During the next six hours this sterling young officer, working earnestly and steadily, brought in no fewer than thirty-one men who had tried, thought of trying, or accepted the suggestion of improper activities in parked cars. These lewd persons ranged from the swishy young through the ordinary middle ages to the near senile. They had little. in common except a sharing of those handcuffs and profound shock. Otherwise they varied as much as the customers of prostitutes who also grace park benches with their charms.

Several tried to bribe these two officers. Only two got a hearing. One department store executive tried to jump out of the moving car, ended up with a broken collarbone and much publicity. The low-pay-hard-times offer went completely over his flat, stunned head. A boor, a peasant if there ever was one. Several of the men hadn't the faintest idea what this young guy in his kid brother's jeans was after in that park back there until the partner showed up to point out what they really had in mind. These watched with wide-eyes and had to be pushed into the car. None objected. It was a very busy evening.

Late the next morning, our boy crawled out of bed and got into his brown suit with the faint pinstripe. He went right down town without breakfast. The first stop was the station where he flipped through the records of those he'd arrested. The other officers kidded him about his busy night and his suspiciously good technique. He kidded back, made a few notes and left. The second stop was the bail bond company directly across the street. He went in the side door, directly through two offices and into a back room marked private. A head peered in at him and said, "Oh, it's you. I'll beright back. Customer. Probably one of yours."

The bondsman sat opposite him looking at the list. He check off eleven of the names and counted eleven bills from his wallet. Our boy counted them, winked and got up. He exited on a whistle. He visited four other bail bond houses and collected at each without a single difficulty. The final step was pleasant, too. He deposited varying amounts in each of three banks under each of three names. Simple, man, simple! At dinner that night he got solemn again and began scribbling on the margin of the evening paper. He frowned so long at his figures that she had to remind him of the time after relieving him of much cash. As he went up to shower, she watched his back thoughtfully. A soft dubiousness came into her eyes. Then she looked at the cash on the table, shrugged and began clearing the dishes.

-

What difference if he always got so irritatingly happy around this time of day! Cash was cash. But on nights when the take was smaller she amended her suspicions to read: Why does he get so irritatingly happy around this time of day anyway?

Tonight one of his first customers in the park was the fat and waddling one. This time he rolled up with less confidence and no blitheness. He stopped before the bench, eyed the jeans and jacket coldly then said with the ice of an angry Pasadena matron, "I know you'll be simply crushed to hear my case is being dismissed, darling."

Our boy grinned up at him most disarmingly. He said, "Good for you, buster. I really don't give a damn if the charges stick or not in court. It's all the same to me. Honestly."

He was telling the truth, of course.

one

SAM KIDD.

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