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When Keller took hi he could have done for hinaled forto think about

"Mike," Garrity said, co toward hi Had a phone call fro to buy a little five-acre lot ofis, I don’t want to sell it to him"

"I see"

"But there’s ten acres on the other side of town I’d be perfectly happy to sell to him, but he’ll only want it if he thinks of it hier than I would have liked Noould you say to a glass of brandy?"

"Maybe a small one"

Garrity led the way to the den, poured drinks for both of them "You should have come earlier," he said "In time for dinner I hope you know you don’t need an invitation There’ll always be a place for you at our table"

"Well," Keller said

"I know you can’t talk about it," Garrity said, "but I hope your project here in town is shaping up nicely"

"Slow but sure," Keller said

"Sos can’t be hurried," Garrity allowed, and sipped brandy, and winced If Keller hadn’t been looking for it, he ht have missed the shadow that crossed his host’s face

Gently he said, "Is the pain bad, Wally?"

"How’s that, Mike?"

Keller put his glass on the table "I spoke to Dr Jacklin," he said "I knohat you’re going through"

"That son of a bitch," Garrity said, "was supposed to keep his ht to talk to ht I was Dr Edward Fish for a consultation"

"Soo to Mayo," Garrity said, "but they didn’t need to call Harold Jacklin to double-check their results They just confir records" He looked to one side "They said they couldn’t say for sure how eable for a while And then it wouldn’t"

"I see"

"And I’d have all my faculties for a while," he said "And then I wouldn’t"

Keller didn’t say anything

"Well, hell," Garrity said "A man wants to take the bull by the horns, doesn’t he? I decided I’d go out for a ith a shotgun and have a little hunting accident Or I’d be cleaning a handgun here at o off But it turned out I just couldn’t tolerate the idea of killing myself Don’t knohy, can’t explain it, but that seelass and looked at the brandy "Funny hoe hang on to life," he said "So else Sam Johnson said, said there wasn’t a week of his life he’d voluntarily live through again I’ve had ood tiodawful, but I think I knohat he was getting at I wouldn’t want to repeat any of it, but that doesn’ttonext, either, and I don’t guess Dr Johnson did either That’s what keeps us going, isn’t it? Wanting to find out what’s around the next bend in the river"

"I guess so"

"I thought that wouldwhen it was coo a fellow told me to let him know if I ever needed to have sohed, and that was the last said on the subject A o I looked up his nuave me another number to call"

"And you put out a contract"

"Is that the expression? Then that’s what I did"

"Suicide by proxy," Keller said

"And I guess you’re holding my proxy," Garrity said, and drank soht flashed acrosswith you after you pulled li ridiculous A hired killer doesn’t turn up and save soreed

"Besides, ould you be doing at the party in the first place? Wouldn’t you stay out of sight and wait until you could get ht," Keller said "I told myself it wouldn’t hurt to have a look around And this joker fro to worry about ‘Half the town’ll be at Wally’s tonight,’ he said"

"Half the toas You wouldn’t have tried anything that night, would you?"

"God, no"

"I reht Because I was enjoying the party and I didn’t want to , wasn’t it?"

"Yes"

"Saved the boy fro to the Chinese, you save somebody’s life, you’re responsible for him for the rest ofyour life Because you’ve interfered with the natural order of things That make sense to you?"

"Not really"

"Orup a ot some queer ideas on other subjects Of course they’d probably say the same for some of my notions"