Short Story by HUMPHREY ap EVANS .sx The Assessor .sx " YES , " said Mr. Ridley , taking off a pair of very thick rimless glasses and wiping them over with a monogrammed handkerchief .sx " You have to be a student of human nature to be any good as an Assessor- any good to the Company , that is , " he added .sx " Without appearing to be unhelpful or hard-hearted , you've just got to cut the claims as low as you can .sx " He replaced his glasses , turning them upside down and swivelling the earpieces round .sx " Of course I've been in this a long time now , " he went on , " and although I know there's a lot of rot talked about a sixth sense and all that , I think I have got something that helps me size a thing up pretty well .sx Not every case who comes before you is trying it on , you know , but most of them are out for what they can get .sx And who wouldn't be ?sx " he asked , turning round and looking me full in the face , through his upside down glasses .sx His eyes appeared enormous when one looked back at him , like watery amoeba in a microscope .sx I began to feel a bit amoebic myself , almost as if it were I who had been found " trying it on .sx " " Yes , of course , " I agreed hurriedly .sx " But many of your cases must be really deserving ones , aren't they ?sx I mean , bread-winners disabled with mouths to feed , and all that sort of thing ?sx " " Ah , yes , there is a bit of that , of course , " he said , " But we usually have some confidential reports beforehand which give a good idea .sx I'm a medical man myself though :sx I used to be a G.P. in the Midlands before I went over whole time as Claims Assessor .sx They don't know I'm a medico when they come up before me .sx I get some yarns spun me sometimes , I can tell you .sx " He chuckled moistly , clouding his reversible glasses which had to be removed again for demisting .sx " You take this case this afternoon , that I've come up about .sx If this chap's shoulder- his right shoulder , too- if it's as bad as he says , then of course he won't be able to work at all with his right hand or arm- perhaps never again , which is a serious thing for a family man with seven young children .sx " I can't go making mistakes , can I ?sx His employers have been sued for +10,000- loss of potential earnings , inconvenience , suffering- all the usual claims trotted out .sx " It's a bit easier when you've got a chap with something you can actually see that's wrong .sx It's these fellows with 'loss of concentration' or 'intermittent headaches' or 'recurrent depression' that are the most difficult .sx How can you prove 'loss of concentration' ?sx He doesn't have to prove he ever could concentrate .sx That's one of the little problems I have to sort out .sx Headaches are the same- nothing to go on or prove either way .sx A bad headache's a rotten thing , of course , if you really have one .sx " " What about the 'recurrent depressions' ?sx " I said .sx " Well , " he replied , " That's difficult too .sx It's easy to go about with a long face saying how terrible everything is , and who's to say he doesn't really feel perfectly all right ?sx " We pondered this situation for a moment or two in silence .sx As a new member of this Department of Insurance , I was being sent round by the Company to have a first-hand look at the way the Assessor worked .sx Mr. Ridley was reckoned a wizard at the job .sx They said he saved the firm tens of thousands of pounds a year , but nobody knew just how he managed it .sx I was looking forward to seeing him in action .sx I had heard a lot about his 'Psychology' angle , but could not see how this would help in most of the cases .sx The 'case' up that afternoon had claimed that because the management had not allowed a wide enough passageway between two machines he had banged against one of them , seriously affecting his whole nervous system down the right side of his body .sx He could , he claimed , only raise his right arm to elbow level very slowly and with great difficulty , and higher than his elbow , it would not go at all .sx He had already been off work for a month , and the arm had not 'responded to treatment,' much to the surprise of the doctors .sx It had in fact got gradually worse , according to the man himself .sx He needed help to put on his clothes , and had been obliged to learn to do all manner of things with his left hand when he was not the least bit left-handed , naturally .sx His wife would have to give up her evening work to look after him :sx that meant a regular allowance out of the Insurance to compensate her .sx He would need some form of electric tricycle to get him about , and a small garage built to house it .sx The injury , he had been told by a friend , might easily spread to his legs , and in view of the worry about this , the sum of +10,000 would probably be quite inadequate .sx His " statement of basis of claim " ran to three sides of foolscap " dictated by me and written by my wife , owing to the injury what prevents my writing .sx " Mr. Ridley was unperturbed by this voluminous evidence of the state of the man's injuries .sx " I'm afraid it doesn't seem quite right to me somehow , " he said , pulling off the glasses yet again .sx It was a very irritating gesture :sx perhaps , I thought , he did it deliberately to put his cases off their guard , to take their minds off themselves and to give themselves away .sx " You see , if he really is as bad as he says , the sensitivity of some nerves would be bound to be affected at the finger extremities even supposing there has been no bruising of tissue .sx The doctors apparently can find nothing actually wrong .sx It's only that he maintains he cannot raise his