Theydon't if
the shot isright. That'sthe waythey findthem, dropper
fullofclottedbloodhangingoutofabluearm. The
look in his eyes when it hit -- Kid, it was tasty....
"RecollectwhenIamtravelingwiththeVigilante,
bestShakeManintheindustry.OutinChi...Weis
workingthe fagsin LincolnPark. Soone nightthe Vigi-
lanteturnsupforworkincowboybootsandablack
vest with a hunka tin on it and a lariat slung over his
shoulder.
"So I says: 'What's with you? You wig already?'
"He just looks at me and says: 'Fill your hand stran-
ger' and hauls out an old rusty six shooter and I take off
across Lincoln Park, bullets cutting all around me. And
he hangs three fags before the fuzz nail him. I mean
the Vigilante earned his moniker....
"Ever notice how many expressions carry over from
queers to con men? Like 'raise,' letting someone know
you are in the same line?
" 'Get her!'
" 'Get the Paregoric Kid giving that mark the build
up!'
" 'Eager Beaver wooing him much too fast.'
"The Shoe Store Kid (he got that moniker shaking
down fetishists in shoe stores) say: 'Give it to a mark
with K.Y. and he will come back moaning for more.'
And when the Kid spots a mark he begin to breathe
heavy. His face swells and his lips turn purple like an
Eskimo in heat. Then slow, slow he comes on the mark,
feeling for him, palpating him with fingers of rotten
ectoplasm.
"The Rubehas asincere littleboy look,burns through
himlikeblueneon. Thatone steppedright offa Sator-
dayEveningPostcoverwith astring ofbullheads, and
preservedhimselfin junk.His marksnever beefand the
Bunkopeopleare reallycarrying aneedle forthe Rube.
Oneday LittleBoy Bluestarts toslip, andwhat crawls
outwouldmakeanambulanceattendantpuke.The
Rube8flipsintheend,runningthroughemptyautomats
andsubwaystations,screaming:'Comeback,kid!!
Comeback!l'andfollowshisboyrightintotheEast
River,downthroughcondomsandorangepeels,mosaic
offloatingnewspapers,downintothesilentblackooze
withgangstersinconcrete,andpistolspoundedHatto
avoid the probing finger of prurient ballistic experts."
Andthefruitisthinking:"Whatacharacter!!Wait
till I tell the boys in Clark's about this one." He'sa char-
actercollector, wouldstand stillfor JoeGould's seagull
act.So Iput iton himfor asawski andmake ameet to
sell him some"pod" ashe callsit, thinking,"I'll catnip
thejerk.