— Chapter Five —

The Elephant Tent

H

e was an angry man with pasty skin and a red face. A shorter man — fat and bold. His summer suit was expensive, but didn’t fit him right. It seemed that he had gained weight after buying it. He ran with a waddle, and his voice was shrill for a man.

“HEY. You God-damn bastard! I know it was you, ya son-of-a-bitch! I know what room you’re in, ASSHOLE. —This isn’t over. If you think you’re going to get away with this, you have another thing coming. You’re a piece of shit!”

A woman ran up behind the man, saying, “Charles, you’re making a scene, for God’s sake.” She grabbed his arm as he pulled it away from her.

“I ought’a kill you! You SON-OF-A-BITCH.” the man yelled as the two jumped into the D19 Speedster.

Jack looked back at the man and started laughing. Then said to Felix, “Let’s get out of here.”

The D19 Speedster drove off, leaving the angry man at the hotel’s front lobby doors. They turned onto Lake Shore Drive and headed south to pick up a woman on the city’s South Side.

“What was that all about?” asked Felix.

“Oh, he’s nothing. —It was me having a little fun with a little fat cod. Forget about him. He’ll be long gone by the time we’re back,” said Jack.

They drove with the top down as the wind roared in their ears on Lake Shore. Felix yelled out. “So this woman we’re picking up —who is she?”

“Ruby Lansberry —she’s wild! She’s what the doctor ordered,” said Jack.

“Really? She’s what the doctor ordered, uh?” said Felix.

“Oh, yeah! —Sure, she has her hang-ups. But the dame is a knock-out! My private suicide blonde,” said Jack. “She keeps things lively. —You’ll love her.”

“Is that right? —Well, I can’t wait to meet her,” said Felix.

“Hey, remind me to ask her about my lighter,” said Jack.

“Lighter?” asked Jack.

“Yeah, she must have pinched my lighter from me last night — a little kleptomania, if you will. So, I always need to buy her stuff to quell her urges,” said Jack.

“Urges? This is someone you want to hang out with?” asked Jack.

“Differently! —She doesn’t mean any harm,” said Jack. “When she’s bored or wants some attention, that’s when she does crazy things. —But again, who doesn’t want attention?” he asked.

“Do you think she took your light?” asked Felix.

“Yeah —I believe so,” answered Jack. “We were at a party last night. And she asked for a light. I don’t remember getting the lighter back,” he said.

“A party —huh?” asked Felix.

Jack laughed at his response.

“Are you a football player or a playboy?” asked Felix.

“I’m both —Ol’ Boy!” said Jack, laughing more.

“You take the cake, Jack!” said Felix.

“I’m afraid so!” yelled out Jack, still laughing.

They picked Ruby up in Bronzeville. Her room was in an all-female apartment building on 36th Street. When they pulled up, she was already standing outside waiting for them.

“Well, hi-ya, fellas,” said Ruby.

“Hey, Dollface,” said Jack. “This guy, there, is my old friend Felix. You remember me talking about him?” he asked.

“Sure, I do. Howdy, Felix,” said Ruby.

“Good evening, Ruby,” said Felix.

“He’ll be our chauffeur for the evening. —Hope in!” said Jack.

“Where, in the trunk?” she asked.

“No, Silly —on your Daddy-O’s lap,” said Jack as he patted the top of his legs with both of his hands.

“Alright, but let me put on my scarf first,” said Ruby. “This car will blow the curls out of a woman’s hair.”

Ruby pulled out a silk scarf. Designed with an Art Deco pattern colored in acid green, yellow, and bright red with black line art. She tied the scarf around her head the same way a pirate would wear it. She got into the automobile and sat on Jack’s lap. Felix turned the D19 Speedster around and headed back to downtown. They drove to Navy Pier, where a sizable boat was docked, and people were welcome aboard.

As they got out of the D19 Speedster, Jack wanted to light a cigarette and asked Ruby about his lighter.

“Hey, Sugar? —Did you take my lighter last night?” asked Jack.

“No,” Ruby said.

“Oh, come on, Dollface,” said Jack. “You did, and I don’t care. —I need my lighter back.”

“I told you I don’t have your lighter,” said Ruby.

“Is that right?” asked Jack as he ripped Ruby’s purse from her hand and opened it to look inside.

“Hey, you BIG APE. Give it back!” said Ruby.

“Ah-ha! My lighter. —I knew you took the damn thing,” said Jack.

“Oh, that lighter. —I must have forgotten to give it back to you last night,” said Ruby.

“Yeah, well, don’t worry about it, Kido,” said Jack. —“Kiss me and make this all feel better,” he said.

Ruby landed a long kiss on Jack. They turned and walked toward the boat.

Many people were wearing evening attire. Others, like Felix, dressed in business duds, while some wore yachting attire. Everyone had to buy a boarding ticket. Jack paid for both Ruby and Felix’s tickets. Some of Chicago’s very own who’s who were on the boat as it left the pier and headed into Lake Michigan.