arm .sx When it was raised up quickly by a doctor when he wasn't expecting it , he let out such a scream that the wretched doctor thought he had torn the arm right off !sx After that , they have been a bit chary about wrenching it up and down .sx " However , " he added after a minute or two , " I think it's time we went over and saw for ourselves .sx Come along with me .sx " We walked across to the Assessment Office and up into Mr. Ridley's room .sx There was nothing particular about it .sx Just the usual desk ( back to the light of course ) , a couple of chairs , a reading chart on the wall , and a bookcase about six feet tall with a few papers and other oddments on it .sx Mr. Ridley spoke to the attendant :sx " Send Mr. Alton in now , would you please ?sx " A few moments passed .sx Then there was a shuffling outside on the linoleum , and the door opened .sx Mr. Alton's left hand pushed at the handle , for his right arm was hanging dejectedly at his side , patently useless and perhaps even causing pain .sx " Ah , Mr. Alton , come in , how do you do ?sx " smiled Mr. Ridley holding out a hand .sx The limp right arm quivered , but quick as a flash the sturdy remaining left hand took its place for a brave handshake .sx " I've been thinking your case over , " said Mr. Ridley , sitting down at once at his desk , leaving Mr. Alton standing without a chair .sx " It is certainly one of the most unfortunate I have come across and our hearts go out to you and your family in this serious blow .sx I think +15,000 is the least we can reasonably offer in compensation , and if you are agreeable to this , I am authorized to write you a cheque this very minute in full settlement , without ado .sx " After rubbing his glasses as usual , Mr. Ridley pulled out a fountain pen , took the cap off and briskly prepared to write .sx Mr. Alton evidently could hardly believe his ears , mercifully unaffected by his injury .sx He could only nod his agreement .sx " Yes , I think that would do very well , " he managed after a moment when power of speech returned .sx " Right then , " said Mr. Ridley , pen at the ready .sx " Just hand me down my cheque book from that bookcase , will you , and we'll get it cleared up .sx " Alas for poor Mr. Alton .sx I did feel a little sorry for him .sx The bookcase was on his right .sx From the top , the bright blue cheque book was plainly visible .sx A step forward , and Mr. Alton's arm- his right arm , that poor injured right arm upon whose failing strength a wife and many small children had depended for their daily bread- swung up as easily and quickly as that of a policeman on point duty .sx Rapid fingers closed upon the beckoning cheque book with new found health .sx He was halfway to Mr. Ridley's desk before the awful implication of his action dawned upon Mr. Alton .sx His face went scarlet , then drained .sx Tiny beads of sweat appeared .sx He turned and left the room without a word .sx " You see what I mean , " said Mr. Ridley , as he put the cap back on his unused pen .sx " The study of human nature is a great help in this profession .sx " Short story by NAT EASTON .sx The way of escape .sx THE wind had slapped the notice so hard and often you had to lean with it to read the faded letters , Unfit For Motorists .sx I smiled , patting the weather-roughened wood .sx I slipped the car off the track onto the moor , left it behind the V-shaped ruin of an old stone barn- pointing back the way I'd come .sx Light hearted , sure of myself somehow in my completely new outfit , I walked to the edge of the great heather brow and looked down its tumbling slopes to the sea below .sx For several minutes I stood there , just wishing and willing , and taking in the spread of land and ocean , then I slithered into the scoured out track and plunged downwards eagerly .sx The banks were high , the surface like a forgotten river bed- dry , bread-coloured mud and stones the years had smoothed but not budged .sx About halfway down , a path of bare , trodden soil led to a gate in a high privet hedge .sx I stopped , looking over at it , pep-talking myself , then braced up and went forward .sx The bungalow was as neat a piece of transplanted suburbia as a man could imagine .sx The path was concrete , straight as a railway line .sx On each side there was a shaved square of lawn the size of a blanket with a round bed of roses in the middle of it , slap in the middle .sx Each lawn was overlooked by a bay window , one packed with red geraniums .sx A wire basket of flowers hung over the front door .sx The glass of the windows and the leaded door panel shone as though the leather had just left it .sx The green and cream paintwork took a bath regularly .sx I poked a gloved finger into the copper letter box and raised the flap .sx The corridor hall was laid with polished orange and brown linoleum , covered down the middle with a runner of plain beige carpet , like a continuation of the path .sx The hall-stand held one umbrella , impeccably furled , one horn-handled walking-stick , a heavy raincoat on a hanger , a series of crisp trilbies and a check cap .sx Beyond that the shadows took over .sx I lowered the flap gently and side-stepped to the bay window on the left .sx Squinting through the geraniums I saw a green three-piece suite , a bureau , dining table and chairs of dark oak , a red leather tufty , and one of those modern cut-down pianos .sx The empty fireplace was shielded by a blue hydrangea in a pot that had been painted green .sx Above the tobacco jar on the chimney-piece six pipes hung from a rack .sx The seventh slot was vacant .sx There were two letters in the middle of the table , one under a heavy glass paper-weight .sx