A tiny house, surrounded by vacant lots, sits on a back street. The rising sun enters the house through cracks, under the door, and around the edges of the ragged blinds. It creeps across the floor and dust particles can be seen dancing in its rays.

In the front room a shabby couch sits along the north wall with a radio next to it. The walls are covered with faded wallpaper. A broom handle, fashioned into a clothes rack, is nailed catty- corner to adjacent walls directly across from the couch. Sundry clothes on metal hangers are hanging on the makeshift closet. Below the clothes is a large bed, bare except for a heaped-up blanket near the head. The blanket moves and Archie Cleebo peeks from under the blanket. He looks across the room, measuring the distance to the bathroom door. His eyes race to the alarm clock ticking softly on the dresser next to the bed. Eight-fifteen, too late to go to school but it’s Saturday. He sits up, pulling the blanket tight around him as the cold air rushes in, and searches the dresser top, looking for his dime. It’s not there. Mom always leaves a dime for the Saturday picture shows but she hasn’t been home since Monday when she got fired and blackballed to boot. He studies the watch on his wrist and knows it’s not working. It’s a Mickey Mouse that he got for his tenth birthday two weeks ago.

He stiffens as he is reminded that he is in danger of peeing the bed. Only babies pee the bed and he ain’t no baby. He throws the blanket on the bed, revealing his long underwear and races for the bathroom. His teeth chatter as he stands over the bowl, releasing his bladder and remembering the old tease: “PART YOUR HAIR IN THE MIDDLE AND SIT DOWN TO PEE." He ain’t never going to do that like some little girl

He almost makes it back to bed when he remembers that he needs a dime or at least nine cents. He stands on the bed and searches the clothes rack, pulling down a heavy gray wool long-sleeved shirt. Back on the floor he pulls the shirt on; it hangs almost to his knees and his hands disappear under the cuffs. He folds the cuffs up to his wrists, buttons the front, and reaches under the bed for bib overalls; the overall shoulder straps can only be buckled after a lot of tugging and jumping around in a circle. The shirt-overall combination makes it hard to reach his feet but he struggles to his tennis shoes and dons them without socks. He remembers tennis shoes are good because the rubber sole never wears out.

He walks through the arched passageway into the kitchen and finds a box of Kellogg’s corn flakes, sugar, and a glass bowl in the cupboard. The icebox is empty. Archie searches desperately: he can’t have breakfast without milk. The milkman! He runs to the front door and throws it open. Milk! And the way he likes it with icy cream on top. Mom always says, “Archie don’t take just the cream and leave skim milk for the rest of us, mix it in a pitcher before you pour it on your cereal." But Mom ain’t here so Archie spoons the frozen cream on his corn flakes, hammering the edge of the spoon on the chunks to break up the ice. The sugar bowl empties empties onto the flakes and becomes soaked by the thawing cream. Archie carefully scoops up the wet sugar, laced with ice slivers, and swallows it greedily. Only after the cream and sugar are gone does he eat the cereal.


“Archie, where’s your mother at? Is she at home? Are you home alone?" Mrs. Troutman steps past Archie and glares across Rosedale Avenue at the tiny house down the street. “If you’re home alone I’ll call the police. I swear I will. Your mother has no business leaving you by yourself."

“No ma’am. I’m not home alone." Archie, standing on his neighbor’s wood porch, fights the urge to run away. He should never have asked for a job mowing the lawn. Nobody mows their lawn in the wintertime. Besides, Mrs. Troutman, although she has hired him before for lawn mowing and running errands, is a troublemaker. She’s gonna put him and his whole family in jail.
“I don’t see smoke coming out of the chimney. If your mother’s home, why hasn’t she built a fire?" She stands in front of Archie and glares down at him.

Archie, swaddled in his oversize clothes and long stocking cap to shield his ears, tries to draw even deeper into his garments but he can’t get away: he’s got to answer. “She’s sick in bed. She can’t build the fire because we ain’t got newspapers. I need a job so I can buy a paper."

“Hufpmt…Well I haven’t got any work for you. You’ll have to go elsewhere. If you’re lying to me I’m going to find out about it."

“I ain’t lying." He turns and runs hard for home, feeling Mrs. Troutman’s eyes boring into his back.

At home he pulls the cushions from the couch and runs his fingers down in the seam.

