‘Who is it?’
‘It’s somebody to see you, Mr. Andreson,’ the woman said.
‘It’s Nick Adams.’
‘Come in.’
Nick opened the door and went into the room. Ole Andreson was lying on the bed with all his clothes on. He had been a heavyweight prize-fighter and he was too long for the bed. He lay with his head on two pillows. He did not look at Nick.
‘What was it?’ he asked.
‘I was up at Henry’s,’ Nick said, ‘and two fellows came in and tied up me and the cook, and they said they were going to kill you.’
It sounded silly when he said it. Ole Andreson said nothing.
‘They put us out in the kitchen,’ Nick went on. ‘They were going to shoot you when you came in to supper.’
Ole Andreson looked at the wall and did not say anything.
‘George thought I better come and tell you about it.’
‘There isn’t anything I can do about it,’ Ole Andreson said.
‘I’ll tell you what they were like.’
‘I don’t want to know what they were like,’ Ole Andreson said. He looked at the wall. ‘Thanks for coming to tell me about it.’
‘That’s all right.’
Nick looked at the big man lying on the bed.
‘Don’t you want me to go and see the police?’
‘No,’ Ole Andreson said. ‘That wouldn’t do any good.’
‘Isn’t there something I could do?’
‘No. There ain’t anything to do.’
‘Maybe it was just a bluff.’
‘No. It ain’t just a bluff.’
Ole Andreson rolled over toward the wall.
‘The only thing is,’ he said, talking toward the wall, ‘I just can’t make up my mind to go out. I been in here all day.’
‘Couldn’t you get out of town?’
‘No,’ Ole Andreson said. ‘I’m through with all that running around.’
He looked at the wall.
‘There ain’t anything to do now.’
‘Couldn’t you fix it up some way?’
‘No. I got in wrong.’ He talked in the same flat voice. ‘There ain’t anything to do. After a while I’ll make up my mind to go out.’
‘I better go back and see George,’ Nick said.
‘So long,’ said Ole Andreson. He did not look toward Nick. ‘Thanks for coming around.’
Nick went out. As he shut the door he saw Ole Andreson with all his clothes on, lying on the bed looking at the wall.
‘He’s been in his room all day,’ the landlady said downstairs. ‘I guess he don’t feel well. I said to him: “Mr. Andreson, you ought to go out and take a walk on a nice fall day like this,” but he didn’t feel like it.’
‘He doesn’t want to go out.’
‘I’m sorry he don’t feel well,’ the woman said. ‘He’s an awfully nice man. He was in the ring, you know.’
‘I know it.’
‘You’d never know it except from the way his face is,’ the woman said. They stood talking just inside the street door. ‘He’s just as gentle.’
‘Well, good night, Mrs. Hirsch,’ Nick said.
‘I’m not Mrs. Hirsch,’ the woman said. ‘She owns the place. I just look after it for her. I’m Mrs. Bell.’
‘Well, good night, Mrs. Bell,’ Nick said.
‘Good night,’ the woman said.
Nick walked up the dark street to the corner under the arc-light, and then along the car-tracks to Henry’s eating-house. George was inside, back of the counter.
‘Did you see Ole?’
‘Yes,’ said Nick. ‘He’s in his room and he won’t go out.’
The cook opened the door from the kitchen when he heard Nick’s voice.
‘I don’t even listen to it,’ he said and shut the door.
‘Did you tell him about it?’ George asked.
‘Sure. I told him but he knows what it’s all about.’
‘What’s he going to do?’
‘Nothing.’
‘They’ll kill him.’
‘I guess they will.’
‘He must have got mixed up in something in Chicago.’
‘I guess so,’ said Nick.
‘It’s a hell of a thing.’
‘It’s an awful thing,’ Nick said.
They did not say anything. George reached down for a towel and wiped the counter.
‘I wonder what he did?’ Nick said.
‘Double-crossed somebody. That’s what they kill them for.’
‘I’m going to get out of this town,’ Nick said.
‘Yes,’ said George. ‘That’s a good thing to do.’
‘I can’t stand to think about him waiting in the room and knowing he’s going to get it. It’s too damned awful.’
‘Well,’ said George, ‘you better not think about it.’
TO-DAY IS FRIDAY
Three Roman soldiers are in a drinking-place at eleven o’clock at night. There are barrels around the wall. Behind the wooden counter is a Hebrew wine-seller. The three Roman soldiers are a little cock-eyed.
1st Roman Soldier—You tried the red?
2nd Soldier—No, I ain’t tried it.
1st Soldier—You better try it.
2nd Soldier—All right, George, we’ll have a round of the red.
Hebrew Wine-seller—Here you are, gentlemen. You’ll like that. [He sets down an earthenware pitcher that he has filled from one of the casks.] That’s a nice little wine.
1st Soldier—Have a drink of it yourself. [He turns to the third soldier who is leaning on a barrel.] What’s the matter with you?
3rd Soldier—I got a gut-ache.
2nd Soldier—You’ve been drinking water.
1st Soldier—Try some of the red.
