John Fitzgerald GB 05 Great Bra (3 page)

“Go ahead,” Tom said. “But you are in my power and I command you to pick up two cans.”

Parley was grinning as he picked up just one can. Tom then removed one can, leaving five.

. “I command you to pick up two cans,” Tom chanted.

Parley picked up just one, leaving four. Tom picked up one can leaving three-

“Pick up just one can,” Tom ordered.

Parley picked up two cans, leaving Tom stuck with the last can. Tom had a long face as he gave Parley a nickel.

“It does say in the book that some people can’t be hypnotized,” he said. “Seth, you try it.”

“I’m betting a nickel too,” Seth said as he knelt down. Tom went through the same ritual with Seth that he had with Parley. Seth went first and removed two cans from the bale of hay, leaving five. Tom took two, leaving three. Seth took’two cans, leaving Tom stuck with the last

can.

“It’s just my luck,” Tom said, “that I picked two peo-ple who can’t be hypnotized.” He gave Seth a nickel and then looked up at Basil. “You’re next.”

“I’m betting a nickel too,” Basil said as he knelt down.

Tom went through the ritual. Basil took one can. Tom took one. Basil took one, leaving four. Tom took one.

“You are under my power, Basil Kokovinis,” Tom chanted. “Take just one can.”

Parley touched Basil on the shoulder. “Don’t do it,” he said. “If you take one, then he’ll take one and you’ll be stuck with the last can.”

Basil removed two cans, leaving Tom stuck with the last can. Tom gave him a nickel.

I was beginning to feel sorry for Tom. I knew forking over those nickels was breaking his money-loving heart. And I was sure whoever sold him that book on hypnotism had swindled him,

“Maybe you, Parley, and Seth are all fellows who can’t be hypnotized.” Tom said. “Howard, you’re next.”

“Phooey on your hypnotism,” Howard said, as he knelt down. “And I’m betting a dime you can’t hypnotize me.”

“But the other fellows only bet a nickel,” Tom protested.

“You just said you’d bet us all,” Howard said. “You didn’t say how much. I’m betting a dime.” -*

Again Tom went through the ritual. And again he ended up with the last can and had to pay Howard a dime. Then he stood up.

“No more bets,” Tom said. “I’ve already lost twenty-five cents and that is enough. I have to study the book on hypnotism some more. I must be doing something wrong.”

“You can’t quit now,” Danny said. “You promised to bet all of us and there is still me and Jimmie and John

and Frankie.”

“I don’t believe my own brother and foster brother would want to take advantage of me,” Tom said. “But I’ll tell you what I’ll do with you and jimmie. If you let me go first, I’ll bet. Maybe that is what I’m doing wrong.”

“No you don’t,” Danny said. “You let the other kids go first and that means Jimmie and I go first.”

“All right,” Tom said, looking mighty angry. “But if you and Jimmie want to bet, you have to bet a dollar. Howard made me bet him a dime instead of a nickel. So I’m going to make you and Jimmie bet a dollar.”

“You know darn well that Jimmie and I ain’t got a dollar,” Danny protested. “That’s just your way of trying to weasel out of betting us.”

“Then bet something that is worth a dollar,” Tom said, “or forget the whole thing,”

“This is one time we’ve all got you where we want you,” Danny said, his left eyelid flipping open. “And it is going to cost you plenty to make up for all the times you swindled me. I’ll bet anything I own that you can’t hypnotize me and make me take the last can.”

Tom thought about it for a moment. “Tell you what I’ll do,” he said. “That infielder’s glove of yours cost about two dollars and a quarter from Sears Roebuck. How about betting your glove against what it cost?”

I guess that after seeing Tom couldn’t hypnotize four other kids, Danny was pretty sure he couldn’t be hypnotized.

“You said that thinking I wouldn’t bet my glove,” he said. “Well, you’re wrong. It’s a bet.”

“That leaves Jimmie,” Tom said. “I won’t bet you unless Junmie bets too. That baseball of his cost a dollar and ten cents. He is going to have to bet his baseball against my dollar and ten cents or I won’t bet you, Danny.”

“Boy, oh, boy,” Danny said, “you are sure trying hard

to get out of betting. But Jimmie will take the bet, won’t you, Jimmie?”

Jimmie shook his head. “Gosh,” he said, “I don’t know if I should.”

“Good,” Tom said, smiling. “Then all bets are off.”

