Shannon was about to tell him--as she had not told<br > him a half hour before--"Stick it!" when， like the Che-<br > shire cat， her editor vanished and she became aware<br > that， on the stairs， much too close to her， was this basket-<br > ball player or descendant of a Watusi chief.<br > A sharp pain--as the thin gold chain dug into her neck<br > by way of leave-taking. And it was gone! As was he，<br > sprinting down to the bottom of the stairs， where he<br > stopped for a moment， turned and smiled up at her. And<br > was gone again.<br > Rubbing her neck， she opened her mouth to yell， and<br >closed it. Can you imagine? I m too embarrassed to<br >scream. " Gee， lady， you shouldn t be wearing no gold，<br >even a little-bitty thing like that， outside， you know. " I<br >know. I know. I asked for it. It s my fault， right? No<br >wonder the bastard was smiling. Jesus， what a place to<br >live.<br > She felt for the chain， to make sure it was really gone.<br >And she saw the loping thieFs black head， chopped from<br >QQ<br >7<br ><br >