THE GUN .sx BY HARRY RICHMAN .sx A very short story that is not what it seems .sx GINO stopped pacing the floor and walked over to the sideboard .sx Gently , he pulled open the middle drawer and stared at the huge black Luger that was once his father's , lying serenely in the farthest corner .sx Still without a sound , he closed his huge brown hand over the cold steel , and hastily transferred it to his jacket pocket .sx A few seconds later his wife walked into the room .sx 'Gino , what are you doing ?sx ' 'Nothing !sx - Thinking .sx ' He walked away from the drawer and put his hands in his pockets to stop them from trembling .sx '3Why you no think about getting the work ?sx ' She wiped her hands on a dirty apron .sx '3Thinking- walking up- down .sx . No food in the house , what you think about that , huh ?sx You gotta any plans about that ?sx We'd be better if we stay in Viareggio .sx ' She wiped an imaginary tear from her rosy cheek .sx '3You wanna go back to Viareggio- go !sx I no stop you .sx I stay here .sx Go back if you wanna go .sx You think I no try and get the work , huh ?sx What you think- you think I no try ?sx ' Gino turned and stalked out of the house .sx A hard , loud slam of the door stopped his wife's voluble Italian adjectives from following him out .sx Ever since he'd lost his job two weeks ago , they'd done nothing but squabble .sx He pulled out a cigarette packet and stared disconsolately at the last Woodbine .sx He placed it carefully between his lips and lit it .sx He winced as the empty packet landed in the gutter .sx Food he could manage without for a few days , but cigarettes .sx . He inhaled deeply and kept the smoke inside of him for as long as he could .sx He walked all morning .sx In the afternoon it began to drizzle .sx Gino pulled his jacket collar up high and for the umpteenth time placed his hand on the Luger .sx He felt nervous and undecided .sx He glanced up at a clock hanging over a jeweller's shop .sx It was four o'clock- he had time .sx He decided to wait in a doorway for the rain to stop .sx He wanted to think .sx He wouldn't go back to Viareggio .sx If she wanted to go , let her .sx He dug into his pocket for a cigarette , and was irritated when only a box of matches came out .sx His irritation made him think about his wife's mother :sx '3I don't let you to take my daughter to London .sx A daughter's place is by her mother- you no right- you no right to take my bambino away .sx ' She'd gone on and on , even when the train moved off she was still shouting .sx He wouldn't go back , no matter what .sx He ran his hand over the gun and the anger he felt subsided slightly .sx He'd show her .sx He'd show everybody .sx Gino moved out of the doorway into the drizzle , that showed no signs of stopping .sx It was four-thirty and plans had better be made .sx His face was covered with thoughtful wrinkles as he walked steadily forward .sx From time to time his deep concentration was floored by the aroma of hot coffee from the many cafe@2s .sx The smells of fresh bread and fried chicken caused his stomach to scream in anguish .sx Cigarette smoke seemed to find his nose from all of a hundred different brands .sx He dug his nails deeper into the palms of his hands , as his head began to reel .sx Frantically he swallowed huge gulps of air and then closed his eyes to help stop the buildings from going round and round .sx In desperation , he branched off into an alley-way , and there , breathing heavily , and by now almost wet through , he waited for peace to return .sx It was now five .sx Gino wiped his face and head with an old handkerchief .sx It had stopped drizzling , and he was annoyed at having allowed himself to be soaked .sx He squeezed the water from his handkerchief and strode forward .sx His mind was made up .sx He walked straight toward a little shop he had once seen in one of the many side streets that ran like arteries off Soho's more public thoroughfares .sx There were only a few people about .sx Some fifty yards from the shop , he put his hand on the Luger and made it feel comfortable .sx An old woman stopped to look into the shop's windows .sx Gino hesitated .sx The gun was heavy in his pocket .sx The whole left side of his body seemed to feel the weight .sx The old lady went away .sx Gino moistened his lips .sx He'd never done anything like this before .sx He uttered a swift , silent prayer , finishing with 'dear Father and Mother , please forgive me .sx ' His forehead was covered in perspiration .sx He arrived at the door and stopped .sx He couldn't go through with it .sx He was from a good family .sx The name Farrari was known all over Italy .sx If the news ever got back home- he shuddered .sx He moved to the corner of the quiet little street and watched a light come on in the small shop .sx 'Dear God,' whispered Gino , 'what shall I do ?sx ' The gun was beginning to feel heavier and heavier .sx Suddenly , he knew what he must do .sx His face grim , his demeanour calm , he again walked forward .sx What did he care what anybody thought or said !sx No one worried about him .sx Nobody cared .sx He stalked into the shop and stopped three yards from the counter .sx There were two men inside .sx The older one was putting something away on a shelf .sx Gino put his hand on the gun and walked toward the fat one , who was reading the evening paper .sx With a short , jerky movement , he drew the Luger from his pocket .sx His hand shook , and he felt sick with shame .sx 'How .sx .,' he put the gun on the counter , '3how much you give me for this , please ?sx ' COMMUNICATION .sx Terror roared at his family out of the lonely night .sx But no one could help him , in his agonising struggle to save them- and prove himself .sx BY A. E. TREPPASS .sx Illustration by Bernard Blatch .sx THE large