One time he found a dime and two nickels in that seam but today there’s nothing. He walks into the kitchen, picks up a piece of cornbread wrapped in waxed paper. He pulls the paper off and drops it into the garbage can. He inspects the bread closely and tears the green mold away before pushing the remainder in his mouth. Still munching noisily he picks up a box of matches, opens the back door and steps outside.

The sun blinds him and he pauses and shields his eyes till they adjust. He peeks around the corner of the house and up and down the alley. Satisfied the coast is clear he turns and removes a panel from the side of the house, revealing a crawl space. He wipes spider webs from his face as he crawls on hands and knees. Deep inside, he pulls the matches from his pocket and scratches one to life. The flickering light cuts through the total blackness and reveals an ivory-handled hunting knife encased in a leather sheath. He shoves the knife in his front overall pocket, pushes the match into the soft dirt and crawls to daylight.

“Boy, where’d ya get this pig sticker? Don’tcha know that ya could go to jail for carrying a dangerous weapon like this?" The pot-bellied, unshaven pawn shop owner in a filthy sleeveless undershirt and a cigarette dangling from his tobacco-stained mouth holds the knife to the light and inspects it. “Did ya steal this? If ya did I’ll get the cops over here right now. Thieves don’t get very far in this town." He turns and fixes Archie with his blood-shot beady eyes.

“No, sir. I ain’t stold it. I found it."

“Found it! Ha! Where?"

“Over by the potato slide at the high school." Archie eyes the knife clenched in the pawn guy’s hands and Archie knows he ain’t gonna give it back.

The shop owner shoves the knife in his pocket and turns away. He looks back over his shoulder and says, “I’m taking a big chance here but I’ll give ya a dime for it." He turns and walks into a back room, closing the door behind him.

Archie stands in front of the caged counter with his eyes on the door to the back room. Twenty minutes go by before a customer enters and rings the bell on the counter. The owner hurries out, stops and does a double take when he sees Archie.
“You still here? I told ya to get lost an hour ago.""

“I need my dime." Archie holds his hand out.

“Get outta here, kid. You’ll get your dime after I check with the police to see if that’s stolen property or not. Come back in a week or two."

As Archie pushes through the front door he hears the owner say to his customer, “Kids now a days don’t got no respect for their elders. If ya let 'em they’ll walk all over ya."


Archie walks uptown to the Lyric Theater where he stands in front and looks at the painted posters in the billboard cases. The pictures show cowboys, Indians, horses, and cattle in action. It’s always a cowboy double-header on Saturdays and both these movies star Don “Red" Berry his favorite cowboy. In addition there’ll be a Mickey Mouse cartoon, newsreel, Pete Martin short, and best of all, The Spider.

The Spider is a fifteen-chapter serial where the Spider is dressed in a black suit that looks like long underwear. He wears a hood and mask that covers his head except for his mouth and chin. The bad guys are led by The Gargoyle a really bad guy who wears a sack like mask. The Spider throws a net over the bad guys then beats 'em up. Each chapter ends with the Spider in mortal danger. Last week he chased some bad guys into a little house. The bad guys run out the backdoor and the Spider found himself locked inside. The ceiling, studded with sharp spikes, slowly comes down and the Spider grabs two spikes and is forced to his back. The show ends with the Spider trying to stop the ceiling from impaling him. The voice of an unseen man says, “Is this the end? Will the Gargoyle now be free to dominate the world? Come back next week to find out."


If only Mom was here she’d give him a dime. But she’s in Tracy. Last Monday both she and Dad come home early. She called Archie in the house where she said, “I’ve been fired. The dirty son of a bitch fired me. Only last month I was called the best waitress in Modesto. Now I’m fired and blackballed too. That son of a bitch called every restaurant in town and told them not to hire me."

“What are you gonna do now, Millie?" Dad, sitting on the couch with Archie, pulls a Mason jar under his chin and squirts a stream of tobacco juice.

Millie walked back and forth in front of them with a frown on her face. “I ain’t beat yet. I’m gonna catch the Greyhound tonight. I’m going to Tracy. I know I can get a job there. You and Archie stay here till I get things figured out." She turns and points her finger at Cab. “I’m counting on you, Cabby. You gotta stay here with Archie while I’m gone. Harvey, over at the grocery store, will give you credit. I’ll pay the rent before I go. I got money for that. Remember, I’m counting on you."

