Free Stealing Through Time: On the Writings of Jack Finney by Jack Seabrook Page A

crime. Ben explains that Arnie's identity is based largely on what other people think of him —'"he has no conviction inside himself about what he really is; it has to be supplied to him all the time'" (45). Arnie was greatly affected by his father's sudden unemployment when Arnie was in high school, and Arnie's repeated attempts to appear successful culminated with the fraudulent engagement ring purchase that landed him in San Quentin.
    After this bit of background, Ben and Ruth split up to spend the afternoon buying supplies to carry out their plan. Finney does not reveal the details of the plan to the reader, just as in 5 Against the House he held back details of the casino robbery plans in order to create suspense.
    Problems begin to emerge in chapter six, when Mr. Nova, a neighbor, approaches Ben and Ruth. He's an aging guard at San Quentin who tells Ben that he saw him at the prison. Nova offers to help Arnie, but Ben declines the offer from the unsavory man and returns home with Ruth to continue preparing. At two a.m., they drive up Highway 101 to the San Rafael ferry near the prison wall. Ben and Ruth's time together has sparked an attraction between them, and they kiss before Ruth drops Ben off at a preselected place.
    In chapter seven, Ben climbs over the prison wall and hides inside an empty furniture crate outside the building where the prisoners make furniture. He sleeps poorly and waits for morning, which arrives in chapter eight. The details of the escape plan begin to come clear at this point, when Arnie gives Ben his identification card and takes his place in the furniture crate. Ben is now Arnie, fading into the daily life of prisoners and living the life of a convict. After successfully making it through a search, Ben arrives at his lodging for the night: "I was locked in cell 1042 of San Quentin Prison" (83).
    Details of prison life dominate the next two chapters, as Ben learns about the various checks and counts that the guards use to keep track of the inmates. The first count completed, Ben knows that he has successfully replaced Arnie and that his brother will not be missed. Ben then follows the rest of the convicts into the huge cafeteria for dinner. In this portion of the novel, Ben is the eyes and ears of the reader, experiencing first-hand what it is like to be an inmate of San Quentin and describing it all for us from the point of view of an innocent man.
    Finney's point of view here is interesting, especially in light of the book's dedication: "To my friend, Harley O. Teets, Warden of the California State Prison, San Quentin" (4). Despite having committed a crime in order to help his guilty brother break out of prison and avoid paying for a violent crime, Ben is portrayed as an innocent man, and his prison experience is a mixture of fear and awe. The awe is rather odd, and reads as if Finney were writing a public relations piece for the benefit of the jail. As Ben looks around the cafeteria, he thinks:
It was a cheerful room, it occurred to me, the floor a rich red, tables of light wood, beautifully made and varnished, the walls a soft green and painted with murals. And it was immaculately clean. Not bad, I thought, and leaned back a little on my stool, comfortably; ... [99].
    Although this sense of peace does not last long and contrasts with what happens next, the reader gets the sense that Finney is laying it on a bit too thick here, as if trying to present a balanced point of view in order to please a friend.
    Ben's problems begin as he absentmindedly lights a cigarette after dinner. With this act, he unknowingly breaks a prison rule, and a guard yells at him. His identification is checked and he sees his neighbor, Nova, watching him. Nova follows Ben back to his cell and Ben resolves to kill Nova to protect his own secret —yet Ben's conscience prevents him from carrying out the murder. "I was willing; I could justify it; I knew I had to do it... But I could not kill him... I was incapable of