Danny patted Jimmie on the shoulder. “Can’t you see that Tom doesn’t want to bet because he knows he is going to lose?” he asked. “The Great Brain knows darn well he can’t hypnotize anybody. And the fellow who goes first has to win.”

“All right,” Jimmie said. “I’ll bet.”

Tom looked very disappointed. “Are you sure you want to bet, Jimmie?” he asked.

“I’m sure,” Jimmie answered.

Tom looked like a fellow who just lost the ball game as he knelt down with Danny next to the bale of hay. He went through the same ritual, waving the can an4 making Danny count backwards from ten.

“You are now hypnotized, Danny Forester,” Tom chanted. “You are under my power. I order you to make sure you take the last can.”

Danny removed two cans. Tom took one, leaving four. Danny stared at the four cans and finally took one. Then Tom took two. leaving Danny stuck with the last can. Tom snapped his fingers.

“I did it!” he shouted. “I hypnotized you and made you take the last can.”

Danny’s left eyelid was wide open as he stared at Tom. “I don’t feel hypnotized,” he said.

“I brought you out of your hypnosis when I snapped my fingers,” Tom said. “Come on, Jimmie, you’re next.”

“I changed my mind,” Jimmie said.

“You can’t change your mind,” Tom said, “unless you want to be known as a welcher. And I don’t know any

27

kid in town who will have anything to do with a welcher.”

I guess Jimmie didn’t want to be known as a welcher. He knelt down by the bale of hay. Tom went through the ritual.

“You are now hypnotized, Jimmie Peterson,” Tom chanted, “and under my power. I order you to make sure you take the last can.”

Jimmie’s hand was shaking as he removed one can. Tom took two, leaving four. Jimmie’s hand was shaking even more as he took two cans. Tom then removed one can, leaving Jimmie stuck with the last can. Then he snapped his fingers-

“It just goes to prove,” Tom said, “that some people can be hypnotized and some can’t, just like it says in the book. Bring the baseball over any time tomorrow, Jimmie. And the same thing goes for the infielder’s glove, Danny.”

I sure couldn’t help feeling sorry for Jimmie because he alid Howard Kay were my two best friends. He looked as if he was^oing to cry.

“Let’s play basketball,” I said.

We played basketball until it was time for everybody to go home and do the evening chores. Tom carefully examined the basketball.

“This basketball cost two dollars and twenty cents,” he said. “Playing on the ground instead of a hard wood floor is wearing it out.”

Danny gave Tom a nasty look. “What skin is that off your nose?” he asked. “It is John’s ball.”

“No, it isn’t,” Tom said- “I made a deal with him for the basketball and backstop yesterday. You fellows sure as heck can’t expect me to buy a new basketball every time one wears out. It is going to cost a penny a day for

98

each kid who wants to play from now on. That way I’ll have enough money to buy a new ball when this one

wears out.”

Basil shook his head. “I don’t charge kids to use my

new baseball bat,” he said.

Jimmie nodded. “And I didn’t charge to use my new

baseball,” he said.

“That’s different,” Tom said. “Whoever heard of a baseball bat wearing out? And you can use the baseball I won for nothing. But it is a penny a day to play basketball

from now on.”

The kids all grumbled about it. But I knew they would all pay because basketball was so much fun and such an exciting game. And I knew right then that The Great Brain was going to make me pay too.

That evening after supper Sweyn left to see his girl and Tom left the house also. Now that The Great Brain was twelve years old, he was allowed to remain outside the house until eight o’clock. I was in the parlor with Frankie and Papa while Mamma and Aunt Bertha were doing the supper dishes.

I only had a little brain but I didn’t believe Tom could really hypnotize anybody. I figured it he could he’d be hypnotizing kids all over town and getting everything he wanted. I got the checkerboard and put seven checkers

on it. I walked over to Papa.

“Tom showed me a trick today,” I said, “but I can’t figure out how he did it. The idea of the trick is to make the other player take the last checker. A player can take one checker or two checkers at a time.”

I put the checkerboard on Papa’s knees. He studied

the checkers for a moment, and Frankie came over to watch.

“It is a simple mathematical problem that T. D. probably learned in advanced arithmetic at the academy,” Papa said. “Whoever goes first must lose.”

“How do you figure that?” I asked.

“All the person going second has to do is to leave just tour checkers,” Papa explained. “You go first and I’ll show you.”

