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-

-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T SIGN UP ***

-

-

-

-

-

-                     the man who wouldn't sign up

-

-                          By THOMAS E. PURDOM

-

-                 _Chances are you'll sympathize deeply

-                 with Henry Westing, who merely wanted

-                to go on living his own life in his own

-               manner. But under the same circumstances,

-                   how would you go about doing it?_

-

-           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from

-                        Infinity October 1958.

-         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that

-         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]

-

-

-All his life people had been trying to get Henry Westing to sign up.

-They were all signing up themselves and they wanted everybody else to

-sign up too.

-

-In college it had been the fraternities. Mr. Westing hadn't tried to

-join one.

-

-"But you've got to belong to something," they said. "Everybody does."

-

-"I don't."

-

-"Sure you do. You're just being rebellious."

-

-"Perhaps."

-

-"Everybody's got to belong. Ask any psychologist."

-

-"Perhaps. I wouldn't know."

-

-After college it had been work. He had lost three jobs in a row for

-the same reason.

-

-"We're sorry, Westing, but you just don't seem to fit in with the

-group."

-

-"Don't I do my work well?"

-

-"Yes, but you don't seem to _belong_. We like men who consider

-themselves part of The Company, not just people who work here."

-

-In the end he had found a job in a large travel agency in the center of

-Philadelphia. This is a business in which everyone at least pretends to

-be cynical about his work, so Westing was able to keep his position no

-matter how he acted. Of course by this time he had learned to keep his

-mouth shut.

-

-All around him he watched people signing up. "You've got to have

-something bigger than yourself," they said. "You've got to belong."

-

-He watched them do it and went on living his own life. He loved

-concerts and books and plays. He loved his friends, who were good

-company and whom he saw often. He loved a couple of girls, too, and

-hoped that someday he would love one well enough to marry her.

-

-He lived a very happy life and belonged to nothing.

-

-Then one night in January someone knocked on his door. It was a

-Saturday and he was just getting dressed to go to the Academy of Music.

-He opened the door of his apartment and looked into the hall.

-

-There was a young man standing there. He had black rimmed glasses and a

-crew cut. He wore a slim, well-tailored suit.

-

-"Mr. Westing?"

-

-"Yes?"

-

-"I'm from the Organization. We'd like you to join."

-

-"What organization?"

-

-"_The_ Organization. The Organization for people who don't belong to

-any organization."

-

-"I'm afraid I'm not interested."

-

-"But you must be. It says here that you don't belong to anything. We're

-here to give you a chance to belong."

-

-"What's the purpose of the organization?"

-

-"It gives its members a feeling of belonging to something. Everybody's

-joining. You don't want to be left out, do you?"

-

-"Not if I can help it. But I'm afraid you'll have to try somebody else."

-

-"I can't. We never give up."

-

-"I see. Good night, young man."

-

-He tried to close the door. Before he was quite certain what was

-happening, the young man had slipped into the apartment.

-

-"I'm going to a concert," Mr. Westing said. "They're playing Brahms'

-First. I've never heard it and I've been looking forward to hearing it

-ever since I heard his Second. I'd appreciate it if you left."

-

-"But don't you _want_ to belong, Mr. Westing?"

-

-"No."

-

-"Not to anything?"

-

-"No."

-

-The young man shook his head. "But most people are glad to join. We

-offer them what they've been looking for all their lives."

-

-"Then go see them." He put on his jacket and adjusted his tie. "Care

-for a drink?"

-

-"I don't drink."

-

-"Why not?"

-

-"It interferes with my work. We're out to double the size of the

-Organization. I work very hard at it."

-

-"Do you? Why?"

-

-"It gives me a sense of belonging."

-

-Mr. Westing started for the door. "I'm about to leave," he said. "I

-think it would be best if you left too."

-

-The young man sighed. "I can see where you're going to be a difficult

-case."

-

-"Probably. Will you turn off the light, please?"

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-He met his date and immediately put the incident out of his mind. They

-listened to Brahms' First and it was everything Westing had hoped it

-would be. Afterwards, when they were sitting in a bar, he told her

-about the Organization.

-

-The girl seemed surprised. It was the second time he had taken her out

-and she didn't know him very well.

-

-"You ought to belong to something," she said. "Why don't you join?"

-

-"You mean that?"

-

-"Everybody should belong to something. You can't be useless."

-

-"I'm not useless. I make my contribution. More than most people, in

-fact."

-

-"But you can't just live for yourself."

-

-"Why not?"

-

-She struggled. "Because you can't," she said.

-

-He took her home when the bar closed at midnight. The conversation was

-one he had engaged in with other girls but it still depressed him. He

-hopped the subway and went across the river to Camden, New Jersey,

-where they are more reasonable about the hours at which bars remain

-open.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-The next morning he had a hangover. He was just pouring some tomato

-juice when someone knocked at his door.

-

-"Just a minute," he said.

-

-He opened the door. A man in a tweed suit stood in the hall. He had a

-relaxed, pleasant face and he smoked a pipe.

-

-"Mr. Westing?"

-

-"Yes?"

-

-"I'm Dr. Cooper. May I come in?"

-

-"I didn't ask for a doctor. I could use one but I haven't called one

-yet."

-

-"Oh? What's your trouble?"

-

-"Hangover. I had a rugged night."

-

-"Why? What made you do a thing like that?"

-

-He shrugged. "It's hard to say."

-

-"Insecurity," Dr. Cooper said. "Many people try to evade their

-insecurities by drinking. Why don't you tell me about it?"

-

-He hesitated. "Well," he said. "It's early."

-

-Dr. Cooper started forward and he automatically stepped back to let him

-in.

-

-"Who sent you anyway?" he asked.

-

-"Didn't they tell you I was coming?"

-

-"Didn't who tell me you were coming?"

