FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35  
36   37   38   39   40   41   42   >>  
She shrugged and fished in her purse for a cigarette. "What does it matter? Mind if I sit down?" "Go ahead," I rumbled. "But don't stop talking!" "Oh," she said, "we've got plenty of time to straighten things out." She lit the cigarette and walked over to the chair by the window. On the way, she gave the luggage a good long look. Arthur's eyestalk cowered back into the suitcase as she came close. She winked at me, grinned, bent down and peered inside. "My," she said, "he's a nice shiny one, isn't he?" The typewriter began to clatter frantically. I didn't even bother to look; I told him: "Arthur, if you can't keep quiet, you have to expect people to know you're there." She sat down and crossed her legs. "Now then," she said. "Frankly, he's what I came to see you about. Vern told me you had a pross. I want to buy it." The typewriter thrashed its carriage back and forth furiously. "Arthur isn't for sale." "No?" She leaned back. "Vern's already sold me his interest, you know. And you don't really have any choice. You see, I'm in charge of materiel procurement for the Major. If you want to sell your share, fine. If you don't, why, we requisition it anyhow. Do you follow?" I was getting irritated--at Vern Engdahl, for whatever the hell he thought he was doing; but at her because she was handy. I shook my head. "Fifty thousand dollars? I mean for your interest?" "No." "Seventy-five?" "No!" "Oh, come on now. A hundred thousand?" It wasn't going to make any impression on her, but I tried to explain: "Arthur's a friend of mine. He isn't for sale." * * * * * She shook her head. "What's the matter with you? Engdahl wasn't like this. He sold his interest for forty thousand and was glad to get it." Clatter-clatter-clatter from Arthur. I didn't blame him for having hurt feelings that time. Amy said in a discouraged tone: "Why can't people be reasonable? The Major doesn't like it when people aren't reasonable." I lowered the gun and cleared my throat. "He doesn't?" I asked, cuing her. I wanted to hear more about this Major, who seemed to have the city pretty well under his thumb. "No, he doesn't." She shook her head sorrowfully. She said in an accusing voice: "You out-of-towners don't know what it's like to try to run a city the size of New York. There are fifteen thousand people here, do you know that? It isn't one of your hick towns. And it's worry, w
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35  
36   37   38   39   40   41   42   >>  



Top keywords:

Arthur

 

thousand

 

people

 

interest

 
clatter
 

typewriter

 

reasonable

 

Engdahl

 

matter

 

cigarette


Clatter

 

feelings

 

rumbled

 
dollars
 
hundred
 
Seventy
 

explain

 

friend

 

impression

 

discouraged


towners

 

accusing

 

sorrowfully

 
fifteen
 

lowered

 

cleared

 
fished
 
throat
 

shrugged

 
pretty

wanted
 

crossed

 
luggage
 

expect

 
window
 

Frankly

 

winked

 
peered
 

inside

 

suitcase


bother

 
eyestalk
 

cowered

 

frantically

 
requisition
 

follow

 

grinned

 

thought

 
irritated
 

talking