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ItwastheMickeyMant lecardthateventuallycausedthedeath ofLeroy Tarvish.
OwlE yesstoodin theshadow of thebuilding,
neartheconcreteapronwithitssixmanholesdown whichtheydumpedcoalfo rtheschool
;the concrete apro non whichthekidsplayed pussy-inna-corner.
Hestoodtherewithhisoddpudgyfacesquishedup,withhiscrewcutb
otheringhim--thehaircuthadbeen thedaybefo
reandlittlepiecesofitweredownhisbackitchingwo
rsethananything--andhissoft,blueeyes
behindtheirgreatlensesstaringatthesceneonthep
layground.Hisglassesweredirty,buthesa wital lri ght.
ArvilleH ickersonw as therichboy,andhew asallthet imetryingtom
akefriendswithLeroy
Tarvishandhisbunchofroughkids.Leroyallth etimeshovedArvilleandtoldhim:
G wan, youskinnyp iece adog-pee, andthatmadeArvillemadderan dmadder,unt
ilhewouldgiveanythingt ok illLeroyTarvish.
Even hisMickey Mantle baseballc ardfromth e bubblegum. Andthatwashardto
get,becausethe yon lypackedmaybeoneofthatkindofcardinabox ,andnobod ye
lseinthewholeneighborhoodhaditb ut
ArvilleHickerson,andthatwasonlybecausehehada rich oldman.
SoR odneyP arish madeit known toArvilleth at hewasavailable.F oraprice.
With theMickeyM antlecardsafeinsidethestackof pictures, therubber bandholding
itsnuglybetweenJohnnyLoga nandRoyMcMillan,Rodneyw
aitedforhistime.Hehadbecome anexpert,inhis
way. Hewasthe smartestkidin theblock,n om atterwhatthatsnottyo
ldMissDextersaid! Thetimecame.
LeroyTarvishhadtowaitforhisolders isterSophie oneafternoon. All therest o
fhis gan ghadgonehome,andhewasjustsittingaroundtheschoolyard,doingnothingvery
much, just waitingforh isold sistert oc ome on out soheco
uldgohomeandwatchTVfor a while.
Hey,Leroy!
Leroylookedup fromhisgameof mumbledy-pegandsawthatoldOwlEyescomingacrossthe
schoolyard. Leroyd idn tl ike OwlEyes;he gaveh im thescr immies,somehow. There
was somethingreal- whatchamacallitqueer aboutOwlEyes.
Hewasallthetimecollectin something.
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Whatchawant,OwlEyes? hesaidthenamenasty,becausehewassureitwouldbotherOwl
Eyes.
Wannaplay?
Playwhat?No,huh-uh,Idon twannaplaynothin .I mwaitin formys
ister,thenI mgoin home towatch TV.
Thought ch dliketoplayfora whilebeforeyours isterc omesout.
Why dshehaftastayafter
school?
None ayourbus iness,Mr.B igEyes.
Betshewasbad!
You restupid,too.She sbeatin erasesforM r.Hollowell,th
at swhy,youstupiddope.
Butafterawhi le,h egavein,andthe yteete
r-totteredforafewminutes,andranarounduntilLeroy
trippedRodney Parishandmadehisglassesalldi rty.ThenRodneysa id, He y,
getonnaswing.I llmak eyougohigh.
Okay.
So LeroyTarvish went high.Veryh
ighandveryfast,andatjusttherightmoment,atjusttheright speed, Rodney
Parishslammedtheswingsidewise, flinging LeroyTarvishin to themetal polebracing
the swing.LeroyTarvish s headhitwithacrunchandstuffcameoutevenafterhe laythe
reinthedirt.
Andnottillhe hadstraightenedup,aftercrouchingforalongt imewatching
thegraystuff,d id
Rodney ParishrealizeLeroyTarvish ssister,Sophie,wasstand ingb ytheschooldoor
, giggling.
Rodney grewtiredquickly,pe rhapsbecauseSophiewasolder.Buthed
idnotcatchherthat afternoon.Andthenextd aynoonesaidanything tohimabout Leroy
Tarvish,so heknewSophieTarvishhadnotratte
donhim.Butshewasastinker,andheknewshewouldhavetodie.
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Hethoughthehadherthatafternoon,whenhe followed herinto thegirl s t
oilet,butMrs.Kneippersa
whimanddraggedhimoutwithindignation.HecouldhaveshovedSophieoutthewindow
andshewouldhavediedbesidetheflagpo leonthesidewalk.
ItmadeRodneyfee lh ighandwarmandnicetothinkaboutit.
Butshecontinuedtoeludehim,anditwasn tunti
lthreedayslaterthathesawhergoingdownto thebasementoftheschool.Hefollowedher.
ShewentintothebigroomthatsaidNoADMITTANCE,wherethecoalbinswere,underthe
manholesonthe pussy-inna-corner game.Itwasdarkandscary in there,b ut he
wentin,too.
Sophie?Youinhere? heasked.
I m in here, yous tinky you! she answered.
I mg onna killyoulikeyouroldbrother,j
ustlikehim,andyou llbleedandbedeadandrotand stinkt oo, you resucha --
Therewassucharushofchillair ,thatRodneyforamomentd
idnotrealizeSophiehadcreptup onhim,andswattedtheairinfrontof hisface.
Shewastauntinghim.Sh eranfartherbackintothebins.
I ll get you,youo ldrat-stinkyou!I vekilledlotsa otherkidsandgot paidfor
it,t oo,s o that show muchyouknow!Soyo uain tsogood!
Hewasbackinthebins,feelingth epiecesofhardb lackcoalunder hisshoes. The
binswere almost empty.He d catchherandsmashheroldheadin.
Therewasadistantmutteringfromabove.Helookedupandallthe
rewastoseewasthelight-linemadebytheci rcleof thecoalbinmanholec over.He
stretchedhishandsoutinfrontofhimtofindher,butitwassoverydark.
Then,ab ruptly,Soph iewasbehindhim,andshes wattedathimagain,callingh
imdirtynames,and hewa sgoingtosay, Sticksandstonescanbreakmybones-- buthe
rhandknockedoffhisth ickglasses,and hewasstumblin garound inthedarkness,c
rying.
Thensomebodypr
iedoffthemanholecover,andheheardthedistantthunderthatwasthetruckrolling up,
andasSophieranb ackout through thedoorsh eyelled, You olddope,y ou! Iknew
they dbe bringin itt oday!
AndRodneyPar ishstumbledaroundwiththeworddopeinhishead,
cryingtobeletout,untilthe ydumpedth reetonsofhard,b lackanthracite onh im.
Sophiestoodby the swingsand watched
thetruckrollaway.Thensheturnedandstartedhome.That stupidboy! If heh adn tkeptb
otheringher,shewouldn thavehadtodo anythingbadtoh im.Shewasn tg oingto
tattle;shedidn t likeLeroyTarvish,herbrother,verymuch,
anyhow.Hewasalwayskicking her.
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