"There's four," the man insisted just as strongly. "See?"
He pried open the boy's fingers and looked.
"Sorry," he said. "You're right." His hand went into his pocket to make up the deficit.
"Hey! Wait a minute," the boy said. "I was wrong. You gave me two pennies too much."
A small pudgy finger took two of the pennies. The boy glanced at the others to make sure the right number were left.
Nale was close enough to see what happened. He saw the pennies taken from what seemed to be seven or eight in the boy's palm. When the two were taken away there seemed to be a slight blur—and there was only a solitary penny left.
He didn't wait. The paper boy and the customer were still patiently arguing as he climbed into his car and drove away. He drove slowly with his foot close to the brakes.
Although his eyes were warily watching each car on the street, his mind was busy. He was trying to figure out who had been shot.
"It might even have been me!" he thought. And there was no way of knowing.
He drove the car another block. There was doubt growing in his mind. On a sudden impulse he pulled the car over to the curb and stopped the motor. Getting out, he started walking rapidly. There would be three miles of walking before he reached observation, but it would be safer to walk.