The Dumb Waiter

The Dumb Waiter
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The Dumb Waiter The Story:
Ben and Gus were in a basement room with two beds and a closed serving hatch between the beds. Ben read aloud two different stories from the newspaper. Gus complained about the room’s not having a window, about coming in the dark to a strangeplace, sleeping all day, doing the job, and going away again in the dark. Ben said that Gus needed hobbies, like his own woodwork. Gus wanted Ben to tell him why Ben had stopped the car in the middle of the road, when it was still dark, that morning. Ben said that he thought Gus was asleep, that he was not waiting for anything, and that they were too early. When Gus objected that they had done as theywere told, Ben replied that he, not Gus, took the call. Ben repeated that they were too early, but refused to say more. Gus wanted to know what town they were in (Ben said Birmingham) and, since it was Friday, wanted to go to watch the football team the next day (Ben said there was no time). Gus reminisced about the Birmingham Villa team losing a game in a disputed penalty to the White Shirts. Gusremembered that the other team was from Tottenham, so that the game had to have been in Birmingham. Ben said he was not there, yet he disagreed emphatically about the penalty, but denied that the game was in Birmingham. An envelope slid under the door. Gus saw it, unsealed it, and found twelve matches but no writing. When Ben told him to “light the kettle,” Gus responded that Ben meant “light thegas” and “put on the kettle.” Ben refused to back down. When Gus persisted, Ben asserted that he was the senior partner and then lost his temper, grabbing Gus by the throat. Gus tried to make tea, but there was a meter on the stove, and neither of them had any money. Gus lamented that Wilson did not do well by them, such as leave enough gas available for a cup of tea. He had questions for Wilson,but found Wilson difficult to talk to. Gus wanted to know if anyone cleaned up after they were gone, and who that would be if so. Another question occurred to him: How many jobs had the two of them done? What if no one had ever cleaned up? Ben pointed out that their employer had departments for everything. The noise of the dumbwaiter descending made them grab their revolvers. Gus opened thedumbwaiter and removed a piece of paper that read, “Two braised steak and chips. Two sago puddings. Two teas without sugar.” Ben said the place was probably under new management. Gus wanted to know who had it now. A second piece of paper read, “Soup of the day. Liver and onions. Jam tart.” Ben looked in the serving hatch but not up it. When Gus put his finger to his mouth and looked up it, Ben wasalarmed. The meager contents of Gus’s bag were brought out and put on a plate, but the dumbwaiter had already gone up. Gus questioned how could a gas stove with three rings service a busy place? What happened when no one was there? Had those menus been coming down and going up for years? The third piece of paper read, “Macaroni Pastitsio. Ormitha Macarounada.” Gus put the plate in the box and calledthe contents up the hatch. Ben corrected Gus for shouting. Gus wanted to know if there was another kitchen, other gas stoves. Why, he wondered, did Wilson not get in touch? Did Ben not believe that the two of them were reliable? (Ben said nothing.) The box came down. The fourth note read, “One Bamboo Shoots, Water Chestnuts, and Chicken. One Char Siu and beansprouts.” The Dumb Waiter 1

Theirpacket of tea had been sent back. A speaking tube was suddenly discovered, which Gus did not understand why he had not seen before. Gus followed Ben’s directions—blowing into it, then speaking—but he could not hear anything. Ben took the tube and listened and talked into it. The voice on the other end, Ben told Gus, said everything they had sent up was defective. Ben gave Gus his instructions, but...