Westlake, Donald E - Novel 25

by Philip (v1. 1)

  The first thing he saw was the doorman next door, smiling at him. And beyond him the next doorman, also smiling at him. And the doorman after him, smiling, and the doorman after him, smiling, and so on, and so on, and so on, all the way down to the corner, where the new apartment house was being built.

  The second thing Philip saw was a man with a wheelbarrow, coming this way, and he was smiling.

  And the third thing he saw was a man carrying some boards, also coming this way, and he was smiling. At Philip.

  The wheelbarrow man and the board man came up the block. They stopped under the canopy and said, "Well, here we are." The wheelbarrow man said to Philip, "I understand you need some dirt/'

  Philip gulped. He nodded. He said, "Yes, sir."

  "Well, here it is," said the wheelbarrow man, nodding at his wheelbarrow.

  It was perfectly true. The wheelbarrow was full to the brim with dirt.

  Philip looked at Mister Neep, and Mister Neep said, "These gentlemen are from the construction crew down

  ft i m

  at the corner. I passed a message to them by the Doorman Message Service."

  Philip said, "But where am I going to put all that dirt?"

  "I talked to your mother," said Mister Neep, "and everything is all arranged. You just show these men the way to your apartment."

  Philip could hardly believe it was true. He showed the

  men the way to his apartment, up the elevator and along the hall. His mother opened the door and said, "Right this way." She led the wheelbarrow man and the board man through the apartment and out onto the terrace. The wheelbarrow man put down his wheelbarrow and the board man put down his boards.

  The two men took hammers and nails out of their pockets. In nothing flat they hammered the boards together into a wide shallow box. Then they dumped the dirt from the wheelbarrow into the box.

  "There you go," said the wheelbarrow man. "All the dirt you could ask for."

  "Boy," said Philip. "I sure thank you."

  "Not a bit," said the wheelbarrow man. "Down at the corner, we've got more dirt than we know what to do with."

  The wheelbarrow man and the board man left.

  Philip

  looked over the railing of the terrace, being careful to hold on, and shouted, "Hey, Mister Neep!"

  Mister Neep came out from under the canopy and looked up.

  Philip waved. "Thank you, Mister Neep!" he shouted.

  Mister Neep smiled and waved back.

  All the other doormen came out from under their canopies and smiled and waved, too. Philip waved at them and shouted, "Thank you! Thank you!"

  Then he put his new dump truck down on the new pile of dirt, and he went to work.