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Just that very trite thing--the wind?
No. The people are all here. They have been here for many years. And tomorrow?
The old man stops, presses his hands to his chest.
They will not be here any more.
A horn blows!
Outside the barbed-wire gate--the enemy! Outside the gate a small black police car and a large black limousine from the studio itself, three miles away.
The horn blares!
The old man seizes the rungs of a ladder and climbs, the sound of the horn pushing him higher and higher. The gate crashes wide; the enemy roars in.
"There he goes!"
The glaring lights of the police shine in upon the cities of the meadow; the lights reveal the stark canvas set-pieces of Manhattan, Chicago, and Chungking! The light glitters on the imitation stone towers of Notre Dame Cathedral, fixes on a tiny figure balancing on the catwalks of Notre Dame, climbing and climbing up where the night and the stars are turning slowly by.
"There he is, Mr. Douglas, at the top!"
"Good God. It's getting so a man can't spend an evening at a quiet party without--"
"He's striking a match! Call the fire department!"
On top of Notre Dame, the night watchman, looking down, shielding the match from the softly blowing wind, sees the police, the workmen, and the producer in a dark suit, a big man, gazing up at him. Then the night watchman slowly turns the match, cupping it, applies it to the tip of his cigar. He lights the cigar in slow puffs.
He calls: "Is Mr. Douglas down there?"
A voice calls back: "What do you want with me?"
The old man smiles. "Come up, alone! Bring a gun if you want! I just want a little talk!"
The voices echo in the vast churchyard:
"Don't do it, Mr. Douglas!"
"Give me your gun. Let's get this over with so I can get back to the party. Keep me covered, I'll play it safe. I don't want these sets burned. There's two million dollars in lumber alone here. Ready? I'm on my way."
The producer climbs high on the night ladders, up through the half shell of Notre Dame to where the old man leans against a plaster gargoyle, quietly smoking a cigar. The producer stops, gun pointed, half through an open trap door.
"All right, Smith. Stay where you are."
Smith removes the cigar from his mouth quietly. "Don't you be afraid of me. I'm all right."
"I wouldn't bet money on that."
"Mr. Douglas," says the night watchman, "did you ever read that story about the man who traveled to the future and found everyone there insane? Everyone. But since they were all insane they didn't know they were insane. They all acted alike and so they thought themselves normal. And since our hero was the only sane one among them, he was abnormal; therefore, he was the insane one. To them, at least. Yes, Mr. Douglas, insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage."
The producer swears under his breath. "I didn't climb up here to talk all night. What do you want?"
"I want to talk with the Creator. That's you, Mr. Douglas. You created all this. You came here one day and struck the earth with a magical checkbook and cried, 'Let there be Paris!' And there was Paris: streets, bistros, flowers, wine, outdoor bookshops and all. And you clapped your hands again: 'Let there be Constantinople!' And there it was! You clapped your hands a thousand times, and each time made something new, and now you think just by clapping your hands one last time you can drop it all down in ruins. But, Mr. Douglas, it's not as easy as that!"
"I own fifty-one per cent of the stock in this studio!"
"But did the studio ever belong to you, really? Did you ever think to drive here late some night and climb up on this cathedral and see what a wonderful world you created? Did you ever wonder if it might not be a good idea for you to sit up here with me and my friends and have a cup of amontillado sherry with us? All right--so the amontillado smells and looks and tastes like coffee. Imagination, Mr. Creator, imagination. But no, you never came around, you never climbed up, you never looked or listened or cared. There was always a party somewhere else. And now, very late, without asking us, you want to destroy it all. You may own fifty-one per cent of the studio stock, but you don't own them."
&nbs
