A wedge of sunlight slipped over the edge of the desk and fell noiselessly to the carpet.

The girl gave him a look which ought to have stuck at least four inches out of his back.

The gun wasn't pointed at me, he was just holding it.

I stared. She caught me staring. She lifted her glance half an inch and I wasn't there any more. But wherever I was I was holding my breath.

It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in.

There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.

I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn't care who knew it.

Money sharpens the memory.

It is not a fragrant world.

It all depends on where you sit and what your own private score is. I didn't have one. I didn't care. I finished the drink and went to bed.

‘I'm all undressed,’ she said, after I had smoked and stared at her for a minute.

The second floor was lighter and cleaner, but that didn't mean that it was clean and light.

I wasn't doing any work that day, just catching up on my foot-dangling.

I sat very still and listened to the evening grow quiet outside the open windows. And very slowly I grew quiet with it.

Beyond the beach a curving bay was bluer than any bay has any right to be.

Ten minutes later I was sorry. But ten minutes later I was somewhere else.

I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country.

What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun.

I kissed her some more. It was light, pleasant work.

There are days like that. Everybody you meet is a dope. You begin to look at yourself in the glass and wonder.