the　tough　old　sunbaked　world　where　not　all　the　bad　guys　were　locked　behind　bars　and　sometimes　you　got　your　own　head　whipped；　so　much　the　better。

〃All　right；〃　I　said；　standing　up。　〃I'll　put　him　out　front　for　Delacroix。　And　in　the　meantime；　I'll　keep　the　peace。〃

〃Good；〃　he　said；　and　stood　up　himself。　〃By　the　way；　how's　that　problem　of　yours？〃　He　pointed　delicately　in　the　direction　of　my　groin。

〃Seems　a　little　better。〃

'Well；　that's　fine。〃　He　saw　me　to　the　door。　〃What　about　Coffey；　by　the　way？　Is　he　going　to　be　a　problem？〃

〃I　don't　think　so；〃　I　said。　〃So　far　he's　been　as　quiet　as　a　dead　rooster。　He's　strange　…　strange　eyes　…　but　quiet。　We'll　keep　tabs　on　him；　though。　Don't　worry　about　that！〃

〃You　know　what　he　did；　of　course。〃

〃Sure。〃

He　was　seeing　me　through　to　the　outer　office　by　then；　where　old　Miss　Hannah　sat　bashing　away　at　her　Underwood　as　she　had　ever　since　the　last　ice　age　had　ended；　it　seemed。　I　was　happy　to　go。　All　in　all；　I　felt　as　if　I'd　gotten　off　easy。　And　it　was　nice　to　know　there　was　a　chance　of　surviving　Percy；　after　all。

〃You　send　Melinda　a　whole　basket　of　my　love；〃　I　said。　〃And　don't　go　buying　you　an　extra　crate　of　trouble；　either。　It'll　probably　turn　out　to　be　nothing　but　migraine；　after　all。〃

〃You　bet；〃　he　said；　and　below　his　sick　eyes；　his　lips　smiled。　The　bination　was　damned　near　ghoulish。

As　for　me；　I　went　back　to　E　Block　to　start　another　day。　There　was　paperwork　to　be　read　and　written；　there　were　floors　to　be　mopped；　there　were　meals　to　be　served；　a　duty　roster　to　be　made　out　for　the　following　week；　there　were　a　hundred　details　to　be　seen　to。　But　mostly　there　was　waiting　…　in　prison　there's　always　plenty　of　that；　so　much　it　never　gets　done。　Waiting　for　Eduard　Delacroix　to　w