paid off, wouldn’t you? But it didn’t. Don’t ask me why. I never got around to figuring it out
myself. There was damn-all when he died. A good thing or I might be still there. As it is I had
to sell up to pay what he owed, and that left me without a home. So I thought I’d take a look
at Florida, and boy! am I glad I did.”
Roche scratched the side of his jaw and squinted at me.
“What’s so special about Florida?”
“Ever been to Pittsburgh? Soot, dirt, noise and fog - that’s Pittsburgh. That’s what’s so
special about Florida.”
“Maybe you’re right. I’ve lived here all my life. I get sick of the sum sometimes.”
“Brother, you don’t know when you’re well off! I’ve had the finest three weeks of my life
riding trucks this far. This country’s terrific.” I leaned forward. “And that reminds me. I got a
ride off a guy named Williams. He told me to come here. You know him ?”
8
“Yeah: known him years.”
“He said you could fix me a ride to Miami. Can you do it?”
“That’s easy. Josh Bates is on the Miami run. I keep his mail for him. He’ll be in tomorrow
morning. I’ll fix it for you. So you’re going to Miami?”
“You bet.”
“Hey, Alice, Roche said, “how about some more beer? Can’t you see this fella’s dying of
thirst?” While she was in the kitchen getting the beer, he went on, “That’s the finest hook I’ve
seen outside anything Dempsey threw. You in the game? I guess you must be. That late shift
of yours and the way …”
“I’ve been in it, but I’m through now. It’s too much of a racket.”
He eyed me over.
“With that build and that hook you could be sensational. Who have you fought ?”
“I had three rounds with Joe Louis when he ran out of sparring partners during his Army
exhibition tour. Nice guy, Joe. He said I had a good right hand.”
“Joe said that?” Roche seemed impressed.
“The best scrap I ever had was when I deputized for Abe Linsky. I put Jack Weiner away in
the second.”
Roche gaped at me.
“You mean - Jack Weiner? The Californian champ?”
“That’s the fella. He wasn’t champ then, but he was quite a scrapper. I was lucky to hang
one on his jaw. I guess he was a shade too confident.”
“Jeepers!” Roche said. “Well, that’s something. What made you quit?”
“I guess I like to keep my face the shape it is, besides, I’ve got other ideas.”
“Sounds like a waste of talent to me,” Roche said, shaking his head. “If you could take
Weiner …”
“That trucker told me to get out of town. He said Petelli would have something to say about
9
MacCready.”
“You don’t have to worry about Petelli. Solly Brant will tell him what happened. Besides,
the Miami Kid is getting Petelli’s backing. If it had been the Kid you hit, then you would
have had to get out fast, but Petelli hasn’t any time for MacCready.”
“This Solly Brant you just mentioned. Is he the fat guy with MacCready?”
“That’s right. He owns MacCready, and I bet he wishes he didn’t. He’s not a bad fella, but
what can you do with a bum like MacCready?”
Alice returned with two pints of beer.
Roche had insisted that I should stay the night at the cafe, and I welcomed the suggestion.
