ttle in  but trotted off into t toucook breaticed Id some to for some little time -- and sank into one of te metal terrace c -a-pat, I can tell you, but t last appeared from somey sood tirical, piercing, blue eye.

    Except for tances t in one ainless steel, many-brancick of as, butc  silver skull and crossbones for a buckle, coarse, cropped, grey ied Indian-style around ty grey in colour.

    quot;You ts come about t; sion was pure hillbilly.

    I burbled in tive.

    quot; t; sed to ed me still furto herself.

    But noting roar announced action  to commence. ttle person set doerrace table, briskly struck a matc of s and applied to ting t in a cable t ed negligently on t to see.

    dressing up for terviein bias-cut lace-trimmed negligee circa 1935,  sugar almond, one  Max Factor look and s I assumed o tural precision of too far  gave   ed-in red trapezoid.

    But s look  all, at all -- oen or fifteen years younger, t tuagenarian riven as s. Impressive, though. Impressive as hell.

    And you kne once t launc because anytill smouldering a ranscended beauty. But somet you look at her and keep on looking.

    At once I  into automatic, I assumed tance of gigolo. I picked up , said: quot;Encéquot;, bo not surprised by t s smile for fear of cracking y greeting, eyeing me in a very peculiar  made tively vegetarian.

    It freaked me. S y. So ts . Id never before, nor am I likely to again, encountered sucreamed out of t frail little old lady in ique lingerie and ic about it, alt  t extraordinary sexual c and ted your regard into sexual energy. I  quite terrified, if I , know w I mean.

    And all time I kept t kept running t;tom is up from t;

    Nigainly broug t of jasmine.

    Sy greeting.  you o crouco ung your cell so make you crouch.

    quot;My sister,quot; suring tocion and submission uck in  and an expression of unrelieved cynicism on er. God.

    ts  my leg, making me jump, and ss greying mane.

    quot;And times; more exposure to introduce Leo, formerly of MGM.quot;

    t cocked its o side and roared again, in unmistakable faso identify itself. Mickey Mouse does akes a ride on trigger.

    quot;Ars gratia artis,quot; ss. quot;ure,  you, darling.quot;

    quot;Drinkies!quot; announced Sister, magnificently clattering a tle-laden trolley.

    After tini, o broac of  cars burning, nigal c seemed to cer, to break your balls. But it  to get a  was briskly c my knowledge of screen ory.

    quot;No, t director certainly  Ben Carre, o t!. . . My goodness me, young man, allace Reid o bad rubbisent leat t into your noddle?quot;

    Nos tongue, as if to scer put aumblerful, to my one, and creaked resonantly from time to time, like an old door.

    quot;No, no, no, young man! Laugainly  addicted to self-abuse!quot;

    And out of t came to me t t dreamy perfume of jasmine issued from no floead, rig of ty, do you remember? And I suffered a gly sense of incipient ion, of impending erotic doom, so t I ser, alert and eiting or complicitous, slos of gin into my glass.

    ter belc;Gonna take a leak.quot;

    Evidently equipped  vision, so ter a pause, came tinkle of running er. So Nature as far as toilet training  out ter making pee-pee brougo eartcumbler, for thing solid.

    quot;About time,quot; I said, quot;you met ;

    Nig turned t in dress ser on in it.

    quot;; sed ics; and t seemed, fell directly into trance for, all at once, sance and said no more.

    I took advantage of tention to pour my gin dorusting t by t inguiser, clanking -buckle as sed o us and juggled ice and lemon slices as if notoaking place. tly normal, even conversational tone, t said: quot;e kisses, red kisses. And coke in a golden casket on top of t;

    Sister tsked, possibly ation.

    quot;Reckon youve ; said Sister. quot;Reckon you deserve a stiff w;

    t roused t someunately, stood cter of seconds, ture  ently biffing ty stomaco urbed.

    quot;t it too muc;

    quot;; said Sister. S braying but laughing.

    t propped old me  plane.

    quot;I used to t; s;Niger nigurning in ties, tos, ttoes of tures of t to  of men. And t tle t t urgies of t reverential age, t great age of religion.  tion of t forransmission of divine light.

    quot;No is s tock; but ;

    All t more t s about me. Moment by moment, sitiously, I fumbled ed to get t tape recorder spooling a I; w migalking.

    quot;Is erprets t or does t speak time, not t of shadows?

    quot;; serrupted herself.

    ter, ime or liquor, extended rousered leg in one succinct and noiseless movement and kicked my briefcase clear into t dropped h a liquid plop.

    In spite of t of poetic justice in it, t my file on Manne as  admit t noo a great fear. I even t t o murder me, te. Remember, te drunk; it  arbitrarily drotle tools of my parasitic trade, leaving me naked and at to reassure me, but I  expecting it and jumped  of my skin.

    t broke into speech again.

    quot;Sirement, you knos t almost break taggers beneato op retreat.

    quot;Age does not e sure of t, young man. Sill irradiates t discover true secret of immortality togeto exist almost and only in t;

    I cannot say it comforted me to to some degree, possessed, and so ly s to refer to  ventriloquial, insubstantial voice t scratcc. But by  very close to turbed spirit of ap Art of Ligell you. And speaking of tter -- Atacula Paradoxa Rerum (1624), tre of Paradoxes.

    she spoke no more.

    ter broke t were wind.

    quot;ts about t of it, young man,quot; s;Got enoug;

    S,  ble all t me alone . But notranspired because t seemed to  on, t, flat out in  t broug tin dress inguisoo. I sail a set of floods concealed in t, ted drinks trolley, to terrace by my nervous feet, ttle plants puser of ted, suddenly liged a corpse.

    resolved itself, as I peered, o my o a floating debris of papers and tape boxes. I poured myself anoto steady my nerves. Sister appeared again, rigical air. In close-up,  I oo co care w be. So herself, again.

    quot;e es yall ape recorders,quot; s;Reckon us folks t;

    S at ts s unconscious contents into t and padded after. to. After a moment, a set of concealing crimson curtains s . I ed to see tains, but ts  off and I he dark.

    Uno negotiate teps doo te, I reaclessly for t until I fell into a troubled slumber.

    And I ahe cold hill-side.

    ell, not exactly. I o find myself tucked into t of my ooyota truck in tal lobes and all my joints a-t even try te of t out of t back in again and raiger a  oyota truck. Sister, of course, at the wheel.

    Sook me at illicit speed, blasting t in a toot smile, even teet last s, in terests of sc ya dire operetta in th, I would never have so much as guessed.

    S ed ted too often, too. t ted te courteously, until I raffic, out of their lives.

    o substitute for von Mann difficult to come by in Souter all to let me in on the masquerade. And, if so, why.

    Perructed terpiece of subterfuge, von Mann bear to die  leaving some little , someo s little acolyte, myself, t of est . But, more likely,  resist turning o t one last time, couldnt let doo knoure of ill ac clinc, in my oion did not make me any t ease.

    In taurant, -juicer op, pursing aste; se Kentucky fried cernoon and I ed o come upstairs o remind me to fles and illusion, but she shook her head.

    quot;Boring,quot; ser a one, quot;Not just you. Everyt;

    quot;I t you said you felt like an enemy alien at ;

    Saring t bangs at te sunligside.

    quot;Better t; she said.

    I realised I  a  to note to rip, and, alt to me, all to realise ed to go oo, and longed for rain again, and television, t secular medium.