Invisible man: читать книгу онлайн полностью и бесплатно

"Why don't we march!" I yelled out to the sidewalk before I had time to think.

They took it up immediately.

"Let's march ..."

"It's a good idea."

"Let's have a demonstration ..."

"Let's parade!"

I heard the siren and saw the scout cars swing into the block in the same instant. It was the police! I looked into the crowd, trying to focus upon their faces, hearing someone yell, "Here come the cops," and others answering, "Let 'em come!"

Where is all this leading? I thought, seeing a white man run inside the building as the policemen dashed from their cars and came running up.

"What's going on here?" a gold-shield officer called up the steps.

It had become silent. No one answered.

"I said, what's going on here," he repeated. "You," he called, pointing straight at me.

"We've ... we've been clearing the sidewalk of a lot of junk," I called, tense inside.

"What's that?" he said.

"It's a clean-up campaign," I called, wanting to laugh. "These old folks had all their stuff cluttering up the sidewalk and we cleared the street ..."

"You mean you're interfering with an eviction," he called, starting through the crowd.

"He ain't doing nothing," a woman called from behind me.

I looked around, the steps behind were filled with those who had been inside.

"We're all together," someone called, as the crowd closed in.

"Clear the streets," the officer ordered.

"That's what we were doing," someone called from back in the crowd.

"Mahoney!" he bellowed to another policeman, "send in a riot call!"

"What riot?" one of the white men called to him. "There's no riot."

"If I say there's a riot, there's a riot," the officer said. "And what are you white people doing up here in Harlem?"

"We're citizens. We go anywhere we like."

"Listen! Here come some more cops!" someone called.

"Let them come!"

"Let the Commissioner come!"

It became too much for me. The whole thing had gotten out of hand. What had I said to bring on all this? I edged to the back of the crowd on the steps and backed into the hallway. Where would I go? I hurried up to the old couple's apartment. But I can't hide here, I thought, heading back for the stairs.

"No. You can't go that way," a voice said.

I whirled. It was a white girl standing in the door.