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As far as I could tell he earing the same outfit I'd seen him in before The denim jacket that had looked too warm for the suh-top sneakers looked new, and he had added a royal-blue watch cap

I handed hilanced at the top one and looked up at me, his eyes wary He said, "You want to draw hin'?"

"I'm sure you'd make a fine model," I said, "but I'm no artist"

"You didn't draw these here?" He looked at each in turn, exa What do you say, Ray? What's happenin'?"

"Do you recognize any of them?"

He said he didn't, and I ran it down for him "The older boy's name is Happy," I said "I think he's dead"

"You think they both be dead Don't you?"

"I'm afraid so"

"What you want to know about them?"

"Their names Where they're from"

"You already know his naure his naave one knoho you be referrin' to" He looked at the sketch again "You sayin' Happy's his street naht"

"If that's his naone know Who give you that name, Testament House?"

I nodded "They said he didn't live there but he stayed there a couple of nights"

"Yeah, well, they be good people, but not everybody can handle the rules an' shit, you knohat I'm sayin'?"

"Did you ever stay there, TJ?"

"Shit, why'd I do that? I don't need no place like that I got a place where I live,as I can find it, that's all that h the sketches Casually he said, "I seen this man"

"Where?"

"I dunno On the Deuce, but don't be askin' e of the bed, yanked his cap off, turned it over in his hands He said, "What you want from me, man?"

I took a twenty from my wallet and held it out to him He didn't move to take it, and his eyes repeated his question What did I want from him?

I said, "You know the Deuce and the bus tero places I don't know about and talk to people ouldn't talk to rinned "Other tiimme fi' dollars and I didn't do nothin'"

"You haven't done anything this tih Jivin' with the people, goin' here an' there" I started to take back the twenty and his hand moved to snatch it from me "Don't be doin' that," he said "I didn't say no, did I? Just tuggin' you 'round souess you's rich, huh?"

I had to laugh "No," I said "Not quite"

CHANCE called He had asked a few people in the fight crowd, and soside Thursday No one re seen the pair before, in Maspeth or elsewhere I said theon other occasions, and he said it was the two of them that people renized hiht?"

"I don't know"

"Or you could watch it on television You ain"

We didn't stay on the phone long because I wanted to keep the line open I hung up and waited, and Danny Boy Bell was the next to call "I'll be having dinner at Poogan's," he said "Why don't you join ?"

"Nothing remarkable," he said, "but you have to eat dinner so up and checked the time It was five o'clock I turned on the TV and watched the opening of the news and turned it off when I realized I wasn't paying attention I picked up the phone and dialed Thur but I didn't hang up, either I sat there with the line open for thirty seconds or so before I finally broke the connection

I picked up The Newgate Calendar and the phone rang alrabbed it and said hello and it was Jim Faber

"Oh, hi," I said

"You sound disappointed"

"I've been waiting on a call all afternoon," I said

"Well, I won't keep you," he said "It's not iht?"

"I don't think so I have to ht on Seventy-second Street and I don't kno long that'll last Anyway, I went last night"