They walked Millie to the bus station, Millie carrying her large battered suitcase. As she climbed aboard the bus Cab said, “Don’t you worry about us none. Me and Archie are gonna do just fine."

Back home, Cab said, “Archie, you’re a big boy now. I got things to do downtown. You take care of things till I get back." It was the last time Archie saw his dad.

Archie walks along H Street towards home. His mind races but he can’t think of anywhere to get nine cents and time is running out. He walks past the shabby storefronts, pawn shops, tiny churches, groceries, hardware and second hand stores. Up ahead he sees a sign, “The El Dora Club", a bad place. He crosses the street and watches the unshaven, shabbily dressed men standing on the sidewalk in front of the club. They look unclean and dangerous. Mom told him to not go near that place. But she also said that he could always find his dad there. He walks past the El Dora and stops at the corner and looks around. Nobody is looking at him. He crosses the street and walks quickly back past the club and through the loitering men; nobody pays attention to him. He walks back and tries to look inside but the windows are painted black. He pushes the swinging doors open and steps inside where he is met with tobacco smoke and loud music. His eyes adjust to the dark interior and he sees a line sanding at the bar. Some are talking energetically with their neighbors, some look half-asleep, and all have beer bottles or whiskey glasses in their hand or on the counter. Most are smoking cigarettes.

Farther back a group of men is sitting around a large round green-felted table. Red, white and blue poker chips are stacked separately in front of each man with a pile of all colors tossed haphazardly in the center of the table. He sees his dad dealing the cards. Cab Cleebo asks each player in turn, “How many?" and each one answers with a request for one, two or three cards. Some say, “I’ll stand." Archie walks up close to the dealer.

One of the gamblers sees him and says, “Cab, you got a visitor."

Cab looks around and Archie says, “I need money for the picture show."

Cab picks a red chip up and hands it to him. “Take this to the cage." He points to a man sitting on a high stool inside a small space enclosed in wood-framed chicken wire. Archie pushes the chip across the counter through a small opening in the wire and the cashier pushes a quarter to him.


Archie walks uptown to the Lyric Theater where he stands in front and looks at the painted posters in the billboard cases. The pictures show cowboys, Indians, horses, and cattle in action. It’s always a cowboy double-header on Saturdays and both these movies star Don “Red" Berry his favorite cowboy. In addition there’ll be a Mickey Mouse cartoon, newsreel, Pete Martin short, and best of all, The Spider.

The Spider is a fifteen-chapter serial where the Spider is dressed in a black suit that looks like long underwear. He wears a hood and mask that covers his head except for his mouth and chin. The bad guys are led by The Gargoyle a really bad guy who wears a sack like mask. The Spider throws a net over the bad guys then beats 'em up. Each chapter ends with the Spider in mortal danger. Last week he chased some bad guys into a little house. The bad guys run out the backdoor and the Spider found himself locked inside. The ceiling, studded with sharp spikes, slowly comes down and the Spider grabs two spikes and is forced to his back. The show ends with the Spider trying to stop the ceiling from impaling him. The voice of an unseen man says, “Is this the end? Will the Gargoyle now be free to dominate the world? Come back next week to find out."


If only Mom was here she’d give him a dime. But she’s in Tracy. Last Monday both she and Dad come home early. She called Archie in the house where she said, “I’ve been fired. The dirty son of a bitch fired me. Only last month I was called the best waitress in Modesto. Now I’m fired and blackballed too. That son of a bitch called every restaurant in town and told them not to hire me."

“What are you gonna do now, Millie?" Dad, sitting on the couch with Archie, pulls a Mason jar under his chin and squirts a stream of tobacco juice.

Millie walked back and forth in front of them with a frown on her face. “I ain’t beat yet. I’m gonna catch the Greyhound tonight. I’m going to Tracy. I know I can get a job there. You and Archie stay here till I get things figured out." She turns and points her finger at Cab. “I’m counting on you, Cabby. You gotta stay here with Archie while I’m gone. Harvey, over at the grocery store, will give you credit. I’ll pay the rent before I go. I got money for that. Remember, I’m counting on you."

They walked Millie to the bus station, Millie carrying her large battered suitcase. As she climbed aboard the bus Cab said, “Don’t you worry about us none. Me and Archie are gonna do just fine."

Back home, Cab said, “Archie, you’re a big boy now. I got things to do downtown. You take care of things till I get back." It was the last time Archie saw his dad.

