On the Sidewalk Bleeding

On the Sidewalk Bleeding is a short story by American author Ed McBain, also known as Evan Hunter. The story was first published in Manhunt magazine in 1956.^[1] Its protagonist, a sixteen-year-old boy named Andy, bleeds to death on the sidewalk after being stabbed below the ribs by a member of a rival gang. The story is commonly used as teaching material in elementary schools, high schools and colleges.^[2][3][4][5] According to Evan Hunter, this was one of his most anthologized stories, together with First Offence and The Last Spin.^[6]

Summary

The story takes place during the last minutes of the 16 year old protagonist Andy's life. Andy is a member of a gang called "The Royals", as shown by a purple jacket he's wearing. He left to buy a pack of cigarettes and is stabbed by a member of a rival gang, The Guardians. He is slow to realize the severity of his wound, too proud to have taken a hit for his group. However, Andy soon notices that he is slowly dying. Due to rapid loss of blood, he is too weak to clearly speak. A drunk man comes down the alley and assumes Andy is also drunk and staggers off, telling him he's lucky he won't call the police. A young boy and girl fear to help him because he is a Royal and do not want to become involved in gang wars. An elderly homeless lady digs through trash cans near by but does not hear him because of the rain splattering the trashcans. In his final moments, Andy realizes the Royals jacket cost him his life. With the last of his strength, he shrugs off the jacket and dies. A few minutes after his death, Laura–the girlfriend he was to marry–finds him and quickly runs to find a cop. The cop simply looks at the jacket and says, "A Royal huh?". Laura answers, "His name was Andy". The cop ignores Laura and says, "A Royal," and continues to write on his notepad.

References