Read Online Billy Rags by Ted Lewis - Free Book Online Page B

right,” I said. “I’ll go down and spring him when Dave brings him out again.” I turned to Tommy Dugdale. “Tommy, you grab his keys and lock the gate after I’ve pushed him out.”
    Tommy agreed to the nomination. A second later Dave came out of his cell and walked over to the TV room door and said:
    â€œHe’s locking the poxy gate now. I’ve checked it.”
    From behind Ray I said: “For fuck’s sake, tell him it’s not right and go back in and fix it again. When you come out grab him to stop him locking it again. I’ll be right on you as you do.”
    Dave couldn’t back out with all the eyes in the TV room on him.
    â€œYou’re sure?” he said.
    â€œI’ll be there, Dave. Don’t worry.”
    Dave nodded. Then he walked off back to the gate. When Ray told me that Dave and the PO had disappeared into the office I left the TV room and strolled down to George’s cell, which was about eight feet from the catwalk.
    It suddenly struck me as I got near to George’s cell: there wasn’t a sign of a screw on the landing. I looked up. The Threes were deserted as well. But there was no time to sort the implications because I heard Dave and the PO start to leave the office.
    I dodged into George’s cell. Lenny Monks was waiting in there with him. Their eyes nearly dropped into their trays of bread pudding.
    â€œWhat the fuck’s happening?” George said.
    â€œChange of plan,” I said.
    â€œSo what’s—”
    â€œFor fuck’s sake, George,”
    He shut up.
    The footsteps stopped. The keys jingled. Then the lock was turned. Now the door was open.
    I pounded out of George’s cell screaming my bloody head off. The screaming had the desired effect; the PO froze and stared at me as if he’d never seen anything like it in his life. I was vaguely aware of all the other cons streaming out behind me but I was so intent on my own business that the racket they were making was as faint in my ears as the sound of the sea in a conch-shell.
    Dave grabbed the PO. Then the PO unfroze and with hardly any trouble at all threw Dave off his back. Dave hit the floor kidneys first. All the breath flew from his body. But luckily Dave had chopped the PO’s wrist with a canteen knife before he’d wrestled him and the PO had let go of the keys which were attached to his belt. The PO scrambled for them and he was halfway to the lock when I got to the gate. I didn’t slow down. I angled myself and grasped the bars and kept going. The edge of the gate smashed the PO’s fore-arm against his chest. He turned green but I’ll give him this, he still tried to make it. He grabbed one of the bars with his free hand just as I hit the gate, so he didn’t go over the way I’d intended. Instead he clung on to the gate and tried to pull himself up even as I was coming through it. He was wasting his time. I twisted round the gate and picked him up by his middle, pinning his arms to his sides. I slammed his shoulders against the wall.
    â€œBehave your fucking self,” I said. “Don’t forget your nice supper’s waiting for you in the oven.”
    By now the others were stampeding across the catwalk. Tommy was first through the gate and began to rip the keys from the PO’s belt. Everyone started pouring through the gate, faces like hysterical gargoyles. When Tommy had got the keys I began to push the PO out. I’ve seen films of salmon swimming upstream against a strong current and that’s just how the PO went through that gate, swimming. Any help I gave him was superfluous. I doubt if he’d ever wanted anything as badly as he wanted to get through that gate before it was locked. His arms were flailing against the surging cons as if he was trying to do the breast-stroke.
    As the last of the cons were getting in and he was getting out I saw the vanguard of the heavy mob streaming down