JERRY BUMPUS
121
He opened his mouth but didn't back away. Lutz rubbed his knee.
"How do you do that? I mean, do
your
jaws ... ?"
"Shut up and listen to me."
"Oh. So we're going to be serious, are we? All right."
"First, I want you to know I saw and heard it all. I was watching
when she arrived-"
"I should think you were."
"-and I was in the next room while you were in here with her. So
I know everything that happened."
"Wait, Abbott. Don't you think it would be more interesting and
pose more complications if you
didn't
know?
If
you'll let me step out of
character for a moment, I think it'd be better if you had just returned
from roaming in the woods and heard from Ockersly and Cookie that
Ida O'Shey had arrived, and now you've come to ask me about her."
Abbott was frowning.
"Well, it's your show," Lutz said with a shrug. "But I have
another question. Why did you bring her into it? I know
why
someone
ought to come into it. We're at that point. But why couldn't she be a
fellow? An old army chum, say. Or ..."
"What are you talking about?"
"Why, I'm talking about the fact that Ida O'Shey is a woman.
Don't you see what that does to things?"
He turned away. ''I'd send you packing, but she's already met you.
It's too late to bring in someone new."
"I could be Father Lutz again. Or if that would be too compli–
cated, maybe the good father could be Episcopal this time."
"Shut up!" Silence hung as Abbott stared out a window. ''I'm
amazed that I could have so completely misjudged you."
"Well, yes, Abbott, you have misjudged me, I'm afraid, and in a
very important way, and I want you to know I resent it. I emphatically
resent being used as a dupe for your sex problem."
He turned to Lutz. "My what?"
"Let's be frank, Abbott-your sex problem. The garbs and get-ups,
the whole ongoing drama is fine-really quite marvelous in its way. I
admit you had drawn me into it very nearly all the way. But now
obviously after all is said and done the entire business comes down to
your sex problem."
He whispered, "Don't say that."
"But that's exactly what it is, don't you see? A pure and simple sex
problem."
He came straight for Lutz. Lutz tried to get up, to make a dodge for