-

-"The Organization. I'm their head psychologist."

-

-"I should have known."

-

-"You sound annoyed."

-

-"I'm afraid I don't want to join the Organization. Ever."

-

-Dr. Cooper lit his pipe. "I think you should," he said. "It would

-relieve you of your insecurities. You obviously need to belong to

-something."

-

-"Why?"

-

-"It is a natural need in all human organisms. A man by himself is

-incomplete and unsatisfied. He has no outlet for his energies and his

-talents."

-

-"I have very little energy and no talent."

-

-"You're being modest. I understand you have a great deal of both."

-Cooper looked around the apartment. "Don't you _want_ to belong, Mr.

-Westing?"

-

-"No."

-

-"Don't you belong to anything?"

-

-"No."

-

-"You're sure? You were a political canvasser in the last election,

-weren't you?"

-

-"Yes, but that was different."

-

-"Didn't it give you a sense of belonging?"

-

-"Yes, but I didn't like it. I felt trapped."

-

-"Then why did you do it?"

-

-"I'm a citizen. I like to keep my accounts even."

-

-"Then you didn't really belong?" the doctor said.

-

-"Not the way you mean."

-

-"This is very interesting. You honestly think you can live without

-belonging to anything?"

-

-"Yes."

-

-"Don't you belong to the human race?"

-

-"Yes, and I try to keep my dues up, too. But it's more of a strain than

-a pleasure."

-

-Dr. Cooper puffed on his pipe. "I can see you're going to be a real

-challenge," he said.

-

-"Thank you. I intend to be."

-

-"I've got some literature outside. I think you should read it."

-

-"You can leave it if you like."

-

-"I will." A few more puffs. The psychologist looked extremely serene.

-"You know, you're a very sick man."

-

-"So I've been told."

-

-"Why don't you let me cure you?"

-

-"First you have to convince me I'm sick."

-

-"That's true."

-

-They talked aimlessly for another half-hour. Cooper left, and Westing

-looked over the literature.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-He started to throw it away. Then his conscience twinged. If he was

-going to fight this thing, he was going to fight it honestly. He would

-meet their techniques of persuasion, not evade them.

-

-He sat down and read all the pamphlets. _The Need to Belong._ _The

-Sense of Unity._ Testimonials from members of the Organization who had

-found salvation in its ranks. It was all very well done and rather

-weakening to a man with a hangover.

-

-He sat for a long time in his apartment, brooding over it. Then he got

-up and threw all the literature in the trash.

-

-"They'll have to do better than that," he said.

-

-The next evening, when he got back from work, he found a package in his

-mail. It was a long-play, high-fidelity Calypso record. The notice said

-it was a Get-Acquainted Gift from the Jamaican Record Society.

-

-After supper he put the record on. When it had been playing for a while

-he got up and, as he often did, began to improvise dance steps to the

-music. It was great fun and the record was half over before he noticed

-the words had been subtly changing.

-

-    "_House built on a rock foundation will not stand, oh no, oh no,_"

-    _You must join the Organization, now now, now now...._"

-

-He snapped off the hi-fi. But the chanting went on in his mind. _You

-must join the Organization, you must join the Organization...._

-

-He put on his coat and went out for a walk. When he got back he didn't

-feel like reading so he turned on the television set. There was a very

-serious play on. He settled back to watch it. It was about a young man

-who lived all alone in the city and of his groping toward a better life.

-

-"If I could only belong someplace," the young man said to the girl

-during the second act. "I've never belonged anywhere."

-

-"Everybody should belong," the girl said.

-

-The young man nodded and groped with his hands. "Or else they'll be

-like Henry Westing," he mumbled.

-

-Mr. Westing got up and turned off the set. He rotated it and looked at

-the back. There was a little box screwed in one corner.

-

-"Very clever," he said. He tore the box off and went to bed.

-

-He was just falling asleep when the phone rang. He reached for it in

-the dark.

-

-"Westing speaking."

-

-"Mr. Westing? This is Miss Beyle from the Organization. We're calling

-up to see if there are any questions you may have."

-

-"I'm afraid I don't. I'm trying to sleep."

-

-"So early?"

-

-"I felt like it."

-

-"You must be terribly lonely. Why don't you come down to Headquarters

-for cakes and coffee? We're having a good time."

-

-"Miss Beyle, I've done some canvassing myself. You're doing a good job

-but you've got the wrong man."

-

-She laughed. It was a very pleasant laugh.

-

-"Thank you, Mr. Westing. You sound like the kind of man we need. We've

-got a big job to do and there's a place here for you anytime you want

-it."

-

-"Doing what?"

-

-"Recruiting new members."

-

-"Good evening, Miss Beyle. I've always tried to be a gentleman. I'd

-better hang up before I forget myself."

-

-He hung up and tried to sleep.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-The next day an economist came to see him. The day after it was

-a social scientist and the day after that a political scientist.

-He listened patiently for a week as they sat in his apartment and

-explained the importance of the group to him.

-

-"Man is nothing," they said. "Unless he belongs to a group."

-

-"On the contrary," Mr. Westing said, "the group is nothing unless I

-belong to it."

-

-"That's egotism."

-

-"Probably."

-

-But he knew he was weakening. He held out with the stubborn feeling he

-was resisting the tides of history. He felt very brave and strong.

-

-There was a one-day lull. He woke up the morning after and heard a

-sound truck blasting away in the street one floor below.

-

-HENRY WESTING DOES NOT BELONG HENRY WESTING BELONGS TO NOTHING REFORM

-HENRY WESTING REFORM HENRY WESTING....

-

-"Outrageous," he said.

-

-He dressed, had breakfast and started for work. People stood on their

-doorsteps and stared at him when he stepped onto the sidewalk. He

-smiled pleasantly at the driver of the truck.

-

-"Good morning," he said. "Nice day, isn't it?"

