Bowery Girl Read Online Free PDF

been home a few hours. We were supposed to celebrate, Tommy.”
    â€œHave some more gin and shut up.”
    â€œDon’t tell her to shut up,” Mollie said.
    â€œWhat’re we going to do, Tommy?” Seamus asked. He had his hands in fists already.
    â€œWe’ll go out the stage door.”
    â€œYou saw the bricks in the alley?” Mugs asked. “We got a lot.” He wiped his coat sleeve against his nose and nodded to Annabelle. “Good to see ya back.”
    â€œI got the growler!” Hugh ran over and held the pail of beer, like an offering, to Tommy.
    The boys all passed it around. Tommy raised his hand. “We got bricks. When the girls go off for their break, we walk out the stage door. The Rum Runners’ll try and catch us outside. I don’t want them thinking they can come in here anytime they please.”
    â€œYa ruined this card, Seamus.” Hugh waved the three of spades Seamus had speared, and then gathered the deck together.
    Tommy took a pull of beer and smiled over at Calhoun. Calhoun glowered in return and turned his back.
    Mollie stood. “Come on, Annabelle. Ain’t no need for us here.”
    â€œIt’s early. I thought we were going to celebrate,” Annabelle whined. “Can’t you just leave it tonight, Tom?” Annabelle worked hard to keep her eyes focused. She squinted to see Calhoun. “Maybe he’s just having a drink.”
    Tommy ignored her. “We go out when the girls go offstage. I’ll walk out to the street alone. Draw Calhoun and his crew right to us.”
    The piano slammed out a final, jarring chord. Neely got up from the bench and pulled the rope to drop the curtain on the stage. Dust shook itself loose from the old moss-green curtains and mixed with the heavy smoke in the room.
    Calhoun took a step forward. Tommy stood, his chair scraping the floor. There came the flick of knives opening at the Growlers’ table.
    Tommy nodded to the boys. It was time. He led them up the three small steps to the stage.
    â€œCome on, Annabelle, we got to go.” Mollie watched as Calhoun gave a short signal to his gang, who slid through the front doors.
    â€œI want to celebrate.” Annabelle picked up her glass, and when she realized it was empty, slammed it down on the table.
    â€œYou’re drunk.” Mollie put Annabelle’s arm over her shoulder and lifted her. “Jesus, help me out a little. I ain’t carrying ya out.”
    She half-dragged Annabelle up the stairs and onto the stage, then pushed the curtain aside to let them through.
    â€œTommy’s got another girl, don’t he?” Annabelle asked. “He’s got to have, else why would he do this tonight?”
    â€œShhh.”
    â€œShe’s probably waiting for him right now. Why couldn’t we have stayed inside? I liked the show.” Annabelle’s head rolled back, and then fell forward.
    Mollie shook Annabelle’s shoulders. “How much gin did you have?”
    â€œAw, leave it be, you ain’t so sober yourself.”
    The dancing girls milled around them. As the girls dropped their pasted smiles like so much confetti and rubbed their worn feet, Tommy shoved open the alley door.

AGAINST THE RUM RUNNERS
    THEY HUDDLED AGAINST THE alley wall. The windows of Lefty Malone’s threw a yellow puddle across the street in front of them. Mollie heard the stamp of feet and the roars from inside; the girls were back onstage, likely showing more than their legs.
    Mollie counted the neatly stacked bricks. “How many are there?” she asked.
    â€œAbout fifty, I think,” Mugs said. “We got about fifty, right, Seamus?”
    â€œThere’s forty-two. Some kids ran off with some earlier. But I been checking them every day,” Hugh said. He stroked the top layer as if it were a fighting dog about to go into the ring.
    â€œRum Runners. I meant how many Rum Runners.”
    â€œSix or