late one night

the swede got off work at the factory and came home and found his mail order bride dead drunk on the floor. an old wallet was on the table and the swede thought it belonged to the polack. he went out and went down to the beer hall. the irishman said the polack had not been around all that night. the swede went over to ikey rosen’s pawn shop and bought a knife with five blades. next he went over to the laundry but the chinaman had not seen the polack either. the chinaman told the swede to go home and sleep it off. later the chinaman told the oft told tale to sheriff joe black. look very bad, the chinaman said. the swede will be all right the sheriff told him, it’s not like he’s some hotheaded dago who is going to get all excited and go loco. the sheriff went outside and looked down the street. colonel porter’s filipino houseboy snd a couple of negroes were shooting craps in front of miss wilson’s dress shop which was closed for the night. a cloud passed over the moon. the sheriff almost stepped on a black cat and it ran away, spitting fire and rain