They feinted back and forth with their knives. The man struck, slashing Raeder across the chest. But Raeder, with the self-possession of an old contestant, dropped his knife and tore the man’s respirator out of his mouth.
That did it. Raeder surfaced and presented the treasure at the standby boat. It turned out to be a package of Fair-lady’s Soap-“The Greatest Treasure of All.”
That netted him twenty-two thousand dollars in cash and prizes, and three hundred and eight fan letters, and an interesting proposition from a girl in Macon, which he seriously considered. He received free hospitalization for his knife slash and burst eardrum, and injections for coral infection.
But best of all, he was invited to appear on the biggest of the thrill shows. The Prize of Peril.
And that was when the real trouble began…
The subway came to a stop, jolting him out of his reverie. Raeder pushed back his hat and observed, across the aisle, a man staring at him and whispering to a stout woman. Had they recognized him?
He stood up as soon as the doors opened, and glanced at his watch. He had five hours to go.
AT the Manhasset station, he stepped into a taxi and told the driver to take him to New Salem.
“New Salem?” the driver asked, looking at him in the rear-vision mirror.
“That’s right.”
The driver snapped on his radio. “Fare to New Salem. Yep, that’s right. New Salem .” They drove off. Raeder frowned, wondering if it had been a signal. It was perfectly usual for taxi drivers to report to their dispatchers, of course. But something about the man’s voice…