-

-The driver nodded sullenly.

-

-_Very good_, Mr. Westing thought. _You're doing splendidly._

-

-At work he was tired and drawn out. He had trouble concentrating. The

-Department Manager commented on it.

-

-"You're not acting like a Company man, Henry."

-

-"I'm a little tired. I had a hard night."

-

-"What was she like?"

-

-"Dismal."

-

-Everything was dismal. The jingles ran through his head endlessly. So

-did the slogans and the words from the sound truck. He was beginning to

-doubt himself.

-

-Perhaps they were right. Perhaps he _did_ need to belong.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-That night the sound truck was still there. It circled the block,

-advertising the Organization and denouncing Henry Westing.

-

-There were signs on all the houses too. _We Belong to the

-Organization_, the signs said. There was a sign on every door except

-his.

-

-He went upstairs and made dinner. Then he sat by the window and tried

-to think. Down below he could hear the sound truck.

-

-They're getting to you, he thought. A little more and they'll have you

-whipped. You'd better do something.

-

-He picked up the phone and dialed.

-

-"Yes?" a voice answered.

-

-"This is Henry Westing."

-

-"Ahh, Mr. Westing. I thought you'd be calling soon."

-

-"You may send your representative over to my apartment this evening.

-Tell him to bring everything."

-

-"Application forms?"

-

-"Everything. Whatever you use to close the deal."

-

-"He'll be there at eight."

-

-"I'll be waiting."

-

-At eight o'clock the young man rang his bell. He was burdened down with

-equipment.

-

-"Come in," Mr. Westing said.

-

-"Thank you."

-

-"What's all that you're carrying?"

-

-"Educational material. Mind if I set it up?"

-

-"Go right ahead."

-

-He poured himself a brandy and soda and watched. The young man seemed

-nervous and strained as he set up a hemispherical device which seemed

-to be a projector.

-

-Mr. Westing glanced at a leatherette folder the young man had put aside

-while he worked. The folder bore a neatly labelled title: _Prospects_.

-

-His heart skipped a beat.

-

-He made sure the young man was absorbed in his work. Then he carefully

-leafed through the book.

-

-"This Marline Harris looks like an interesting case. What's she like?"

-

-"Did I leave that there? I'm sorry, I can't let you look at it."

-

-"Sorry. I didn't know."

-

-The young man took the folder and went back to work.

-

-"Do you have a girl?" Mr. Westing asked.

-

-"Too busy."

-

-"Oh." He sipped his drink. "That Harris girl certainly has been holding

-out, hasn't she?"

-

-"She's a tough one. I've been to see her six times. It's funny, too,

-because she's so lonely."

-

-"Really?"

-

-"She's too independent. Men don't like her. And she's pretty

-nice-looking, too. It's a shame she can't act like a woman."

-

-"Yes, I guess it is."

-

-"There," the young man said. "Now if you'll just sit down there."

-

-"Care for a drink?"

-

-"I don't drink."

-

-"Not even to be sociable?"

-

-"Sociable? Perhaps I should at that."

-

-Mr. Westing poured another brandy and soda. There was a great deal more

-brandy than soda.

-

-"You work hard, don't you?" he said.

-

-"We're in the middle of a big drive now. This is a very important job."

-The young man took a drink, the kind a man who has always drunk water

-takes.

-

-"Yes, I guess it is rather important. Organizing, getting things done.

-A very active life."

-

-"That's what I like, activity. I like to _live_, not just sit around."

-

-"Very understandable."

-

-The young man took another drink. His face underwent a subtle change.

-

-"Let me turn the machine on. We'd better get started."

-

-"Did you have dinner yet?"

-

-"I've been too busy."

-

-"Good, good."

-

-"Good?"

-

-"Good that you work so hard. Shows character."

-

-"Thank you. Now if you'll just sit back there, we'll turn the machine

-on." The young man seemed to be having trouble focussing his eyes.

-

-Westing lit a good cigar and offered his guest one. "To be sociable,"

-he said.

-

-"In that case, all right."

-

-"You should have another brandy to go with it." He handed him one as he

-spoke.

-

-The young man took it, gulped it down automatically and turned on the

-machine. Westing pulled on his cigar and settled back in his chair. He

-made sure there was another drink by the boy's arm.

-

-"Do you know anything about drinking?"

-

-"Why no, I don't."

-

-"Three's the custom. Three drinks and you're friends. You belong."

-

-"Then I guess I better."

-

-The room turned dark. Stars covered the walls. The young man took

-another swallow.

-

-"To what do you belong?" a deep voice said. "Of what are you a part?

-In all this vast Universe, you alone are nothing. You alone have no

-meaning. But you as part of something bigger...."

-

-A sunrise crept along the walls. The coloring was very good and Mr.

-Westing enjoyed it immensely.

-

-Next to him he heard a low sound. The young man was singing.

-

-"It's nice to watch the room spin, isn't it?" Mr. Westing asked.

-

-"I was just thinking that. It's beautiful."

-

-"I know. Excuse me a minute."

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-He got up and took the phone into the next room. As soon as he was out

-of earshot, he dialed the number he had memorized earlier.

-

-The phone buzzed a few times. "Hello?" a woman answered.

-

-"Is this Miss Marline Harris?"

-

-"Yes, who is this?"

-

-"My name is Henry Westing. There's a man here trying to get me to join

-the Organization and I saw your name and your picture in his Prospects

-book."

-

-"Oh, are they after you, too?"

-

-"They've been after me for a long time. Your picture looks very

-attractive, Miss Harris."

-

-"Thank you."

-

-"Do you like music?"

-

-"Yes, I do."

-

-A few minutes later he tip-toed into the living room. The film was

-still playing, the persuasive voice still speaking. Now it was martial

-music and there were flags all over, waving, inspiring.

