a tight, fluttering sensation in his insides when he thought of the talcumed satin of her skin, the warm lift of her brightly nippled breasts and the strong response of her rounded thighs. She was a beautiful woman. She was sex all rolled up in a frame of gentle curves and soft flesh, and he could see that to love a woman like her would not only be easy, it would be a privilege.

He buckled the belt about his waist, trying to dispel the thoughts of the woman, and went downstairs to the kitchen. Hunger gnawed at him [p60]  violently.

[p60]  

[p

]  

The coffee was cold. He turned the gas on under it and the note on the table caught his eye. He picked it up to scan it briefly.

DARLING,

HAD TO RUSH OFF TO WORK. KISSED YOU GOOD-BY AND YOU SAID “GLUMPTH”. BE HOME SOON. LOVE YOU TERRIBLY.

BETH

He grinned at the note, balled it into his fist and threw it into the paper can. When the coffee was hot, he poured himself a cup and fixed a couple of sandwiches with what was left of the package of cold meat. As he was finishing the last couple of bites of the sandwich, he heard the thud of the evening paper against the front door. For a moment, it startled him, then, when he had realized what it was, he was half out of the chair... He paused there momentarily, then sank back into his seat. He couldn’t go out there and get the paper - if the neighbors saw him picking it up ... He sat there, waiting for Beth to come home, the suspense digging into his guts with ragged teeth. Had they found the plane? Were they onto him? Who were those two men? How did they know where to find him? Why were they looking for him?

He drank damned near the whole pot of coffee and watched the hands of the electric clock move with agonizing slowness. Finally, at five forty, Beth drove up to the house and came through the door. Nick leaped from the chair.

“The paper!” He snatched it from her hands and began tearing it open. Damn newsboys for [p61]  folding them!

[p61]  

[p

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