Cursing Columbus by Eve Tal

Author:Eve Tal
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
Published: 2010-09-22T16:00:00+00:00

LEMMEL

I was getting better at grafting. Last night Mumbles didn’t feel a thing when I lifted his wallet. The Dodge said I still wasn’t fast enough, but when it was for real, I would be faster. I don’t know what he meant. Mumbles said he would drop by today for a test. Now people were coming home from work. I only had a few papers left.

I spotted Mumbles. He was standing on the corner giving me the nod. I picked up a paper.

“Read all about it! Thieves steal diamond necklace. Paper, mister?” I thrust my paper into the face of the man standing in front of me. For a moment he couldn’t see me. He handed me a nickel. His wallet bulged out of his coat pocket. I stretched out my hand and . . .

He walked on.

“Wha’ happened?” Mumbles shoved my head. “Why didn’t you lift his wallet? You chicken or somethin’?”

“I ain’t chicken. I’m cold, that’s all. My hands are frozen.” I rubbed them together. My stomach was doing flip-flops.

“Try again. And don’t miss this time or you’ll be sorry. You owe the Dodge. And me.”

He was right. The Dodge wasn’t teaching me out of the goodness of his heart. I wasn’t sure there was any goodness in his heart. He threw Mary out. I didn’t like Lottie, his new lady. She sniffed at us and never fixed coffee.

A man came hurrying down the street.

“Paper, mister? Big diamond robbery uptown.”

He barely slowed down to toss me a nickel and grab a paper. As he passed I flipped his wallet out of his back pocket. In a second Mumbles had pocketed it and moved down the street in the opposite direction. If the man noticed his wallet was gone, I was dead. I braced myself to make a run for it. One minute went by. Two. I couldn’t see the man anymore. Five minutes. I took a deep breath. I had been fast, as fast as Harry, as fast as Mumbles. Fear acted like grease, I guessed.

I spotted Mumbles in an alley across the street. He gave me a nod. I started looking for my next graft.

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