She smiled at me and said, “You’re a nice boy, Eddie. I hope you win a million fights. When do you fight again?”
I had to laugh at that. I guess I had been going around thinking that everybody in the world knew I was going to fight Sailor Perelman that Saturday just because it was my first main event. I guess that is the way you get a swelled head. I said, “This Saturday.”
“That’s fine,” she said, and looked at her wrist-watch. “Oh, why doesn’t he come? I’ve got to be home before Jake gets there.” She jumped up. “Well, I can’t wait any longer. I shouldn’t have stayed this long. Will you tell Loney something for me?”
“Sure.”
“And not another soul?”
“Sure.”
She came around the table and took hold of my lapel again. “Well, listen. You tell him that somebody’s been talking to Jake about — about us.. You tell him we’ve got to be careful, Jake’d kill both of us. You tell him I don’t think Jake knows for sure yet, but we’ve got to be careful. Tell Loney not to phone me and to wait here till I phone him tomorrow afternoon. Will you tell him that?”
“Sure.”
“And don’t let him do anything crazy.”
I said, “I won’t.” I would have said anything to get it
over with.
She said, “You’re a nice boy, Eddie,” and kissed me on the mouth and went out of the house.
I did not go to the door with her. I looked at the whisky on the table and thought maybe I ought to take the first drink of my life, but instead I sat down and thought about Loney. Maybe I dozed off a little but I was awake when he came home and that was nearly two o’clock.
He was pretty tight. “What the hell are you doing up?”
he said.
I told him about Mrs. Schiff and what she told me to tell
him.
He stood there in his hat and overcoat until I had told it all, then he said, “That chiseling dago rat,” kind of half under his breath and his face began to get like it got when
he was mad.
“And she said you mustn’t do anything crazy.”
“Crazy?” He looked at me and kind of laughed. “No, I won’t do anything crazy. How about you scramming off to bed?”
I said, “All right,” and went upstairs.
The next morning he was still in bed when I left for the gym and he had gone out before I got home. I waited supper for him until nearly seven o’clock and then ate it by myself. Susan was getting sore because it was going to be late before she got through. Maybe he stayed out all night but he looked all right when he came in Tubby’s the next afternoon to watch me work out, and he was making jokes and kidding along with the fellows hanging around there just like he had nothing at all on his mind.
He waited for me to dress and we walked over home together. The only thing that was kind of funny, he asked me, “How do you feel, Kid?” That was kind of funny because he knew I always felt all right. I guess I never even had a cold all my life.
I said, “All right.”
“You’re working good,” he said. “Take it easy tomorrow. You want to be rested up for this baby from Providence. Like that chiseling dago rat said, he’s plenty tough and plenty smart.”
I said, “I guess he is. Loney, do you think Pete really tipped Big Jake off about —”
“Forget it,” he said. “Hell with ’em.” He poked my arm. “You got nothing to worry about but how you’re going to be in there Saturday night.”
“I’ll be all right.”
“Don’t be too sure,” he said. “Maybe you’ll be lucky to
get a draw.”
I stopped still in the street, I was so surprised. Loney never talked like that about any of my fights before. He was always saying, “Don’t worry about how tough this mug looks, just go in and knock him apart,” or something like that.