-

-It takes two, Westing thought. Alone they were getting me. But the two

-of us together will be stronger.

-

-He bent over the couch. The boy was asleep and dreaming. His face

-looked peaceful.

-

-Mr. Westing turned on a record. It was an unexpurgated reading of _The

-Arabian Nights_. He placed the speaker close to the boy's ear.

-

-Then he got dressed and went out to meet Marline. He had beaten them

-once again. Maybe they'd get him someday, but way down deep he didn't

-believe it.

-

-

-

+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T SIGN UP ***
+
+
+
+
+
+                     the man who wouldn't sign up
+
+                          By THOMAS E. PURDOM
+
+                 _Chances are you'll sympathize deeply
+                 with Henry Westing, who merely wanted
+                to go on living his own life in his own
+               manner. But under the same circumstances,
+                   how would you go about doing it?_
+
+           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
+                        Infinity October 1958.
+         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
+         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
+
+
+All his life people had been trying to get Henry Westing to sign up.
+They were all signing up themselves and they wanted everybody else to
+sign up too.
+
+In college it had been the fraternities. Mr. Westing hadn't tried to
+join one.
+
+"But you've got to belong to something," they said. "Everybody does."
+
+"I don't."
+
+"Sure you do. You're just being rebellious."
+
+"Perhaps."
+
+"Everybody's got to belong. Ask any psychologist."
+
+"Perhaps. I wouldn't know."
+
+After college it had been work. He had lost three jobs in a row for
+the same reason.
+
+"We're sorry, Westing, but you just don't seem to fit in with the
+group."
+
+"Don't I do my work well?"
+
+"Yes, but you don't seem to _belong_. We like men who consider
+themselves part of The Company, not just people who work here."
+
+In the end he had found a job in a large travel agency in the center of
+Philadelphia. This is a business in which everyone at least pretends to
+be cynical about his work, so Westing was able to keep his position no
+matter how he acted. Of course by this time he had learned to keep his
+mouth shut.
+
+All around him he watched people signing up. "You've got to have
+something bigger than yourself," they said. "You've got to belong."
+
+He watched them do it and went on living his own life. He loved
+concerts and books and plays. He loved his friends, who were good
+company and whom he saw often. He loved a couple of girls, too, and
+hoped that someday he would love one well enough to marry her.
+
+He lived a very happy life and belonged to nothing.
+
+Then one night in January someone knocked on his door. It was a
+Saturday and he was just getting dressed to go to the Academy of Music.
+He opened the door of his apartment and looked into the hall.
+
+There was a young man standing there. He had black rimmed glasses and a
+crew cut. He wore a slim, well-tailored suit.
+
+"Mr. Westing?"
+
+"Yes?"
+
+"I'm from the Organization. We'd like you to join."
+
+"What organization?"
+
+"_The_ Organization. The Organization for people who don't belong to
+any organization."
+
+"I'm afraid I'm not interested."
+
+"But you must be. It says here that you don't belong to anything. We're
+here to give you a chance to belong."
+
+"What's the purpose of the organization?"
+
+"It gives its members a feeling of belonging to something. Everybody's
+joining. You don't want to be left out, do you?"
+
+"Not if I can help it. But I'm afraid you'll have to try somebody else."
+
+"I can't. We never give up."
+
+"I see. Good night, young man."
+
+He tried to close the door. Before he was quite certain what was
+happening, the young man had slipped into the apartment.
+
+"I'm going to a concert," Mr. Westing said. "They're playing Brahms'
+First. I've never heard it and I've been looking forward to hearing it
+ever since I heard his Second. I'd appreciate it if you left."
+
+"But don't you _want_ to belong, Mr. Westing?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Not to anything?"
+
+"No."
+
+The young man shook his head. "But most people are glad to join. We
+offer them what they've been looking for all their lives."
+
+"Then go see them." He put on his jacket and adjusted his tie. "Care
+for a drink?"
+
+"I don't drink."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"It interferes with my work. We're out to double the size of the
+Organization. I work very hard at it."
+
+"Do you? Why?"
+
+"It gives me a sense of belonging."
+
+Mr. Westing started for the door. "I'm about to leave," he said. "I
+think it would be best if you left too."
+
+The young man sighed. "I can see where you're going to be a difficult
+case."
+
+"Probably. Will you turn off the light, please?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He met his date and immediately put the incident out of his mind. They
+listened to Brahms' First and it was everything Westing had hoped it
+would be. Afterwards, when they were sitting in a bar, he told her
+about the Organization.
+
+The girl seemed surprised. It was the second time he had taken her out
+and she didn't know him very well.
+
+"You ought to belong to something," she said. "Why don't you join?"
+
+"You mean that?"
+
+"Everybody should belong to something. You can't be useless."
+
+"I'm not useless. I make my contribution. More than most people, in
+fact."
+
+"But you can't just live for yourself."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+She struggled. "Because you can't," she said.
+
+He took her home when the bar closed at midnight. The conversation was
+one he had engaged in with other girls but it still depressed him. He
+hopped the subway and went across the river to Camden, New Jersey,
+where they are more reasonable about the hours at which bars remain
+open.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next morning he had a hangover. He was just pouring some tomato
+juice when someone knocked at his door.
+
+"Just a minute," he said.
+
+He opened the door. A man in a tweed suit stood in the hall. He had a
+relaxed, pleasant face and he smoked a pipe.
+
+"Mr. Westing?"
+
+"Yes?"
+
+"I'm Dr. Cooper. May I come in?"
+
+"I didn't ask for a doctor. I could use one but I haven't called one
+yet."
+
+"Oh? What's your trouble?"
+
+"Hangover. I had a rugged night."
+
+"Why? What made you do a thing like that?"
+
+He shrugged. "It's hard to say."
+
