“Well,” I said, “I sort of hate to put the finger on old Micky right now because I’ve got an idea he may come out of it, and anyhow, I’m pretty damn sure I can talk him into sticking one more game at least,” and she said, “It’s your funeral, Junior, and don’t expect me to send flowers,” and I said, “You talk like I’m practically in the God-damn morgue or something.”
She said, “Famous last words, Junior,” and I said, “Well, in that case, I’d better start living up what’s left to live in a hurry,” and she said, “My God, we went through that routine the last time you were here. I’d think you’d be absolutely limp!” but the truth is, she didn’t think any such damn thing and was pretty good at living it up herself, and that’s the big reason we hit it off so damn good, and in my opinion it’s a crying shame it had to end up the way it did, which I’ll tell about, and all because that damn Micky had to go off the deep end over a doll who was all cluttered up with high standards and stuff like that.
I didn’t have a chance to talk to Micky the next day, and as a matter of fact I didn’t have a chance to talk to him until we were in the locker room in the field house just before the game. I got him in a corner and told him how the spread was fixed and what it was supposed to be, and the son of a bitch just looked at me with his eyes all snotty and didn’t say a damn word, and I had a feeling right then that he was going to do me the dirty, and damned if he didn’t. I don’t intend to go into it much because, to tell the truth, it’s sort of painful to remember, and I don’t like to think about it, but I could tell from the beginning that the bastard was out to make it a big night, and the worst of it was, he happened to be hot and couldn’t miss and was popping the damn ball through the bucket from all angles. The other team called a time out after a while, and I whispered to Micky, “What the hell you trying to do, you crazy bastard?” and he looked at me with these snotty eyes and said, “Go to hell,” and I said, “You’ll think go to hell if you get fouled up with Francis Z. Ketch,” and he said, “Francis Z.
Ketch can go to hell, too, as far as I’m concerned,” and I knew I’d had it, and there was nothing I could do about it.
I kept on trying, though, and wouldn’t pass to the bastard even when I saw him open for a shot, but old spooky Carboy kept feeding them to him from the slot, and as a matter of fact I had to look so damn bad trying to keep the score down that old Umplett finally jerked me, the son of a bitch, and it was the first time I’d ever been jerked except once in a while for a short rest. He wouldn’t even look at me when I went over and sat down on the bench, but I could tell he was smelling something and hating my guts, and I rode the God-damn bench the rest of the game, and I won’t tell you the final score but will just say that the spread was a hell of a lot too wide to win any money for Francis Z. Ketch, and as a matter of fact lost him a hell of a potful. The God-damn maniac spectators were going crazy and raising hell, and the lousy band started playing what they called the victory march, but from my point of view there was damn little to celebrate, and I went in the dressing room feeling lower than a snake’s belly and wondering if Francis Z. Ketch could blame me for what had happened, even if it wasn’t my God-damn fault whatever.
I showered and got dressed in a hurry, and I was sitting on the bench by my locker putting on my lousy shoes when Micky came up and looked down at me and said, “Now what do you think?” and I looked up at him and said, “I’ll tell you what I think. I think you’re a dirty, double-crossing son of a bitch, but you better quit worrying about what I think and start worrying about what Francis Z. Ketch thinks, and I wouldn’t be in your shoes for all the God-damn dolls with high standards between here and Texas,” and as a matter of fact I didn’t even particularly like the idea of being in my own shoes, but I didn’t say so.
He turned and walked away without saying anything more, and the next morning he moved all his crummy stuff to another room in the frat house, and as far as I was concerned it was good riddance of bad rubbish, as the saying goes. I kept thinking all day I’d get some kind of word from Candy about how Francis Z. Ketch was feeling about the way the game came out, and I cut all my stinking classes just to hang around the phone, but I didn’t hear a damn word. I went to basketball practice when the time came, and old Umplett didn’t have a damn word to say, either, which was a relief, and when I got back, the guys at the house said there still hadn’t been any call for me, and I was just about to decide that Francis Z. Ketch was going to be reasonable about it when the phone rang, and it was Candy, and she said, “You better get down to my apartment in a hurry, Junior,” and I got in the Crosley and went.
When I got there, she opened the door and let me in, and I said, “Hi, doll,” and she said, “You forget the schedule, Junior. This is strictly business,” and I looked past her and saw no one but Francis Z. Ketch himself in a chair and knew that it damn well was. He had his little hands folded across his pot and this little smile on his stinking little mouth, and he said, “Well, Skimmer, it seems there’s been a misunderstanding,” and I said, “Well, it wasn’t exactly a God-damn misunderstanding,” and he said, “You can call it what you like, but I lost a great sum of money, which disturbs me greatly, and I’ll confess that there’s nothing in the world disturbs me quite so much as losing a great sum of money, especially when it’s due to the defection of a trusted associate.”
I didn’t quite get the meaning of all the words, but I damn well got the general meaning, you can bet your butt on that, and I got this God-damn cold feeling that he gave you with his soft voice and his stinking little red smiling mouth, and I said, “Well, I did my damnedest to keep the spread down, and even got jerked out of the game for looking so lousy doing it, and the truth is, that damn Micky Spicer met a girl with high standards and wouldn’t have any part of it,” and he said, “Are you suggesting that Spicer refused to cooperate?” and I said, “Well, if you’ve got any doubts, you can look at the Goddamn box scores in the paper, and I’m not suggesting a damn thing but saying it right out.”
He sat there looking at me and started flipping his crummy underlip with one finger like he was thinking about it, and after a while he said, “Why wasn’t I informed in time to avoid this fiasco?” and I said, “To tell the truth, I didn’t think he’d do me the dirty when it came right down to it, and I didn’t find out for sure he was going to do it until the game started,” and he nodded and said, “I’m inclined to believe that you personally have been guilty of nothing more than stupidity, which was a calculated risk I accepted in the beginning. This Spicer fellow, however, seems to have pulled a deliberate double-cross. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him yet, and I think it’s time I had it. You can be of some assistance in the matter.”
I said, “How’s that?” and he said, “Why, you can simply persuade him to come downtown for the purpose,” and I said, “The hell I can. He’s got his nose hard and moved out of our room and won’t have a damn thing to do with me, and I couldn’t persuade him to take a new automobile as a gift,” and he said, “Well, I can see how that might be true, under the circumstances. Perhaps, to avoid any further bungling, I’d better send Conky to get him. Conky is the most persuasive fellow at my command, and I’m sure he can convince Spicer that he shouldn’t deny me the pleasure of meeting him.”
He got up then and got his hat and said good-by and left, and he wasn’t fooling me any with his polite talk and stinking little smile, not a damn bit, and I knew that whatever he had in mind for Micky might be a pleasure to him but none at all to Micky, and I felt a little bad about it and wished it didn’t have to happen, but I didn’t really figure it was any skin off my butt, after all, because the simple truth is, the son of a bitch brought it on himself and deserved it.