Archie walks along H Street towards home. His mind races but he can’t think of anywhere to get nine cents and time is running out. He walks past the shabby storefronts, pawn shops, tiny churches, groceries, hardware and second hand stores. Up ahead he sees a sign, “ The El Dora Club", a bad place. He crosses the street and watches the unshaven, shabbily dressed men standing on the sidewalk in front of the club. They look unclean and dangerous. Mom told him to not go near that place. But she also said that he could always find his dad there. He walks past the El Dora and stops at the corner and looks around. Nobody is looking at him. He crosses the street and walks quickly back past the club and through the loitering men; nobody pays attention to him. He walks back and tries to look inside but the windows are painted black. He pushes the swinging doors open and steps inside where he is met with tobacco smoke and loud music. His eyes adjust to the dark interior and he sees a line of men standing at the bar. Some are talking energetically with their neighbors, some look half-asleep, and all have beer bottles or whiskey glasses in their hand or on the counter. Most are smoking cigarettes.

Farther back a group of men is sitting around a large round green-felted table. Red, white and blue poker chips are stacked separately in front of each man with a pile of all colors tossed haphazardly in the center of the table. He sees his dad dealing the cards. Cab Cleebo asks each player in turn, “How many?" and each one answers with a request for one, two or three cards. Some say, “I’ll stand.� Archie walks up close to the dealer.

One of the gamblers sees him and says, “Cab, you got a visitor."

Cab looks around and Archie says, “I need money for the picture show."

Cab picks a red chip up and hands it to him. “ Take this to the cage." He points to a man sitting on a high stool inside a small space enclosed in wood-framed chicken wire. Archie pushes the chip across the counter through a small opening in the wire and the cashier pushes a quarter to him.



Archie holds the quarter tightly in his right hand, which he shoves deep into the front pocket of his overalls. He skips up H Street, up towards the Lyric. He stops at Payless Drug Store and shades his eyes with his nose on the window to look inside. The wall clock shows it’s a quarter to eleven; he’s got an hour till the box office opens. The sign on the window reads, “ICE CREAM SODAS -- 10 cents." That’s what the kids in the comic strip, Gasoline Alley, always eat.

Archie spoons up the ice cream and tilts the fancy bowl into his mouth to finish the soda. He picks his dime and nickel change up and heads for the snack aisle. There he chooses cupcakes that are five cents and a penny licorice stick. He pays at the checkout stand and gets his nine cents change.

Archie runs hard through the growing crowd of pedestrians, dodging here and there like a broken-field runner. At intersections he waits for the green light then dashes into the street sometimes between and around cars blocked in the crosswalks. He gets to the Lyric in record time where he sits on the sidewalk with his back against the front of the box office. He finishes the cupcakes and licorice just as Billy and Arnold walk up.

The two boys frown as they stand over him. Billy says, “You’re always first in line. How’s come you’re always first?"

Archie pushes his money hand down into the pocket with all his might. He looks at them without answering but decides it’s better to say something. “I dunno."

Arnold says, “You’re a dumb kid too. We oughtta knock your block off but we don’t want to dirty our hands on a little kid like you."

Billy nudges Archie’s concealed hand with his toe. “You got candy in there?" Archie turns sideways, pressing the pocket and hand against the wall. “No."

“Whatcha got in there?"

“Just my show money."

“Oh yeah? How much?" A crowd of boys has appeared and they circle Archie, waiting for his answer.

Archie tries to sink deeper into the sidewalk. “Nine cents."

Billy pulls back his head and roars with laughter, he turns and shouts to everyone, “Did you hear that guys? This little shit ass is going to the movies with only nine cents. He can’t even read." Everybody starts laughing. Archie raises up and reads the sign over the opening in the window. It reads: Admission 10 cents.

Arnold sticks his grinning face down at Archie. “They raised the price last Monday. They ain’t no nine cent picture shows in this town no more."


Archie is sitting on the bench in West Side Park. He slowly counts and recounts the nickel
and four pennies in his hand. Arnold’s words go through his mind: “ They ain’t no nine cent picture shows in this town no more." Every Saturday for a long time now he woke up and found the dime that his mom left him on the dresser, a penny for candy and nine cents for the show. Now his mom was gone and they had raised the admission to ten cents.