+"Insecurity," Dr. Cooper said. "Many people try to evade their
+insecurities by drinking. Why don't you tell me about it?"
+
+He hesitated. "Well," he said. "It's early."
+
+Dr. Cooper started forward and he automatically stepped back to let him
+in.
+
+"Who sent you anyway?" he asked.
+
+"Didn't they tell you I was coming?"
+
+"Didn't who tell me you were coming?"
+
+"The Organization. I'm their head psychologist."
+
+"I should have known."
+
+"You sound annoyed."
+
+"I'm afraid I don't want to join the Organization. Ever."
+
+Dr. Cooper lit his pipe. "I think you should," he said. "It would
+relieve you of your insecurities. You obviously need to belong to
+something."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"It is a natural need in all human organisms. A man by himself is
+incomplete and unsatisfied. He has no outlet for his energies and his
+talents."
+
+"I have very little energy and no talent."
+
+"You're being modest. I understand you have a great deal of both."
+Cooper looked around the apartment. "Don't you _want_ to belong, Mr.
+Westing?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Don't you belong to anything?"
+
+"No."
+
+"You're sure? You were a political canvasser in the last election,
+weren't you?"
+
+"Yes, but that was different."
+
+"Didn't it give you a sense of belonging?"
+
+"Yes, but I didn't like it. I felt trapped."
+
+"Then why did you do it?"
+
+"I'm a citizen. I like to keep my accounts even."
+
+"Then you didn't really belong?" the doctor said.
+
+"Not the way you mean."
+
+"This is very interesting. You honestly think you can live without
+belonging to anything?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Don't you belong to the human race?"
+
+"Yes, and I try to keep my dues up, too. But it's more of a strain than
+a pleasure."
+
+Dr. Cooper puffed on his pipe. "I can see you're going to be a real
+challenge," he said.
+
+"Thank you. I intend to be."
+
+"I've got some literature outside. I think you should read it."
+
+"You can leave it if you like."
+
+"I will." A few more puffs. The psychologist looked extremely serene.
+"You know, you're a very sick man."
+
+"So I've been told."
+
+"Why don't you let me cure you?"
+
+"First you have to convince me I'm sick."
+
+"That's true."
+
+They talked aimlessly for another half-hour. Cooper left, and Westing
+looked over the literature.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He started to throw it away. Then his conscience twinged. If he was
+going to fight this thing, he was going to fight it honestly. He would
+meet their techniques of persuasion, not evade them.
+
+He sat down and read all the pamphlets. _The Need to Belong._ _The
+Sense of Unity._ Testimonials from members of the Organization who had
+found salvation in its ranks. It was all very well done and rather
+weakening to a man with a hangover.
+
+He sat for a long time in his apartment, brooding over it. Then he got
+up and threw all the literature in the trash.
+
+"They'll have to do better than that," he said.
+
+The next evening, when he got back from work, he found a package in his
+mail. It was a long-play, high-fidelity Calypso record. The notice said
+it was a Get-Acquainted Gift from the Jamaican Record Society.
+
+After supper he put the record on. When it had been playing for a while
+he got up and, as he often did, began to improvise dance steps to the
+music. It was great fun and the record was half over before he noticed
+the words had been subtly changing.
+
+    "_House built on a rock foundation will not stand, oh no, oh no,_"
+    _You must join the Organization, now now, now now...._"
+
+He snapped off the hi-fi. But the chanting went on in his mind. _You
+must join the Organization, you must join the Organization...._
+
+He put on his coat and went out for a walk. When he got back he didn't
+feel like reading so he turned on the television set. There was a very
+serious play on. He settled back to watch it. It was about a young man
+who lived all alone in the city and of his groping toward a better life.
+
+"If I could only belong someplace," the young man said to the girl
+during the second act. "I've never belonged anywhere."
+
+"Everybody should belong," the girl said.
+
+The young man nodded and groped with his hands. "Or else they'll be
+like Henry Westing," he mumbled.
+
+Mr. Westing got up and turned off the set. He rotated it and looked at
+the back. There was a little box screwed in one corner.
+
+"Very clever," he said. He tore the box off and went to bed.
+
+He was just falling asleep when the phone rang. He reached for it in
+the dark.
+
+"Westing speaking."
+
+"Mr. Westing? This is Miss Beyle from the Organization. We're calling
+up to see if there are any questions you may have."
+
+"I'm afraid I don't. I'm trying to sleep."
+
+"So early?"
+
+"I felt like it."
+
+"You must be terribly lonely. Why don't you come down to Headquarters
+for cakes and coffee? We're having a good time."
+
+"Miss Beyle, I've done some canvassing myself. You're doing a good job
+but you've got the wrong man."
+
+She laughed. It was a very pleasant laugh.
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Westing. You sound like the kind of man we need. We've
+got a big job to do and there's a place here for you anytime you want
+it."
+
+"Doing what?"
+
+"Recruiting new members."
+
+"Good evening, Miss Beyle. I've always tried to be a gentleman. I'd
+better hang up before I forget myself."
+
+He hung up and tried to sleep.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The next day an economist came to see him. The day after it was
+a social scientist and the day after that a political scientist.
+He listened patiently for a week as they sat in his apartment and
+explained the importance of the group to him.
+
+"Man is nothing," they said. "Unless he belongs to a group."
+
+"On the contrary," Mr. Westing said, "the group is nothing unless I
+belong to it."
+
+"That's egotism."
+
+"Probably."
+
+But he knew he was weakening. He held out with the stubborn feeling he
+was resisting the tides of history. He felt very brave and strong.
+
+There was a one-day lull. He woke up the morning after and heard a
+sound truck blasting away in the street one floor below.
+
+HENRY WESTING DOES NOT BELONG HENRY WESTING BELONGS TO NOTHING REFORM
+HENRY WESTING REFORM HENRY WESTING....
+
+"Outrageous," he said.
+
+He dressed, had breakfast and started for work. People stood on their
+doorsteps and stared at him when he stepped onto the sidewalk. He
+smiled pleasantly at the driver of the truck.
+
