

      Maxie tossed his quarter on the counter and said, “Malteds[66] and charlotte russes for everybody.”

      Gelly’s son, Fat Moe, was behind the counter, with a dirty apron around his large middle. He picked up and examined the quarter.

      We sat on the stools loudly sucking the whipped cream off our charlotte russe cakes. We watched the electric malted machines whirl; they were the newest sensation on the East Side.

      Jake the Goniff, Goo-Goo and Pipy, our new found friends came in. We exchanged hellos and gave them a sip each from our malteds. Pipy suggested, “Try a riddle on them, Jake.”

      Jake turned, a smile on his face. “Why is the East River like a girl’s legs?” None of us knew the answer.

      “Because the higher up you get, the nicer it is.”

      Pipy spied the box of charlotte russes on the counter. The three hurried over to them.

      Fat Moe yelled over, “Hey, you guys, lay of.f You guys got dough?[67]”

      Pipy produced a dollar bill. Jake the Goniff took it out of his hands and waved it in the air.

      He called out to us, “You guys want some charlotte russes?”

      Max asked, “Where did you guys get the buck?”

      “Pipy rolled a lush on the Bowery[68],” Jake proudly put his arm around Pipy’s shoulders.

      “Aw, he was a pushover[69],” little Pipy said modestly. “I took this off him, too.” Pipy produced a large knife.

      I remembered O’Brien’s knife of specialized knowledge for success. This was some sort of omen. This knife was for me. I had to have it. It would give me a magic power, I thought. “Let’s see it, Pip?” I asked.

      He handed it to me. It was a spring, push-button knife of German make. It made a click and a large shiny blade swished out. There was no question about it. I was going to keep it. I kept opening and closing it in front of Pipy’s nose. Alarmed, he kept backing up.

      Maxie was eyeing me. He said: “You like it, Noodles? You going to keep it?”

      I said, “Yeh, it’s a beaut.”

      “So keep it, it’s yours. Ain’t it, Pip?”

      Maxie turned his smile from Pip to Jake to Goo-Goo. They understood that that smile of Maxie’s and my attitude meant bad business. Patsy bent his face down close to Pipy and snarled, “Yeh, you’re giving Noodles a present, ain’t you, Pip?”

      Dominick and Cockeye walked behind them, ready for action. I kept staring at Pipy and clicking the knife open and shut at his throat. The atmosphere was tense in Gelly’s candy store for a moment. Jake finally broke the tension with his good-natured laugh.

      “Yeh, you can have it, Noodles, it’s too big and dangerous for a little guy like Pipy anyhow,” Jake said.

      I walked over to the shelves of paper-bound books, examining the blade. It was beautiful. It was sharp on both sides and came to a strong needle point on the end. The blade itself was at least six inches long. A push of the button, the blade clicked into the six-inch handle. It made a formidable weapon. It fitted just right in my pants pocket. My eyes wandered to the display of dime[70] paperbound books. To me it was a hypnotic display of all sorts of Westerns. I thumbed through Horatio Alger’s From Rags to Riches[71], debating with myself whether to buy a book, or use the quarter that Maxie’s uncle had given me for the gas meter at home. I thought, if I bought it, I wouldn’t have any light to read it.

      Fat Moe came over to me and whispered, “Go ahead, Noodles, stick one in your pocket before my old man gets here. Don’t bend it too much, but bring it back tomorrow, all right?”

      I stuck From Rags to Riches in my pocket, feeling happy and grateful, saying: “I’ll take care of it. Thanks, Moe, I’ll bring it back in the morning.”

      I felt as if life was complete. I had a quarter for the gas meter, a new knife and a book to read tonight.

      “All right, fellas,” Maxie was taking his tie and jacket off, “let’s get going. You guys want to come along?” He turned to Jake, Pip, and Goo-Goo.

      “What are you going to do?” Jake asked.

      “We’re going to do a little long distance running,” Max answered. “Nah, not for us,” Jake said. “We’ll see you some more.”

      They walked out.

      We followed Maxie’s example, putting our clothes on a chair. We jogged downtown into the night, starting on our daily long-distance run. Maxie, in the lead, set the paceСкачать книгу