Chapter 53 vanity and mink

When Brady Jr. was cornered by Molly McIver's blue-black eyes, he quit the Chimney Gang.What a force must have been in the sweet words of an Irish girl and the unwavering sincerity of her heart.If the reader of this story is a man, I hope you will be affected by this before two o'clock tomorrow; if you are a woman, then I hope your puppy will kiss you with its cold nose this morning to show its health and your happiness. The Chimney Gang takes its name from an area next to the city called The Chimney, which is the long, natural extension of that well-known, so-called area.The long and narrow "chimney" first ran parallel to Eleventh and Twelfth Streets by the river, and then turned a stiff and dark turn along the lonely and desolate DeWitt Clinton Park.Just think about how important the chimney is to any kitchen and it's pretty self-explanatory. There are many chefs in "Hell's Kitchen", but the Chimney Gang is one of the best.

The members of this unlicensed but well-known gang, dressed like conservatory lilies, busied themselves with manicures with files and knives, as if they were passing their time on street corners.They pretended to be good-natured, and had a two-hundred-word vocabulary, and even if someone noticed them accidentally, their conversation seemed to be the same as that in the clubs seven blocks east. The conversation is as harmless as it is irrelevant. But beneath the faux pas, chimney gangs aren't some posing, nail-manicured corner ornament.Their official occupation was to separate the townspeople from their gold and silver possessions.To achieve this end, it is best to use some ingenious and unique strategies, without making a lot of noise and hurting bones; Either it appears in the accident register of the police station, or it is recorded in the medical record card of the hospital.

The police have always been suspicious of the Chimney Gang and kept them at a respectful distance.The beautiful song of the nightingale can only be heard in the depths of the forest, and the sound of the siren calling for reinforcements can only cut through the silence of the night in the dark and narrow area of ​​the "chimney".As long as there is smoke coming from the "chimney", the man in the blue uniform knows that there is a fire in Hell's Kitchen. Brady Jr. promises Molly that he will turn his back on evil.Brady Jr. was the most vain, toughest, most cautious, most accomplished schemer in the gang.Therefore, the partners all regretted his withdrawal.

They saw that he fell to the end of being a law-abiding man, and they did not express any objection.Because a man who takes his girlfriend's advice is not considered unmanly or disgraced in the "kitchen." To make her love you, you might as well knock her eyes out; but when she asks you to do something, you must do it. "Turn off the tap," Brady said one night, when Molly tearfully begged Jr. to change his ways. "I've made up my mind to quit that gang. I don't want anything but you. We've lived a rough life. Tell you, Moll—I'll get a job; and in a year, we'll be married. For you, I We are determined to do this. We rent an apartment, build a flute, a sewing machine, a rubber bonsai, support ourselves, and live an honest life."

"Ah, Boo," sighed Molly, wiping the powder from his shoulders with a handkerchief, "I'd be happier to hear you say that than to have all of New York. We don't cost much, You can also live happily!" Little Brady looked down at his spotless sleeves and shiny patent leather shoes, looking a little sad. "I'm afraid clothing stores will be the hardest hit," he said. "I've always liked to dress up when I could. You know how much I hate cheap things, Moll. The suit cost sixty-five dollars. As far as I'm concerned, I can't be sloppy about clothes, or I'd throw it away." .After I work, I don't have so much money for the little man with the tailor's shears."

"It doesn't matter, Boo. I'll always love you the same whether you wear blue overalls or a red car." Little Brady was forced to learn his trade as a plumber before he was an adult and not strong enough to knock his father down.So now he resumes this honorable and useful trade.But he was only an assistant; you know, it is the plumbing boss, not the assistant, who wears diamonds as big as hailstones and ignores the marble colonnade of Senator Clark's mansion. Eight months passed smoothly and steadily, just as the theater manual said, "flash by".Brady Jr. has been dealing with lead pipe solder all day and shows no signs of backing down.The Chimney Gang continued to rob the streets, smashing the skulls of cops, robbing people late at night, inventing new methods of peaceful plunder, imitating Fifth Avenue fashions and ties, and doing everything according to its own lawless laws.But Brady Jr. remained true to his Molly, despite the tarnish on his nails, despite the fifteen minutes it took him to tie the purple silk tie so that no fray could be seen.

One night, he came to Molly's house with a mysterious package. "Open it, Mole!" he said, carelessly and calmly, as usual. "For you." Molly eagerly tore off the wrapping paper.She screamed, and McIver and Mrs. McIver ran in.Aunt McIver was washing the dishes, getting them wet, but no doubt also descended from the late Lady Eve. Molly screamed again, and a long, black, curly thing sprang up like a boa constrictor and wrapped itself around her neck. "Russian mink," said little Brady triumphantly, delighted to see Molly's plump cheeks against the supple fur. "The real thing. Even the most expensive Russian stuff will suit you, Moll."

Molly put his hand into the muff, led over a row of children in the house, and flew to the mirror.The newspaper's beauty ad section has a good subject.For bright eyes, rosy cheeks and a charming smile, buy a Russian mink scarf with muff.Might as well give it a try. When the two of them were alone, Molly sensed a little ice of common sense floating in the tide of her bliss. "You're such a nice guy, Boo," she admitted gratefully. "I've never used fur in my life. But isn't Russian mink fur expensive? I seem to have heard it." "When did I ever get you off with cheap stuff, Moll?" said little Brady, calmly and proudly. "When did you see me leaning against the deal counter, or looking in the window of the five-and-a-dime bargain? Estimate the neckerchief at two hundred and fifty dollars, and the muff at one hundred and seventy-five, and you don't know the Russians. You know the price of mink. I don't buy anything that isn't first-rate. Oh, they look good on you, Moll."

