The smile slid off her face and Wimpler went

quickly to the door and went down the stairs. 2021

„„,_„ , , ,. , , treating back, he knew what was going to happen.

When he finally got back to his own house, he ^ ^ bacfc ^ derk wag * *Q ^

heaved a sigh of relief. He removed his black night oor r

suit and dumped his take out on the bed.

The diamonds sparkled and shone and he let wi ler tumed ^ r£m from stor

them wash through his fingers as he played with dowQ /m Street tQ ^ gu station

them on the bed. How much, he wondered. Ten J

telephone and call the police. Inside of thirty seconds, the store would be surrounded.

He d find out tomorrow when he went to 47th

thousand? Twenty? He got off the subway at 42nd Street where he

^^^ ^ he had ^ ^ beWnd Sq

Street m Manhattan to sell them. - j. hnpiarv career

As he got off the subway at 47th Street and Ave- Rewa¿¿fthe streetsHe d six hot d vend.

nue of the Americas, he was surprised to realize his ^ izza ^ ^Donalds, a *B

heart was pounding again ^ Chinese ^^ f()od sh food stQres b

What if someone called the pohce? the dozen, noticed and counted only because he was He took a deep breath and walked into the first

starving.

He fished in his pocket. He had fifty cents. In New York, it wasn't even enough for a sidewalk hot dog. And besides, he wanted to go home. He went down to the subway platform, took the train back to Brooklyn, got off at Atlantic Avenue and walked down to the docks.

wholesale jeweler he saw.

"May I help you?" a clerk asked. Was that suspicion in the man's eyes, Wimpler wondered. He almost backed out, but then cleared his throat and said, "I want to ... er ... sell some jewelry. It was ... my mother's. She's dead now."

May l see i . I ^ f^gj. j^d aiwayS told him that a man ai^^