Softy now had $75 in his pocket, enough for a few nights at the Crazy Eight Motel, and then some left over for some pillows.
As he walked back to the hotel he met a man who was obviously destitute. The man gave Dusty some sad story about he finally had a job he could do, but he needed some “bus money” to get to work. Dusty asked him why the authorities didn’t help him and the man said that he did ask a cop who said that he’d only get a ride if he through a brick through a store window, and that the ride wouldn’t be to any gainful employment.
To make a long story short, Softy wasn’t just called Softy because of the pillows that he sold. He also gave money to anyone with a sad story.
He gave the man enough for bus fare. Then the man said that his wife and kids had the same job and needed bus fare as well. Dusty gave the man another $5. And then the man, seeing that a sucker is born every minute, told Softy that the family hadn’t eaten yet today, and that they all had a bad blood sugar problem, and if they didn’t eat they’d have to go to the hospital and then they couldn’t work.
Nest thing that Softy knew is that he was handing over another $10 to the man, which left Softy a little short. He now had enough for only one night in the hotel.
It was getting late, so he bought a can of beans it the quick shop and went to his room in the motel.
Back at the motel he heated up the beans by putting them in the tub filled with warm water. By the time the evening news was over they were tolerable.
Soon Dusty dozed off and didn’t awaken until the next morning. Not having enough for any breakfast, he went to the pillow warehouse to get some pillows for Eliza. Then he headed back to her house and knocked on the door.
“Hello Eliza. How are you today? I have your pillows.”
“Oh, I decided that I only want one pillow. How much would that be.”
“Eliza, I told you that you and yours will have a tremendous fight with only one pillow. And your mother-in-law will think you are absolutely nutty if she doesn’t get the chance to lay her head on one of my pillows.”
Hearing Softy’s confident voice was enough to put Eliza back into the pyramid scheme. She cheerfully accepted the pillows and paid Softy some more money, telling him to come back tomorrow for the rest after she had let her mother-in-law try it out.
