Friday the Rabbi Slept Late Read Free Page B

forehead as if to stimulate cerebration. He looked about his desk nearsightedly and finally found a ruler, which he used to mark a place in the book. A moment later he used a paperweight to mark another. Then he drew out a second volume, and here he seemed more certain for he quickly found the passage he was looking for. Finally he pushed both volumes away and looked benignly at the two men before him.
    “There are certain aspects of the case that are not entirely clear to me. I notice, for example, that you, Mr. Schwarz, speak of Sarah, whereas you, Mr. Reich, speak of Mrs. Weinbaum. Does this indicate merely a greater informality in Mr. Schwarz, or that the lady is closer to the Schwarzes than she is to the Reichs?”
    “She was a member of the group. We were all friends. If any one of us had a party or an affair, they would invite her just as we did.”
    The rabbi looked at Reich, who said, “I’d say she was closer to them. We met the Weinbaums through Ben and Myra. They were particularly friendly.”
    “Yes, perhaps that’s so,” Schwarz admitted. “What of it?”
    “And it was in your car that she drove up to the skiing area?” asked the rabbi.
    “Yes, although it just worked out that way. What are you driving at?”
    “I am suggesting that she was essentially your guest, and that you felt a greater sense of responsibility for her than did Mr. Reich.”
    Mr. Wasserman leaned forward.
    “Yes, I suppose that’s so,” Schwarz admitted again.
    “Then in driving her home, wasn’t Mr. Reich in a sense doing you a favor?”
    “He was doing himself a favor too. He had a bad cold and wanted to get home.”
    “Had he made any suggestions to that effect before Mrs. Weinbaum received the call?”
    “No, but we all knew he wanted to get home.”
    “If the call had not come, do you think he would have asked for your car?”
    “Probably not.”
    “Then I think we may leave it that in driving Mrs. Weinbaum home he was doing you a favor, however advantageous it may have been to himself.”
    “Well, I don’t see that it makes any difference. What of it?”
    “Just this, that in the one case he would be in the position of a borrower, but in the second case he is in effect your agent, and a different set of rules applies. As a borrower, the responsibility of returning your car in good condition rests squarely on him, and to avoid liability he would have to prove that there was a flaw in the car and also that there was no negligence on his part. Furthermore, it would be his responsibility to make sure that the car was in good condition when he took it. As an agent, on the other hand, he has a right to assume that the car was in good condition and the burden of proof rests with you. It is you who has to prove that he was grossly negligent.” Wasserman smiled.
    “I don’t see that it makes much difference. I feel that in either case he was grossly negligent. And I can prove it. There wasn’t a drop of oil in the car. That’s what the garage mechanic said. Now, he let the oil run dry and that is gross negligence.”
    “How would I know the oil was low?” demanded Reich.
    Until now, both men had addressed themselves to the rabbi, talking to each other through him. But now Schwarz swung around and facing Reich directly, said, ‘You stopped for gas, didn’t you?”
    Reich also turned in his chair. “Yes, I stopped for gas. When I got into the car I noticed you had less than half a tank, so after we’d been driving for about an hour, I pulled into a station and told him to fill her up.”
    “But you didn’t tell him to check the oil,” said Schwarz.
    “No, and I didn’t tell him to check the water in the radiator or in the battery or the pressure in the tires. I had a nervous, hysterical woman on the seat beside me who could hardly wait until he finished pumping the gas. Why did I have to check everything out? It was practically a new car. It wasn’t a jalopy.”
    “And yet Sarah told Myra that she