Molly clasped the mink to his chest in ecstasy.Then her smile faded and she looked sadly into little Brady's eyes. He understood Molly's every look; he blushed a little and laughed. "Don't think about that," he said, with loving rudeness in his voice. "I told you I quit that business a long time ago. I paid for it, with my own money." "With your work money, Boo? With your seventy-five dollars a month?" "Of course, I've been saving." "Let's do the math—can we save four hundred and twenty-five dollars in eight months, Boo?"

"Oh, don't ask me," said Boo, a little irritably. "I had some money on hand before I started working. Do you think I'm robbing again? I told you I've quit. Mink Bought honestly. Take them and go for a walk." Molly suppressed his doubts.Mink fur is used to relieve boredom.Proud as a queen, she took to the streets with little Brady.No one in that low-lying area had ever seen a Russian mink.The news spread quickly, and there were crowds of people at the door and window, all wanting to see the amazing leather goods that Brady Jr. gave his girlfriend.The streets are full of "oh", "ah" admiration.The astonishing price of mink fur has been getting higher and higher after word of mouth.Little Brady walked on her right with the swagger of a grandson.Work did not change his love of style and decency, nor his enthusiasm for genuine valuables.At a corner they saw a group of well-dressed chimney gangs loitering.The group tipped their hats to Brady Jr.'s girlfriend, and continued their calm, languid chatter.

Lan Sen, an agent of the General Administration, was walking behind the envied pair of men and women, three blocks apart.Ransom was the only one among the detectives in the police department who could walk openly in the chimney district without danger.He was always fair dealing, selfless and fearless.When he went there he always thought the inhabitants were reasonable too.Many people like him, and some even provide him with some clues to handle the case. "Why is it so busy on the other side of the street?" Ranson asked a pale boy in a red sports shirt. "People want to see a set of buffalo jackets that Brady Jr. gave his girlfriend," replied the lad. "Some say he spent nine hundred dollars. It's really pretty." "I've heard Brady's been at his old business for almost a year," said the detective. "He doesn't hang out with that gang anymore, does he?" "Yeah, he's working," said the man in the red sweatshirt, "but—hey, friend, are you looking for fur leads? Plumbing work isn't the same thing as furs on Boo's girlfriend." Proportionate." Ranson overtook the strolling couple in a deserted street near the river bank.He touched Brady Jr.'s arm from behind. "Let me talk to you, Brady," he said softly.His eyes lingered for a moment on the beautiful fur collar that slung over Molly's left shoulder.Little Brady, with his old police-hater scowl on his face, followed the detective a yard or two to the side of the street. "Did you go to Mrs. Heathcote's house on Seventh Avenue, West End, to fix the plumbing yesterday?" Ranson asked. "I've been," said Brady Jr. "What's the matter?" "That lady's thousand-dollar Russian mink is missing, and it was stolen around the same time you left her house. The items on the lost order are exactly the same as those worn by this lady." "Fuck you—to hell with you," yelled Brady Jr. angrily. "You know I don't do that sort of thing anymore, Ranson. I bought these minks yesterday—at the—" Brady Jr. stopped abruptly. "I know you've been working hard lately," Ranson said. "I'll give you a chance as much as possible. You said you bought the mink fur, and I can accompany you to that store to investigate. This lady can walk with us with the mink fur, and no one will know. That's fair and reasonable , Brady." "Okay," Brady Jr. agreed angrily.But he stopped suddenly, and looked at Molly's distressed and anxious face with a strange smile. "No," he said darkly. "Here are the Heathcote ermines, and they're all right. You'll have to hand them over, Moll. But even if they're worth a million dollars, they'll suit you just fine." Molly looked very painful and grabbed Brady's arm. "Oh Boo, you broke my heart," she said. "How much I valued you—and now you're in their hands—isn't our happiness over?" "You go home." Little Brady said rudely. "Come on, Ranson--take the fur. Let's get out of here quickly. Wait a minute--I want to--no, I can't do that, or I'll be a real jerk--go, Moll--Lanson, I'm ready." Constable Cohen, on patrol by the river, came round the corner from the lumberyard.The detectives beckon him to help.Cohen came over.Ranson explained. "That's right," said Cohn. "I heard about the mink theft. You say you tracked it down?" Constable Cohen held the tail of the mink bib that had belonged to Molly so recently and examined it carefully. "There was a time," he said, "I sold furs on Sixth Avenue. Yes, it was mink, too. But it was from Alaska. The necker was worth twelve dollars, and the muff—" "Crack!" Little Brady hit the policeman's mouth with his powerful palm.Cohn staggered back a step or two, then regained his footing.Molly screamed.The agent lunged at Brady, cuffing his hands with Cohen's help. "The scarf is worth twelve dollars, and the muff is nine dollars," insisted the officer. "How could it involve a mink worth a thousand dollars?" Little Brady sat down on the lumber pile, his face swollen like a pig's liver. "That's right!" he said viciously. "I bought this set for twenty-one dollars and fifty cents. I'd rather be in jail for six months than tell. I'm a rich man who doesn't take a bargain! I'm all bragging. Moll— — I can’t afford Russian mink furs for the wages I earn.” Molly hooked his neck. "I despise all the ermines and money in the world," she cried. "All I want is my boo. Oh, you sweet, rich, crazy fool!" "You might as well take the cuffs off," Cohen told the detective. "When I came out of the station, it was reported that the lady's mink had been found--had been hanging in her closet. I don't care about you punching me in the face, lad--forgive me You this time." Ranson returns the pelt to Molly.She looked at little Brady with a smile on her face.She put the scarf on with Duchess style and flicked her ermine tail over her left shoulder. "A pair of little fools." Constable Cohen said to Ranson, "Let's go."

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