The Good Samaritans

=Summary= It’s late at night when Rigsby lets a room to Mr Gray, a dishevelled character who feels he’s sunk to the bottom of society in ending up at a place like Rigsby’s. He breaks down and complains about having once lived a life of luxury, eating at the Ritz and associating with the rich. Although the old man is a candidate for suicide, Rigsby is blind to his desperation and leaves him to write farewell letters, believing he’s preparing to emigrate.

Discussing the matter with Alan, Rigsby conﬁrms Mr Gray arrived without any luggage and seemed depressed: Alan fears he’s going to do himself in, but the unsympathetic Rigsby hopes not because he’s just shampooed the carpet. When Philip tells them he’s lent Mr Gray his razor, Rigsby nearly does his nut, until Philip mentions it’s only electric.

Rigsby decides to see how he’s getting on, but soon wishes he hadn’t when Mr Gray grabs him and conﬁdes that his problems in life are due to a woman who took him for every penny he had. When he ﬁnally escapes, Rigsby rushes to Miss Jones and persuades her to speak with Mr Gray to see if she can cheer him up.

Rigsby rings the Samaritans for help, but when a man arrives he ends up mistaking Miss Jones, whom he catches with her head in the oven, and a frenzied Rigsby, who’s just ﬁnished reading a note from Mr Gray, who’s climbed on to the roof, as the victims. Rigsby has no time to mess about, and clambers on to the roof to try and talk Mr Gray down. But before the night is out, Rigsby ﬁnds himself being stretchered away to hospital courtesy of the good Samaritan.