Solomon's Vineyard Read Online Free Page B

shook, too, and it was
exciting to see her press against the table to read the numbers. The
table caught her just below the hips. She threw for a long time and
finally made her point. She left the money on the table and threw a
seven. It was hard to read the numbers because of the smoke in the
room. She let all the money ride and threw an eight. She didn't look
sullen any more. She smiled at me.
    “An eighter from Decatur,” she said.
    She did it the hard way: four and four. The Greek had bet against
her, and he said something angrily. Ginger drew fifty dollars and let a
hundred ride. The Greek laid twenty against her. She rolled a seven.
She drew a hundred and let a hundred sit. The Greek muttered again and
took the dice from her. He pulled some other dice from his pocket and
dropped them on the table.
    “Let's go,” he said.
    I took his dice and tossed them through the door to the dining-room.
I heard them roll across the dance floor. The Greek's eyes got
thin-looking, but he didn't move.
    “Some house dice,” I said.
    The man back of the table took his time. He pushed aside the box
where he had found the first dice and got a pair from another box. I
took those and threw them away, too.
    “From the first box.”
    He took a pair out of the first box. He looked scared. He glanced at
the Greek, but the Greek didn't say anything. I gave the dice a couple
of rolls. They were okay. I gave them to Ginger.
    The Greek stared at me. “Tough guy, hey?”
    “Yeah.”
    Ginger threw the dice against the backboard. They came up eleven.
Then she tossed a seven. She was a tropical heatwave. Her next point
was nine and she had to throw for it. I watched her. Her body went into
curves every time she pitched the dice. She got the nine, sucked three
hundred dollars, and then lost the dice. I figured she was six or seven
hundred ahead. The Greek took the dice. Ginger started to bet with him
against the house. There was no sense in that. I shook my head at her,
but she went ahead anyway. She bet twenty dollars and lost it. She
stopped belting. After a while the dice got around to her again. She
had her point, nine, when three men came into the room. She looked tin,
shaking the dice, and what she saw froze her hand. She stood with the
dice in her hand.
    “Hello Ginger,” one of the men said.
He was short, but his chest and shoulders were: powerful. He had mean blue eyes and
he needed a shave. He had the longest arms I ever saw on anything more
civilized than an orang-outang. He was a towhead and he had a club
foot.
    “Didn't expect me, did you, Ginger!”
    “No.”
    Nobody moved around the crap table. I felt glad the chief of police
was there until I saw his face. The man turned his eyes on me; then
came towards me, walking with a limp. One of his friends had his hand
in his pocket, hither his finger or a pistol made a point under the
cloth. He looked tough. I thought it was probably a pistol.
    “He careful, Pug,” said the man behind the table.
    Pug stopped in front of me. His face came about to my neck. He
snarled. “You the guy with Ginger?”
    “ Yes. “
    “Do you know whose babe she is?”
    “No.”
    “Like hell.”
    “No.”
    “Well, she's mine.”
    “She didn't mention it,” I said.
    He laughed. It was more like a bark than a laugh. I saw one of his
front teeth had been broken. It had turned dark. He came a step closer.
I backed away. I didn't want to start a play with three or maybe more
toughs against me. I looked at the chief of police. He was still
scared. Ginger seemed a little pleased, as though she'd ^planned it.
Maybe she had. Maybe she wanted to make Pug jealous.
    “Do you know who I am?” Pug said.
    “No,” I lied.
    “I'm Pug Banta.”
    “Oh.”
    He moved nearer me.
    “I'm sorry,” I said. “I didn't know she was your girl, Pug.”
    He slapped my face. His arm moved so fast I didn't even have time to
duck. My teeth cut my lip. I could taste the