Page 20 (1/2)

Chapter Twenty

I had a couple of matches after that an won both of them, naturally, an then Mike call Dan an me in his office one day an says, "Look here, this week you are gonna rassle The Professor"

"Who is that?" Dan axed

"He comes from California," says Mike, "an is pretty hot stuff out there He is runner up to the Western Division champion"

"Okay by ," say Mike "This tiot to lose"

"Lose?" I says

"Lose," say Mike "Look, you been winnin ever week for ot to lose ever once in a wile to keep up your popularity?"

"How you figger that?"

"Si Makes you look better the nex time"

"I don’t like it," I say

"How much you payin?" Dan axed

"Two thousan"

"I don’t like it," I says again

"Two thousan’s a lot of money," Dan say

"I still don’t like it," I says

But I took the deal

Jenny is been actin sort of peculiar lately, but I put it down to nerves or somethin Then one day she come home an say, "Forrest, I’o out there an do this"

"I got to," I says "Anyhow, I is gonna lose"

"Lose?" she say I splain it to her jus like Mike splain it to me, an she say, "Awe shit, Forrest, this is too much"

"It’s my life," I says - whatever that meant

Anyway, a day or so later, Dan coot to have a talk

"Forrest, I think I got the solution to our problems"

I axed what it was

"I think," says Dan, "we better be bailin out of this business pretty soon I know Jenny don’t like it, an if we are gonna start our sriot a way to bail out an clean up at the same time"

"How’s that?" I axed

"I been talkin to a feller don He runs a bookie operation an the word is out you gonna lose to The Professor this Saturday"

"So?" I says

"So what if you win?"

"Win?"

"Kick his ass"

"I get in trouble with Mike," I says

"Screw Mike," Dan say "Look, here’s the deal Spose we take the ten thousan we got an bet it on you to win? Two-to-one odds Then you kick his ass an we got twenty grand"

"But I’ll be in all sorts of trouble," I says

"We take the twenty grand an blow this town," Dan say "You knoe can do with twenty grand? We can start one hell of a srimp business an have a pile left over for ourselves I’et out of this rasslin stuff anyway"

Well, I’otta get out of rasslin too, an twenty grand ain’t a bad deal

"What you think?" Dan says

"Okay," I say "Okay"

The day come for me to rassle The Professor The bout is to be helt up at Fort Wayne, an Mike come by to pick us up an is blowin the horn outside, an I axed Jenny if she is ready

"I ain’t goin," she say "I’ll watch it on television"

"But you got to go," I says, an then I axed Dan to splain why

Dan tole Jenny what the plan was, an that she had to go, on account of we needed somebody to drive us back to Indianapolis after I done whupped The Professor

"Neither of us can drive," he say, "an we gonna have to have a fast car right outside the arena when it’s over to get us back here to collect the twenty grand frohtail it out of town"

"Well, I ain’t havin nothin to do with a deal like that," Jenny say