I wondered if Gloria knew, and if she did, whether she
would tell me.

I slipped my hand into my trousers pocket and
fingered the five-pound notes.
I don’t want every Tom, Dick or Harry sticking his nose in
where it’s not wanted, Dix had said. That was a blunt enough
hint I was getting well paid, and it was none of my business.

I’d better start right now by not sticking my nose where it
wasn’t wanted.
Ann came into the office.
“I saw them go.”
I reached out and pulled her on to my lap.

“It didn’t work out as good as I hoped. The agency isn’t
going to start for a year.”
“Oh!” Her look of relief irritated me. “Perhaps it’s just as well, Harry. I don’t like the look of those two.”

“Now wait a minute. It’s not as if we’re having them to
live with us. I don’t like them much myself, but they’ve got
money and they’re free with it.

I can’t afford to pass up any
opportunity, Ann, and you know it. They’re working on a new
television set that’ll cut out traffic interference. It will
revolutionize the trade once it’s on the market, but at the
moment, they’re having a little trouble with it.

They’ve rented a
piece of the garage and they’re going to turn it into a
workshop. As soon as they’ve perfected the set, it goes on to the market, and the agency will start with me on the ground floor.”
“But that wasn’t the original idea, was it? He led you to
believe . . .”

“I know. But he didn’t want to tell me about the set until
he was sure this was the right place. You’ve got to be d@mned
careful when you’re handling new and important apparatus,
Ann. You’d be surprised at the number of people ready to
steal ideas.”

I was actually defending Dix, when all the time I was
thinking as she was thinking.
“But surely, Harry, that isn’t quite right. They could take
out a patent, couldn’t they?”
I began to get irritated.

“I don’t know. Don’t bother your brains about it. The fact
is he’s willing to pay me fifteen pounds a week to rent this space, and that’s good enough for me.”

“Fifteen pounds a week?”
I produced the roll of five-pound notes and dropped it
into her lap.

“There you are: a month’s rent in advance, and it needn’t
go through our books.”
“Harry! Seventy-five pounds!”

I looked at her, hoping she would be excited, or at least
pleased, but I might have known she was too cautious, too
shrewd, to be taken in any more than I was being taken in.

“There’s something wrong about those two. Please be
sensible, Harry. Please give them back this money and have
nothing more to do with them.”
“For heaven’s sake! We want the money.”

“No, we don’t. Not this kind of money.”
“You’re imagining things. Just because Dix wears a
flashy tie . . .”
She got off my lap and faced me.

“It’s not that. Fifteen pounds a week for a small piece of
this garage is ridiculous, Harry, and you know it! Why, there’s an empty shop at the top of the street going for six pounds a week. Why didn’t he take that? Why come here? Why should he pay all this money to rent a tiny space here?”
I began to get angry.

“Now look, Ann, I appreciate you don’t want me to get
into any sort of trouble. I understand that. Well, I’m not a fool, and I’m not getting into any trouble. Maybe these two are fakes, but what harm can they do? I need the money. I need it d@mned badly.

Look at the bills we owe. I don’t have to tell you
our position. I’m going to keep it so don’t let’s argue about it any more.”
“Please, Harry . . .”

“I’m running this business, Ann. You’re running the
home. Please don’t interfere.”
“But don’t you see, darling . . .”

“Oh, stop it!”
She looked at me for a long moment, then turned and
went slowly out of the office.
I reached out and picked up the five-pound notes. For a
minute or so I sat staring at them.

I had been a mug long enough, I told myself. I was going
to keep this money. It was high time Ann learned to mind her
own business, and let me mind mine.

I sat in the office brooding for some time. No one came
near me. At half-past six I decided to call it a day and shut up.

As I went down to close the doors, Bill walked in from the
sorting-office.
“Hello there.”
“I was just calling it a day. Come on in. How do you like
the new job?”
He helped me close the double doors.

“The job’s all right. Not much doing at the moment, but
next week we’ve got an important consignment to take care of.
Keep that under your hat, Harry.”

“I couldn’t care less what goes on over there. I’m glad
you came over, Bill. I’ve got some money for you.”
“There’s no hurry. I don’t want it yet.”
“You’re going to have it while I’ve got it. I’ve had a bit of
luck.”

He gave me a quick, searching look.
“I’m glad to hear that. It’s time you had some luck.”
“Come into the office.”
When we had settled in chairs, I slid five five-pound
notes across the desk.

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