Moments after the vessel left the harbor, champagne bottles started popping. People got drinks two at a time as the cruise began. —The party at the Elephant Tent had begun.

The boat was grand enough for everyone to relax and have fun. Two jazz bands played, one outside and the other inside. Felix knew many people on the boat. Either from the yacht club to the country club, the Gentlemen’s club, or the women’s socials. He also saw some old college friends.

Some asked if his parents were on board. He said, “I haven’t seen them so far if they were. Besides, the only way my father would be here was if there was a business deal that needed his signature,” said Felix.

Later during the evening, Felix and Jack stood in line again for some more glasses of champagne. When each of them got their drinks, they turned and ran into two men who knew Jack.

“So you’re the famous ‘Cracker’ Jack Tate?” asked the taller man.

“The one and only. And you must be —?” asked Jack.

“I’m George, and this is my partner Ed,” said the taller man.

“Right, —I recognize who you are. You’re George Stanley Halas, which makes you Edward Sternaman. You two own the Decatur Staleys,” said Jack.

“You’re correct, but you can call me Dutch,” said Edward Sternaman as he held out his hand to shake both Jack and Felix’s.

“Say —that’s quite the red silk scarf you’re wearing with your tux,” Felix said to Halas.

“Hey, thanks —it’s Parisian. I thought it made the tuxedo look spiffy,” said Halas.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, fellows,” said Jack. “You’ll be seeing a lot of my backside as I run the score up on ya, come this Autumn, of course.

“HA —We’ll see. So, you and Paddy Driscoll are on the same team?” asked Halas. “How did Paddy take it? —I bet this deal is burning his biscuit by you being on HIS team?”

I wouldn’t have the foggiest,” answered Jack. — “I’ve never talked to the leather-head.”

“Well, I do, all the time,” said Halas. “His team doesn’t have enough room on his football team for two headliners. I bet ya, your cleats, he’ll want to get rid of ya for the money if the team starts tanking. You’ll end up on the selling block before the end of the season. —I can’t for the life of me understand what made O’Brien pick you up? Did he strike gold somewhere of which none of us is aware?” he asked.

“Come again?” asked Jack.

“O’Brien!” said Halas. “He can’t afford a new dress shirt, let alone an American All-Star footballer like yourself. How much did you contract for —if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Four-Gees,” said Jack.

A long whistle came out of George’s lips, “Four thousand clams! Holy-Cow! Are you dipping me? That’s more than what he’s paying Paddy.”

“Well, our price is just that,” stated Jack.

George laughed out loud, “The season is going to be interesting to watch how this plays out,” he said. “Tell me, did he make you sign an insurance contract yet?”

“Insurance contract. —Why?” asked Jack.

“Knowing O’Brien —and I do. He’ll want that insurance contract in case something happens to you,” said Halas.

“How do you mean?” asked Felix.

“Well, it’s no secret ‘Cracker’ Jack here is a wild horse off the field,” said Halas. “If you break a leg or kill yourself in an automobile accident, O’Brien will still want to make money off of you. HELL, you’ll be worth more to him dead than alive,” he said.

“Funny —he did have a life insurance contract drawn up for me,” said Jack. “O’Brien said it’s standard.”

“I have no one on my team with a policy,” said Halas. “And let me ask ya —is O’Brien the beneficiary?”

“Well, yeah. —Because O’Brien is the one who will be paying the policy,” said Jack.

George laughed, “Of course. —We’ll be seeing you out of the field, ‘Cracker’ Jack. Unless O’Brien collects on your insurance money first? —I know we can get Paddy to play for us one of these days. But you? Can you ever see yourself leaving Chicago or even coming to play with my team at Cub Park?”

“It will never happen,” said Jack.

“Yeah, I thought so? You’re going to be ‘trouble.’ I can see it from here, and the season hasn’t started,” said Halas. “We’ll all be better off with you not playing for O’Brien. The last thing we need is wild horses ruining our league name. —People already think we’re a bunch of footballers who still want to play in the college leagues. —Someone like you, Tate, would add kerosene to the flame.”

“Well, George, I’m not going anywhere,” said Jack.

“Even if someone was holding a gun to your head?” asked Halas.

“Even then,” replied Jack.

George laughed once again. “We’ll find out. — I’ve put too much time, blood, and MONEY into this new league. And, I’m not about to have a player like you come along and make headlines for all the WRONG reasons. Even if I have to end your playing career myself. —Good night there, ‘Cracker’ Jack,” said George, as he slapped him on the shoulder and walked away.

Ed said nothing, just smiled, and walked away with George.

“Looks like you have a new adversary,” said Felix to Jack.

“Oh, you’re jealous,” joked Jack to Felix.

