The Sacrificial Circumcision of the Bronx by Arthur Nersesian Page B

Paul asked if he could secure a short loan for his business, Robert said that with his own mounting expenses, he simply couldn’t afford it. Paul had already asked Edna and she, too, had claimed that her money was tied up and that she couldn’t help him. The Depression was taking a toll on everyone.
    Meanwhile, membership at Llenarch was slowing down, so Paul began working around the clock at Con Ed to try to keep up with his growing debts.

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    U li felt a strange sense of calm when he thought about Paul’s relationship with Teresa. They worked really well together. And he took an immediate liking to her two kids. When she learned that he had moved out of his place to save money and was living in his Con Ed office, she insisted he move in with her.
    One afternoon she popped in for an unannounced visit at his office and learned he hadn’t come in at all that day. Teresa had divorced her first husband for cheating on her; for this reason, she’d been discreetly checking on Paul every once in a while. Usually he was at work, but occasionally he would simply vanish. When he’d come home, he always seemed quiet, even contrite.
    She started suspecting the worst and hired a private investigator. After a month, she learned from her gumshoe that Paul had attended ribbon cuttings for five new city parks and even the Triborough Bridge. The PI further reported that Paul would always stay in the back of the crowd and remain long after everyone else had left.
    One night over dinner, she delicately confessed what she had done and apologized for it. He didn’t say a word.
    “Paul, you have to push your brother out of your head. The feeling of betrayal will eat you alive. I know cause I went through this with Mike.”
    “Envy, jealousy … that’s only a small part of it. When I see Robert and all he’s doing with his life … well, it’s the life I expected to live. His very existence is a monument of my failure.”
    Driven by Paul’s growing despair, Uli became even more intent on making his own mission a success and finding some way out. As he moved in the direction where he had last seen the murderous miner, piles of stones started appearing in wooden boxes, which turned out to be desk drawers. They covered the ground, though there was not a soul in sight. He kept walking until he eventually came to a corner doorway that opened to a long, narrow corridor.
    Inside the passageway, a massive hole had been cut right into the cement wall and the hard stone behind it. A stale aroma of concrete dust and decay vented out. The hole forked off into three different directions; with his flashlight he could see that two of them were dead ends. Following the third channel and passing by several dark caves, he could hear faint snoring and movement. Peering into one of the caves, he realized he was in the presence of sleeping bodies—this was some kind of dank, narrow bunk room. Uli tiptoed away, fearful of waking them.
    He eventually counted six tunnels that went varying distances into the earth. The opening of one foul-smelling cave in a particularly remote section of the tunnel system was covered by old sacks hanging from the low ceiling. Pushing through and flicking on his flashlight, Uli could make out dozens of shriveled feet; bodies were piled sideways like cords of wood.
    As he ventured forward, he heard more moans and a constant shuffling of feet. The tunnel pitched downhill at a sharp angle for about a hundred feet, then opened into a larger area that seemed to be another supply depot. In fact, it turned out to be a treasure trove of stock. Stacks and stacks of wooden boxes, presumably food, and green metal barrels marked FRESH WATER were piled to the ceiling.
    To Uli’s horror, he discovered that what he had been hearing was a chain gang, a paddle wheel of filthy men and women—not particularly old, all nearly naked—shackled together at their wrists and ankles. Their lower quarters were spattered in dirt and excrement. They