The Hitch-Hiker (short story)

"The Hitch-Hiker" is a short story by Roald Dahl that was originally published in July 1977 issue of the Atlantic Monthly, and later included in Dahl's short story collection The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More. The story is about a man who picks up a hitch-hiker whilst driving to London. The pick-pocketing of a policeman's notebook during a traffic stop closely follows "Hitch-Hike", a 1960 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents based on a short story by Ed Lacy.

It was adapted as the 13th episode of Tales of the Unexpected.

Plot summary[]

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The narrator is driving to London in his new BMW 1975 car when he picks up a hitchhiker. The narrator always used to pick up hitchhikers since, in early times, he also used to hitchhike and he knew how difficult it can be. The author described the hitchhiker as a small ratty-faced man with grey teeth. The man mentions he's going to the horse races, but not to bet or work the ticket machines. The narrator is intrigued and says he's a writer and tells him the trouble was that writers are terribly nosy.

They get to talking about the car, and the narrator proudly states it can hit 129 miles per hour. The hitchhiker doubts that, so, once they hit a straight patch of road, the narrator steps on the gas. They're almost there when a cop on a motorcycle zooms past and signals them to stop. The cop is a bit of a bully and threatens to have the narrator thrown in prison. He takes down his address and also that of the hitchhiker. Then he giveut their careers again, and eventually the hitchhiker announces he is a "fingersmith". He is so skilled with his hands that he even manages to remove the narrator's belt without him noticing. He attends races and steals money from the winners. "That policeman's going to check up on you pretty thoroughly," the narrator says. "Doesn't that worry you a bit?"

The hitchhiker responds no one will be checking up on him, as policemen have notoriously bad memories. "What's memory got to do with it?" the narrator asks. "It's written down in his book, isn't it?" The hitchhiker proudly announces he's stolen both books from the policeman. "Easiest job I ever done". They pull off the road to burn the books.