+"Good morning," he said. "Nice day, isn't it?"
+
+The driver nodded sullenly.
+
+_Very good_, Mr. Westing thought. _You're doing splendidly._
+
+At work he was tired and drawn out. He had trouble concentrating. The
+Department Manager commented on it.
+
+"You're not acting like a Company man, Henry."
+
+"I'm a little tired. I had a hard night."
+
+"What was she like?"
+
+"Dismal."
+
+Everything was dismal. The jingles ran through his head endlessly. So
+did the slogans and the words from the sound truck. He was beginning to
+doubt himself.
+
+Perhaps they were right. Perhaps he _did_ need to belong.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That night the sound truck was still there. It circled the block,
+advertising the Organization and denouncing Henry Westing.
+
+There were signs on all the houses too. _We Belong to the
+Organization_, the signs said. There was a sign on every door except
+his.
+
+He went upstairs and made dinner. Then he sat by the window and tried
+to think. Down below he could hear the sound truck.
+
+They're getting to you, he thought. A little more and they'll have you
+whipped. You'd better do something.
+
+He picked up the phone and dialed.
+
+"Yes?" a voice answered.
+
+"This is Henry Westing."
+
+"Ahh, Mr. Westing. I thought you'd be calling soon."
+
+"You may send your representative over to my apartment this evening.
+Tell him to bring everything."
+
+"Application forms?"
+
+"Everything. Whatever you use to close the deal."
+
+"He'll be there at eight."
+
+"I'll be waiting."
+
+At eight o'clock the young man rang his bell. He was burdened down with
+equipment.
+
+"Come in," Mr. Westing said.
+
+"Thank you."
+
+"What's all that you're carrying?"
+
+"Educational material. Mind if I set it up?"
+
+"Go right ahead."
+
+He poured himself a brandy and soda and watched. The young man seemed
+nervous and strained as he set up a hemispherical device which seemed
+to be a projector.
+
+Mr. Westing glanced at a leatherette folder the young man had put aside
+while he worked. The folder bore a neatly labelled title: _Prospects_.
+
+His heart skipped a beat.
+
+He made sure the young man was absorbed in his work. Then he carefully
+leafed through the book.
+
+"This Marline Harris looks like an interesting case. What's she like?"
+
+"Did I leave that there? I'm sorry, I can't let you look at it."
+
+"Sorry. I didn't know."
+
+The young man took the folder and went back to work.
+
+"Do you have a girl?" Mr. Westing asked.
+
+"Too busy."
+
+"Oh." He sipped his drink. "That Harris girl certainly has been holding
+out, hasn't she?"
+
+"She's a tough one. I've been to see her six times. It's funny, too,
+because she's so lonely."
+
+"Really?"
+
+"She's too independent. Men don't like her. And she's pretty
+nice-looking, too. It's a shame she can't act like a woman."
+
+"Yes, I guess it is."
+
+"There," the young man said. "Now if you'll just sit down there."
+
+"Care for a drink?"
+
+"I don't drink."
+
+"Not even to be sociable?"
+
+"Sociable? Perhaps I should at that."
+
+Mr. Westing poured another brandy and soda. There was a great deal more
+brandy than soda.
+
+"You work hard, don't you?" he said.
+
+"We're in the middle of a big drive now. This is a very important job."
+The young man took a drink, the kind a man who has always drunk water
+takes.
+
+"Yes, I guess it is rather important. Organizing, getting things done.
+A very active life."
+
+"That's what I like, activity. I like to _live_, not just sit around."
+
+"Very understandable."
+
+The young man took another drink. His face underwent a subtle change.
+
+"Let me turn the machine on. We'd better get started."
+
+"Did you have dinner yet?"
+
+"I've been too busy."
+
+"Good, good."
+
+"Good?"
+
+"Good that you work so hard. Shows character."
+
+"Thank you. Now if you'll just sit back there, we'll turn the machine
+on." The young man seemed to be having trouble focussing his eyes.
+
+Westing lit a good cigar and offered his guest one. "To be sociable,"
+he said.
+
+"In that case, all right."
+
+"You should have another brandy to go with it." He handed him one as he
+spoke.
+
+The young man took it, gulped it down automatically and turned on the
+machine. Westing pulled on his cigar and settled back in his chair. He
+made sure there was another drink by the boy's arm.
+
+"Do you know anything about drinking?"
+
+"Why no, I don't."
+
+"Three's the custom. Three drinks and you're friends. You belong."
+
+"Then I guess I better."
+
+The room turned dark. Stars covered the walls. The young man took
+another swallow.
+
+"To what do you belong?" a deep voice said. "Of what are you a part?
+In all this vast Universe, you alone are nothing. You alone have no
+meaning. But you as part of something bigger...."
+
+A sunrise crept along the walls. The coloring was very good and Mr.
+Westing enjoyed it immensely.
+
+Next to him he heard a low sound. The young man was singing.
+
+"It's nice to watch the room spin, isn't it?" Mr. Westing asked.
+
+"I was just thinking that. It's beautiful."
+
+"I know. Excuse me a minute."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He got up and took the phone into the next room. As soon as he was out
+of earshot, he dialed the number he had memorized earlier.
+
+The phone buzzed a few times. "Hello?" a woman answered.
+
+"Is this Miss Marline Harris?"
+
+"Yes, who is this?"
+
+"My name is Henry Westing. There's a man here trying to get me to join
+the Organization and I saw your name and your picture in his Prospects
+book."
+
+"Oh, are they after you, too?"
+
+"They've been after me for a long time. Your picture looks very
+attractive, Miss Harris."
+
+"Thank you."
+
+"Do you like music?"
+
+"Yes, I do."
+
+A few minutes later he tip-toed into the living room. The film was
+still playing, the persuasive voice still speaking. Now it was martial
+music and there were flags all over, waving, inspiring.
+
+It takes two, Westing thought. Alone they were getting me. But the two
+of us together will be stronger.
+
+He bent over the couch. The boy was asleep and dreaming. His face
+looked peaceful.
+
+Mr. Westing turned on a record. It was an unexpurgated reading of _The
+Arabian Nights_. He placed the speaker close to the boy's ear.
+
+Then he got dressed and went out to meet Marline. He had beaten them
+once again. Maybe they'd get him someday, but way down deep he didn't
+believe it.
+
+
+
 *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T SIGN UP ***
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-<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T SIGN UP ***</div>

