Cry Heaven, Cry Hell. Howard Gordon

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ had scars on his face where he was cut. The Mikawbers had to pay for that, as well as Craine’s betraying his nation and fighting in the Brits’ war. He never considered that Tyndall and his family wanted freedom from Britain as much as he did. Jesse also did not like the idea of Craine not converting to the right way to approach God, where he would’ve stood before his maker with a righteous soul. Instead, he gave himself to the Christ killer Jews. He spit on the ground when this crossed his mind. Too bad that his sheenie wife made it and brought another one of their unholy mess into the world. Next time his family would take them both off of the earth. They probably were the part of England that sucked the land and money out of Ireland.

      Jesse was not silent about his rage, and Delphious helped spread his sick hate throughout the family. Their discussions at the dinner table became a forum for echoing the senseless anger that propelled them into violent thoughts. This was not enough for the dynamic duo of hatred, but they became loud and irrational at Sinn Fein meetings. The infection was spreading. After a couple months a plan was conceived. The Eastern Europeans made the Jews stay in their place. They kept them out of public office, kept them away from money, and made them pollute their own sections of towns and cities. Maybe Ireland ought to take up the cause of creating a Christian state.

      Weapons and incendiary devices were cached, manufactured on the sly, cleaned, oiled, and stocked with ammo by the Ornam’s for two months. The buildup was extended to the Sinn Fein, and a considerable supply was being hoarded for the time of reckoning. This was not between the Ornams and Mikawbers, but directed towards getting England out of Ireland, along with their Protestant stooges. No attention was paid to the idea that the family was looking for the same freedom for their native land that Sinn Fein was, as were the small number of Jews that were in Eire. Prejudice and the small mindedness that comes from escalated anger seemed to be the dominant modes of thought of the day. The escalation that followed was to have devastating consequences.

      The cache of weaponry was to begin the blast for Irish independence that lasted from 1919 to 1922 when a patchwork quilt of peace was to be knit between the two nations later to emerge as the terrorist acts of the militant Protestants, the militant Catholic followers that coined the phrase “Erin go Bragh,” as their voice of terror that spanned church attacks, attacks on innocent children and families, incarceration, hangings, and retaliation by starvation diets. Now the bloodletting would gain full expression.

      The Ornam and other Sinn Fein families began to hold practice drills in the hand to hand combat that had punctuated the trench warfare of the “War to end all wars.” Of course the Prots saw what was coming and began to hold their own drills. The first attack assumed the shape of a pogrom. The Dolemans were attacked, and the Mikawbers joined in the defense of their kinsmen. The plane was a secret weapon and had not been unleashed, but this was to happen shortly. The house was fired, and little Pat and Malkia were hidden in a locker of the basement that covered a tunnel out to the woods with a clear line to the constable’s office. Jesse was about to use his tickets to New Zealand to get out of Ireland for good, but he stayed long enough to get a final lick at his foes.

      He was a part of the raid on the Doleman house and had observed the point where the tunnel ended. He met Malkia and Pat at the exit and shot them both. Then he ran to keep his appointment with his boat, which turned out to be his appointment with destiny. For Craine went to the hidden hangar, started the plane, made sure it was loaded, and sunk the ship right after Jesse had boarded. He then flew back to the Dolemans’ and strafed the pogrom in front of their house while the defenders came out of their barricade and made short shrift of the bullies. Tyndall was able to get Malkia and Pat to the hospital. Pat was able to survive, but his mother did not make it. Not one Ornam came forth to express sorrow.

      Craine’s expression was not of sorrow. He moved the plane to a new hideout because after his next episode, he knew he’d have to leave the country. He had already gotten rid of the head of the garbage family; he just had to bide his time, but he had to make plans for Pat. At the next family meeting, he told Da and the others: “Lads, I’m demanding an eye for an eye for Malkia. I know I took Jesse out, and probably a lot of innocent people with him. You know what that makes me. If I didn’t harm another soul, I’d hang for what I did. To prevent a family feud that would tear us apart too, I have to take out the rest of them. I’d like nothing better than to stay here and throw off the British yoke, but my staying would put you in danger. I know what I’m going to do, and then I’ll be gone. My only question is: Do I leave me Patrick under your care, or do I take him with me, so he knows his Da?” There were tears in all the Mikawber eyes, especially Tyndall. As the head of the house he addressed the issue. “Me son, a bairn has to know his Da. There’s no mother to sing his praises. Ye’ll be held within our memories and our hearts, as well as the Dolemans for loving their daughter, bringing them a son, and stopping the first pogrom our village has ever experienced. May God bless you and our Patrick, and bring you back to us.” With that they all cried. The scene was repeated before the Dolemans that Shabbos. The sorrow and the tears flowed from both families that had become and would remain one.

      On Monday, Craine bundled up Pattie with resolve in his heart and tears centered in the same organ and took the plane to the Ornam’s home. They were all leaving for work. He bombed their wagon with them all in it, including the lady of the house. With them all scattered over Belfast he set his sites for Boston, Massachusetts where he could lose himself in the big Irish population.

       Chapter 5

      The years flew by swiftly. Pattie was five years old, and Craine kept in weekly contact with his family. The youngster kept in touch with his family in the old country and his Jewish family. He was kept busy with Hebrew lessons, Yiddish lessons, and Erse poetry by virtue of the efforts of his Da and Grand Da who wrote him in the Gaelic and Celtic tongues. He showed an adeptness for languages, the history of his peoples (Jewish, Irish, and the ways of the Auld Orange). He was intrigued with knowing how things were put together and how processes worked. Craine worked as a trucker and came in contact with all different types of people. With no pubs in America and with passage of the Volstead Act, Craine began to look at the art of rum running across the Canadian border. However, he found that both Italian and Irish gangs were fighting for control of this market, and the fights got pretty nasty. Boston was not the least expensive community to raise a boy, and Craine needed more income than what a truck driver could earn.

      On one of his treks by truck, he met Georgie “Bugs” Moran, while at a Canadian bar, they talked about the war between the Italians and the Irish, wars over control of alcohol, prostitution, gambling. They were making money hand over fist, despite the killings, wars, cops on the take and politicians in their pockets. He began to get familiar with names, such as Al Capone, Johnnie Torrio, Big Jim Colosemo, and, last, but not least, Dinty O’Banion. Craine liked what he heard about him. He was a Lobsterback, but he could be friends with a Jew (Hymie Weiss). He took care of the Irish in Chicago and could give the impression of working with Italians and make sure that the profits went into Irish pockets. He stole Italian south side businesses and incomes from people with whom he worked and made sure that the Irish North side saw the profits. He had a beautiful tenor voice and ran the best flower shop in Chicago, as a front. The concept of front was new to Craine. He was used to the idea that a man knew where he stood. It was news that he only had to inspire fear when he intended to act fearfully. The aspect of being polite and appearing gentle while slipping it to someone else was an American nuance that seemed to go a long way. Obviously more could be accomplished with a little honey instead of a lot of vinegar.

      Craine already knew that Dinty was involved with the trade unions in the form of combating the employers’ use of scabs and sluggers to break up attempts to start unions. Ironically he had planned to use Louisville Sluggers to hit a couple homeruns. He remembered McTavish giving some Lobsterback a black eye for mouthing a bunch of anti union garbage and chuckled on the way into Chicago; Bugsy had accompanied him on the trip to deliver a load of lumber to a yard near the site of a potential strike. A tarpaulin was put over the truck to hide the company СКАЧАТЬ