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“Lost something?”

“Lonigan!” the fellow said with a curious lisp, as he looked up.

Studs laughed at Barney Keefe, who faced him, wearing pajamas and a bathrobe.

“The sonsofabitches!” Barney said.

“You drunk?” asked Studs, perceiving that Barney did not have his false teeth.

“No!” snapped Barney.

“Well, what the hell’s this?”

“I’m sick!”

“You look worse. What the hell you doing out here in that outfit?”

“Oh, Doyle and them bastards came around, and I was sick, and they said come on, they’d take me for a little ride, because Doyle has his old lady’s car, and they promised to give me a drink of some bonded stuff. And the wise bastards left me here and threw my false teeth some place around here. But there’s nothing funny about it,” Barney said, because Studs had to laugh.

Studs found the false teeth. Barney cursed all the way back to the park exit. He hailed a cab, and gave Keefe the fare.

He walked back, because Barney had said that the boys always met by the stone bridge in the park. He knew they’d be back. He found them seated on a bench. They all laughed when he told them how he’d met Barney.

“The jiggs drove us over here,” said Tommy.

“How’s everything been going?” Studs asked.

“Oh, so-so. You heard about my cousin, Les?” asked Tommy.

“Why, no, what happened?”

“He’s in a sanitarium.”

“How come?” asked Studs, surprised.

“Oh, drink. His heart is on the kibosh from that bum gin he’d been guzzling,” said Tommy.

“Jesus, I’m sorry to hear it. Is it serious?”

“It almost was, but I guess he’ll be all right.”

“Les ain’t drank his last yet, thank God,” interjected Joe Moonan, the dick.

“But Shrimp is in a bad way,” said Tommy.

“Yeah? Where’s he at?”

“He was dishonorably discharged from the Navy and he’s down in Fort Wayne. That’s where he comes from, you know. Yeah, he’s dying by inches,” said Tommy.

“It’s too bad. What’s up with him?”

“Con. I guess he got it from too much carousing around.”

“Jesus, first Paulie, and then Shrimp.”

“How you feelin’, Studs?”

“Pretty good,” said Studs, wishing he wasn’t worried about his health.

“You’re looking good,” Tommy said, although it was too dark to see how Studs was looking.

“Slug been around much?” asked Studs.

“Sure. He’s always around. He’ll be here tonight.”

“I’d like to see him.”

“You heard about Hink, didn’t you?”

“No?”

“They put him in the nut house.”

“Jesus, I’m sorry to hear that. Christ, that’s too bad. He was kind of queer, though. I remember seeing him several times when he didn’t act like he was all there. But say, Joe, how are you these days?” Studs said.

“Oh, I’m all right. Since Thompson got elected again, I feel better, because that goddamn Dever wanted the force to be honest,” Joe said.

“He made the boys work for their dough,” kidded Tommy.

“Wait till your brother Jim gets on the force, Tommy. He’ll work. They’ll make a flatfoot out of him goddamn quick.”

“When you getting a jane, Lonigan?” asked Moonan.

“Hell with that crap.” Studs said.

“Come to think of it, Studs, you never ran around much with girls,” Tommy said.

“Jim’s getting up in the world, huh?” said Studs.

“Yeah. He’ll be on the force in a month,” Tommy said.

“Seen any of the other boys?”

“Red. He’s still around. He’s out with his jane tonight. He’s been going around with her more than he used to. I think he’s already put the ring on her finger since he’s got to be a bailiff in Dinny Gorman’s Court,” Tommy said.

“That stuff’s crap,” Studs said.

Tommy said also that Davey Cohen had just come out of the county hospital and he looked bad; lungs.

Slug came around. He and Studs greeted each other.

“Say, listen boys, it’s getting late, and this ain’t no place to be hangin’ around all night. What you say we go to Cooley’s saloon, huh?”

“Sounds like an idea,” said Tommy.

“Gee, things are changed,” Studs said, getting into the cab.

“Yeah, the old neighborhood is shot.”

“The boys are all getting separated.”

“You know, I was thinking, it might be a good idea to get all the boys together, and have a blowout