"I don't know, Jake. Fight what? Where's top? Fill me in, boy. So far I'm just a bystander." Lennox poured it out; the whole story up to that moment. He was discreet about Gabby. He merely indicated and let Cooper figure out the details for himself. Cooper listened in silence. When it was all finished, he looked at Lennox strangely. Then he exploded. "You God damned stupid idiot! Ass! Imbecile! Lennox, the Thinker. Why the hell can't you stop thinking? You haven't got what to think with ... Agency Man!" Lennox quailed before the storm. "What the hell is the matter with you? You've been tearing around looking for the villain in the piece like a soap opera hack. You want to find the villain who's writing the letters. You want to find the villain who's getting them. You want to find the villain who's threatening your career. Damn you, you're the villain. Can't you see that, dunderhead?" "Me!" Lennox was amazed. "Natch, you. You're the one who's making all the trouble for yourself. You insulted Ned Bacon. You insulted Tooky Ween and Blinky and Mason. You picked a fight with Roy Audibon. With Audibon! The one man who can ruin you in this business." "But...." "You've been fighting with this Gabby girl who sounds like one of the angel-type innocents. That's despicable. It's shooting a sitting duck. You even tried to pick a fight with me. You're so busy fighting the invisible villain you don't realize you're him ... he ... it.... To hell with the grammar. You're the only villain in the piece, Lennox. Face it." "Jesus." Lennox sat down aghast. "Me?" "Wake up, writer! Villains are for books. Only a Square thinks you find them in real life." "But the letters...." "Somebody sick in the head is writing them. You're in a nasty hassle right now. Admitted. But you're the villain who's making it worse. You're the one who's building it into a crisis." "I can't help myself, Sam. You said it's nasty. And I'm scared." "Like friend Fink said, it's smart to be scared. But don't turn Square. Squares think there are Good Guys and Bad Guys. But we know we're all Good Guys and Bad Guys inside ourselves. Half the time we build ourselves up, and the other half we're knocking ourselves down. When a Square knocks himself down he starts looking for a Bad Guy to blame. That's what you've been doing. You ought to be ashamed of yourself." After a long pause, Lennox said: "You're right. You're always right, damn you. I'm a noodnick." "Hear, hear!" "But I'm going to reform." "Don't start any reform routine. Every time you make up your mind to do something, we have to take to the hills. Just sit tight and behave." "I can't sit tight, Sam. I've got problems to buck and I know how to do it. I'm going to do it." "Oh God! Is there no mercy?" "Now don't worry. I'm going to keep on fighting, but like a goddamned Galahad." "Are we friends?" Cooper shouted. "Yes." Lennox was startled. "Will you listen to a friend?" "I'm listening."