12 Sports Aces, May 1943 — page 94: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

12 SPORTS ACES 02 sae Oe Qn Gn Gr On Pu Grior-OrrheGmGer Prem Gr breperOusBerheehecOeeterteeeer Ore ur tree Orr irr Bes Orr Ons Sss ea Per Pee ee Pee e bebe Seber berrpuusugusieubuguoueres bueks on something gure as day? Five hundred bucks was five hundred bucks! N THE days following, Jimmy didn’t get any better. That fact seemed to be known to everybody but Jimmy. He was a slob in the ring. He’d be meat for the hungry lion that was Tom Slatterty. Hollis, the bookie, came around. He grinned like a cat with its whiskers drip- ping cream when he saw Jimmy work. Buddy saw Jimmy talk briefly to Hol- his when the workout was over. He re- membered about the proposed dive Jim- my was to take. Yes, he guessea Jimmy had really told them off. It was Thurs- day and the fight was Friday. But Buddy intended to ask Jimmy, just to make sure how things stood. But when Jimmy came into the locker room, he was like a limp rag. The starch had suddenly gone out of him. “What’s the matter, Jimmy? You look sick,” Buddy said. Jimmy muttered an answer and turned away. There was something terribly wrong. Buddy knew Jimmy probably wouldn’t care to be cross-examined. So he didn’t follow after him. Instead he waited for Jimmy to strip out of his fight togs. Jimmy would have to pass back that way on the way to the showers and he’d see him then. But Jimmy didn’t come back for a shower. When Buddy looked for him— Jimmy was gone, Hot and sweaty as he was, Jimmy had left without a shower! It was a cold wet night. Rain pitched down. Jimmy was not home when Buddy got there. After a while the boy from the grocery downstairs came up with the megsage that Jim had called to say he wouldn’t be home for dinner. That he wouldn’t be home until late. Buddy had borrowed ten dollars from Moe Ryan. He ate his dinner at the deli- eatessen,. He didn’t come home wntil he figured the kids would be sleeping and Jim would be back. But Jim still wasn’t back. : Next morning a cough from the next room where Jim slept on the davenport alone, awakened Buddy. He went into Jimmy’s room, stared at him lying om the davenport bed. His nose was red and drippy. His eyes were fever-bright. Buddy looked at a chair where Jim had hung his clothes. Water had dropped from them to form a puddle on the floor. The garments were sopping! Buddy’s mouth tightened. “What in hell is this?” He stepped to the bed and put his fingers to Jimmy’s head. Jimmy’s forehead was as hot as a plugged-in iron. “You got a cold,” Buddy accused. “You went out and got a cold deliberately !” Jimmy nodded. “I can’t fight. I can’t go in there and fight against Slatterty to- night. I can’t go in there and lose your money !” “What do you mean?” “IT saw Hollis yesterday. He told me about your plunking down two hundred bucks on me to win. Lord, what a bad smell I made even thinking of taking a dive! How can you be so loyal to me? Me, a washed-up bum!” bar Oy ea “Nell’s bells, I knew! I knew you wanted me to go in there and make a fight of it.” He jerked a weary laugh, “I knew all along you’d put through that fake phone cail only to make me fight. And—up until I found out about your bet —I kidded myself along. But I can’t kid you out of your dough now. You see, Buddy, just after you’d hung up on that phony call, the real call came through. The winner of this Slatterty go will be in there battling for the crown. And if you’d go in there—” “Me?” ~ “Yeah. You, Buddy. Slatterty’s han- dlers wanted me in there because all they wanted was a slice of ham baloney. Slat- terty has twelve straight kayoes. They want to make sure it'll be thirteen. They wanted me, but they’ll be glad to take on anybody they think is a punk. “I saw them last night. I teld them I couldn’t go on, but I told them abeut you. I played you up big. I laid it on in such a way that they’d be sure you were a plenty soft touch. I getta see the com- mish this morning, I already talked to Moe. He thinks it might be rushing it a little, but he’s sure you can take Slat- terty. If it can be arranged—” EComichoo <S (EO) nm