pretty little tricks from her.
Shrewdly, Archibald Longworthy examined the situation and decided that
nothing but profit could come from friendship with Sean Courtney's
heir. Besides which the boy was a lot of fun.
He could tumble a tart and swig gin with the best of them-also he had a
seemingly inexhaustible supply of sovereigns.
In exchange Dirk hero-worshipped Archy, diverting much of his feelings
from his father to his first real friend. Ignoring the grey wrists and
neck which bespoke Archy's disaffection for soap and water, the pale
wispy hair through which pink scalp showed, ignoring also the black
tooth in the front of his mouth Dirk invested him with the glamour and
excitement of an old time pirate.
When Dirk found himself to be suffering from a painless but
evil-smelling condition, it was Archy who assured him it was only
'whites' and went with him to a doctor in Pieten-naritzburg. On the
train coming home they planned their revenge with much laughter,
comradely banter-and rising anticipation.
Hazel was surprised to see them in the middle of a Sunday afternoon,
she sat up quickly as they came into her room overlooking the back yard
of the hotel.
'Dirkie, you shouldn't come here in the daytime-your Pa will find out.
It was warm in the shabby little room, and the smell of cheap went and
a half-filled chamber-pot blended harshly with the odour of female
perspiration. Hazel's thin chemise clung damply to her body and
outlined the heavy hang of her breasts and the deep lateral fb1d around
the level of her navel.
There were dark smudges below her eyes and a curl was sweat plastered
down her cheek where the pillow had left little creases in the skin.
The two of them stood in the doorway and grinned at her, from many
experiences Hazel recognized the wolfish eagerness those grins
masked.
'What do you want?' Suddenly she was afraid and instinctively she
covered the deep cleft of her bosom with one hand.
'Dirkie here wants to have a little chat with you. ' Carefully Archy
closed the door and turned the key in the lock, then he ambled towards
the bed. Manual labor had sheathed his arms in hard, knotty muscle and
the hands that hung at his sides were disproportionately large and
coated with coarse, blond hair.
'You keep away from me, Archy Longworthy. ' Hazel swung her legs off
the bed, the chemise pulled up to expose fat white thighs. 'I don't
want no trouble, you just leave me alone. ' 'You give Dirkie here a
clap. Now Diride here is my friend and he don't like what you give
him. ' 'I didn't' It couldn't have been me. I'm clean-I tell you.'
She stood up, still holding the front of her chemise closed and backed
away before him. 'You keep away from me.' Then as Archy jumped
forward,
'No-don't! I'll . 'And she opened her mouth to scream, but Archy's
hand closed over it like a great hairy spider. She struggled
desperately, clawing at the hand over her face.
