Чужак в чужой стране

           You’llbecommittingyourselfnevertolietohim,nevertomisleadordeceivehiminanyway,tostickbyhimcomewhatmay–becausethatisjustwhathewilldowithyou.Betterthinkaboutit."

           "Ihavebeenthinkingaboutit,allday.Jubal,there’ssomethingaboutMikethatmakesyouwanttotakecareofhim."

           "Iknow.You’veprobablyneverencounteredcompletehonestybefore–IknowIhadn’t.Innocence.MikehasnevertastedthefruitoftheTreeofKnowledgeofGoodandEvil?sowe,whohave,don’tunderstandwhatmakeshimtick.Well,onyourownheadbeit.Ihopeyouneverregretit."Juballookedup."Oh,thereyouare!Ithoughtyouhadstoppedtodistillthestuff."

           Larryanswered,"Couldn’tfindacorkscrew,atfirst."

           "Machineryagain.Whydidn’tyoubitetheneckoff?Duke,you’llfindsomeglassesstashedbehindTheAnatomyofMelancholyupthere-"

           "Iknowwhereyouhidethem."

           "-andwe’llallhaveaquickone,neat,beforewegetdowntoseriousdrinking."Dukegottheglasses;Jubalpouredandhelduphisown."ThegoldensunshineofItalycongealedintotears.Here’stoalcoholicbrotherhood?muchmoresuitedtothefrailhumansoul,ifany,thananyothersort."

           "Health."

           "Cheers."

           Jubalpouredhisslowlydownhisthroat."Ah,"hesaidhappily,andbelched."OffersomeofthattoMike,afterwards,Duke,andlethimlearnhowgooditistobehuman.Makesmefeelcreative.