Tales of the Unexpected

car from your country. Cadillac –’
    ‘Hey, now. Wait a minute.’ The boy leaned back in his deck-chair and he laughed. ‘I can’t put up that sort of property. This is crazy.’
    ‘Not crazy at all. You strike lighter successfully ten times running and Cadillac is yours. You like to have dis Cadillac, yes?’
    ‘Sure, I’d like to have a Cadillac.’ The boy was grinning.
    ‘All right. Fine. We make a bet and I put up my Cadillac.’
    ‘And what do I put up?’
    The little man carefully removed the red band from his still unlighted cigar. ‘I never ask you, my friend, to bet something you cannot afford. You understand?’
    ‘Then what do I bet?’
    ‘I make it very easy for you, yes?’
    ‘Okay. You make it easy.’
    ‘Some small ting you can afford to give away, and if you did happen to lose it you would not feel too bad. Right?’
    ‘Such as what?’
    ‘Such as, perhaps, de little finger on your left hand.’
    ‘My
what
?’ The boy stopped grinning.
    ‘Yes. Why not? You win, you take de car. You looss, I take de finger.’
    ‘I don’t get it. How d’you mean, you take the finger?’
    ‘I chop it off.’
    ‘Jumping jeepers! That’s a crazy bet. I think I’ll just make it a dollar.’
    The little man leaned back, spread out his hands palms upwards and gave a tiny contemptuous shrug of the shoulders. ‘Well, well, well,’ he said. ‘I do not understand. You say it lights but you will not bet. Den we forget it, yes?’
    The boy sat quite still, staring at the bathers in the pool. Then he remembered suddenly he hadn’t lighted his cigarette. He put it between his lips, cupped his hands around the lighter and flipped the wheel. The wick lighted and burned with a small, steady, yellow flame and the way he held his hands the wind didn’t get to it at all.
    ‘Could I have a light, too?’ I said.
    ‘God, I’m sorry, I forgot you didn’t have one.’
    I held out my hand for the lighter, but he stood up and came over to do it for me.
    ‘Thank you,’ I said, and he returned to his seat.
    ‘You having a good time?’ I asked.
    ‘Fine,’ he answered. ‘It’s pretty nice here.’
    There was a silence then, and I could see that the little man had succeeded in disturbing the boy with his absurd proposal. He was sitting there very still, and it was obvious that a small tension was beginning to build up inside him. Then he started shifting about in his seat, and rubbing his chest, and stroking the back of his neck, and finally he placed both hands on his knees and began tap-tapping with his fingers against the kneecaps. Soon he was tapping with one of his feet as well.
    ‘Now just let me check up on this bet of yours,’ he said at last. ‘You say we go up to your room and if I make this lighter light ten times running I win a Cadillac. If it misses just once then I forfeit the little finger of my left hand. Is that right?’
    ‘Certainly. Dat is de bet. But I tink you are afraid.’
    ‘What do we do if I lose? Do I have to hold my finger out while you chop it off?’
    ‘Oh, no! Dat would be no good. And you might be tempted to refuse to hold it out. What I should do I should tie one of your hands to de table before we started and I should stand dere with a knife ready to go
chop
de momint your lighter missed.’
    ‘What year is the Cadillac?’ the boy asked.
    ‘Excuse. I not understand.’
    ‘What year – how old is the Cadillac?’
    ‘Ah! How old? Yes. It is last year. Quite new car. But I see you are not betting man. Americans never are.’
    The boy paused for just a moment and he glanced first at the English girl, then at me. ‘Yes,’ he said sharply. ‘I’ll bet you.’
    ‘Good!’ The little man clapped his hands together quietly, once. ‘Fine,’ he said. ‘We do it now. And you, sir,’ he turned to me, ‘you would perhaps be good enough to, what you call it, to – to referee.’ He had pale, almost colourless eyes with tiny bright black pupils.
    ‘Well,’ I said. ‘I think it’s a crazy bet. I don’t think I like it very much.’
    ‘Nor do I,’ said the English girl. It was the first time she’d spoken. ‘I think it’s a stupid, ridiculous bet.’
    ‘Are you serious about cutting off this boy’s finger if he loses?’ I said.
    ‘Certainly I am. Also about giving him Cadillac if he win. Come now. We go to my room.’
    He stood up. ‘You like to put on some clothes first?’ he said.
    ‘No,’ the boy answered. ‘I’ll come like this.’ Then he