He looks around. There’s nobody around on this gloomy day. The trees and bushes are bare. The swimming pool is empty with brown leaves caked to the bottom. He remembers the chilly summer mornings sitting on the edge with his feet dangling, waiting for the park man to turn on the water, the freezing water that pushed him away as he leaped at the torrent rushing out of the pipe. The water never got higher than his knees. The grown-ups call it a wading pool.

A lone figure is running on the street just outside the park. Archie watches as the guy throws punches into the air. He runs funny with his knees going all the way up to his chest. The runner turns into the park and comes straight at Archie. He’s wearing a stocking cap pulled over his ears, sweatshirt, long pants, and high-topped work shoes. Archie looks at the ground as the stranger runs by.

He watches the retreating figure turn around and come back. The guy’s got a big smile on his face.

“Hey, little buddy. What’s ya doing out here all by yourself? All the other kids are at the picture show. Why ain’t you?"

Archie begins swinging his legs. “I dunno."

“Ha! Ha! Ain’t you sumtin’. Ya ain’t in the movies and ya don’t know why. If I didn’t know better I’d think ya was a dumb kid." He keeps running in circles, every so often throwing a punch. Archie stares hard at the ground, his feet swinging back and forth with increasing energy.

“Ya know, little buddy, this is a hard life. If ya don’t speak up nobody can do nothing for ya. Ya can lay it on old Andy here and we can figger somethin’ out."

“I wanna go to the picture show but I only got nine cents. It costs ten cents."

“Whoa! That’s a hard 'un. If I had a penny I’d give it to ya. But…hey, ya ever do any boxing?" Andy runs by and throws a quick punch that stops an inch from Archie’s face.

Archie jerks his head back. “No."

“Hmm … where ya live at?"

“At 313 Rosedale Avenue."

“I know that house. Your pa Cab Cleebo?"

“Yeah."

“Cab Cleebo the poker-playing man. They say he can sit at a poker table for three days and three nights without getting up even once to go to the bathroom."

Archie hugs his knees and stares at the ground.

“Your mom, Millie, jest got fired for sassin’ the boss’ wife. Fired and run out of town."

Archie leaps to his feet. “She didn’t get run out of town."

“Whoa. Hold on, little buddy. I was jest telling ya what I heard. Where’s she at now?"

“Over in Tracy."

“Tracy? That’s a long ways away. How’d she get over there?"

“Greyhound bus. She paid a dollar and a half too."

Andy stops running and places his hand on Archie’s shoulder. “Tell ya what, little buddy, come over ta my house and I’ll give ya a pop bottle. Ya can take it to the store and get your penny."


Andy ain’t high-steppin’ it no more and even though he’s running at half speed, Archie is having trouble keeping up. Archie studies the figure in front of him; there’s something about him that triggers old memories. And he’s taking Archie onto a street that Archie has been told to stay off of; there are lots of bad guys lives around here. Archie’s mind is racing: who is this guy? What’s his last name? Then it falls in place as a large old wood house looms ahead; that’s the Johnson house. The murdering Johnsons, killers, every last one of ‘em. And this is Andy Johnson…Andy the killer? Murdering Andy? Just what do folks call him? He heard about Andy when he was a little kid but he ain’t seen him in a long time. Where’s he been? In jail I betcha. And they called him the Assassin. But there was another word in there: sumthin’ the Assassin or the Assassin sumthin’? Archie can’t remember the other word. They say the Johnsons would kill a little kid like him, throw him in the stew pot and pick their teeth with his bones—they’re cannibals.

Andy stops running and turns around. “This is my house. Don’t be scared. Ain’t nobody gonna mess with ya when you’re with me.� He motions Archie around to the garage at the side of the house and swings the twin doors open. The floor is crowded with old car parts and a bicycle. The bicycle is upside down and the wheels are off but Archie remembers that Andy’s the only kid in the neighborhood who has a bike.

Andy picks up a greasy pop bottle that’s filled with a clear liquid and stoppered with a rag. He pulls the rag out, empties the bottle on the ground, rinses it under a faucet in the front yard, and hands it to Archie. “Here ya go, Little Buddy. Come back sometime and I’ll sweet- talk Grandma into fixing ya some biscuits and gravy; ya need ta put some meat on them bones. Hey! Wait! Ain’t ya gonna say thanks?�

Archie keeps running but turns and shouts, “ Thanks.� He looks at his useless wristwatch and decides he can make the second show if he hurries. The fastest runner in Washington School sets his sights on a beeline to Harvey’s Grocery Store.

The End