Ought to know better. You’re too busy thinking up ways to cheat me. Oh, I ain’t as blind as you think. I can still see a cash register, bejees!

ROCKY

Grins at him affectionately now—flatteringly.

Sure, Boss. Swell chance of foolin’ you!

HOPE

I’m wise to you and your sidekick, Chuck. Bejees, you’re burglars, not barkeeps! Blind-eyed, deef old bastard, am I? Oh, I heard you! Heard you often when you didn’t think. You and Chuck laughing behind my back, telling people you throw the money up in the air and whatever sticks to the ceiling is my share! A fine couple of crooks! You’d steal the pennies off your dead mother’s eyes!

ROCKY

Winks at LARRY.

Aw, Harry, me and Chuck was on’y kiddin’.

HOPE

More drowsily.

I’ll fire both of you, Bejees, if you think you can play me for an easy mark, you’ve come to the wrong house. No one ever played Harry Hope for a sucker!

ROCKY

To LARRY.

No one but everybody.

HOPE

His eyes shut again—mutters.

Least you could do—keep things quiet—

He falls asleep.

WILLIE

Pleadingly.

Give me a drink, Rocky. Harry said it was all right. God, I need a drink.

ROCKY

Den grab it. It’s right under your nose.

WILLIE

Avidly.

Thanks.

He takes the bottle with both twitching hands and tilts it to his lips and gulps down the whiskey in big swallows.

ROCKY

Sharply.

When! When!

He grabs the bottle.

I didn’t say, take a bath!

Showing the bottle to larry—indignantly.

Jees, look! He’s killed a half pint or more!

He turns on willie angrily, butwillie has closed his eyes and is sitting quietly, shuddering, waiting for the effect.

LARRY

With a pitying glance.

Leave him be, the poor devil. A half pint of that dynamite in one swig will fix him for a while—if it doesn’t kill him.

ROCKY

Shrugs his shoulders and sits down again.

Aw right by me. It ain’t my booze.

Behind him, in the chair at left of the middle table, joe mott, the Negro, has been waking up.

JOE

His eyes blinking sleepily.

Whose booze? Gimme some. I don’t care whose. Where’s Hickey?

Ain’t he come yet? What time’s it, Rocky?

ROCKY

Gettin’ near time to open up. Time you begun to sweep up in de bar.

JOE

Lazily.

Never mind de time. If Hickey ain’t come, it’s time Joe goes to sleep again. I was dreamin’ Hickey come in de door, crackin’ one of dem drummer’s jokes, wavin’ a big bankroll and we was all goin’ be drunk for two weeks. Wake up and no luck.

Suddenly his eyes open wide.

Wait a minute, dough. I got idea. Say, Larry, how ’bout dat young guy, Parritt, came to look you up last night and rented a room?

Where’s he at?

LARRY

Up in his room, asleep. No hope in him, anyway, Joe. He’s broke.

JOE

Dat what he told you? Me and Rocky knows different. Had a roll when he paid you his room rent, didn’t he, Rocky? I seen it.

ROCKY

Yeah. He flashed it like he forgot and den tried to hide it quick.

LARRY

Surprised and resentful. He did, did he?

ROCKY

Yeah, I figgered he don’t belong, but he said he was a friend of yours.

LARRY

He’s a liar. I wouldn’t know him if he hadn’t told me who he was. His mother and I were friends years ago on the Coast.

He hesitates—then lowering his voice.

You’ve read in the papers about that bombing on the Coast when several people got killed? Well, the one woman they pinched, Rosa Parritt, is his mother. They’ll be coming up for trial soon, and there’s no chance for them. She’ll get life, I think.