The Hoods Read Online Free PDF Page A

affectionately.
    “Thanks for the ride and everything,” I said.
    “Not at all,” he said. “So long, men.” He smiled after us.
    We walked into Gelly's candy store smoking the cigars, feeling like men of the world. Patsy, Dominick and Cockeye were already there, waiting for us. Patsy called out, “Hey, big shots, where you been?”
    Maxie tossed his quarter on the counter and said, “Malteds and charlotte russes for everybody.”
    Gelly's son, Fat Moe, was behind the counter, with a dirty apron around his large middle. He picked up and examined the quarter.
    Patsy snarled angrily, “Whatcha looking at, Fat?”
    Fat Moe murmured apologetically, “Nothing, Pat, nothing.”
    “Okay then, get busy on them malteds.”
    We sat on the stools loudly sucking the whipped cream off our charlotte russe cakes. We watched the electric malted machines whirl; they were the newest sensation on the East Side.
    Jake the Goniff, Goo-Goo and Pipy, our new found friends from Broome Street, sauntered in. We exchanged hellos.
    Jake said, “How would you guys like to hear a nice poem?”
    “A poem?” Maxie asked dubiously. “About what? What are you— a poet?”
    “Jake's always got poems and riddles,” Pipy volunteered. “He makes them up himself.”
    “Yeh, dirty ones,” Goo-Goo added. “Good, too.”
    “Yeh, they're the only ones that are,” I agreed.
    “Okay, let's hear one.” Max appeared bored.
    We swung around on our stools, facing Jake. He took a stance before us. With a grin on his dirty face he recited:
     
    “Said the good little girl to the bad little girl
    Gee, it's hard to be good.
    Said the bad little girl to the good little girl
    It's got to be hard to be good.”
     
    He stopped. He looked at us for approval. “That's all?” Maxie asked.
    “Yeh, how did you like it?” Jake asked hopefully.
    “It stinks,” Maxie said. Jake appeared crestfallen.
    Pipy suggested, “Try a riddle on them, Jake.”
    Jake turned, a hopeful smile on his face. “Why is the East River like a girl's legs?”
    None of us knew the answer.
    “Because the higher up you get, the nicer it is.”
    He smiled at us, trying to read approval in our expressionless faces.
    We gave them a sip each from our malteds. Pipy spied the box of charlotte russes on the counter. The three hurried over to them.
    Fat Moe yelled over, “Hey, you guys, lay off. You guys got dough?”
    Pipy produced a dollar bill. Jake the Goniff took it out of his hands and waved it in the air.
    He called out to us, “You guys want some charlotte russes?”
    We took two apiece.
    Max asked, “Where did you guys get the buck?”
    “Pipy rolled a lush on the Bowery,” Jake proudly put his arm around Pipy's shoulders.
    “Aw, he was a pushover,” little Pipy said modestly. “I took this off him, too.” Pipy produced a large knife.
    I remembered O'Brien's knife of specialized knowledge for success. This was some sort of omen. This knife was for me. I had to have it. It would give me a magic power, I thought. “Let's see it, Pip?” I asked.
    He handed it to me. It was a spring, push-button knife of German make. It made a fascinating click and a large shiny blade swished out. There was no question about it. I was going to keep it. I kept opening and closing it in front of Pipy's nose. Alarmed, he kept backing up.
    Maxie was eyeing me. He said: “You like it, Noodles? You going to keep it?”
    I said, “Yeh, it's a beaut.”
    “So keep it, it's yours. Ain't it, Pip?”
    Maxie turned his saccharine smile from Pip to Jake to Goo-Goo. They understood that that smile of Maxie's and my attitude meant bad business. Patsy bent his face down close to Pipy and snarled, “Yeh, you're giving Noodles a present, ain't you, Pip?”
    Dominick and Cockeye walked behind them, ready for action. I kept staring at Pipy and clicking the knife open and shut at his throat. The atmosphere was tense and very quiet in Gelly's candy store for a moment. Jake finally broke the tension with