-

-<div class="titlepage">

-

-<h1>the man who wouldn't sign up</h1>

-

-<p class="ph1">By THOMAS E. PURDOM</p>

-

-<p><i>Chances are you'll sympathize deeply<br>

-with Henry Westing, who merely wanted<br>

-to go on living his own life in his own<br>

-manner. But under the same circumstances,<br>

-how would you go about doing it?</i></p>

-

-<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br>

-Infinity October 1958.<br>

-Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br>

-the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p>

-

-</div>

-

-<hr class="chap">

-

-<p>All his life people had been trying to get Henry Westing to sign up.

-They were all signing up themselves and they wanted everybody else to

-sign up too.</p>

-

-<p>In college it had been the fraternities. Mr. Westing hadn't tried to

-join one.</p>

-

-<p>"But you've got to belong to something," they said. "Everybody does."</p>

-

-<p>"I don't."</p>

-

-<p>"Sure you do. You're just being rebellious."</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps."</p>

-

-<p>"Everybody's got to belong. Ask any psychologist."</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps. I wouldn't know."</p>

-

-<p>After college it had been work. He had lost three jobs in a row for

-the same reason.</p>

-

-<p>"We're sorry, Westing, but you just don't seem to fit in with the

-group."</p>

-

-<p>"Don't I do my work well?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, but you don't seem to <i>belong</i>. We like men who consider

-themselves part of The Company, not just people who work here."</p>

-

-<p>In the end he had found a job in a large travel agency in the center of

-Philadelphia. This is a business in which everyone at least pretends to

-be cynical about his work, so Westing was able to keep his position no

-matter how he acted. Of course by this time he had learned to keep his

-mouth shut.</p>

-

-<p>All around him he watched people signing up. "You've got to have

-something bigger than yourself," they said. "You've got to belong."</p>

-

-<p>He watched them do it and went on living his own life. He loved

-concerts and books and plays. He loved his friends, who were good

-company and whom he saw often. He loved a couple of girls, too, and

-hoped that someday he would love one well enough to marry her.</p>

-

-<p>He lived a very happy life and belonged to nothing.</p>

-

-<p>Then one night in January someone knocked on his door. It was a

-Saturday and he was just getting dressed to go to the Academy of Music.

-He opened the door of his apartment and looked into the hall.</p>

-

-<p>There was a young man standing there. He had black rimmed glasses and a

-crew cut. He wore a slim, well-tailored suit.</p>

-

-<p>"Mr. Westing?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes?"</p>

-

-<p>"I'm from the Organization. We'd like you to join."</p>

-

-<p>"What organization?"</p>

-

-<p>"<i>The</i> Organization. The Organization for people who don't belong to

-any organization."</p>

-

-<p>"I'm afraid I'm not interested."</p>

-

-<p>"But you must be. It says here that you don't belong to anything. We're

-here to give you a chance to belong."</p>

-

-<p>"What's the purpose of the organization?"</p>

-

-<p>"It gives its members a feeling of belonging to something. Everybody's

-joining. You don't want to be left out, do you?"</p>

-

-<p>"Not if I can help it. But I'm afraid you'll have to try somebody else."</p>

-

-<p>"I can't. We never give up."</p>

-

-<p>"I see. Good night, young man."</p>

-

-<p>He tried to close the door. Before he was quite certain what was

-happening, the young man had slipped into the apartment.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm going to a concert," Mr. Westing said. "They're playing Brahms'

-First. I've never heard it and I've been looking forward to hearing it

-ever since I heard his Second. I'd appreciate it if you left."</p>

-

-<p>"But don't you <i>want</i> to belong, Mr. Westing?"</p>

-

-<p>"No."</p>

-

-<p>"Not to anything?"</p>

-

-<p>"No."</p>

-

-<p>The young man shook his head. "But most people are glad to join. We

-offer them what they've been looking for all their lives."</p>

-

-<p>"Then go see them." He put on his jacket and adjusted his tie. "Care

-for a drink?"</p>

-

-<p>"I don't drink."</p>

-

-<p>"Why not?"</p>

-

-<p>"It interferes with my work. We're out to double the size of the

-Organization. I work very hard at it."</p>

-

-<p>"Do you? Why?"</p>

-

-<p>"It gives me a sense of belonging."</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Westing started for the door. "I'm about to leave," he said. "I

