But how did it happen?" "After he was elected, we had a lot of people on the payroll." "Who?" "Senators, congressmen, judges. That's why he always said, 'Why waste money on politics, when you can buy the government?' " "I remember him saying that. But that's hard to understand, unless you explain it to someone like me. You're right: that's a very cheap shot. But there's one thing you can't explain to a person like me. How he could think of being president." "You should have heard him talk about the presidency during the campaign. It was like he was born to be president. He was always dreaming up ideas to give his enemies a lot of headaches. It seemed like most of his campaign promises were plans for other people's downfalls." The door to the study opened and Sissy came in. "What's so interesting?" she asked. I shook my head. "Is something wrong?" Sissy asked. "It's all right," I said. "Don't worry about it." But I thought she would. When we were talking, I didn't want her to hear anything that could interest her. She thought it would be best if her husband forgot the past. "Sissy," I said, "if you want to know what happened to the man who used to visit me, I'll tell you. But if I don't tell you, then you've got to forget he exists." "But what if he wants to see his son?" "Then I guess he can come by the house." "Well, then why don't you tell him what you told me?" "That's easy. I don't know where he is." The telephone rang. I picked up the extension and said, "Yes?" The man's voice was low and hoarse. "Do you know that person I was just talking about?" "Just a moment," I said. I turned to Sissy and whispered. "It's the man from the barbershop. He says he's on his way up here to take you and Jimmy for a ride." I handed her my gun. "Let's go," I said. "Go where?" she asked. "You go with your husband, and I'll go with mine." "But I don't want to go anywhere with him." "Get out of here," I said. "If you come back, I'll send for the police." I went down the steps to the study door. "Come on," I called to her. "It's late." Her husband was standing by the table, looking at me, saying nothing. "I've got to go," she said. "I'll be back in a little while." "Why don't you go now?" I said. "I can't. I haven't got my purse." "Damn it," I said, walking over to the table. "I told you I didn't want him here. You should have warned me about him." "What are you going to do?" I raised my voice. "Shut up. Just get out of here." The two of them went out the door and around to the back of the house. I followed them out, but I didn't see them again until they were standing in the car at the parking lot behind the barbershop. The man who was driving said, "We can take one more look, but it'll have to be fast." I shook my head. "Sissy is back there, getting her purse. But you can't stay here and you can't come in here. You stay out here." "We were told we could come to the house and take them for a ride. They're in the car now." "I told her to wait until I got back." "But that's not why I called you. I want you to do something for me." "You got a lot of nerve calling me up at this time of night and asking me to do something for you." "Don't talk like that. This has nothing to do with money. I know you can't do anything for me." "If I said yes, then what?" "I'll get in touch with you. In a couple of days, you can go to your regular place and tell the proprietor you're working a special job for a man named O'Connell. And when I call up the first day, you'll be ready for me. You understand? You understand, don't you?" "That's better than telling me I'm in trouble." "I have to go now. I'm still in the city. Do you understand what I want?" "Yeah. I understand." "I can't stand here any longer. Goodbye." "Hey," I said. "You haven't said where they're going." "Now that you've done your work, you can go on and get some sleep. Goodbye." "Yeah, but where they going?" "For a ride," he said. "You know, for a ride." He drove off slowly, the big car pulling away from the curb. "Damn it," I said, going back to the door. "He had a gun. If I hadn't shot him, he'd have been back here." I went inside and looked in the pantry to make sure he wasn't there. I looked in the refrigerator. In the back of the liquor cabinet I found a couple of bottles of whiskey and a dozen or so pints of brandy. I drank until I was completely drunk, thinking of the people in my life who were dead. By the time morning came, my head was clear. I didn't even remember getting in bed. But there I was, asleep. I awoke with the sun in my eyes, feeling like a drowned man. The clock said ten after five, and there was no sound in the house. I went down to the kitchen and saw something white on the table. I picked it up. It was the shirt Sissy had worn the day before. The sleeves were rolled up around her wrists. I went upstairs and found her awake in bed, lying on her side. I touched her, but she didn't stir. "Is your wife in the house?" I asked the man sleeping on the couch. He opened his eyes. "Yes," he said. "Where is she?" "I don't know. She took off somewhere last night." "Where did she say she was going?" "She didn't say." "Did she say anything to you before she left?" "No." "I'll have to call a doctor." "How much will you have to pay him?" he asked. "How much do you think I'll have to pay him?" "I guess twenty dollars will be all right." I called for a doctor. He came and gave Sissy a shot, putting a few drops of something into her arm. I asked him to keep an eye on her. Then I went upstairs and went to bed and lay there for hours, thinking about all the things that had happened to me in the past. After a while, I began to get hungry, but I didn't go down to the kitchen to eat. I wanted to be alone, and I wanted to think. But I had other things on my mind. The first thing I thought about was the man who had given me that twenty dollars. I had thought the whole thing was a dirty trick, that the man wasn't really worth twenty dollars. He had tried to trick me, but I had tricked him. But now I had to think of something else. I sat up on the edge of the bed, looking at the clock. It was a quarter after one. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom and washed up and brushed my teeth and combed my hair. Then I went downstairs and got an armful of newspapers. I cut them up and stuffed them into a cardboard box. I picked up the telephone and dialed the operator. "Give me Long Distance," I said. "Long distance?" she asked. "What department do you want?" "Tell them I want the number of the newspaper that is published in Santa Fe." "Santa Fe, is that near where you are?" "Yeah. Put me through." I sat at the kitchen table and made myself a sandwich with a glass of milk to go with it. When I had finished eating, I washed my plate, cut off the end of a cigar, and lit it. I sat there smoking until three o'clock, when the telephone rang. "Hello," I said. "Hello. This is Dr. Dusenberry. I just saw your wife this morning." "How's she doing?" I asked. "Fine. The boy has a broken arm. That's the reason I called you up. Will she be able to come to the clinic?" "I'll be there in a few minutes," I said. "I'll expect you