Show FICTION tiie ON ONE MORE JUMP 1 i by ROBERT 0 BLACKMON borner T VE told you it makes no differ 1 once to me ralph and I 1 meant it it really dusk dimmed the coral gold of harriet marnes hair dimmed the blue of the light dotted buildings rising above the jiho flat flat roofs upon which she and ralph pell stood it filled with deep shadow the narrow slot of the alley between belwood theland the them mand i and the noise of the city wa a screen about them isolating them from the rest of the world what you think now but get straight in your thinking in iii a few weeks or months or years then it would make inake a lot of difference 11 across the alloy alley R ralph ipei leaned bronzed arms on the low ow brick parapet of the other othe i r building and shook ills his head in id slow dell deliberation bera pink neon glow spilling into the alley from the street eight floors doors i down glin glinted tedon on his brown eves w and 9 mode alade odd shadows tn in his curly brown hair it changed to on an lm ira possible color the tan of 0 his knitted sport shirt after that it would always be there more between us or rather ther it be there he laughed harshly and beai reached down to feel through brown trouser fabric the device which substituted v tov for the flesh and bono bone he hod had left on a field in normandy when gunfire from the tha ground met parachutes drifting silently in alio darkness he would never forget that no ralph harriets small fist struck the stained brick althe of the low parapet bordering tier her own flat roof as if to drive understanding across tho the dark drop of the alley between thern them it would never make any dif difference terence to me to me you would I 1 always be sho she groped momen I 1 harily for a word that would not cot sting normal Ms his voice was flat and bitter please ralph her voice rose a little sorry but id never bo be that even with two real logs legs hi he laughed shortly service says im part of a mind as well as port part of a man lets dont kid ourselves too S much is riding on it it would always be there between us li kewell like this alley is between us now id have as much chance getting aver over it asi would getting betting over this alley he glanced down at the eight story drop the sliver ot of pave I 1 merit ment below Imag imagine lne roe me doing htmat ht that hat me be your age get wise to bome some facts the best beat thing for or both of us to do in ia to forget wo we ever ahl he made a savage gesture lets talk about something else harriet said that quickly almost desperately lets talk about you peeping at me on my roof here tills this summer lets talk about you waiting downstairs to introduce yourself as the peeper lets talk about the places we have been together the things we have done lets talk about our meeting up hero here with the alley between us in the evening levs lets talk abao abou iler her voke voice stopped lot ifor a a moment on an odd sharp gasp lets leti talk abou aboud the big ape ing from the city zoo Ws this afternoon artemo on let lets s k e ape escaping from the zoo ralph pell wod stood tall and slen glendon deri in the night t heard aej any ahan about it youre aural aure 1 you probably missed lt it lk liar ilar riet laughed a little shrilly the apekia big and black and feroe ferocious fous 1 II 11 11 1 certainly like to meet him up tip here on my root roof alona with no one here to help me Good goodness sho shivered audibly 0 o chance of ol that 11 there was amused tolerance in his grin the apes probably back in ids his zoo caga and glad to get away from humans and I 1 peep at you on your roof I 1 looked it cant be a crime to look at softness and beauty and sweetness with so much hardness and ugliness and bitterness in the world it cant be a crime tor for a ahl ah lets talk about the apel he finished quickly harshly well I 1 like that harriet laughed d she sha moved away from the parapet small and shapely in the night against the sky im cold ill have to EC ga a wrap dont go away ill bo be back in a minute she ran ralph pell watched her cross the gat flat roof of the other building to the small structure that housed the stairway it was about forty feet away away then he jammed his X AN k N 2191 A j 1 Q irl it would never make any difference to me to me you would always be she groped momentarily lor for a word that would not sting 1 hands down into his trouser pock ets swore softly and kicked at gravel on hla his own flat ant roof with his good toot foot balancing himself on tho the artificial limb ills his eyes were stormy his lips tight harriet was was swell people that madwit made it tough but positive she de served a whole man years or mayba maybe only months or weeks from now shed look back and be glad that things turned out as they had bad shed realize that he was wax right and maybe shod shed understand well everything it was tough now but HARRIETS speared small figure appeared jn in the doorway of the stairway shed on oil the other root roof even as she appeared a strange black shape came between them nil all but blocking her from his view then he heard her scream shrill abill and clear hi tho the night Rolp Aalph hl lo the apet apel the impact of the two words drove him lor wardi jintil his knees struck the edge of the low brick parapet bordering the eight story drop s into the alley between the two buildings ho he heard harriet scream again shouting tor for help would he be useless by the time someone heard beard and understood and reached the other roof it would take many minutes minute torian to run downstairs cross to tho the other building and get to the roof in the meantime meant sweat come out on an his faccas face as he put his good foot up on the edge of the brick parapet and thrust his lean weight up with the other leg grunting with effort ho he flung himself out over tho the alley and toward the brick parapet of the other building roof for a moment he was drifting down through the black normandy night a huge silk dome above him bracing himself for th the C blast from the ground the numbing shock pt of bullets striking ills hla artificial foot struck the other parapet and slipped off ile he fell there thera was a quick breathtaking breath taking drop toward the pavement eight floors down then his arm struck brick brown fingers curled over a sharp edge gripping strain came on the arm as he stopped the fall end and his weight all but tore his fingers loose small sharp sounds came from his lips and lie ho got hla his good log leg up hooked the heel over the edge of the parapet then lev ered the rest of him up lle he rolled over the parapet top and dropped to the flat gravel roof of the other building and his heart beat was wag shaking him even as an he struck he was up and running toward harriet and the black shape f he came within reach laced fingers into stiff course fur and jerked savagely to drag the black shape away from Harr harriet harreit lit the fur yielded with an ease that all but made him foil fall andee and he found himself holding the black furred pelt of a small animal there was felt sewn to the tha underside of the pelt and he recognized edthe the thing heyl this Is the little black bearskin from your apartment he yelled at harriet marne standing before him in the darkness small and quiet heyl you made me jump that I 1 I 1 might have ill I 1 1 I knew you fall tall fall harriet marne started laughing and crying at the same time it was just one more jump you had to io make to pro veOh ralph her lifted arms were slim and white in the night ralph pell dropped the pelt and there was wag no further need for words |