Three by Cain: Serenade, Love's Lovely Counterfeit, the Butterfly Read Online Free PDF

it for love, see?”
    “For what?”
    “Do I know the Americano , or don’t I?”
    “I think you just talk, so sound fonny.”
    “It sounds fonny, but it’s not just talk. The Americano , he doesn’t mind paying for a room, but when it comes to a girl, he likes to feel it’s a tribute to his personality. He likes to think it’s a big night for her, too, and all the more because she’s just a poor little thing in a steamboat office, and never had such a night in her life until he came along and showed her what life could be like with a real guy. He wants an adventure—with him the hero. He wants to have something to tell his friends. Butdon’t have any bums sliding up to take their foto . He doesn’t like that.”
    “Why not? The fotógrafo , he pay me little bit.”
    “Well, I tell you. Maybe the fotógrafo has a heart of gold, and so has the muchacha , but the Americano figures the foto might get back to his wife, or threaten to, specially if she’s staying up at the hotel. He wants an adventure, but he doesn’t want any headache. Besides, the fotos have got a Coney Island look to them, and might give him the idea it was a cheap joint. Remember, this place has class. And that reminds me, the mariachi is going to be hand-picked by me, and hand-trained as well, so maybe somebody could dance to the stuff when they play it. Of course, I don’t render any selections on the guitar. That’s out. Or the piano, or the violin, or any other instrument in my practically unlimited repertoire. And that mariachi , they wear suits that we give them, with gold braid down the pants, and turn those suits in every night when they quit. It’s our own private mariachi , and as fast as we get money to buy more suits we put on more men, so it’s a feature. The main thing is that we have class, first, last, and all the time. No Americano , from the time he goes in to the time he goes out, is going to get the idea that he can get out of spending money. Once they get that through their heads, we’ll be all right.”
    “The Americanos , are they all crazy?”
    “All crazy as loons.”
    It seemed to be settled, but after the gags wore off I had this sick feeling, like life had turned the gray-white color of their sunlight. I tried to tell myself it was the air, that’ll do it to you at least three times a day. Then I tried to tell myself it was what I had done, that I had no more pride left than to take a job as pimp in a coast-town whorehouse, but what the hell? That was just making myself look noble. It was, anyway, some kind of work, and if I really made a go of it, it wouldn’t make me squirm. It would make me laugh. And then I knew it was this thing that was drilling in the back of my head, about her. There hadn’t been a word about that night, and when she looked atme her eyes were just as blank as though I’d been some guy she was talking to about the rent. But I knew what those eyes could say. Whatever it was she had seen in me that night, she still saw it, and it was between us like some glass door that we could see through but couldn’t talk.
    She was sitting there, looking at her coffee glass and not saying anything. She had a way of dozing off like that, between the talk, like some kitten that falls asleep as soon as you stop playing with it. I told you she looked like some high school girl in that little white dress. I kept looking at her, trying to figure out how old she was, when all of a sudden I forgot about that and my heart began to pound. If she was to be the madame of the joint, she couldn’t very well take care of any customers herself, could she? Then who was going to take care of her? By her looks, she needed plenty of care. Maybe that was supposed to be my job. My voice didn’t quite sound like it generally does when I spoke to her.
    “… Señorita, what do I get out of this?”
    “Oh—you live, have nice cloth, maybe big hat with silver, yes? Some pecos. Is enough, yes?”
    “—And entertain