OUR LAST POET
in
the mind of the poet: an ogre, repulsive, hairy, and with slaver–
ing jaws, aggressively befanged, smelling of blood. The trouble with
driving the car had been the possibility of a wreck while thinking of
J.F., and there had been no advantage in it after the two pursuers
had also obtained a car, and had been keeping within half a mile of
their quarry.
If
their car had happened to be inferior, they had more
than made up for it by taking turns at the wheel. All in all, it had
promised to be a very long Ghase, with endurance more important
than distance, so he had stopped the car at sunset and had gone off
into the fields, climbed a little knoll not fifty yards away, and watched
them come up to his empty car, where they stopped. There had
been a little time to sit down and reflect about his position, which
was hopeless, and not a little silly. His gift of divination had told
him this even before he had started. They would eventually run him
into a trap. In large lines, his flight was only a gesture, but he was
compelled to make
it.
It had been at this car-transfer that they had also put on their
overcoats, seeing that it was probable that the "game" would go up
into the hills, where it would be very cold, and they were ordinary
humans, requiring the kind of protection that the poet scorned by
nature. It had been here also that the first conversation had taken
place. The short man had spoken after he had put on the ridiculously
long coat, down to his ankles. His voice had carried well and clearly
through the still air.
"De Parter!"
"Yes."
"Can you hear me?"
"Very well."
"AIl right. We want to say that J.F. has asked you to come
back. That's the message he told us to give you."
"Does J.F. think I'm a lunatic?"
"He didn't tell us directly, but he said that all poets are lunatics,
and
later his first secretary said that J.F. regards you as the last poet,
so,
according to our system of logic, it is our belief that J.F. thinks you
are a lunatic, yes."
"Does J.F. want me to live in Hollywood and work for him,
if
I go back?"
"We don't have that information from J.F. personally, but his
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