want to go on a trip around the world?"
"With him? With that fat, old fool?" The note in her voice was vicious. "I don't even want to go to Wentworth with him."
"But he loves you. Did you marry him only for what you could steal from him?"
"Oh, shut up! How long will it take you to open the safe?"
"I don't know. Maybe I won't be able to open it. Those safes are tough. Without the combination, it's practically impossible open them."
"You'd better open this one, Carson!"
I was talking to gain time. She had me over a barrel. There wasn't a Lawrence safe made that I couldn't open. But I hated the thought of Jenson losing his money. I hated the thought, too, that for the rest of his days he would believe I had taken it. He was my friend. He was the only friend I had. I couldn't do that to him after what he had done for me, but unless I did I would go back to Farnworth and that was something I just couldn't face. I had to think of a way to get out of this: there had to be a way.
With my mind still busy, I asked, "Where's the safe?"
"In the sitting-room in the bungalow."
"How do you expect me to open it without him hearing me?"
"He's going to a Legion meeting on Saturday. That's when you'll do it."
I flicked the butt of my cigarette out into the hot night. As I lit another, I said, "And what are you supposed to be doing while I'm busting open the safe—watching me?"
"It's my night shift. I'll be in the kitchen, baking pies. I'll be so busy I won't hear you leave. I won't even know you have gone until he gets back."
Then I saw how I could fix her. It was easy. There was nothing to it, except I would be on the run again and I would be out of a good job, but at least I wouldn't have let Jenson down, and that was something pretty important to me.
"What time does he leave and what time will he be back?"
"He leaves at seven and gets back around two o'clock."
All right, you bitch, I said to myself, now I've got it fixed. You are in for a surprise. Okay, I'll open the safe. Then when you walk in to collect, you'll walk into a clip on the jaw. I'll take money. By the time you've come to, I'll be halfway over the mountain. I'll take care you can't use the telephone and I'll make sure you can't raise the alarm until he gets back and finds you. Then when I'm far away, I'll write to him and tell him the whole story and I'll send him back his money: every cent of it. If I do that, he'll believe me. He'll have to believe me if I do that and he'll know what a treacherous bitch he's married to.
Just to kid her along, I said, "I hate doing a thing like this him. He's been pretty good to me."
"Never mind the sob talk," she said impatiently. "Are you going to open the safe or are you going back to Farnworth?"
"Well ..." I paused, then went on, "I'm not going back to Farnworth."
"Then Saturday?"
I pretended to hesitate then shrugging my shoulders, I said, "I guess so. Okay, I'll do it."
She got to her feet and flicked her cigarette away into the darkness.
"Don't imagine I'm bluffing, Mr. Chet Carson. If you don't open that safe, you re going back to Farnworth."
"You don't have to drive it into the ground," I said, looking up at her. "I said I'd d do it, didn't I ?"
"You'd better do it!" she said, and walked down the steps across the moonlit sand towards the bungalow.
I watched her go.
Well, the cards were face up on the table. It depended now on who outsmarted who.
I was pretty confident I had the four aces against her four kings.
II
On the following morning, while I was clearing up after the lunch-hour and when Jenson was minding the pumps, I said to Lola, "Get me the number of the safe. I've got to have it before I can handle it."
She looked sideways at me out of her hard green eyes. "I'll get it."
Later in the day, when Jenson was out of the way, she gave me a slip of paper.
The safe number told me Jenson had been sold an obsolete model which was now off the market. It hadn't been a success because when the safe door
"With him? With that fat, old fool?" The note in her voice was vicious. "I don't even want to go to Wentworth with him."
"But he loves you. Did you marry him only for what you could steal from him?"
"Oh, shut up! How long will it take you to open the safe?"
"I don't know. Maybe I won't be able to open it. Those safes are tough. Without the combination, it's practically impossible open them."
"You'd better open this one, Carson!"
I was talking to gain time. She had me over a barrel. There wasn't a Lawrence safe made that I couldn't open. But I hated the thought of Jenson losing his money. I hated the thought, too, that for the rest of his days he would believe I had taken it. He was my friend. He was the only friend I had. I couldn't do that to him after what he had done for me, but unless I did I would go back to Farnworth and that was something I just couldn't face. I had to think of a way to get out of this: there had to be a way.
With my mind still busy, I asked, "Where's the safe?"
"In the sitting-room in the bungalow."
"How do you expect me to open it without him hearing me?"
"He's going to a Legion meeting on Saturday. That's when you'll do it."
I flicked the butt of my cigarette out into the hot night. As I lit another, I said, "And what are you supposed to be doing while I'm busting open the safe—watching me?"
"It's my night shift. I'll be in the kitchen, baking pies. I'll be so busy I won't hear you leave. I won't even know you have gone until he gets back."
Then I saw how I could fix her. It was easy. There was nothing to it, except I would be on the run again and I would be out of a good job, but at least I wouldn't have let Jenson down, and that was something pretty important to me.
"What time does he leave and what time will he be back?"
"He leaves at seven and gets back around two o'clock."
All right, you bitch, I said to myself, now I've got it fixed. You are in for a surprise. Okay, I'll open the safe. Then when you walk in to collect, you'll walk into a clip on the jaw. I'll take money. By the time you've come to, I'll be halfway over the mountain. I'll take care you can't use the telephone and I'll make sure you can't raise the alarm until he gets back and finds you. Then when I'm far away, I'll write to him and tell him the whole story and I'll send him back his money: every cent of it. If I do that, he'll believe me. He'll have to believe me if I do that and he'll know what a treacherous bitch he's married to.
Just to kid her along, I said, "I hate doing a thing like this him. He's been pretty good to me."
"Never mind the sob talk," she said impatiently. "Are you going to open the safe or are you going back to Farnworth?"
"Well ..." I paused, then went on, "I'm not going back to Farnworth."
"Then Saturday?"
I pretended to hesitate then shrugging my shoulders, I said, "I guess so. Okay, I'll do it."
She got to her feet and flicked her cigarette away into the darkness.
"Don't imagine I'm bluffing, Mr. Chet Carson. If you don't open that safe, you re going back to Farnworth."
"You don't have to drive it into the ground," I said, looking up at her. "I said I'd d do it, didn't I ?"
"You'd better do it!" she said, and walked down the steps across the moonlit sand towards the bungalow.
I watched her go.
Well, the cards were face up on the table. It depended now on who outsmarted who.
I was pretty confident I had the four aces against her four kings.
II
On the following morning, while I was clearing up after the lunch-hour and when Jenson was minding the pumps, I said to Lola, "Get me the number of the safe. I've got to have it before I can handle it."
She looked sideways at me out of her hard green eyes. "I'll get it."
Later in the day, when Jenson was out of the way, she gave me a slip of paper.
The safe number told me Jenson had been sold an obsolete model which was now off the market. It hadn't been a success because when the safe door
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