She sat back and wailed. Willy jumped from the floor and cupped her
tenderly in his hands. "Don't cry, sweet. After all, it _is_ asking a
lot of Jim."
"He gave us the solution," she cried, "and now he's backing out of his
part in it!"
"Well," said Willy, "he wasn't expected to know he'd have to kill me--"
"How _else_ can you leave the body you're in?" she sobbed. "What did he
expect you'd do? Occupy two bodies at the same time?"
Willy looked at me. I shrugged. "Have to confess I hadn't thought of
it," I muttered, only half aware that they had me over a barrel. I was
half tempted to ask Willy to fill my rye glass with pastels again, but
it seemed an imposition at the moment.
"Oh, what the hell," I said committingly. "I'm not the kind of guy to
let a friend down over a technicality!"
Red leapt to my lap and clambered up my shirtfront. "I _knew_ you
wouldn't let us down!" she said happily, and bussed my chin. Before I
could be modest about it she had bounded to the desk-top and was
stretching herself out beside Willy's drawing of himself. Willy and I
stared from her to each other.
"Well," Willy said. "Let's get to it."
I won't elaborate on the details on my act of friendship. I killed Willy
in as gentle a manner as possible, and when I turned back to the layout
pad they were sitting there embracing. Willy-the-Figment stood up
proudly and extended his hand, the one Red wasn't clinging to.
"Thanks, Jim," he said, when I had shaken it warmly with my finger-tip.
"I knew when I phoned you tonight that you were just the one who would
come up with an unselfish, practical solution to my dilemma. I'd like to
say--"
"Oh, come on, come on, Willy," Red said impatiently, pulling him back to
the pad. "Jim knows how much we appreciate his help. Come _on_!"
"Oh, very well," said Willy, winking at me. I winked back. "Lucky sti--"
I began, but then remembered Willy's corpse. That brought a nagging
thought to my mind, but Willy and Red were lying side-by-side, half
submerged in their second dimension, and Red was beckoning impatiently,
pointing to the dough rubber beside her.
"Hurry up," she said. "Rub us out."