Everyone was having a delightful time. There were two prosecuting attorneys and a sitting judge on the boat. Thus, no one would dare break up the boat party in their right mind. After all, this was Chicago. Being on a boat out on Lake Michigan kept prying eyes away from their fun. As the hours passed, some people began taking off their clothes and dancing around. Jack and Ruby were having a high old time. Later in the evening, the boat turned and docked back at Navy Pier.

As the boat was docking, Jack and Ruby started fighting. Jack was getting frisky with a pair of sisters. They were twins, and they were on the dance floor with Jack when Ruby was in the restroom. When Ruby came back, she saw Jack kissing one of them as the other was hanging on his back, laughing.

Felix had to break up their fight, with Ruby ending it by smacking Jack across the face before storming off. She ran off the dock, hailed a cab, and left them both. Felix asked Jack if he wanted to go after her, but Jack said to let her be. Soon, they hopped into the D19 Speedster, and Jack convinced Felix to go to a speakeasy in Little Italy.

Once in the basement bar of an Italian restaurant, the two stood at the long bar counter. Jack said, “This isn’t as posh as what we were at —That means this joint doesn’t have the ‘Real McCoy’ here, but their bathtub swill isn’t half bad,” he said.

As they got their martinis, a large, wide man stepped between them. He had his back to Felix as he started in on Jack by poking his meaty figure into Jack’s chest.

“You have some nerve showing up here this evening —TATE,” he said.
“Why, ‘nerve’ is my middle name, Butch,” said Jack. —“Would you like a drink?” he asked.

“NO —What I would like would be three thousand bucks!” bayed Butch.
“Won’t we all,” said Felix into Butch’s ear.

“Stay out of this, Slim!” said Butch, as he threw his elbow back into Felix.
“So, where is it? Don’t tell me, you dared to come in here without MY MONEY?” asked Butch.

“Oh, I have money —But not your money,” replied Jack.

“Wiseguy, huh?” asked Butch.

“One of the wisest,” said Jack. “But not as wise as my friend here, who graduated from Northwestern last month,” he said.

“Now, you listen to me, you ass-hole, you’re lucky you’re not dead,” threatened Bitch. “Because if we wanted you dead, we could make it happen,” he said.

“You’re not going to any such thing, Butch, and you know it,” said Jack in a cold voice.

“You think money is important to us?” asked Butch. “You’ve got another thing coming. If Capone wants you in cement shoes, there’s no getting out of them,” he said.

“Will they be wing-tip?” asked Jack with a grin. “I can only be seen in today’s fashion,” he said.

“Like I said —a wise guy,” remarked Butch. “Okay, if you don’t have my money, that means I’ll be seeing ya sooner than later. In the meantime, I’ll find out what Capon says about you. For your sake, you’d better hope he’s in a smiling mood,” said Butch. He hit Jack in the front of the shoulder with the palm of his hand, walking away.

Felix said to Jack, “My God, Man, is there anyone you haven’t piss-off in Chicago?”

“Well —I do hope I’ve got them all this evening,” laughed Jack.

“What was that about?” asked Felix.

“I owe Butch Three-Gees on some bets which didn’t go my way,” said Jack.

“So he was serious?” asked Felix. “You do owe that much money. Holy cow, three thousand dollars is a lot of lettuce. You can buy a small house for so much.”

“For the Kendell family, it might be a lot of green, but not for us Tates,” laughed Jack. “Butch is anxious because I took three Gs from them two weeks ago, and now they want it all back —on the quick. They were smarting over it because I may have rubbed it a little hard for their liking. But everything is all good, Pal of mine. —I’ll be truthful to you. I didn’t pay them because it slipped my mind. I’ll have Butch meet me at the bank on Monday afternoon, and we’ll smooth this over. —Besides, I’m one of their bigger fish. If they rough me up, it would be bad business for them as the word got out,” he said.

“Who is this —Capone?” asked Felix.

“Some racketeer from New York,” said Jack. “A gang ran him out of town, and he set up camp here. I don’t understand why anyone would want to put up with a New Yorker here in Chicago. The guy is a two-bit bum. He’s trying to make a name for himself out here. He thinks he’s so much better than us. —Can you imagine? A New York thug, thinking he can handle Chicago? I’m telling you, that baby-face criminal has another thing coming,” he said.

“Still, you need to straighten this out. Before this, east-coast apple-head, Knickerbocker wants to start something,” said Felix.

“Let him. —My old man and Bugs Moran are dear old friends,’ said Jack.
“Capone wouldn’t DARE mess with me, unless he wants a death sentence from Buggy. As I said, I’ll fix it by the end of the day on Monday. And Butch will be all smiles again.”

“I can’t imagine that gorilla ever-smiling,” said Felix.

Both men drank and socialized for a couple more rounds. They chatted with two women, and finally, Felix persuaded Jack to head back to the hotel. When they entered the lobby, Flex said goodnight as Jack went outside to have a smoke on the summer night.