made the switch. Dropsy was good at the switch, always subtle and smooth in the execution. But even had he been clumsy there was now enough liquor in the Pennsylvanian travelers that they probably wouldn’t have noticed. The last thing they expected was to be taken by a simple nigger and a boozed up sixteen-year-old.
Jim took the win this time, squealing like a stepped-on kitten and drawing congratulatory applause from everyone at the table-save for The Least Remarkable Man. Jim made note of this fact as well; sore losers could often cause undue difficulties in the course of an otherwise smooth touch.
Now Jim had seven whole dollars in front of him; two gone for another round, five remaining. Walter patted Jim’s hand, genuinely pleased that the boy was still in the game. Malaria came back and delivered the men another step into the clouds.
Jim struggled mightily to keep his mind clear. He could do this. He was in control. He was Jim Jam Jump, World Famous Ratboy of Orleans Parish and Surrounding Territories-but not so famous, it would seem, in some place called Pennsylvania.
Jim cleared his throat in a way that warned he might get sick, chairs squeaking on the painted wooden floor as Skinny and the Man Who Loved Mavis eased back warily.
Jim’s eyes glowed at the five ones before him as if he’d never seen so much money in his life. “Hot dang if I
“Sounds like someone done got bit by the gamblin’ bug.” Walter kept in touch with his fatherly tone, but added a hint of the devil. “And at such a tender age, too. Well, if you insist, little fella. Guess you ain’t got much to lose seein’s you better than broke even already.” Another round of chuckles bubbled up-but in Jim’s alcohol-blurred frame of mind the sound was of chortling pigs.
CLEAR.
The heads of the marks bobbed with a mutual nod regarding the increased stakes. Dropsy collected up two dollars from each player this time. The hat went around. Dice hit wood six times. Twelve times. Eighteen.
Jim lost this time.
“Maybe I ain’t so lucky as I thought. Maybe used up all my luck meeting you nice fellas and surviving that dog attack.”
“Well now, my young friend, don’t fret. You’re still up ahead from where you started. Started with two and now got three. One more round for luck, little buddy?”
Jim knocked back his shot, winced, faked a cough. Dropsy feigned concern with levitating eyebrows-but Jim’s own eyes brightened suddenly.
“Yes, Mr. Walter! One more round! And if it’s my last, then let me bet the whole farm. Three dollar ante!” It was now imperative that Jim make clear his intention to play until he’d lost every penny in his pocket. This was another important element to the process-for it assures your marks that they will eventually get back what they have lost.
Skinny giggled like a schoolgirl, “Hey, high roller! All hail, King Tat!”
Good humor took another lap around the table-but stopped conspicuously where The Least Remarkable Man sat, the nigger-hater squinting suspiciously. Jim: Making note.
Eight more rounds occurred, the stakes being raised on each turn, Jim winning all but two. Dropsy intentionally failed to switch the die in Jim’s favor exactly three times, Jim winning by actual luck exactly once.
By this point, the suckers were so incapacitated they could hardly keep their drunken asses from dripping out of their chairs. Jim: Ninety-six pounds and holding firm.
On the ninth round, a problem developed. Just as Jim was about to throw, The Least Remarkable Man lurched forward-tipping the table slightly and snatching the dice from Jim’s hand. Sitting back down with the dice in his fist, Least Remarkable locked eyes hard with Dropsy. Dropsy silently wondered if his last switch had not been as clean as it could have been.
Between forefinger and thumb, The Least Remarkable Man gave each side of the dice a penetrating squint.
Jim was not sure if Dropsy had even switched the straight dice for tat on this last round. He delicately glanced up into Dropsy’s eyes, trying to get a read. The read was easy, Dropsy unable to mask his panic. The Least Remarkable Man was onto them. The jig was up. The dice currently being examined by The Least Remarkable Man had five dots on four sides, and six dots on two. You would have to be drunk to the point of blindness not to notice-this is why the constant rounds of alcohol are so important in a good game of tat.
Jim and Dropsy attempted bored expressions as The Least Remarkable Man continued to squint with the occasional low-toned, angry grunt; rubbing his eyes, then squinting some more. Finally, Fat Tommy bellowed with drunken impatience, “You quite through there, Otis? You ain’t bein’ cheated by no kid. Get this game back on so’s I can win summa my money back, damn ya!”
The Least Remarkable Man, whose name was Otis, saw wiggly dancing dots on the surface of the dice and nothing more. With a defeated slump, he handed the tat back to Jim. “Yeah, I reckon it’s all right,” he said, visibly flustered by the lack of cooperation he’d received from his own two eyes, too proud to admit the weakness. Dropsy had come to know in his lifetime that unremarkable people are usually the proudest.
Otis grumbled something under his breath, indecipherable words that reached Dropsy’s ears as, “double double toil and trouble.”
“How’s that, Otis?” asked Skinny, operating the numb muscles of his mouth with great effort.
“Double up that damn bet, I said! First night in town and I’m damn near outta cash. Gotta win some back now, hear? Double it up!” Otis looked hard into Jim’s eyes and saw red.
“Damn, Otis,” said Walter, “Prob’ly not such a good idea, I reckon. Kid’s on a regular streak here.”
“That gold horseshoe up his ass gotta shake loose sometime, Walter,” pitched in Fat Tommy. “I’m with Otis. Double it up!”
“Ain’t sure I got nuff left to go double,” said Skinny meekly.
“Then I guess you’d be out, Roy,” Otis barked without looking up.
Nervous nods dipped around the table, no one asking young “Nick” if he minded doubling the stakes-no one particularly caring whether he minded or not. This was as it should be with any good touch. Make sure the mark makes as many bad decisions as he can of his own design and free will. Nudge only when necessary.
Being the only sober mind left at the table, Dropsy had no further need of cleverness in the switch. He could have put a pig’s ear in the hat without raising an eyebrow. One of the few advantages enjoyed by colored persons in this business was that white folks prefer not to drink with you-and, therefore, rarely protest if you choose not to partake. A white man’s own sense of natural-born privilege could often be used against him in this way-you only need be aware of the fact, Dropsy had learned.
The hat went around until the inevitable occurred, Jim cleaning up once more. Drooping drunken faces stretched longer still as Otis slammed his fist to the table, the impact of the blow causing Skinny Roy’s shot glass to bounce noisily to the floor.
Timing was everything:
Jim stood up quick, wobbling mightily, with both hands on the table for support.
Dropsy casually scooped up his partner’s winnings as Jim spoke in a drunkenly disabled voice that no longer needed faking:
“My ma will be so happy for the groceries I done made!” Without warning, the kid keeled over, flopping face first onto the table, then bouncing backwards onto the floor.
