OCR Text |
Show FSCJSOW RAS'BRIES ftRfl " SVM VJl By SETH BABITS I HP Co f net L- -- -. ..- .. .rJJLL way. He was thick shouldered, and muscles like Idaho potatoes bulged his arms, laden at the moment with two big pape bags. Spence glanced at the girl. Beneath Be-neath her coolness, he thought he detected an undercurrent of excitement. excite-ment. She said courteously, "Did you get everything?" The man shrugged his shoulders and laid the bags on the counter. "Yeah" he grunted. "Exceptin' powdered sugar." His tone was grufl. He tore the bag down the center. Spence stared. There, tucked In between two packages lay a jar of i blouse pocket. "I've got two new quarters," she offered. "Swell," he glowed with delight. He placed a fifty cent piece on the counter. "I just need about six more," he said as she rang up the money, "and I'll have enough for the kid's birthday. Thanks a lot, Miss Topley." Spence was up. He was past the threshold and Into the street. A detaining de-taining hand touched his shoulder. He brushed it off. "Pu-leez," and a slim figure twisted twist-ed around and blocked his passage. "What's the big idea," he demanded. de-manded. "I couldn't help It. Once you got Wh0 tit M ' I :4 i F-CA-M ;' A tall man loomed in the doorway. He was thick shouldered, and muscles like Idaho potatoes bulged bis arms, laden at the moment with two big paper bags. U - AMONG the million-odd things Spence wanted to do was visit Topley's. He'd had a yen for Top- I ley's back there on the desert j wastes. He craved it as a cat would , catnip or a homesick Eskimo, an I ' Iceberg, -i! i And now, as he hurried his i chunky form up the narrow street, ! the blue neon above Topley's win- I dow blazed welcome In letters two feet high. li Spence slid Into a seat. He ,1 breathed, "Razzberry soda, please. i Topley special." : He closed his eyes and envisioned ii a monument of pink and white. ! : ' A girl's voice, clear and soft, I I reached him. j i "Ras-bry soda," she Informed. ; I "Without ras-bries." , j ! He raised his head. Her eyes were warm and gray. An amused smile j . bowed her hps. ' "Without " he faltered. ! Her manner humored his confu- 'i; sion. But Spence didn't see that. It . j struck him she was part of the soda. ) ' That the dream also took her in. ; ! : He watched her scoop out a gob of ( ' i Ice-cream, drop it into a tall glass, squirt in a crimson syrup and heard the harsh gurgle of carbonated wa- ! ter. The glass was placed before him. , I ; He placed his lips to the straw 'jij and pulled. Coldness luxuriously j,' flowed over his tongue, daubed his I1' palate, trickled down his throat and touched of! revelations of delicious- 1 1 ness he'd almost forgotten. It evoked ,j Imagery. Lying face' upward In a j shallow mountain lake . . . elastic i stars shimmering on waters above li ... night winds whispering of giant ,' pines . . . drifting . . . drifting in a j1' rowboat . . . and a girl beside him i i ... gray-eyed and pretty ... a girl I; like . . . and he looked up. He felt ;' the impact of her presence. J She said, "You enjoyed that?" I , Enjoyed! He'd known the price- i lessness of a cold glass of water. He I; 1 grinned. I " "Hit the spot like a letter from 1 ; home." ; Spence expected a smile, but she ; i ! merely picked up his empty glass . j I and erased the moist ring beneath ! . i with an efficient stroke of a damp j ; cloth. He felt he'd missed the tar- get, but wide. He rose awkwardly , ' i and plunged a hand into his pocket. j ; His coin vibrated on the counter. A :; I i frustrated ring. f The cash register crr-unged dis- ' i ! missal. Spence half-wheeled to go. ; j ' In turning, his eye caught the tab, ( NO SALE! The girl's hand swept to j i her blouse pocket. The clink of ; i i metal told him his coin had joined j ( j others. I jt i ! It was none of his concern, yet the .' ii"- act had been so brazen. He heard i !' ! himself saying, "Don't they treat 1 '5 you right, here?" I l' Spence couldn't make out her ex- j J j pression. "They do," she answered I 1 ; succinctly. i ; 4 ! "I saw you pocket that money." , i i i "So what?" her coolness irritated i I i him. ! 1 ( "If the owner caught you" . 1 i "There's nothing he could do j 1 about it," she began to straighten a !j ! row of glasses before her. The ges- ! ture tokened disinterest in his opin- ' ' ions. More, it Infuriated him. ; j "I wouldn't have believed it," he i i ; l managed. ', i ' ( Instantly he was sorry for her. He 1 ! ; noticed that dark lashes rested on i ! I her cheeks. He realized also his : ' heart was thumping and there was ' I : a quaver in his voice that he I . ': - 1 couldn't control, : ' "Why don't you ask for a raise?" ' : 'i ' "I can't" ,; ,: , "Then quit. Get another job." . j i 1 A tall man loomed In the door- started I couldn't stop you. How about having a super special with me?" Spence visioned maraschino cherries cher-ries floating on a rose pond above submerged raspberries. He also discovered dis-covered lights in her eyes, flashes of radiant promise. He placed her arm in his. The action seemed most natural. "I'm glad you've reformed," re-formed," he grinned. They went back into the store. raspberries. Atop the pile glistened another of cherries, bright, red, full, exciting and prophetic of delight. de-light. Vaguely, he could hear the man counting. Meaningless . numbers. He'd have to have a Topley special first, then take care of the girl. Spence regarded her expression. Injury In-jury dominated her fair face and a pensive smile hovered about her hps. It rebuked him. With sinking heart and forward thrust of lean jaw, Spence gulped and announced: "Sir, I want to talk to you." "What's botherin' you, son?" Spence' cleared his throat. "You look like a regular guy," he began. "Now, supposin' you had a conscientious con-scientious employe. You'd want to keep her, huh?" "You said it," the man nodded vigorously. "Now, if you had a person like that and you felt she was competent compe-tent to take care of the store," Spence took a deep breath and plunged, "would you give her a raise If she was to ask you. Would you?" "Guess so," the man acknowledged. acknowl-edged. "How much?" "Well," the man's thick shoulders heaved. "Maybe ten," he said at last. "You heard him," Spence turned triumphantly toward the girl, "I'm a witness." She nodded. Her eyes were glowing. glow-ing. "If you'll excuse me, son," the man was saying, "I'm kind of busy. I got a lot of deliveries to make." He handed a paper to the girl. "Here's the bill," he remarked. "Thanks. I'll file it. Oh, yes," Spence saw her reach Into her |