PEG BOY (19 page)

When finished,
Gabriel filled the glasses again and they went up on deck for fresh air. The
wind had cleared the fog and they could easily see the lights of a village on
the other side of the bay. And on the wind they heard the sound of screams and
gunfire that punctuated the night, evidence of the violence that was so
prevalent.

“Why do people
hate each other so, here?”

Santiago had
asked it less as a question than as a statement of his feelings.

“All seem
forever looking for reason to take affront. Never have I seen such hate in
people’s eyes! Why do the people fight so with each other?”

“Santiago, I
have been in many places and too many countries. None have had the intensity
found in San Francisco. It is the gold that turns people into creatures more
base than animals. People do things here that they would never have done in
their own towns.

“At every turn
there is someone waiting to deprive you of your possessions or to give you less
value than what things are worth. Yet prices being charged for basic staples
are so outrageous that when one writes to friends at home, they believe it is
all exaggeration. The answer to your question is greed.”

Standing at
the rail they observed a lonely figure staggering along a dark lane some
distance away. Behind the figure several shadows followed. Each time the man
stopped, the shadows stood still. The man seemed unaware. He came close to the
wharf’s edge and for a moment it seemed he would escape the trouble that
followed him by falling into the bay. But before he fell he was grabbed from
behind and his cry was cut short by a blow to the head. The men went through
his pockets then rolled him into a sack and carried him off, disappearing into
the shadows.

“Another
unsuspecting citizen who has joined the ranks of the maritime profession
without consent! He will rue the night he got drunk and lost his way, and his
wife will spend many nights in tears until his return, if he ever returns!”

“Why do they
do it?”

“Each vessel
loses most of its crew to the placers. Captains still must conduct their
business and they often stand to lose a great deal of money if they can not
return with a cargo they have consigned to transport. Those of healthy
constitution often can not defend themselves when drunk and are open prey. The
thugs can easily earn a thousand dollars in one night if they capture and
shanghai enough defenseless souls. I used their service when I was last in
port. Although I disliked doing it, it was impossible to find anyone willing to
sign on as crew for the return voyage. I would have lost all I had invested.
Luckily a few of my crew remained loyal and we were able to sail the ship without
mishap, allowing the lesser functions to the unwilling who had had no say in
their employ.”

Santiago
shivered at the thought of that kind of destiny. He considered himself well-off
for he might now be in the belly of a ship, captive and destined for use by
rough seamen. He looked at the stars as they shone through swiftly-moving
clouds and he wondered if his father was looking down at him, seeing what he
had done and what he was doing? Santiago pushed the thought from his head as
Gabriel poured more brandy and he drank it willingly, feeling the heat in his
throat and the warmth spreading throughout his body.

What would his
destiny be? He had traveled a long journey from the time of a small boy living
in a hillside village of his native Peru, to the boy-man who now faced the
world alone. It seemed years away..., those times spent in Fidel’s arms, the
nights by his mother’s side as he listened to her gentle voice lull him to
sleep, the long walks along the mountain paths with his father, the walks alone
to collect the herds and wild flowers his mother loved so..., years away,
separated by memories of quiet nights alone, watching stars shoot across the
sky in the comfort and peace of his family’s love. Was he ever that boy?

Gabriel had
been talking. “Come, let us go inside. You are shivering and will catch cold
from the night air. I have a small brazier that will keep us warm. Are you
hungry?”

Santiago had
grown hungry since Wexler’s meal.

“Yes..., very!
Will you feed me?

“With
pleasure! There are cooked potatoes and jerky that we can wash down with beer.
I hope you have a strong stomach!”

A
s
promised, Gabriel took Santiago for breakfast the following morning. Lingering
over the meal Santiago felt again that he was losing someone who, even for a
short while, had gotten close to him and treated him with kindness. But the
Captain had things to do. Santiago wondered if all boys of the street had
similar feelings about the people with whom they sold time, when it came to
parting? Santiago did not look back, knowing Gabriel’s eyes were on him as he
walked away.

He had ten
dollars in his pocket and a well-worn, warm coat that did not compare with the
fleece-lined one given by his father that had been stolen. Santiago went in the
direction of Vincent’s rooming house. The early morning sun had begun to burn
off the still-heavy fog. As he approached the building the sun’s glare
reflected off its windows and nearly obscured the face that moved away from one
of them. Santiago was sure it had been Vincent’s. The hallways were deserted.
He heard no sounds as he climbed the stairs and found two men blocking his way
at the top. They moved in unison and each took one of Santiago’s arms , lifting
him and carrying him down the hallway.

“Someone wants
to see you!”

His heart
pounded, not knowing what he had gotten himself into. The men looked fierce and
neither let him go, applying more pressure than was necessary.

“Who are you?
Why do you do this? I am here to see someone,” he said, struggling to get away.

One of the men
turned and threatened him with a fist.

“You can with
us without trouble, or you can come unconscious. Which is it?”

