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.It feltgood.So he lifted the lid of the lunch basket.There was a revolver there.It was the other one from the glove compartment of the car.Sally hadn t leftit behind.Joe regarded it and said ironically: Happy, carefree youth that s us! Which are the hamsandwiches, Sally? [Pg 90]8Nevertheless, the afternoon began splendidly.Joe dunked the bottled soft drinks in the lake to cool.Thenhe and Sally ate and talked and laughed.Joe, in particular, had more than the usual capacity forenjoyment today.He d been through twenty-four hours of turmoil but now things began to look better.And there was the arrangement with Sally, which had a solid satisfactoriness about it.Sally was swell! Ifshe d been homely, Joe would have liked her just the same to talk to and to be with.But she waspretty and she was wearing his ring.She d wrapped some string around the inside of the band to makeit fit.The only trouble was that Joe was occasionally conscious of the heavy weight in his right-hand coatpocket.But they spent at least an hour in contented, satisfying, meaningless loafing that nobody can describe butthat everybody likes to remember afterward.From time to time Joe looked ashore, when the weight inhis pocket reminded him of danger.But he didn t look often enough.He was pulling the chilled soft-drink bottles out of the lake when he sawa movement out of the corner of his eye.He whirled, his hand in his pocket.It was the Chief, with Haney and Mike the midget.They were striding across the rocky small peninsula.Haney called sharply: Everything okay? Sure! said Joe. Everything s fine! What s the matter? Mike had a hunch, said the Chief. And uh I remembered I worked on the job when this dam wasbuilt twelve-fifteen years ago. He looked about him. It looked different then. [Pg 91]Then he caught Joe s eye and jerked his head almost imperceptibly to one side.Joe caught the signal. I ll see about some more soft drinks, he said. Come help me fish up the bottles. Sally smiled at the other two.She was already inspecting the lunch basket. We still have some sandwiches, she said hospitably, and some cake. Haney came forward awkwardly.Mike advanced toward her with something of truculence.Joe knew what was in his mind.If Sally treated him like a freak.But Joe knew with deep satisfaction that shewouldn t.He went down to the water s edge. What s up, Chief? he asked in a low tone. Mike hadda hunch, rumbled the Chief. Somebody tried to smash the stuff you brought.They did.Butwe started gettin set to mend it.So what would they do? Polish us off.If they were set to atom-dust thewhole Shed an everybody in it, they wouldn t stop at four more murders. Joe fished for a pop bottle. Mike said something like that back at the Shed, he observed. Yeah.But you were the one who figured things out.You d be first target.Haney and Mike andme we d be hard to knock off in a crowd in Bootstrap.But you and her headed off by y selves.Mikefigured you mightn t be safe.So we checked. Joe brought up one bottle and then another. We re all right.Haven t seen a soul. Don t mean a soul hasn t seen you, growled the Chief. A car left Bootstrap less than twenty minutesbehind you.There were three guys in it.It s parked down below the dam, outa sight.We saw it.Andwhen we came up, careful, we spotted three guys hidin out behind the rocks yonder.They look to melike they re waiting for somebody to go strolling back from the shoreline, so s uh maybe folks out atthe powerhouse can t see em.That d be you and her, huh? [Pg 92]Joe went cold.Not for himself.For Sally. There s nobody else around, said the Chief. Who d they be waiting for but you two? Suppose theygot a chance to kill you.They d take the car keys.They d drop your two bodies somewheresGawdknowswhere.There d be considerable of a hunt for you two.Major Holt would be upset plenty.Security might get loosened up.There might be breaks for guys who wanted to do a little extrasabotage besides maybe hamperin the repairin of the pilot gyros.Then they could try for Haney andMike and me
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