“But I won’t forget you,” Ken said obstinately.
“Okay, then you won’t forget me,” she said carelessly. “Go on, beat it.”
“I’m very grateful for your help,” he said, and held out his hand.
She giggled, looking at him.
“You’re a nut, handsome,” she said, moved close, slid her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. Then she pushed him away. “Get going, Romeo. You’re wasting time.”
He reached up, slid the skylight back, caught hold of the wooden surround and hauled himself up.
He hung for a moment, looking over the dark roof; then, seeing no movement, he pulled himself up until he was on the roof. He looked down at the dim white shape of Rose’s face, waved to her, replaced the skylight, and, crouching down, began to move silently across the roof to the shelter of a chimney stack.
When he reached the stack, he paused to study the geography of the roofs. Away in the distance he could see the blaze of neon lights on the walls of the movie house. They looked some way from him. The sounds below of men’s voices and the tramping of feet unnerved him. It was some moments before he could steady himself to concentrate on his way of escape.
Roof after roof stretched away into the darkness; some of them flat, some sloping, some ridged. Having decided the way to go, he cautiously set off, climbing a six-foot wall to haul himself up on the next roof. This sloped gently into a gutter, then rose steeply to the next roof.
Half-way up the steep roof, his foot slipped, and he slithered back into the gutter, making a noise that brought him out in a cold sweat. He tried again, and this time managed to hook hi9 fingers over the ridge of the roof. He hung for a moment, then hauled himself up, trying to keep as flat as possible against the skyline.