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from me. I had a periscope rigged from my own window, so I could
watch her room without getting out onto the fire escape. Well, the
landlord, a little guy with glasses, came in to fix the back burner. On
her stove; but I know they've been doing it for weeks, so I sent up
my periscope and I saw him come in and take off his coat and they
start to fool around and they get onto the bed and bang! the lights
go off. But there's a streetlight shining in, and I think I can make out
a few things, and suddenly it gets brighter and I can see her face
while she's lying there, as clear as anything, with her eyes shut and
mouth working around. It's almost as if there's a spotlight on them.
And then I found out that there was, a spotlight I mean, and on me,
too, and a couple of cops had come up the fire escape and seen me
and I got pinched."
"First offense?" One of the men standing next to Hagestolz was
clearly not impressed.
"Yes. They pull in a lot of guys for this?"
"All the time. That's why they set up this place, like for observa–
tion. They keep you here until you're bailed out. Half these guys are
in here for Peepin' Tom. Then they peep at them. Pretty good, huh?"
We had been ambling down the long side of the room, and stopped
to sit, away from the others, on one of the benches for a few moments.
I asked, "What's Hagestolz here for?"
"That's different. Him and me are trusty. We're up five years
for a con, but the psychologists had us sent here from upstate to sort
of be constant factors they call it. We get interviewed about all you
guys twice a week. It's better than one of the goddam minimum–
security boyscout camps and we get a better shot at parole. But you
guys aren't for real."
"What do you mean?"
"In, out. Then get it hushed up by your family. There was a
guy here, head of the school board someplace, got caught in a tree
with a pair of eight-by-fifty glasses looking in a window of a girls'
dormitory at the college. In two days, then somebody fixes it, and
there's nothing on the blotter even. Or bigger guys than that; they
got Vontzel Gold in here once on the nuttiest deal in the world. Even
the
tax guys can't get him, but he had this weird piece of gash,
Elaine, and he was laying out all kinds of fancy money for the bug
doctor for her; she can't stand being alone, she says, she can't stand
it when she just ain't."
"Just ain't what?"
