My old buddy chapter 2

As soon as he finished speaking, several policemen surrounded him. One policeman looked at Henry and asked, “Did you hit Jack?”

Henry said firmly, “Yes, I did! I should have killed that dog!” So the policemen took Henry downstairs.

As for Tom, after he climbed to the rooftop with the lime and the brick, his legs were shaking and his eyelids were drooping. Drunk and tired from a day on the train, he felt sleepy. He thought to himself: I’ll just lie down for a while and throw the small stone when I regain my energy. But as soon as he lay on an old mat on the ground, he fell into a deep sleep and started snoring. The commotion downstairs, Jack being hit, the police search, and the noise in the building didn’t wake him up.

When Tom woke up, it was dawn. He walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down. The grilled lamb skewer stand was gone. He went down to the third floor and knocked on Henry’s door. It was locked. A neighbor across the hall opened the door and said, “Last night, Henry hit that scoundrel Jack with a stone and was arrested by the police!”

Tom was shocked. His scalp went numb. He couldn’t remember if he had thrown the stone last night. Maybe he had and hit someone but forgotten? Yes, he must have thrown it and then fallen asleep. The police came to search, and Henry had stepped forward to protect him and got arrested. A real man should take responsibility for his actions. How could he let Henry take the blame? Tom asked for the address of the police station and decided to turn himself in immediately to save Henry.

As soon as Tom arrived at the police station, he told the on – duty policeman that he was the one who threw the stone and that Henry was innocent. The policeman snorted and said, “You two old men are quite brave and loyal, competing to take the blame. Let me tell you, Jack didn’t die. Only his arm was broken. But you’ve broken the law and will face a public – order penalty. Humph!”