o white pills. But I had to
correct her.

"No. I want to kill him."

"How do you know he's here? He's got a lot of states to roam around in,
too, doesn't he?"

"Six. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland--all the way down to
Washington."

"Then how do you know--"

"He'll be here." I didn't have to tell her how I knew. But I knew.

I wasn't the only one who spent his time at the border of his assigned
area, looking across the river or staring across a state line, knowing
that somebody was on the other side. I knew. You fight a war and you
don't have to guess that the enemy might have his troops a thousand
miles away from the battle line. You know where his troops will be. You
know he wants to fight, too.

_Hutta. Hutta._

I spilled my drink.

I looked at her. "You--you didn't--"

She looked frightened. "What's the matter?"

"_Did you just sneeze?_"

"Sneeze? Me? Did I--"

I said something quick and nasty, I don't know what. No! It hadn't been
her. I knew it.

It was Chowderhead's sneeze.

* * * * *

Chowderhead. Marvin T. Roebuck, his name was. Five feet eight inches
tall. Dark-complected, with a cast in one eye. Spoke with a Midwest kind
of accent, even though he came from California--"shrick" for "shriek,"
"hawror" for "horror," like that. It drove me crazy after a while.
Maybe that gives you an idea what he talked about mostly. A skunk. A
thoroughgoing, deep-rooted, mother-murdering skunk.

I kicked over my chair and roared, "Roebuck! Where are you, damn you?"

The bar was all at once silent. Only the jukebox kept going.

"I know you're here!" I screamed. "Come out and get it! You louse, I
told you I'd get you for calling me a liar the day Wally sneaked a
smoke!"

Silence, everybody looking at me.

Then the door of the men's room opened.

He came out.

He looked _lousy_. Eyes all red-rimmed and his hair falling out--the
poor crumb couldn't have been over twenty-nine. He shrieked, "You!" He
called me a million names. He said, "You thieving rat, I'll teach you to
try to cheat me out of my candy ration!"

He had a knife.

I didn't care. I didn't have anything and that was stupid, but it didn't
matter. I got a bottle of beer from the next table and smashed it
against the back of a chair. It made a good weapon, you know; I'd take
that against a knife any time.

I ran toward him, and he came all staggering and lurching toward me,
looking crazy and d