THE CHINA MAIL FRIDAY SUPPLEMENT, OCTOBER 29, 1937
BREAD UPON THE WATERS
don't
have
anoth Bot more than a pirt, anyway.
Mind you, don't get away with the idea that I don't know what you're after. I mean, you ain't buying me all this beer just be cause you like the look of my face! Somebody's told you what I am, and you're so to speak casting your bread-only in this case its beer, which is better -on the waters.
In other words you're hoping to get me so oiled that I'll tell you a story you can sell for filthy lucre. Well, that being so,” I reckon I'd better tell you the story before I get oiled (I'll trust you to do the decent thing after wards). Because I talk better when Fm fairly sober, and I'm less quarrelsome.
I got a yarn in mind.
said about bread jus What I.
now re-
minded me. It's a good story, and nobody knows it yet outside of Dartmoor-and even in there they ain't got the full strength.
Talking about proverbs. They're much like cheap fireworks some of 'em go off, and some don't And some just depend. A stitch in time may save nine, but it de- pends a lot on the skill of the stitcher and the quality of the thread
A favourite one is that old-tim- er about "Honour among thieves. Now, I don't want to sound cyni- cal, but I've always found a darn- ed sight more honour amongst honest men than amongst crooks! In fact I might say I ain't never found any honour amongst thie- ves at all! Not any class of thieves neither pickpockets, burglars, con-men, for stockbrok-
ers.
I
But there's one proverb I got faith in-and that's the one. I quoted just now about casting your bread on the waters and it comes back in divers forms. reckon its just queer how the things you do-good and bad, little and foig come fluttering back home, like stool-pigeons when the wind blows East.
The yarn I'm going to tell you is about bread cast upon the waters--and also about all the honour that isn't among thieves.
Big Bill Bently was a bloke who chucked quite a lot of bread about in a quiet way. But he never talked about it much, 80 quite a lot of people didn't notice it. But I was one who did. You see, when they pulled me in for a stretch over a little job out Bar- nes way, and my missus W23 sick, and with a kid coming and all, Big always saw to it she had the rent and enough for grub and the doctor. He even paid for her to go into a posh lying in hos- pital instead of the lump.
ge.
He never said nothing to me about it, but of course the mis- sus did. And I never forgot it. Big was like that. He was big in every way, besides his Big at his work, too—a pr craftsman, and never bothered about small jobs. They say Big never busted a crib for less than thousand smackers and if the ever did so I never knew of it.
Of
I course. I never got up to his grade of business, but I some- times used to lend him a hand- especially fter I came out of stir. And in course of time there came wind that blew back hose crusts Big set adrift
me
this One
out Clapham way
day, and Td got a forty- power thirst on When it came to chucking out time, I had just three things in my head. Too much beer, the fact that it was hot, and that I was standing on Common. the edge of Clapham
There was one answer to all three of those, and I found it. I went on to the Common, found a nice quiet gorse bush, and went to sleep in the middle of it—where wasn't likely to be seen or dis- turbed.
Now places like Clapham Com mon, and Battersea Park and so on look to most people like the Lungs of London-just nice open spaces where nursemaids are nurse- maids, and little boys play ball with each other, and fat old gen- tlemen drive funny little electric motor-boats. round little round * ponds just to amuse the children
That's what they look like nice, innocent harmless places.
But really they're more like those sloppy ads. you see in the
Short Story
agony columns. you know.. “Algy darling, come home.
ALL forgotten and forgiven! Helis- ande" which really means. All O.K. Sykes, we bust the crib to- night Baffles”
By which I mean that if you want to talk really private, to discuss å plan or hold an inquest on a job-or want to spiel about anything you don't want the the
splits of the bogeys to get an ear- ful of you can't beat those wide open spaces. But in these days you want to keep as near the middle as possible, and away from gorse-bushes, as this narra- tive will demonstrate.
Fslept for an hour or so, and then I awoke to the unpleasant cacophony of voices. Low, sinis- ter voices, they were. I thought I recognised one of 'em, so I took a quiet peek out and there, sure enough, sitting right against my bush was three of the boys Morny, Slype and Codshead. thought to myself if the devil
was to cast his net
liable to land slipperest eels in all the of depravity Meantime, having no thought of that
about honour amongst thieves, lay doggo, and stretched my ears to hear what they were talking about.
I was glad I did. Now Biz bad chucked quite a lot of bread about in his time, and so of the crumby hits had g gone to those three, to my knowledge. He'd helped 'em all at times, but the trouble was he was smarter than them at their own – game, and he pulled off the big jobs while they had to be content with the little ones. Professional jea- lousy that was the trouble.
Then it seemed he'd slung an- other bit at Lizzy-that's Lazar- us, one of the smartest and hard- est fences in the Big Noise. That happened to be a crusty bit it was over some deal or other, I don't know what and I reckon. it stung Lizzie some. Anyway, it seemed he'd been bribing these
By Peter Cheyney
precious three to put a nasty one over on poor old Big.
When I'd heard all they'd got to say, and when they'd moved off and the coast was clear, I went off in the other direction, and took a tram and tube to the West End, where Big kept a nice little flat.
I found him in, and ready to "Well, what can I do for you, listen to what I had to say.
Snide says he- -
"Nothing, thanks!" I told him. "Matter of fact, I've come to do something for you. Or at least to tell you something.”
"Good" says he got gin and beer in the place. Which would you rather have??? :
"I'll show no favouritism, answer "Dog's nose is a plea sant beverage!
So he gives me a glass of beer well laced with gin, and I start
ed in
"On Tuesday, the eigh stant," I kicked off,” Earl
Bigs
Oxted Face ckers,
was quite blank, but his body
for the tip he said. I'm resting next we
zie pr He shot
after rklers, before they go And
Say, you know: You??
the jobl
don't
I don't. This
SECON
information. I heard
tlemen discussing it thi noon on Clapham
Right
too
said
emone:
in the middle-
near
also that Lizzie had got you, and he hundred
each clear, to
put the bogies on you, and get you copp
an added induce- ment, they reckoned there'd be less competition in the business
you went into the country for five or so,
"Oh, they did, did they said Big, very gently he's dangerous when he's like that "Now, I wonder W10 these gentlemen
"Morny, Stype, and Codshead!” Nice boys Well, I hope it keeps fine for them! And what is to be the modus operanda?"
"The modus whatever-you-said runs this way. They reckon you'll time the job between three and four, because the proceedings and gaiety won't be over until two, or two-thirty, and the dawn cracks about five. They reckon you'll approach the house from, one of three sides not the front. So each of 'em is going to watch en one of the three sides or two sides and back, whichever way you prefer it. And as soon as one of 'em sees you go in, they going to give the others the Then they phone the and they reckon the Squad'll get there in nice clean you up. And that's that?” “So it is!" says Big thought fully
"I reckon you'll chuck the job now
suggested They'll all get colds in their hear ng for you. Ör
a bad idea to ring the self, and Bem pick being on enclosed intent?"
(Continued on Page
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