THE SENSE THAT IN THE SCENE DELIGHTS
II
"Thanks no," the man said. "You see, what we do is go off
right after dinner and leave the kids with Grace's folks. Grace
takes that little trowel she had and the box and we go off through
here looking for the vines. Beautiful things they are."
"I imagine," Charlie said.
"And good Lord, the way it started out this morning-it
couldn't have been better."
"Mighty nice," Charlie agreed. "Figured we'd catch some rain
tonight, though."
"Yes," he said absently. He took off his hat again. "All I
can say is what a terrible way to do it."
"Yeah," the Chief assented. "Pretty bad."
"I don't think I could do it," he pursued.
Frowning, the Chief leaned forward, pressed a button on the
dashboard shutting the radio off.
"Charlie," he said then, "little blackjack?"
"Cards right here, Chief." Charlie tapped the finder on the
shoulder. "Playa little cards, Mister? Might have a wait yet."
"Thanks I don't think so," he declined. "I'll kibitz if it's all
right."
Charlie sat on the edge of the seat and dealt two cards face
down on the level top of the back rest.
"Five and ten," the Chief said to him and, reaching through
the steering wheel, he placed
.a
handful of silver on the dashboard.
Charlie handed some change to him and he arranged this in neat
piles around the windshield wiper. They played in silence for a time,
the Chief accepting or rejecting the proffered cards with gestures.
The man watched restlessly and when the deck changed hands, he
said:
"Mind if I open the window a bit? Thick in here all of a
sudden."
"Go
ahead," the Chief said.
He rolled the window down and, turning his back to it, he
watched the Chief shuffle the deck on the seat.
"Why do you suppose he did it that way, Chief?" he asked
when the game resumed.
"Who?" asked Charlie. "Oh, him. Dunno."
"Got enough?" the Chief asked Charlie. Charlie meditated.
