The Alley Read Online Free PDF Page A

Besides these, he had a jeep. He also brought the catalog, to see what to buy next.
    "Traffic is getting heavy," said Connie.
    "I like the comment," Billy said.
    Billy Maloon often used long and hard words. He was left to himself a great deal. But this did not matter to Billy Maloon. On the whole, grownups did not exist for him. They were obstacles to circle around. He tried to be unaware of their presence, even of Connie's mother, who liked Billy very much.
    After that first day when Billy Maloon came to play with Connie with his lumber truck Dinky Toy, he came every chance he got. He and Connie became best friends. Judy Fabadessa did not like the idea. But Connie could not help that. She liked Billy, and she had more fun playing with Billy than she had had with anyone since she had left Clarissa and Washington. She and Billy never got into arguments the way she and Judy did. Billy didn't complain if he didn't win every time in checkers or chess. He never said, "Oo-oh, you cheated," the way Judy did when Connie was winning; and Connie had never cheated in anything in her whole life! She and Billy always agreed about what they wanted to play and what Dinky Toys each one should have for "his" in games, and how to divide things. Connie soon had some Dinky Toys of her own, a postal truck, a racing car, and a trailer.
    Judy still often came over to play. But the more Connie played with Billy Maloon, the less Judy liked it. Judy had a habit of making a certain awful face, and now she made this face more and more often. She would pull the corners of her mouth way down and roll her eyes into a curious position that left only the white parts showing. She looked as though she didn't have any eyes. When she and Connie played checkers, or any other game now, she would soon get angry about something, make her awful face, and say she bet Connie was getting to like Billy Maloon better than her. Connie never answered, because it was true. Billy liked to play with Connie and Connie liked to play with Billy.
    One day, when it was time for Billy to go and he had gathered up his Dinky Toys reluctantly, because he did not want to go home, Connie said, "Billy, you know that you can call me up and talk to me any time you want to on the telephone? And you can talk as long as you want." She didn't know why she said this, because she did not like to use the telephone—she could scarcely remember when she had ever once spoken into it.
    "O.K.," said Billy in his flat voice. But from his wide eyes Connie could tell he was pleased. One night he did telephone. Mama answered the phone and said, "Connie, it's for you."
    "Me!" said Connie. At first she did not want to take the phone. Can you believe it! Here she was, a girl of ten, and she was still not accustomed to talking on the telephone; in fact, she was scared of the phone—don't ask why. Perhaps it was because many big people shout in the phone, and this hurt Connie's ears. Big people, even Nanny, must think all people on the other end of the line were deaf, they shouted so. It was a wonder that everyone did not become deaf, with all this shouting in phones. Connie just didn't like it. But, "Please, please say 'Hello,' just 'Hello,' to Uncle Laudy in Los Angeles," Nanny would plead with Connie. Connie would disappear upstairs and not say "Hello" to Uncle Laudy or anyone else. Papa was ashamed of her. He'd say, "Connie, it's ridiculous. You must learn to dial a number and ask for someone—talk! And also
answer
the phone when it rings,
make
yourself do that." And Mama said, "Yes. Practice on Papa, Connie. Call him up at the college. Dial the number of the college and ask for Professor Ives in the English Department. Is that hard?" Connie never answered. But some day, some day, she would surprise them—answer the phone every time it rang, talk to Uncle Laudy, Aunt Beasie, everybody, even the President.
    Now, here was Billy calling her up, and here she was talking! Maybe she would get over her fear of