Santiago made
no further effort to resist and allowed himself to be escorted to Portsmouth
Square. They entered the Eldorado Hotel and walked directly through the lobby
to the rear of the building where they knocked on a door three times. A gruff
voice yelled at them to enter. Santiago was shocked to see Vincent seated on he
floor, leaning against McIntyre’s leg.

“Well,
well..., look at what we have here! It seems you’ve encountered some
difficulties my boy. Perhaps there is something I can do to help? Your friend
here...,” McIntyre touched Vincent’s shoulder. “... tells me you might be
needing some assistance.”

Santiago
looked at Vincent, who avoided looking back, having seen the utter
disappointment on Santiago’s face when he first entered. There had been no need
of words He had felt ashamed but only until he thought of the way
he
had
been treated when he had first arrived. Wasn’t all this part of paying your
dues? It was good for Santiago to have gone through these bad times for him to
learn that it was necessary to have protection as long as he remained in
business.

‘Come here,
boy!”

McIntyre
called Santiago as though he were commanding a dog.

“You go to
hell!” Santiago spit the words and turned to leave. He felt a hard blow to the
back of his head and went down. Hands grabbed at him and pulled him back in the
room.

“When you are
unreasonable, it makes it difficult to use reasonable means in trying to
convince you that it would be much better for you to work for me than be alone
and without protection.”

McIntyre stood
in front of him with his face only inches away so that his fouled breath made
Santiago feel nauseous. McIntyre stepped back and sat down.

“Santiago, why
don’t you use good sense and give my proposition consideration? You know you
have no one here that you can turn to. You are wanted by the authorities!”

Santiago was
stunned that somehow McIntyre had found out his secret. He felt frightened and
vulnerable and his face showed his concern.

“Yes, I know all
about your problems. You see word travels fast in some circles! But have no
fear you are safe with me, unless you insist on pursuing this independent
attitude. What will you do? You have no money!”

Santiago heard
this last statement as an admission of theft.

“If I need
money I know how to get it, and I don’t need your help to find men who will pay
to suck me off. What makes
you
so important?”

McIntyre
leaned back in his chair and laughed, slapping his belly and the head of the
boy sitting beside him.

“I’ll say this
for you, you little bastard..., you’ve got balls! I don’t usually let anyone
talk to me that way, but this one time I'm going to make an exception because I
admire your boldness. You could be an asset to my operation, assuming you can
control yourself and understand who’se boss! Now listen to me...”

McIntyre stood
and came face to face with Santiago, grabbing his shirt collar and twisting it
so that he raised him to the tips of his toes.

“There isn’t anywhere
in this town where you could sell your ass without my approval. Some have tried
and found themselves shanghaied and attacked by The Hounds so that their pretty
faces have become a thing of the past. Nobody wants to go to bed with a freak!
Those men are such an unruly bunch that they are almost impossible to control
once they have been aroused. Some of the Hound boys have been fucked until they
couldn’t stand and then were shipped off to Hong Kong, Singapore, and even
China. I'm told that a boy usually doesn’t last much more than a year in those
places, and then gets thrown into the streets. Is that what you want to become,
Santiago?”

“No. I can go
back to my own country.”

“No, you can’t
go back anywhere because no one will take you back without money, and you
haven’t got any, assuming the authorities would let you leave given what you’ve
done, once I informed them”

McIntyre
smiled and sat down again. “If you had intentions of going back, you’d have
done it already. You don’t want to go back and you know it. You want to do
exactly what you did last night. Yes, I know who picked you up and I could have
had both of you attacked at any point. Look what you earned from him! Come...,
empty your pockets and show us what you earned..., show me!”

Santiago took
out his ten dollar piece. McIntire held it up for scrutiny, laughing as he
flipped it in his hand.

“So you have
become rich! Do you know what this will buy you? You would need three times as
much to get a decent room, twice as much for food. This is nothing to what you
could get is you worked for me, and there would always be plenty of this
anytime you needed more.”

McIntire
snapped his fingers. Vincent brought and lit a water-pipe. An acrid scent filled
the room and Santiago recalled it as being the same one he had smelled the
night he had been attacked, when Vincent had provided the drugs. 

“Why be
stubborn, my boy? Join our little family and know that no one will bother you
on or off the streets as long as you are one of McIntire’s boys. Any time you
need help, all you have to do is ask and I will be there to make sure no none
abuses you. I make it a point to always rescue my boys in trouble.”

Santiago
noticed Vincent, standing behind McIntire, urging him to be cooperative. He
knew what McIntire was saying was true and that he would have trouble if he
remained in San Francisco on his own. If he did join McIntire, he would be
given protection, but at the cost of what? The nature of his business would not
be changed, only the quality of life, or so he was being told. Why not join
McIntire? Vincent wore good clothes, had spending money in his pockets and his
own room. But all at the cost of having to turn on a friend!

“How do you
expect me to trust you after you did what you did? I know it was you....”
Santiago looked at Vincent. “He set me up and your men beat me and stole my
things!”

