Jul 9, 2022 4:32 pm
The Tough Guy
You live in Providence, Rhode Island, in Ma Shanks’ Boarding House. You know everyone in the house (see notes below) but don’t care a lick about them. It’s every man and woman for themselves, with only your family to depend on in the hard times of the Depression.
You have been depending on your family a lot lately.
Neither you nor your brother Petras have had work for months now. Petras spends all of his time mooching free drinks from your oldest brother, Konstantinas, in the illegal speakeasy he works at. You spend your time with your sisters, Anikke and Dovana, when they aren’t
working in the laundry business, talking about movie stars, radio programs, and all things American. You’ve even taken to Americanizing your Lithuanian name, even though Konstaintinas does not approve.
You need to do something to bring some money in for your family. That odd bird on the third floor (you think his name is Gardiner) might be the answer. If you can work around that pesky Landlady and get some of his "orchids" (slang for expensive items), that would be the cat’s whiskers! It’s either that or get a job—but a job is for people with no ambition in life. You have ambition—you just need a lucky break.
What you do know about Gardiner is that he hides in his room all of the time. He’s British or maybe a Scottish. He has no job but seems able to pay the rent and sometimes travel. You guess he must be wealthy—just like you are going to be some day.
Today, everyone seems to be talking about Gardiner. Apparently, no one has seen him for a few days and some are getting worried. So, maybe he’s on his travels again or he could even be dead in there; either way, scoping out his room makes sense. If you can get inside and find what’s valuable, you can either snaffle it away in your pocket or break in later—you just need to know what’s there that’s worth stealing.
You live in Providence, Rhode Island, in Ma Shanks’ Boarding House. You know everyone in the house (see notes below) but don’t care a lick about them. It’s every man and woman for themselves, with only your family to depend on in the hard times of the Depression.
You have been depending on your family a lot lately.
Neither you nor your brother Petras have had work for months now. Petras spends all of his time mooching free drinks from your oldest brother, Konstantinas, in the illegal speakeasy he works at. You spend your time with your sisters, Anikke and Dovana, when they aren’t
working in the laundry business, talking about movie stars, radio programs, and all things American. You’ve even taken to Americanizing your Lithuanian name, even though Konstaintinas does not approve.
You need to do something to bring some money in for your family. That odd bird on the third floor (you think his name is Gardiner) might be the answer. If you can work around that pesky Landlady and get some of his "orchids" (slang for expensive items), that would be the cat’s whiskers! It’s either that or get a job—but a job is for people with no ambition in life. You have ambition—you just need a lucky break.
What you do know about Gardiner is that he hides in his room all of the time. He’s British or maybe a Scottish. He has no job but seems able to pay the rent and sometimes travel. You guess he must be wealthy—just like you are going to be some day.
Today, everyone seems to be talking about Gardiner. Apparently, no one has seen him for a few days and some are getting worried. So, maybe he’s on his travels again or he could even be dead in there; either way, scoping out his room makes sense. If you can get inside and find what’s valuable, you can either snaffle it away in your pocket or break in later—you just need to know what’s there that’s worth stealing.
