'You stay out of this, buddy. I'm her legal guardian.'
I halted and shook the cobwebs out of my brain. It was exactly
what he had been waiting for. He let go with a haymaker that got
me on the corner of the chin and knocked me sprawling. He
grabbed the girl and practically threw her into the cab.
By the time that I was on me feet he was around to the driver's
side and peeling out. I took a flying leap and made the roof just as
he took off. I was almost thrown off, but I clawed through about
five layers of paint to stay on. Then I reached through the open
window and got him by the neck. He cursed and grabbed my hand.
He yanked, the truck spun crazily off the ledge of a steep
embankment.
The last thing I remember is the nose of the truck pointing straight
down. Then my enemy saved my life by viciously yanking my
arm. I tumbled off just as the truck plunged over the cliff.
I landed hard, but the rock I landed on was harder. Everything slid
away.
Something cool touched my brow as I cam to. The first thing I saw
was the flashing red light on top of the official looking car parked
by the embankment. I sat bolt upright and soft hands pushed me
down. Nice hands, the hands of the girl who had landed me into
this mess.
Then there was a Highway Patrolman over me and an official
voice said, 'The ambulance is coming. How do you feel?'
'Bruised,' I said and sat up again. 'But tell the ambulance to go
away. I'm all right.'
I tried to sound flippant. The last thing I needed after last nights
`job' was the police.
'How about telling me about it?' the policeman said, producing a
notebook. Before I answered, I walked over to the embankment.
My stomach flipped over backwards. The panel truck was nose-
deep in California dirt and my sparring partner was turning that
good California soil into a reddish mud with his own blood. He lay
grotesquely, sprawled half in, half out of the cab. The
photographers were getting their pictures. He was dead.
I turned back. The patrolman looked at me as if he expected me to
throw up, but, after my new job, my stomach was admirably
strong.
'I was driving out of the Belwood district,'I said, 'I came around
that curve ...'
I told the rest of the story with the girl's help. Just as I finished the
ambulance came to a halt. Despite my protestations and those of
my still-unnamed girl friend, we were hustled into the back.
Two hours later we had a clean bill of health from the patrolman
and the doctors and we were requested to be witnesses at the
inquest set for the next week.
I saw my car at the curb. It was a little worse for wear, but the flats
had been replaced. There was a witnessed bill on the dash for a
wrecker, tires, and clean-up squad! It came to about $250.00 half
