Mickey climbed into the seat beside JW, and Patty got into the seat behind them. Patty seemed nice enough and was full of stories.
“Red said I can go down again tonight. That way I’ll be ready when I start on Wednesday.”
“Did you see any ghosts yet?” JW asked. “Any rats attack you?”
“Whaddaya mean?” Patty asked, his eyes wide with fear.
“You should know. It was you who told me to watch out for the ghosts and rats. Remember the day I was here with my father?”
“Gee, I was only trying to scare you,” Patty said.
“They only come visit you on your first night alone. The ghosts, I mean. The rats are there all the time. But you’re lucky, you’ve been around for a long time, so you won’t be afraid when something crawls up through the tracks and grabs you by your leg. Nope, you won’t be afraid.” JW saw that Patty looked pretty much the way he had felt when the breaker boys had ridiculed him. He didn’t like how he’d felt that day, being teased, so JW said, “Just kidding about the ghosts.”
“Yeah, I knew you was just pulling my leg, right? Right, Mickey, JW was just pulling my leg?”
“Sure he was. There ain’t no ghosts down there, at least none I seen, but there are lots and lots of rats. Some big enough to carry off your lunch box,” Mickey said.
“I don’t mind the rats. If they bother me, I can just whack ’em with my shovel,” Patty said.
The rake started on its way and a low squeal came out of Patty’s mouth. It was not as loud as on his first night, but still too loud. He coughed quickly to cover up the sound, but some of the men heard it and a few chuckles rang out.