I removed one checker. Papa removed two. “There are now four checkers left,” Papa said. “No matter if you take one or two I can make you take the last checker. If you take one then I take two and you get the last checker. If you take two then I take one and you get the last cHecker.”

“I understand that part,” I said. “But Tom also made it so he always got the last checker.”

‘“‘That is easy,” Papa said as he lined up the seven checkers orrthe board. “You go first.”

I removed one checker.

“Now all I have to do is to take the same number of checkers as you do,” Papa said, “so I’ll take one. There are five left. If you take one I take one leaving three. Then all you have to do is to take two and I get the last checker.”

“What if I take two the first time?” I asked.

“That would leave five,” Papa said. “Then I would take two leaving three. And all you have to do is to take two and I get the last checker.”

“Thanks a lot, Papa,” I said. “T. D. sure had me buffaioed on this trick.”

I walked over and sat down on the floor with Frankie.

We played checkers until bedtime. Frankie didn’t say what was on his mind until we reached our bedroom.

“Tom cheated Jimmie and Danny,” he said.

“He doesn’t call it cheating,” I said- “According to Tom, he is simply using his great brain to get something he wants.”

“I’m all mixed up,” Frankie said. “I don’t know who is right and who is wrong.”

“You’ll find out tomorrow,” I said. “Danny’s father will complain to Papa and Jimmie’s mother to Mamma-It will then be up to The Great -Brain to convince Papa and Mamma that he didn’t cheat anybody.”

When Papa came home for lunch the next day I knew Mr. Forester had complained from the way Papa kept looking at Tom during the meal. And I figured Mrs. Peterson must have complained too from the way Mamma kept staring at Tom. But Papa didn’t say anything until we had finished eating.

“Well, T. D.,” he said as he put his napkin in his silver napkin ring, “I see you are at it again. Mr. Forester stopped in at the Advocate office this morning. He told me that you had cheated his son Danny out of a baseball glove.”

Mamma held up her hand. “Before you answer that, Tom Dennis,” she said, “Mrs. Peterson phoned me this morning to complain that you had cheated her son Jimmie out of a new baseball.”

Tom didn’t appear worried at all. “Did Mr. Forester demand that you make me return the infielder’s glove to Danny?” he asked Papa.

“Well, no, he didn’t,” Papa said.

Then Tom looked across the table at Mamma. “Did Mrs. Peterson insist that you make me give Jimmie back the baseball?” he asked.

“No, she didn’t,” Mamma answered. “But she was certainly upset about it.”

“I think that proves I didn’t cheat Danny or Jimmie,” Tom said- “If I had cheated, they would have demanded that I return the glove and the baseball. And if Danny had won the two dollars and a quarter from me, you can bet his father wouldn’t have mentioned it to you, Papa. And the same with Jimmie.”

After that brilliant defense there was nothing Papa could do but nod his head. “You do have a point,” he

said.

“Point or no point,” Mamma said, “Mrs. Peterson works very hard to support herself and her son. And a dollar-and-tencent baseball to her is the equivalent of a bicycle to your father and me.”

“All the more reason why she should be thanking you instead of complaining,” Tom said.

“And just how do you arrive at that conclusion?” Mamma asked.

“Assume Jimmie had won the dollar and ten cents from me,” Tom said. “He would say to himself, look at all this money I won betting. This would make him want to bet some more, and he would get the gambling fever, which is worse than drink. Jimmie would grow up to be a gambling man, taking money from his poor mother to gamble away in the saloons. The same goes for Danny. So you see. if it weren’t for me both Jimmie and Danny would have become gamblers, bringing sorrow, heartache, and disgrace to their families.”

It is a rare occasion when a boy can dumbfound his parents so they just sit with open mouths and staring eyes. Aunt Bertha was the only one not struck dumb by Tom’s brilliant logic.

“I do declare,” she said, “if that boy was caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he would convince us he was putting a cookie back.”

Tom excused himself from the table. Frankie and I joined him on the back-porch steps, Tom looked plumb disgusted.

‘T just don’t understand what made Papa and Mamma so upset,” he said. “You would think they would be used-to parents complaining about my great brain by this time.”

“I know how you did it,” I said. “I didn’t snitch. I told Papa that it was a puzzle you showed me and used checkers instead of tin cans. Papa said it was a mathematical problem you must have learned in class at the academy.”

“He was wrong about that,” Tom said. “I learned the trick from a kid named Jerry Moran at the academy.”