SOUTHERN HIGHWAY 51
John Wexley
IT
WAS VERY COLD FOR TENNESSEE. And it was colder for the boy called
Texas Kid. He sat on the running board of the small car, rubbing his
hands desperately, and pounding his feet on the cement highway. Sandy–
haired Jack Kearns sat at his side, rolling a cigarette. Kearns had picked
him up near Evansville the day before, but since then had never thought
of offering the Kid his 'makins'. And Tex wouldn't ask him. Hell, no.
They had been waiting there since seven in the morning, after they
had left Fairchild. In that town, they had spent the night in the town
constabulary. The constable had given them coffee, too. And this waiting
on State Highway 51, was one of Sandy's tricks. He had come all the
way from Pittsburgh with this particular one, and he said· he was bound
for Birmingham. Sandy called himself a roller. He explained that he
rolled steel into sheet-iron, like they use on roofs and garages. Now the
men were all being laid off in Pittsburgh, and anyway, Alabama was his
home-state. He had kin there.
This trick of Sandy's, consisted in stopping passing cars and borrowing
a gallon of gas. This he would do until he had collected a full tank.
Then he could drive straight for a hundred miles or more. Sometimes a
motorist would complain he had no way of getting the gas out of the
tank, but Sandy always had a ready answer. He had the funnel, the
wrench and the can all prepared. The owner would mumble a reluctant
Okay, and turn off his motor and light his pipe or cigar. Sandy would
then open the plug in the tank and allow to run into his can all he could
get away with.
If
the owner wasn't lazy and stood by, Sandy would
pretend to be clumsy and would find it hard to get the plug back in place.
Now here they were, an hour and more, and two cars had passed them
by, the one without even stopping, and the other claiming he knew the
racket. Finally the Texas Kid could no longer bear the cold and suggested
that the motor might freeze, if they didn't get going to Knoxville. Sandy
took the suggestion, and both got into the car.
Sandy stepped on the starter and the motor turned over lazily. He
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