Free End of the Tiger by John D. MacDonald

her father and mother travel and live in a big house trailer. An employee named Arn drives the pickup truck that pulls the big dog trailer. They have a nice string. Dave and I both fell for Joanne at the same time. She is button-sized, with blonde hair like silk, and big dark eyes and lashes and brows. She always seems to be half laughing at you. She likes nice things and nice places to go. She is content with a hamburger and a drive-in if that’s all you can swing. But she is more contented—and shows it—when you can have drinks at the Tampa Terrace and dinner at Ybor City. She is fun to be with. She sparkles.
    As I said, it is a good job to have when you are in school. I had my courses arranged so I could work the matinees on Wednesday and Saturday. That way I could make a hundred and five dollars a week during the season and still keep up reasonably well in the classes. At least I wasn’t falling too far behind.
    But it is not such a good job when you start competing for Joanne. The money seemed to melt away too easily. And money is the pulse of the track. Gambling is the only reason for the existence of the track. Money beats in the air like a drum you can’t quite hear. If that drum beat gets in your blood, then it can be a very bad job indeed. If you check out short, the management can be very very difficult. Perhaps the atmosphere is emotionally unhealthy. Without trying to sound too moral, I can say that it is only unhealthy if you have the streak of weakness that permits you to cheat. I had honesty hammered into me right from year one. I wasn’t capable of forcing myself to play out of the box, and I guess that was what Joe Stack had sensed and what made him anxious to help me along.
    I knew Joe Stack was being devious. I knew he had guessed that my friend, Dave Truelow, had been playingout of the box and had been lucky at it. So he told me to watch Garner. I don’t know what he was trying to prove, or what he thought I would do. Dave had gotten the inside track with Joanne. His grades were in pretty bad shape. He was beginning to act jumpy. I knew all I had to do was tell Joe Stack that Dave was playing out of the box regularly. Joe would fire him. He wouldn’t be able to wine and dine Joanne, and she would have to be content with my more meager date money. But I couldn’t do that.
    After the races were over, I saw that Dave checked out with no difficulty. From the way he glanced at me I guessed he had had a pretty good evening. Joe, as usual, gave me a ride back to the campus after the armored car had been dispatched. As we drove out by the empty parking lot Dave passed us in the small used convertible he had bought. The top was down, and I saw Joanne beside him, some sort of white net affair over her pale hair. It hurt to see her going out with him. But there wasn’t much I could do about it.
    “I wonder if Dave gets any sleep at all,” Joe said.
    “He gets some.”
    “How is he doing at the school?”
    “I don’t really know.”
    “You aren’t as friendly with him as you used to be. Break up over the girl?”
    “I guess so.”
    “Nice-looking girl, Johnny. Nice expensive little item.”
    I was glad he didn’t continue it. I was glad he dropped it right there. After I was back in my room, it took time to get my mind riveted to the math book. Joanne kept getting in the way. I could see her walk, and see the way her mouth curved when she smiled.
    We had a huge crowd on Friday night. It was the kind of evening the Chamber of Commerce claims Florida has all the time. Colored spots played on the infield fountains. The dogs ran hard in the white glare of the floodlights. The windows were busy. It was a bustling, good-humored crowd, with heavier money than usual.
    When we had a breathing spell after the fourth race, and I had over four thousand worth of receipts in mybox, Stan Garner winked over at me and said, “Davey is ailing.”
    I glanced at Dave. He was looking straight ahead. His color was