3rd Soldier—I can’t drink the damn stuff. It makes my gut sour.
1st Soldier—You been out here too long.
3rd Soldier—Hell, don’t I know it?
1st Soldier—Say, George, can’t you give this gentleman something to fix up his stomach?
Wine-seller—I got it right here.
[The third soldier tastes the cup that the wine-seller has mixed for him.]
3rd Soldier—Hey, what you put in that, camel chips?
Wine-seller—You drink that right down, Lootenant. That’ll fix you up right.
3rd Soldier—Well, I couldn’t feel any worse.
1st Soldier—Take a chance on it. George fixed me up fine the other day.
Wine-seller—You were in bad shape, Lootenant. I know what fixes up a bad stomach.
[The third soldier drinks the cup down.]
3rd Soldier—Jesus Christ. [He makes a face.]
2nd Soldier—That false alarm!
1st Soldier—Oh, I don’t know. He was pretty good in there to-day.
2nd Soldier—Why didn’t he come down off the cross?
1st Soldier—He didn’t want to come down off the cross. That’s not his play.
2nd Soldier—Show me a guy that doesn’t want to come down off the cross.
1st Soldier—Aw, hell, you don’t know anything about it. Ask George there. Did he want to come down off the cross, George?
Wine-seller—I’ll tell you, gentlemen, I wasn’t out there. It’s a thing I haven’t taken any interest in.
2nd Soldier—Listen, I seen a lot of them—here and plenty of other places. Any time you show me one that doesn’t want to get down off the cross when the time comes—when the time comes, I mean—I’ll climb right up with him.
1st Soldier—I thought he was pretty good in there to-day.
3rd Soldier—He was all right.
2nd Soldier—You guys don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m not saying whether he was good or not. What I mean is, when the time comes. When they first start nailing him, there isn’t none of them wouldn’t stop it if they could.
1st Soldier—Didn’t you follow it, George?
Wine-seller—No, I didn’t take any interest in it, Lootenant.
1st Soldier—I was surprised how he acted.
3rd Soldier—The part I don’t like is the nailing them on. You know, that must get to you pretty bad.
2nd Soldier—It isn’t that that’s so bad, as when they first lift ’em up. [He makes a lifting gesture with his two palms together.] When the weight starts to pull on ’em. That’s when it gets ’em.
3rd Soldier—It takes some of them pretty bad.
1st Soldier—Ain’t I seen ’em? I seen plenty of them. I tell you, he was pretty good in there to-day.
[The second soldier smiles at the wine-seller.]
2nd Soldier—You’re a regular Christer, big boy.
1st Soldier—Sure, go on and kid him. But listen while I tell you something. He was pretty good in there to-day.
2nd Soldier—What about some more wine?
[The wine-seller looks up expectantly. The third soldier is sitting with his head down. He does not look well.]
3rd Soldier—I don’t want any more.
2nd Soldier—Just for two, George.
[The wine-seller puts out a pitcher of wine, a size smaller than the last one. He leans forward on the wooden counter.]
1st Soldier—You see his girl?
2nd Soldier—Wasn’t I standing right by her?
1st Soldier—She’s a nice-looker.
2nd Soldier—I knew her before he did. [He winks at the wine-seller.]
1st Soldier—I used to see her around the town.
2nd Soldier—She used to have a lot of stuff. He never brought her no good luck.
1st Soldier—Oh, he ain’t lucky. But he looked pretty good to me in there to-day.
2nd Soldier—What become of his gang?
1st Soldier—Oh, they faded out. Just the women stuck by him.
2nd Soldier—They were a pretty yellow crowd. When they seen him go up there they didn’t want any of it.
1st Soldier—The women stuck all right.
2nd Soldier—Sure, they stuck all right.
1st Soldier—You see me slip the old spear into him?
2nd Soldier—You’ll get into trouble doing that some day.
1st Soldier—It was the least I could do for him. I’ll tell you he looked pretty good to me in there to-day.
Wine-seller—Gentlemen, you know I got to close.
1st Soldier—We’ll have one more round.
2nd Soldier—What’s the use? This stuff don’t get you anywhere. Come on, let’s go.
1st Soldier—Just another round.
3rd Soldier [getting up from the barrel]—No, come on. Let’s go. I feel like hell to-night.
1st Soldier—Just one more.
2nd Soldier—No, come on. We’re going to go. Good night, George. Put it on the bill.
Wine-seller—Good night, gentlemen. [He looks a little worried.] You couldn’t let me have a little something on account, Lootenant?
2nd Soldier—What the hell, George! Wednesday’s pay-day.
Wine-seller—It’s all right, Lootenant. Good night, gentlemen.
[The three soldiers go out the door into the street.]
[Outside in the street.]
2nd Soldier—George is a kike just like all the rest of them.
1st Soldier—Oh, George is a nice fella.
2nd Soldier—Everybody’s a nice fella to you to-night.
3rd Soldier—Come on, let’s go up to the barracks. I feel like hell to-night.
2nd Soldier—You been out here too long.
3rd Soldier—No, it ain’t just that. I feel like hell.
2nd
