— to all go shit in your hats…
— Look let’s not go into it, your other phone’s off the hook there I can see you’re busy, if there’s nothing else…
— Oh, oh yes that’s Mister ahm, yes just leaving a message and I think he’s made himself quite clear so it really isn’t ahm… and he restored the phone, — but while you’re right here there was something I meant to ahm…
— Probably our proscribed opening this morning, next time I thought we could get through the Amendments.
— Yes well of course how many ahm, in terms of length that is to say because our scheduling situation is somewhat ahm, two hundred and four feet I think someone said this morning and of course in terms of, yes excuse me, hello…? The newspaper, yes we saw the… oh you mean this is the newspaper calling?
— Mind if I turn this sound up a little? Hear what’s happening to our share in America…
— accept the tender offer of twenty-four dollars? If we do, we simply sign here and send this with our share to the City National Bank which is acting as… yes? Yes, the transfer agent. Of course nothing forces us to accept the…
— Yes well of course implementing the new drug detection program is providing a meaningful insight into the students ahm, body, the student body’s ahm… urine yes, urine tests under the school nurse who, yes no by the school nurse that is to… yes yes very successful, no cases have been reported at all since the detection program went into ahm… Yes of course because without popular support we don’t have the ahm, the support of the community that is to, yes I have another call yes, goodbye… Yes, hello…? Oh yes, no he… no no Mister Glancy’s out today yes he… No we haven’t, no we… Yes I’ll tell him, yes… Yes that’s what it was Gibbs Mister ahm, Glancy seems to be out today and I wondered if you…
— Can’t help you Whiteback, I wouldn’t know where he…
— No that wasn’t what I ahm, yes just a minute excuse me, hello?
— goes through, it would be worth one third of a share of Typhon International, the company making the tender, so we…
— I’ll stop by later Whiteback, I…
— No no just a minute, yes…? No I heard you yes, yes the bank examiner just called but all he… no well simply because the name Janice ahm, her name appears in a list of the bank’s stockholders is no reason to ahm… Yes well no, no they may not even be aware that he’s sponsoring the legislation to protect suburban banks in this ahm, in the suburbs that is to say, no they simply asked about his position with ahm, any interest he might have in County Land and… Yes well the mortgage insurance of course after the allegahm, inferences in today’s paper but ahm, yes I have someone with me right now that is to say and… yes, later yes…
— Could I ask you something, Whiteback?
— Yes well of course I ahm…
— I worry about you sometimes, doesn’t it ever occur to you to give up one or the other? the bank or the school? When you stop and…
— Yes well of course the ahm, when I know which one of them is going to survive that is to say of course I can ahm, yes all I wanted was to ask you if you could take Mister Glancy’s classes today, he doesn’t seem to ahm, he seems to be out…
— Yes I don’t know his schedule, my day to monitor cafeteria and then I…
— Of course if you wanted to take some time right now to look around for ahm, to stop at the cleaner’s and pick up a suit you might have ahm, might have left there yes, another suit and of course your ahm, if you’ve hurt your foot??? might excuse me, hello…? Oh! Oh well yes he ahm, yes send him in… and the rimless lenses came away for a hand to rise and rub the vacancies beneath as the phone clattered down, — the Internal Revenue Service man to look into our programming but of course you might ahm, yes turn that down it’s a little ahm…
— Incidentally she’s in today isn’t she? that isn’t just last week’s tape or…
— Glancy? Oh no yes Mrs Joubert you mean to say, no this is just a monitor from her class so she must be ahm, of course you wouldn’t know she’d been ill because she looks well doesn’t she but then she always looks quite ahm, yes you might want to stop and see if Miss Waddams can do something to ahm, she might have an ace bandage or Vogel, yes Coach Vogel might have an ace bandage so you could get your shoe on that is to say even ahm, yes even a tennis shoe I think someone’s… Yes? Come in…? I think the lesson guide’s right here somewhere, yes he might like ahm…
— the Eskimo who is no longer segregated in the wilderness, but encouraged to take his rightful place at the side of his American countrymen in the cities, in the factories, on the farm…
And Nanook’s losing battle against the blizzard of scratched remnants of film finally gave over to the barrage of flying milk cartons that daily signaled lunch and the furtive departure of the monitor whose back could be seen through the A blazing red in? A R a step beyond the legal distance off by anyone on the way to the Post Office or even, some time later, returning from it. — Was that Mister Gibbs in there hey?
— Who else would it be, he’s…
— Shhh he just came out he’s right behind us, come on around by the parking lot…
— So what, he doesn’t give a…
— Quick look out hey! there’s Coach…!
— Coach? Say Coach? Wait…
— Why, it’s like the morning after Blenheim Mister Gibbs, walking wounded everywhere. Come into the locker room and we’ll fit you to a crutch.
— Have to walk this way or the God damned slipper will fall off listen, have to take a glass of, class of Glancy’s tell you what I need though, a shoe.
— For want of a nail wasn’t it, watch the door here. We’ll have a look in the lost and found box I think there’s a pair of ice skates that might fit you.
— Didn’t lose ice skates, listen…
— Just a flight of fancy Gibbs, skating down a slope of Tchaikowski’s Eighteen Twelve Overture it’s been on my mind since the time you told me Venice was frozen music, but what was the name of the tune they used? Steady, steady now, remember Howard’s sacred gore? Here it comes now…
— But that’s, wait. He’s shrunk!
— Shrunk? He never was a towering figure but to say…
— Saw him this morning coming out of Whiteback’s office look where’s your locker room, I don’t want to see the bastard again…
— Dan? a bastard? Why the poor…
— What do you mean Dan, coming toward us? Saw him this morning it’s that God damned Major in his bandages and his arm in a, God damn it he’s shrinking look at him jacket’s down to his, look where his sleeve is look at his pants, can’t walk without hiking up his pants he’s…
— Just enjoying a strolling game of pocket billiards, do you happen to know the wife? Mrs Cariyle, wasn’t it? waked up in the middle of the night by the bed shaking? Dan we’re over here discussing Sartor Resartus, Mister Gibbs and I seem to have the same tailor. Here comes Dan with all the news, got the boxback coat and the…
— Oh I, I’m sorry I didn’t see you, I… he broke off looking from one to the other, finally settling on Gibbs’ vacant breast pocket.
— Sorry Dan, for a minute there I thought you were…
— You gave Mister Gibbs quite a turn here, I’ve got to get him tended to he’s…
— But, but wait Coach I just wanted to ask you, this morning when I saw your…