about it, Johnny. A third share and a free hand, and only Alice and me to bother you. Think
about it.”
I didn’t have to think about it.
“Don’t wait for me, Tom,” I said. “You fix yourself up. I won’t be coming back.”
III
I had just finished breakfast when Roche put his head round the door.
“Solly Brant’s outside. He’s asking for you. Want to see him?”
“Why not, or shouldn’t I?”
Roche shrugged.
“Please yourself. He wouldn’t say what he wants.”
“Well, shoot him in.”
13
I pushed back my plate, and, as I reached for a cigarette, Brant came in. His panama hat
was pushed to the back of his head. There were dark rings under his eyes, and he looked as if
he hadn’t slept for days.
“I’m sorry your boy can’t fight,” I said before he could open his mouth, “but he got what he
deserved. It’s no use coming moaning to me. It’s something I can’t do anything about.”
“Yeah, don’t tell me, I know,” Brant said, and pulled up a chair. He sat down. “He’s a bum,
always was; always will be.” He rubbed his face with his hand and groaned. “That punk’s put
years on my life. The trouble I’ve had with him.” He leaned forward and poked a fat ringer at
me. “Where did you learn to punch like that?”
“I’ve done a little fighting. If I’d known he had a glass jaw I’d have hit him some other
place.”
“He ain’t got a glass jaw. Guys have been hanging punches on his jaw for years, and up to
now he’s liked it. I’ve never seen a punch like that. It would have dented a tank.” He absently
picked up a piece of toast and began to nibble at it. “But never mind him. If I’d some other
boy to fight the Kid I’d be waving flags to be rid of him. But I haven’t another boy, and this
is the first major fight I’ve collared in years. The take’s seven-fifty, and that’s a lot of beer to
a guy like me.” He gnawed at the toast, then asked, “Who have you fought?”
“Oh, no, not me,” I said. “Never mind who I’ve fought. You’re not getting me to fight for
you. I quit the game years ago, and I’m not going back to it.”
The small brown eyes roved hungrily over me.
“With that build and that hook you’re a natural. How long have you been out of the game?”
“Too long. I’m not interested. If that’s all you’ve got to talk about let’s part while we’re
still friends.”
“Now wait a minute. Roche tells me you put Weiner away in the second. Is that right?”
“It’s no dollars in your pocket if I did.”
“Heading for Miami, aren’t you?” He put down the toast and hitched forward his chair.
“Now, listen, soon as I saw you I knew you were a killer. Use your head, Farrar. What do you
think you’re going to do in Miami dressed like that? How far do you think you’ll get before
some bull tosses you in the can? Even if you keep to the back streets you won’t last ten
minutes. If you haven’t a good front, you’re out in Miami.”
14
“That’s my funeral: not yours.”
“I know.” He took off his hat and peered inside it as if looking for something he had lost.
“But I’m not talking because I like the sound of my voice. How would you like to arrive in
Miami in a tropical suit and all the trimmings and driving your own car? Okay, it’s not much
of a car, but it goes. And how would you like to have five hundred bucks in your pocket to
give you a start?”
He was dangling a nice fat worm on a sharp hook before me, and I knew it, but I listened
