FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59  
60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   >>   >|  
lip. "I wrote it, though." The policeman looked up at the teller with a wink. "He can tell a good yarn," chuckled the policeman. "Shouldn't wonder if he could write one." The teller laughed and Jimmy's eyes burned again. "It's mine," he insisted. "If it's yours," said the policeman quietly, "we can settle it fast enough. Do your folks have an account here?" "No sir." "Hmmm. That makes it tough." Brightly, Jimmy asked, "Can I open an account here?" "Why, sure you can," said the policeman. "All you have to do is to bring your parents in." "But I want the money," wailed Jimmy. "Jimmy James," explained the policeman with a slight frown to the teller, "we can't cash a check without positive identification. Do you know what positive identification means?" "Yes sir. It means that you've got to be sure that this is me." "Right! Now, those are the rules. Now, of course, you don't look like the sort of young man who would tell a lie. I'll even bet your real name is Jimmy James, Jr. But you see, we have no proof, and our boss will be awful mad at us if we break the rules and cash this check without following the rules. The rules, Jimmy James, aren't to delay nice, honest people, but to stop people from making mistakes. Mistakes such as taking a little letter out of their father's mailbox. If we cashed that check, then it couldn't be put back in father's mailbox without anybody knowing about it. And that would be real bad." "But it's mine!" "Sonny, if that's yours, all you have to do is to have your folks come in and say so. Then we'll open an account for you." "Yes sir," said Jimmy in a voice that was thick with tears of frustration close to the surface. He turned away and left. Jake was still in the outside office of the Yard when Jimmy returned. The boy was crestfallen, frustrated, unhappy, and would not have returned at all if there had been another place where he was welcome. He expected ridicule from Jake, but Jake smiled. "No luck, kid?" Jimmy just shook his head. "Checks are tough, Jimmy. Give up, now?" "No!" "No? What then?" "I can write a letter and sign it," said Jimmy, explaining how he had outfoxed the ticket seller. "Won't work with checks, Jimmy. For me now, if I was to be polite and dressed right they might cash a twenty if I showed up with my social security card, driver's license, identification card with photograph sealed in, and all that junk. But a kid hasn't
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59  
60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
policeman
 

teller

 

identification

 
account
 

positive

 
mailbox
 

returned

 

people

 

letter

 

father


office

 
crestfallen
 

frustrated

 

looked

 

unhappy

 

frustration

 

surface

 

turned

 

twenty

 
showed

dressed

 

checks

 
polite
 

social

 

sealed

 

photograph

 

license

 
security
 

driver

 
knowing

ridicule

 

smiled

 

Checks

 

outfoxed

 
ticket
 

seller

 

explaining

 
expected
 

cashed

 

insisted


quietly

 
burned
 

settle

 

Brightly

 

parents

 

wailed

 

explained

 

slight

 

taking

 

Mistakes