THE SENSE THAT IN THE SCENE DELIGHTS
"It's all right," he answered. "Glad I could help out."
"Let's go," Charlie said.
17
The Chief drove rapidly along the cart road through the un–
dulating potato fields and meadows, and then turned into the turn–
pike at the sign that read, ABC RUBBER WELDERS. The radio re–
peated, "702s, all 702s come in; 702s, all 702s, come home," until
the Chief switched it off.
The finder took out a cigarette and offered his pack to Charlie.
"Little wet," Charlie said.
"Straight through to the skin," he answered, smiling. Then,
serious again, he said to the Chief:
"What is it you suppose makes people come out into the rain
through all that muck for? Damned if they'd listen-it's a miracle
somebody didn't get buried back in there."
"Dunno," Charlie said.
"Tum here," he told the Chief. "I guess they just have to
come out and see the worst, huh?"
"That's it," the Chief said, "that's so."
"But God it makes you-ashamed the way they were jamming
and fighting to get back there. Hell, when the Doctor and the wagon
pulled away with that thing, they-"
"Wasn't anything to see then anyway, was there?" Charlie
loudly interrupted.
"If
there was, I didn't- "
"Was no box with anything inside it there then, huh?" the
Chief
said, speaking very slowly, leaning toward him slightly.
"Couldn't pull it back and get a real eyeful then," Charlie said,
moving forward on his seat.
"You-" the man started. "You've passed it. Let me off. Let
me
out!"
He grabbed at the door handle.
"No puff-up face, no fat white-"
He threw open the door-the wheels wrenched off into the
gutter, stopped. The car scraped savagely against the concrete curb.
Standing, swaying, he said breathlessly,
"I don't have to--"
The Chief leaned far across the seat toward him. "You don't
have to take anything, Mister," he said hoarsely. "You got all you
want."