illuminated sign at the road side etched its message sharply in the cool darkness :sx STOP- ONE HUNDRED YARDS AHEAD- FOR THE LAST CUP OF TEA FOR MILES .sx Charles Corran smiled and remembered the red brick cafe@2 with its rose garden and gravel car park .sx They had been tempted to stop there at the beginning of their holiday .sx Now , late , on the way home , he was more than tempted .sx Besides , just beyond the cafe@2 lay the twenty-mile long , lonely road across Rannet Moors ; a wearisome journey , particularly so late at night when all he wanted to do was doze over the steering column .sx He slowed the car and turned to Meg , his wife .sx In the half light she looked tired and a little sad .sx It had been a good holiday and they had all been reluctant to leave the sea and the sun .sx 'Shall we ?sx ' he asked .sx She nodded lazily and stirred in her seat , enough to glance at the two children who were snuggled sleepily in the back .sx Tony , who was five and precocious , opened his eyes and murmured :sx 'Shall we what , Daddy ?sx ' 'Have a cup of tea,' Meg replied .sx 'I want orange,' Belle informed them , with all the authority of her eleven years .sx 'With a straw,' Tony added .sx 'Good .sx ' Charles signalled that he was turning left , and , at the very moment he nosed into the cafe@2 car park , there was a noise beside them like an aero engine and two unsilenced motor cycles carrying black , helmeted figures roared right across his path , spraying gravel over his bonnet .sx He braked instantly and the steering wheel hit his chest and he gasped .sx Meg cried out as her head bumped the windscreen and Tony began to sob on the floor .sx 'The devils !sx The fiendish devils !sx ' Meg snapped as she leant over the back seat to help Belle gather Tony into her arms .sx Charles said nothing .sx He realized he had heard the motorcycles approaching and he knew they had had time to see his signal .sx He waited until his family were settled , then he accelerated into the car park .sx He caught the motorcycles and the riders in the full glare of his headlights , braked and slipped purposefully out of the car .sx 'Don't !sx ' Meg pleaded , but he ignored her .sx He had the acrid taste of fear in his mouth and his chest ached .sx His legs were rubbery but he was angry .sx He pulled his tired body off the rack of the long , weary drive from Dorset and clenched his fists .sx The riders were standing beside their motorcycles waiting for him .sx They were dressed from head to foot in black ; black leggings , boots , zipper jacket , goggles .sx Their manner was as insolent as the startling white skull and crossbones on each black crash helmet .sx They were young and Charles wanted to lash out at them .sx 'You maniacs !sx ' he snapped , and they stared at him .sx 'Turn the light out , Mister,' the slighter one drawled .sx 'It hurts my eyes .sx ' HE stood a yard away from them and tried to feel he was towering over them , but they were as tall , or even taller than he .sx He tried to control his fury and his hammering heart by taking a deep , slow breath .sx 'You crazy lunatics,' he said , and his voice sounded strange and weak .sx 'You'll kill someone someday [SIC] .sx ' One of them laughed ; a sharp , hysterical sound .sx The other spat .sx 'So what ?sx As long as it isn't you why should you worry ?sx ' Charles stepped forward , incensed beyond reason .sx Instantly the taller thrust his body forward and warned viciously :sx 'You touch me , mate and I'll call the cops .sx ' Amazed , Charles hesitated , and the taller one sensed his advantage .sx He flipped Charles' tie out , turned and caught his companion's arm .sx 'C'mon , boy .sx Let's blow !sx Man , this fella's a drag !sx ' Charles watched them strut into the doorway of the cafe@2 and realized his inadequacy .sx There was no way in which he could communicate with them .sx They were in their own , arrogant , teenage world ; a world of curt questions and harsh answers , of sudden irrational impulses ; a world that had changed radically in the twenty years since he had left it .sx At the car he was faced with the silence of his family .sx He sensed their fear , saw Meg's sharp , shadowed profile , saw Belle sitting tense , wide awake , her arm round Tony .sx It was Tony who spoke first .sx 'What did the man do , Daddy ?sx ' 'Hush !sx ' Meg silenced him quickly , but he would have felt better if she had said nothing .sx He wanted no protection from someone weaker than himself .sx 'Nothing,' he said and tucked the tie back inside his jacket .sx Meg watched him , then held the car door for him and his anger switched to her .sx He was not an invalid .sx But he checked himself , held the anger back , and slid into the driving seat .sx 'Shall we go on ?sx ' she asked and it was really a request , not a question .sx He nodded .sx Twenty miles across Rannet Moor , through Bisset and Scowlea , then home .sx He could wait an hour for a cup of tea .sx 'I want some orange,' Tony begged , and Meg soothed him .sx 'Hush , darling .sx When we get home .sx There isn't any here .sx ' 'But daddy didn't ask,' the boy insisted .sx 'He did,' Meg replied easily as Charles switched on the engine .sx He drove the first five miles along the black ribbon of the moor road carefully , in silence .sx He was ashamed and he felt that all his family , even Tony , were ashamed of him .sx Slowly his body calmed and his brain cooled , but he wanted home ; the touch and sight and smell of familiar things .sx He tried to tell himself that the car was an extension of home and that while he was in it nothing more could go wrong .sx But the moors were a cold , uneasy waste where every bush and shadow and dark rise hid watching eyes and alien fingers .sx Suddenly Meg nudged him gently and he glanced in the rear view mirror .sx [END]