I Would Rather Stay Poor

The sheriff closed the bank doors. Alice turned the key in the lock, then they and Calvin went down into the vault where the two men had set down the boxes on the floor of the safe, near the generator.

The taller of the two men bent over the generator. He pressed a button which started the generator humming.

‘All set,’ he said, and the two men moved out of the vault.

Alice and Calvin locked the vault door, watched by the sheriff. The whole operation hadn’t taken more than three minutes. The two men left and the truck drove away.

The sheriff regarded Calvin with a satisfied smirk.

‘Pretty smooth, huh?’ he said. ‘Doesn’t give any bad boys much chance to grab the money, does it? You can lock up now. So far as you’re concerned, Mr. Calvin, you can have a dreamless sleep tonight.’

But Calvin didn’t have a dreamless sleep. He scarcely slept at all. His mind was too occupied for sleep. He told himself he mustn’t even think about this thing until he had seen the whole operation. So far, providing the electronic eye really worked, he could see no weakness in the security measures. But this he was sure of: if the money vanished the Federal agents would know it had been an inside job. Suspicion would be immediately centred on Alice and himself. No one in their rights minds would believe a girl like Alice with her nervous personality would ever aspire to steal three hundred thousand dollars. The limelight of suspicion would fall directly on him. It wouldn’t take the Federal agents long to find out he was in debt and struggling to keep up his wife’s alimony payments. They would start on him and maybe, sooner or later, he would crack. Even if he didn’t, even if they couldn’t prove he had taken the money, he would never dare spend it. They would be watching him all the time, and as soon as he began to spend the money, they would pounce on him.

The fallowing morning, at nine o’clock, the armoured truck again appeared outside the bank. From it came four accountants from the out-lying factories to collect the money: with them were the four guards. Everything moved like clockwork. The four men were introduced to Calvin by the sheriff, then with Alice joining them, they all went down to the vault while the four guards stood outside the bank, alert and watchful. Calvin and Alice unlocked the door of the vault and two of the four accountants produced keys and unlocked the wooden cases.

The sight of all that money in small bills turned Calvin’s mouth dry. He stood to one side watching the four men as they counted the money, each taking the amount needed for their particular payroll, putting the money in their briefcases.

While they counted the money, the sheriff stood at the head of the stairs. The out-riders and the two guards with Travers guarded the entrance to the bank. Within fifteen minutes, the four accountants had collected their money and had gone.

During the day, Calvin continued to think about the money, but he always came back to the same impossible snag: if he took the money, he would immediately become suspect No. 1. He knew this to be fatal.

That evening, while Alice, Miss Pearson and the major had settled down to watch television, and after he had heard Flo leave, he went into the kitchen.

Kit was pressing a dress. She looked up and smiled at him.

‘Television isn’t interesting you?’ she asked, moving the dress on the ironing board.

‘Television seldom interests me,’ he said, leaning against the wall and watching her. ‘Am I in the way?’

‘Of course not.’

‘Tomorrow is Saturday,’ he said, his blue eyes intent. ‘What does one do in a place like this on Saturday?’

She shrugged as she moved the damp cloth into position.

‘Nothing very exciting… there are a couple of movies on at Downside if you can bother to drive that far.’

‘Would you come with me?’ he asked, watching her. ‘Being on one’s own isn’t much fun.’

She folded the cloth and put it away.

‘Thank you, but I can’t tomorrow.’ She looked directly at him, the irritating amused expression in her eyes. ‘Besides, it wouldn’t be a good thing for the local bank manager to be seen with me in Downside. People have the habit of gossiping here.’

He scowled.

‘Yeah… I hadn’t thought of that. Well, I guess I’ll be able to kill time somehow. Is there a golf course handy?’

‘There’s quite a good one at Downside. At least, Major Hardy says it is good… I wouldn’t know.’

‘Maybe I’ll take a look at it.’

She held up the dress, examined it critically, then folding it, she moved towards the door. As she passed him, he put his hand gently on her arm.

‘You said the other night, you could be tempted. I have an idea that might tempt you.’

She disengaged her arm, her brown eyes suddenly alert.

‘What idea?’

He hesitated, wondering if he could trust her. ‘Just how badly do you want money?’ he asked, staring at her.

‘I want it,’ she said. ‘Why do you ask?’