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Show KEEP COOL I By Bess Leeke WE -Lefty, the boss, me, and Gus was drlvln South tor our health, you might ssy, (Chicago ain't so healthy no more) when we pass this little town down In Kentucky. Ken-tucky. I Just about missed It but Lefty sure didn't His eyes latched onto that bank building Uke flies on honey. ' "You see that." be yelled, "A bank in this town." "What about it?- I asked him. To us, banks can't mean nothing but trouble. "Look at the people join" In there. The dang place Is full of em." "Where'd they set the money to put in banks?" 1 asked. "Probably got oil back in the bills." Gus put In. "Oil In Kentucky T" Lefty sneered, sneer-ed, "1 ain't never heard of It." "You fellers from the city?" be asked. We nodded. "Thought so. Ain't nothln' to git skeered of. That's Just old Sim after a possum. Sim's my dawg." "Yeh?" Lefty said. "Ain't you afraid that possum's gonna hurt him?" "Shucks do. Sim ain't even got him yif "You mean he sounds like that when be ain't dying?" The old man sneered et us, "Ain't you never beard a hound dawg before? City folks huhl" That blamed dog took on all night so we wa'n't fit for nothln' the next mornlnV But Lefty had to go through with It and boy. It was hotter'n the day before. 'Bout eight-thirty we was waltln' for the bank to open. It looked easy "They got oil ever'where else," Gus said. "What's wrong with Kentucky? Ken-tucky? Last week I read a book" "Okay." Lefty grunted. "Don't get started on them books again." That just shows you how Ideas get started. I had the Idea we oughta keep goln. Lefty had the idea that a bank way out In the middle of nowhere was a pusb over. Ous don't have Ideas. Lefty's idea was. we go In soon's the guy gets there to open up neat morning, get the dough and beat It before anybody knows what happened. We're already In trouble, troub-le, so I ain't for the idea a bit but like I said Lefty's boss. To make It worse, it's hotter'n blue-blazes. It's so hot it makes you think maybe may-be you ought to start Uvtn' better Well, we stick It out sweatin' all night not to mention gettln' scared to death when some old hound dog takes off after a possum. pos-sum. I ain't never seen of possum. Still don't know what It is, but it's bound to be somethln' terrible the way the dog was takln' on, bowlln' and barkln' like he was strugglin' with the devil. Some old guy with a gun big as he was stopped where we parked the car to sleep but Instead was sitting bug-eyed ustenin' to that dog. enough. Wa'n't a soul In sight when the guy opened up. Gus stayed In the car and me ' and Lefty went Inside. It wa'n't much Of a bank but the minute I put my foot In the door I thought I'd died and gone straight to heaven.' The danged place was air-conditioned. This was one time I was going to enjoy working. Lefty growled. "Okay, bud, this is a stick-up. Pusb the dough over the counter and bo funny business or you'll get It right between the eyes." We ain't never shot nobody but that helps 'em hurry It up. That guy's eyes got big as balloons and he started i'acking money on the counter. Right then, the door opened open-ed and them dern people started pourln' In. Now just think, suppose you was right In the middle of a stick up and suddenly you had more witnesses than you could handle. Yeh, that's what we did, too. We took for the door. "They robbed the bank I" Well, brother, that was the end. Five minutes later, the sheriff was draggln' us off to the clink. "You ought to know better'n try to sUck up that bank," the sheriff told ua. "It's the only place tor fifteen miles that's got air-conditioning. |