Charles Laughton
1955
Carol
They threw me off the hay truck about noon. I had swung on the night before, down at the border, and as soon as i got up there under the canvas, i went to sleep. I needed plenty of that, after three weeks in Tia Juana, and i was still getting it when they pulled off to one side to let the engine cool. Then they saw a foot sticking out and threw me off. I tried some comical stuff, but all i got was a dead pan, so that gag was out. They gave me a cigarette though, and i hiked down the road to find something to eat.
The Postman Always Rings Twice
James M Cain
1946
https://nevalalee.wordpress.com/2018/01/01/american-stories-1-the-postman-always-rings-twice/