Read Online All Backs Were Turned by Marek Hlasko - Free Book Online Page B

the same position,” the other said. “You know why I didn’t hit your brother last night. But I don’t hold a grudge against him. I even want to do something for him.”
    â€œLike what?” Dov asked.
    â€œI want to lend him some money.”
    â€œHe doesn’t need it,” Dov said. “He has to live on what he makes himself.”
    â€œHe’ll need it to pay his way,” the man said. “So he can leave Eilat and go wherever he wants. I’m afraid, Dov. I’m afraid one day he’ll provoke me so much that I’ll forget myself and hit him. And you know what that would mean for me. Tell him to leave Eilat; tell him I’m ready to help him. He can pay me back when he gets rich. I can wait.”
    â€œHe won’t leave Eilat,” Dov said. “And he doesn’t need your money.”
    â€œI advise him to leave, Dov.”
    â€œHe doesn’t need your advice either. He’s got a father and an older brother.”
    â€œI want him to leave Eilat,” the man said. “I don’t like looking at a man who’s hit me in the face.”
    â€œHe’s losing his livelihood because of you,” Dov said. “You can’t expect him to like you.”
    â€œDov, your brother is young and strong. He can fish from a rowboat. I’m twice as old as he is. And I spent five years in a German camp before coming here. I wanted to make some money, enough to survive on without having to look up to people or cater to them. So I did something I shouldn’t have. I got caught and landed in jail. Now all I want is to live in peace. It’s not my fault I’m not as young as your brother.” He paused and then went on. “Tell him to leave Eilat, Dov. For five years men hit me in the face and I had to bear it. I had to look at them day after day. But I won’t bear that here in Israel. I don’t want to see your brother ever again. Tell him to leave.” He turned to the other two men who were standing some distance away and said, “I’ve finished! I need your help now!”
    He and one of the other men tried to lift the wheel and put it back on the axle; their necks and arms turned red from the strain, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
    â€œNo way,” one of them gasped. “We need two pipes and some bricks.”
    Dov had been standing motionless; now he tossed away the half-full can of corned beef. The men turned quickly in his direction. They looked at his pale, sweaty face and his joined eyebrows. He walked up to them and pushed them gently away, then dropped to one knee, lifted the wheel and placed it on the axle.
    He got to his feet, breathing hard, and wiped his hands on an oily rag. Then he turned to the men; they backed away from him. But he just stood there, catching his breath.
    â€œForget the bricks and pipes,” he said. “The trouble with this pit is that it’s much too shallow. Can you move your truck out now so he can bring in my jeep?” He turned to the garage owner, who’d come in, the beer bottle still in his hand. “Get going on my brakes, okay? I’ll be back in an hour.” He was almost out the door, half a step away from the glare and sunlight, when suddenly he stopped. “My brother was born in this country,” he said. “He has a right to live wherever he wants and do whatever he likes.” He wiped the sweat off his brow and strode out into the glare and dust.

I SRAEL HAD ALMOST FINISHED SHAVING WHEN E STHER entered the kitchen. He turned to her.
    â€œI borrowed your mirror,” he said. “I took it without asking because I didn’t want to wake you up.”
    She held out two leather wrist straps. “You forgot these,” she said.
    He took them from her and shoved them into his pocket quickly and savagely.
    â€œI wasn’t going to steal them,” she said. “I gave them back to you, didn’t