Cotton Comes to Harlem Read Online Free

impatiently. “The point is to keep him alive.”
    “Yeah, the syndicate’s out to kill him, poor little rat,” Grave Digger said. “I heard all about it. They were saying, ‘O’Malley may run but he can’t hide.’ O’Malley didn’t run and all the hiding he’s been doing is behind the Bible. But he isn’t dead. So what I would like to know is how all of a sudden he got important enough for a police cover when the syndicate had ten months to make the hit if they had wanted to.”
    “Well, for one thing, the people here in Harlem, responsible people, the pastors and race leaders and politicians and such, believe he’s doing a lot of good for the community. He paid off the mortgage on an old church and started this new Back-to-Africa movement —”
    “The original Back-to-Africa movment denies him,” Coffin Ed interrupted.
    “— and people have been pestering the commissioner to give him police protection because of his following. They’ve convinced the commissioner that there’ll be a race riot if any white gunmen from downtown come up here and kill him.”
    “Do you believe that, Lieutenant? Do you believe they’ve convinced the commissioner of that crap? That the syndicate’s out to kill him after ten months?”
    “Maybe it took these citizens that long to find out how usefulhe is to the community,” Anderson said.
    “That’s one thing,” Grave Digger conceded. “What are some other things?”
    “The commissioner didn’t say. He doesn’t always take me and the captain into his confidence,” the lieutenant said with slight sarcasm.
    “Only when he’s having nightmares about Digger and me shooting down all these innocent people,” Coffin Ed said.
    “
 ‘Ours not to reason why, ours but to do or die,’ 
” Anderson quoted.
    “Those days are gone forever,” Grave Digger said. “Wait until the next war and tell somebody that.”
    “Well, let’s get down to business,” Lieutenant Anderson said. “O’Malley is co-operating with us.”
    “Why shouldn’t he? It’s not costing him anything and it might save his life. O’Malley’s a rat, but he’s not a fool.”
    “I’m going to feel downright ashamed nursemaiding that excon,” Coffin Ed said.
    “Orders are orders,” Anderson said. “And maybe it’s not going to be like you think.”
    “I just don’t want anybody to tell me that crime doesn’t pay,” Grave Digger said and stood up.
    “You know the story about the prodigal son,” Anderson said.
    “Yeah, I know it. But do you know the story about the fatted calf?”
    “What about the fatted calf?”
    “When the prodigal son returned, they couldn’t find the fatted calf. They looked high and low and finally had to give up. So they went to the prodigal son to apologize, but when they saw how fat he’d gotten to be, they killed him and ate him in the place of the fatted calf.”
    “Yes, but just don’t let that happen to our prodigal son,” Anderson warned them unsmilingly.
    At that instant the telephone rang. Lieutenant Anderson picked up the receiver.
    A big happy voice said, “
Captain?
”
    “
Lieutenant.
”
    “Well, who ever you is, I just want to tell you that the earth has busted open and all hell’s got loose over here,” and he gave the address where the Back-to-Africa rally had taken place.

3
    “And then Jesus say, ‘John, the only thing worse than a two-timing woman is a two-timing man.’ ”
    “Jesus say that? Ain’t it the truth?”
    They were standing in the dim light directly in front of the huge brick front of the Abyssinian Baptist Church. The man was telling the woman about a dream he’d had the night before. In this dream he’d had a long conversation with Jesus Christ.
    He was a nondescript-looking man with black and white striped suspenders draped over a blue sport shirt and buttoned to old-fashioned wide-legged dark brown pants. He looked like the born victim of a cheating wife.
    But one could tell she was strictly a church