Read Online Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John Dos Passos
Ads: Link
wid ’em?’
‘It’s a little matter of business.’
‘Go up to the top floor an you’ll foind his wife there but most likely she cant see yez… The poor thing’s powerful wrought up about her husband, an them only eighteen months married.’
The stairs were tracked with muddy footprints and sprinkled here and there with the spilling of ashcans. At the top he found a freshpainted darkgreen door and knocked.
‘Who’s there?’ came a girl’s voice that sent a little shiver through him. Must be young.
‘Is Mrs McNiel in?’
‘Yes,’ came the lilting girl’s voice again. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s a matter of business about Mr McNiel’s accident.’
‘About the accident is it?’ The door opened in little cautious jerks. She had a sharpcut pearlywhite nose and chin and a pile of wavy redbrown hair that lay in little flat curls round her high narrow forehead. Gray eyes sharp and suspicious looked him hard in the face.
‘May I speak to you a minute about Mr McNiel’s accident? There are certain legal points involved that I feel it my duty to make known to you… By the way I hope he’s better.’
‘Oh yes he’s come to.’
‘May I come in? It’s a little long to explain.’
‘I guess you can.’ Her pouting lips flattened into a wry smile. ‘I guess you wont eat me.’
‘No honestly I wont.’ He laughed nervously in his throat.
She led the way into the darkened sitting room. ‘I’m not pulling up the shades so’s you wont see the pickle everythin’s in.’
‘Allow me to introduce myself, Mrs McNiel… George Baldwin, 88 Maiden Lane… You see I make a specialty of cases like this… To put the whole matter in a nutshell… Your husband was run down and nearly killed through the culpable or possibly criminal negligence of the employees of the New York Central Railroad. There is full and ample cause for a suit against the railroad. Now I have reason to believe that the Excelsior Dairy Company will bring suit for the losses incurred, horse and wagon etcetera…’
‘You mean you think Gus is more likely to get damages himself?’
‘Exactly.’
‘How much do you think he could get?’
‘Why that depends on how badly hurt he is, on the attitude of the court, and perhaps on the skill of the lawyer… I think ten thousand dollars is a conservative figure.’
‘And you dont ask no money down?’
‘The lawyer’s fee is rarely paid until the case is brought to a successful termination.’
‘An you’re a lawyer, honest? You look kinder young to be a lawyer.’
The gray eyes flashed in his. They both laughed. He felt a warm inexplicable flush go through him.
‘I’m a lawyer all the same. I make a specialty of cases like these. Why only last Tuesday I got six thousand dollars for a client who was kicked by a relay horse riding on the loop… Just at this moment as you may know there is considerable agitation for revoking altogether the franchise of the Eleventh Avenue tracks… I think this is a most favorable moment.’
‘Say do you always talk like that, or is it just business?’
He threw back his head and laughed.
‘Poor old Gus, I always said he had a streak of luck in him.’
The wail of a child crept thinly through the partition into the room.
‘What’s that?’
‘It’s only the baby… The little wretch dont do nothin but squall.’
‘So you’ve got children Mrs McNiel?’ The thought chilled him somehow.
‘Juss one… what kin ye expect?’
‘Is it the Emergency Hospital?’
‘Yes I reckon they’ll let you see him as it’s a matter of business. He’s groanin somethin dreadful.’
‘Now if I could get a few good witnesses.’
‘Mike Doheny seen it all… He’s on the force. He’s a good frien of Gus’s.’
‘By gad we’ve got a case and a half… Why they’ll settle out of court… I’ll go right up to the hospital.’
A fresh volley of wails came from the other room.
‘Oh, that brat,’ she whispered, screwing up her face. ‘We
‘It’s a little matter of business.’
‘Go up to the top floor an you’ll foind his wife there but most likely she cant see yez… The poor thing’s powerful wrought up about her husband, an them only eighteen months married.’
The stairs were tracked with muddy footprints and sprinkled here and there with the spilling of ashcans. At the top he found a freshpainted darkgreen door and knocked.
‘Who’s there?’ came a girl’s voice that sent a little shiver through him. Must be young.
‘Is Mrs McNiel in?’
‘Yes,’ came the lilting girl’s voice again. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s a matter of business about Mr McNiel’s accident.’
‘About the accident is it?’ The door opened in little cautious jerks. She had a sharpcut pearlywhite nose and chin and a pile of wavy redbrown hair that lay in little flat curls round her high narrow forehead. Gray eyes sharp and suspicious looked him hard in the face.
‘May I speak to you a minute about Mr McNiel’s accident? There are certain legal points involved that I feel it my duty to make known to you… By the way I hope he’s better.’
‘Oh yes he’s come to.’
‘May I come in? It’s a little long to explain.’
‘I guess you can.’ Her pouting lips flattened into a wry smile. ‘I guess you wont eat me.’
‘No honestly I wont.’ He laughed nervously in his throat.
She led the way into the darkened sitting room. ‘I’m not pulling up the shades so’s you wont see the pickle everythin’s in.’
‘Allow me to introduce myself, Mrs McNiel… George Baldwin, 88 Maiden Lane… You see I make a specialty of cases like this… To put the whole matter in a nutshell… Your husband was run down and nearly killed through the culpable or possibly criminal negligence of the employees of the New York Central Railroad. There is full and ample cause for a suit against the railroad. Now I have reason to believe that the Excelsior Dairy Company will bring suit for the losses incurred, horse and wagon etcetera…’
‘You mean you think Gus is more likely to get damages himself?’
‘Exactly.’
‘How much do you think he could get?’
‘Why that depends on how badly hurt he is, on the attitude of the court, and perhaps on the skill of the lawyer… I think ten thousand dollars is a conservative figure.’
‘And you dont ask no money down?’
‘The lawyer’s fee is rarely paid until the case is brought to a successful termination.’
‘An you’re a lawyer, honest? You look kinder young to be a lawyer.’
The gray eyes flashed in his. They both laughed. He felt a warm inexplicable flush go through him.
‘I’m a lawyer all the same. I make a specialty of cases like these. Why only last Tuesday I got six thousand dollars for a client who was kicked by a relay horse riding on the loop… Just at this moment as you may know there is considerable agitation for revoking altogether the franchise of the Eleventh Avenue tracks… I think this is a most favorable moment.’
‘Say do you always talk like that, or is it just business?’
He threw back his head and laughed.
‘Poor old Gus, I always said he had a streak of luck in him.’
The wail of a child crept thinly through the partition into the room.
‘What’s that?’
‘It’s only the baby… The little wretch dont do nothin but squall.’
‘So you’ve got children Mrs McNiel?’ The thought chilled him somehow.
‘Juss one… what kin ye expect?’
‘Is it the Emergency Hospital?’
‘Yes I reckon they’ll let you see him as it’s a matter of business. He’s groanin somethin dreadful.’
‘Now if I could get a few good witnesses.’
‘Mike Doheny seen it all… He’s on the force. He’s a good frien of Gus’s.’
‘By gad we’ve got a case and a half… Why they’ll settle out of court… I’ll go right up to the hospital.’
A fresh volley of wails came from the other room.
‘Oh, that brat,’ she whispered, screwing up her face. ‘We
Similar Books