“You are an
angry boy, Santiago and well you should be! But you seem to think that I had
something to do with all that. Sometimes there are little problems like the one
you had that I can not control as quickly as I would like. I had nothing to do
with that episode. I heard you had been beaten and was sorry for you. I hoped
they had not damaged your face, and I can see they did not. You are still a
beautiful boy and one that could command a high price. Let me tell you that I
found out who the men were that hurt you. They have been punished. To show you
I mean well, let me return something that I planned to give you the next time
we met.”

McIntire
snapped his fingers.

“Get me the
coat!”

Don Emelio’s
fleece-lined coat was brought out.

“Here, take
it. I hope it is not damaged. As for the gold, well we were not able to get to
the culprits soon enough to prevent them from losing it all at the faro tables.
I'm afraid your money has all been lost. But I will allow you to replenish some
of your losses by working for me and I will set aside a certain amount from
each transaction for when you become too old to sell what is so valuable at
this time.”

McIntyre
looked at Santiago’s crotch as he said it.

“Vincent tells
me you are substantially endowed and that you told him you make both men and
women happy with what you have between your legs. Come.., show us what is there
that seems to be making such a bulge!”

Already
Santiago had become hard at the thought of sex and he could not control the
swelling in his pants.

“See there...,
see how it grows,” McIntyre admired the boy’s response. “Out with it, boy, I
want to see what I am going to be protecting. Show your cock…, you are among
friends!”

Santiago
untied the string to his pants and let them fall. He felt his penis surge
forward and upward as it stood out proudly, moving of its own accord as it
pulsed.

“Jesus
Christ..., I had no idea!”

McIntyre’s
mouth was open in awe as he looked at Vincent and nodded approvingly.

“You’ll get a
bonus for this one, my lad,” he said to Vincent.

McIntyre
ordered the others to leave.

“Vincent and
Santiago will remain.”

The room
emptied. The boys stood looking at each other from across the room. Santiago
was still semi-erect and thinking of the two times that he and the pretty boy
he was staring at had made love. His erection came full size and McIntyre
clapped his hands, happy with the response. He stood before Santiago and his
hand went to the boy’s penis and cradled it in his palm, feeling its weight. It
was a remarkable appendage, one that would make him money. He was already
selecting those who would be willing to pay the high price for such a find,
from his list of clients.

“Come
Santiago, you passed the test. You are now one of McIntyre’s boys.”

Santiago
looked confused, surprised that he had not been forced to have sex with the
man.

“You mean I do
not have to do anything with you?”

 “Not here! McIntyre
never does things like that when there are other people around.” Vincent nodded
and winked.

McIntyre stood
by the door, inviting the boys to leave.

“You agree to
join me?’

“I am yours, Señor.”

McIntyre
nodded his approval of Santiago’s decision. He gave Santiago a small leather
pouch as he passed.

“Be ready to
meet me back here at eight, tonight” He looked at Vincent and pointed a finger.
“He’s in your care. I want him cleaned and outfitted with new clothes. We’re
going to Belle’s tonight. You’ll be coming too. I want to show off my two prize
boys!”

McIntyre
laughed as he slammed the door, leaving the two boys alone in the hallway.
Santiago tossed the pouch in his hand and it jingled. Opening it, five silver
pieces fell out, each with the value of five dollars.

“Vincent,
look, what will I need this for?”

Vincent threw
an arm around Santiago’s shoulders, happy that he seemed less angry than
before. The boy’s face was still slightly swollen and they would have to work
on that before the evening festivities.

“As part of an
initiation right, you will be expected to get fucked by ten men, tonight. That
money if your pay.”

Vincent
watched Santiago’s face fill with anger and he was close to exploding as he
threw the pouch to the floor.

“Ten men for
that? To hell with him! I am
not
going to take on ten men for any price!
Does he think I am a machine?”

Vincent fell
to the floor, doubled over in laughter hardly able to speak as he retrieved the
coins.

“Santiago, I
was joking.” he said, regaining his composure. “You will do nothing like that
tonight. This money is for your new clothes and other things you will need. We
are going to be room-mates for a while. I’m supposed to take you to the tailor.
You’ll have your things by tonight, but we’ll need to hurry. McIntyre is taking
us out on the town..., he wants to show us off. I suppose he wants to advertise
you as his new acquisition. We will be going to a very outrageous dancehall
where there is gambling and certain shows that are performed in the back room that
will make your hair stand on end.”

“What do you
mean? What kind of shows?”

“Never
mind..., you’ll see! Come, there is little time to waste and much to do.”

Santiago was
confused and wondered why McIntyre was being so kind to him. Could it be that
he was not involved in the beating? How could it be that this man whose seemed
so amiable, have so many who distrusted and disliked him, as he had seen the
fear in the eyes of those who had had dealings with him. Could Santiago really
trust Vincent and the man who offered help? It was hard to resist.

“Why is he
doing all this?”

Vincent
laughed at Santiago’s innocence. “There will be many people at Belle’s
Nugget..., some men, some women. McIntyre has only one purpose. You will be
there to show off as much of yourself as possible and be seen by many who use
his services. He clothes and feeds you, and sometimes keeps you in silk for
only one purpose. You are groomed only to be sold. Come, let us be off.”