“Yeah. There’s a window, but they got a steel hatch over it. Nothin’ to worry about in there, just old beds and stuff. Come in now before somebody sees us.”
Barnes stepped inside, and Reeder shut the door.
“Look, Mate, I’m sorry, but I forget your name.”
“Osgood M. Barnes.”
“Look, Barnes, like I said, I’ve already overstayed my leave. Even if I was to go back to Norfolk now, they’d toss me in the brig. So all I got to do, really, is turn myself in here. I can go to any Navy installation—a recruitin’ station, or whatever—and tell them a story, okay? Soon as I get out on the street, that’s what I’ll do. They got my money when they took me here, but I’m not even askin’ you for bus fare. If I had it, I’d probably go someplace and have a beer, and then it would be gone anyhow.”
“Okay, I won’t give you bus fare. I haven’t got it anyway. But how can I get you out?”
“Change clothes with me!” It was a hoarse whisper.
“Are you crazy?”
“Hell, no. The crazy ones don’t want out—not really. That’s why they call it an asylum. I got a fancy hotel room I was going to skip out on, and there’s some dirty uniforms in there. I’ll tell ’em I lost my key, they’ll give me another one, and I’ll go up and change and call the Navy. You wait to give me time to get away, then you tell them who you are, and they’ll let you out.”
“Reeder, you must be four inches taller than I am.”
“It ain’t that much. I—”
The creaking of a supply cart in the hall silenced Reeder for a moment. Instinctively, Barnes held his breath too and tried to step away from the door, bumping into a bed piled with rolled mattresses.
“Shut up!” Reeder hissed.
Barnes nodded, aware even as he did that the nod probably could not be seen. The furnace vent to the storeroom had been shut off, and he was beginning to feel cold.
“It’d work,” Reeder said. “I swear it would. We could do it. That suit’s a little big on you anyhow—”
“I’ve lost some weight.”
“I’d hang the pants low, get it? Like jeans. And I’d kind of scrunch down when I walked. Listen, Matey, let’s try it. Let’s switch. If it looks too bad, I won’t go. I’ll leave you all your money and stuff.”
“Reeder, I need the suit. I’ve got a date tonight.”
“So wear somethin’ else. Nobody wears a suit on a date anyhow. Wear a sportcoat and slacks. I’ll leave you your topcoat.”
“Jesus, that’s decent of you.”
“Listen, Matey, you’re the one that’s bein’ decent, lettin’ me do it. Don’t think I don’t appreciate it. You’re givin’ me back my life, whole years of my life.”
Barnes felt sweat in his palms despite the cold. “Reeder, won’t you sit down so we can talk about this sensibly?”
“No, I won’t sit down, Matey. Take off your jacket and those pants. I guess I’ll need the shirt too, and I might as well have the tie. Let me try your shoes too. I don’t think they’ll fit, but I ought to try ’em.”
Barnes’s eyes had adjusted well enough for him to see Reeder untie the cord of his hopital pajamas and step out of the trousers. “This is crazy,” he said. “Reeder, the Navy’s going to examine you and send you back to your ship. That’s all.”
There was no reply. Reeder pulled his pajama shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.
“Reeder, that’s all there’ll be to it. I swear to you.”
“I can’t do it, Matey. I’ve seen them—just sittin’ around, starin’ at the floor. That’s not goin’ to be me. Strip!”
Barnes reached for the doorknob, but Reeder put his back to the door. “You’re not goin’ out for a while, Matey. Not till I’ve had time to get away from here.”
Barnes sighed and backed away. “Reeder, damn it, all I have to do is yell.”
“And you’re not yellin’. I appreciate that, Matey. You’re all right. I knew it when I saw you in the depot.”
“All you have to do is yell too. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. You’re a Navy man, and you were in uniform when they picked you up. By this time they will already have notified the Navy. In a day or so someone will come to get you. Yell. Tell them you’re sane, it’s all a mistake. They’ll examine you, lock you for a week or so for being AWOL, and that’ll be the end of it.”
“I like you, Matey. I like you as much as I’ve liked anybody I’ve met in a long time. Now take off those pants.”
“Reeder—”
“Take ’em off!”
“Reeder, what were you doing in that bar?”
“You heard me, Matey!”
“You said you were acting silly. I guess deductions are really my friend Stubb’s department. But even Dr. Watson catches on in the end—you know what I mean?”
