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.

The author describes the hitchhiker as a small ratty-faced man with long, slim fingers.

They are stopped by a policeman on a motorcycle, who is a bit of a bully and threatens to have the narrator thrown in prison.

The hitchhiker takes offense at the implication that he would be ashamed of his work, and the narrator tries to guess what his true occupation is.

He makes a living by attending races and stealing money from the winners and the rich, and proudly announces that he has never been caught.