-think it would be best if you left too."</p>

-

-<p>The young man sighed. "I can see where you're going to be a difficult

-case."</p>

-

-<p>"Probably. Will you turn off the light, please?"</p>

-

-<hr class="tb">

-

-<p>He met his date and immediately put the incident out of his mind. They

-listened to Brahms' First and it was everything Westing had hoped it

-would be. Afterwards, when they were sitting in a bar, he told her

-about the Organization.</p>

-

-<p>The girl seemed surprised. It was the second time he had taken her out

-and she didn't know him very well.</p>

-

-<p>"You ought to belong to something," she said. "Why don't you join?"</p>

-

-<p>"You mean that?"</p>

-

-<p>"Everybody should belong to something. You can't be useless."</p>

-

-<p>"I'm not useless. I make my contribution. More than most people, in

-fact."</p>

-

-<p>"But you can't just live for yourself."</p>

-

-<p>"Why not?"</p>

-

-<p>She struggled. "Because you can't," she said.</p>

-

-<p>He took her home when the bar closed at midnight. The conversation was

-one he had engaged in with other girls but it still depressed him. He

-hopped the subway and went across the river to Camden, New Jersey,

-where they are more reasonable about the hours at which bars remain

-open.</p>

-

-<hr class="tb">

-

-<p>The next morning he had a hangover. He was just pouring some tomato

-juice when someone knocked at his door.</p>

-

-<p>"Just a minute," he said.</p>

-

-<p>He opened the door. A man in a tweed suit stood in the hall. He had a

-relaxed, pleasant face and he smoked a pipe.</p>

-

-<p>"Mr. Westing?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes?"</p>

-

-<p>"I'm Dr. Cooper. May I come in?"</p>

-

-<p>"I didn't ask for a doctor. I could use one but I haven't called one

-yet."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh? What's your trouble?"</p>

-

-<p>"Hangover. I had a rugged night."</p>

-

-<p>"Why? What made you do a thing like that?"</p>

-

-<p>He shrugged. "It's hard to say."</p>

-

-<p>"Insecurity," Dr. Cooper said. "Many people try to evade their

-insecurities by drinking. Why don't you tell me about it?"</p>

-

-<p>He hesitated. "Well," he said. "It's early."</p>

-

-<p>Dr. Cooper started forward and he automatically stepped back to let him

-in.</p>

-

-<p>"Who sent you anyway?" he asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Didn't they tell you I was coming?"</p>

-

-<p>"Didn't who tell me you were coming?"</p>

-

-<p>"The Organization. I'm their head psychologist."</p>

-

-<p>"I should have known."</p>

-

-<p>"You sound annoyed."</p>

-

-<p>"I'm afraid I don't want to join the Organization. Ever."</p>

-

-<p>Dr. Cooper lit his pipe. "I think you should," he said. "It would

-relieve you of your insecurities. You obviously need to belong to

-something."</p>

-

-<p>"Why?"</p>

-

-<p>"It is a natural need in all human organisms. A man by himself is

-incomplete and unsatisfied. He has no outlet for his energies and his

-talents."</p>

-

-<p>"I have very little energy and no talent."</p>

-

-<p>"You're being modest. I understand you have a great deal of both."

-Cooper looked around the apartment. "Don't you <i>want</i> to belong, Mr.

-Westing?"</p>

-

-<p>"No."</p>

-

-<p>"Don't you belong to anything?"</p>

-

-<p>"No."</p>

-

-<p>"You're sure? You were a political canvasser in the last election,

-weren't you?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, but that was different."</p>

-

-<p>"Didn't it give you a sense of belonging?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, but I didn't like it. I felt trapped."</p>

-

-<p>"Then why did you do it?"</p>

-

-<p>"I'm a citizen. I like to keep my accounts even."</p>

-

-<p>"Then you didn't really belong?" the doctor said.</p>

-

-<p>"Not the way you mean."</p>

-

-<p>"This is very interesting. You honestly think you can live without

-belonging to anything?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes."</p>

-

-<p>"Don't you belong to the human race?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, and I try to keep my dues up, too. But it's more of a strain than

-a pleasure."</p>

-

-<p>Dr. Cooper puffed on his pipe. "I can see you're going to be a real

-challenge," he said.</p>

-

-<p>"Thank you. I intend to be."</p>

-

-<p>"I've got some literature outside. I think you should read it."</p>

-

-<p>"You can leave it if you like."</p>

-

-<p>"I will." A few more puffs. The psychologist looked extremely serene.

-"You know, you're a very sick man."</p>

-

-<p>"So I've been told."</p>

-

-<p>"Why don't you let me cure you?"</p>

-

-<p>"First you have to convince me I'm sick."</p>

-

-<p>"That's true."</p>

-

-<p>They talked aimlessly for another half-hour. Cooper left, and Westing

-looked over the literature.</p>

-

-<hr class="tb">

-

-<p>He started to throw it away. Then his conscience twinged. If he was

-going to fight this thing, he was going to fight it honestly. He would

-meet their techniques of persuasion, not evade them.</p>

-

-<p>He sat down and read all the pamphlets. <i>The Need to Belong.</i> <i>The

-Sense of Unity.</i> Testimonials from members of the Organization who had

-found salvation in its ranks. It was all very well done and rather

-weakening to a man with a hangover.</p>

-

-<p>He sat for a long time in his apartment, brooding over it. Then he got

-up and threw all the literature in the trash.</p>

-

-<p>"They'll have to do better than that," he said.</p>

-

-<p>The next evening, when he got back from work, he found a package in his

-mail. It was a long-play, high-fidelity Calypso record. The notice said

-it was a Get-Acquainted Gift from the Jamaican Record Society.</p>

-

-<p>After supper he put the record on. When it had been playing for a while

-he got up and, as he often did, began to improvise dance steps to the

-music. It was great fun and the record was half over before he noticed

-the words had been subtly changing.</p>

-

-<div class="poetry-container">

-<div class="poetry">

-  <div class="stanza">

-    <div class="verse indent0">"<i>House built on a rock foundation will not stand, oh no, oh no,</i>"</div>

-    <div class="verse indent0"><i>You must join the Organization, now now, now now....</i>"</div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<p>He snapped off the hi-fi. But the chanting went on in his mind. <i>You

-must join the Organization, you must join the Organization....</i></p>

-

-<p>He put on his coat and went out for a walk. When he got back he didn't

-feel like reading so he turned on the television set. There was a very

-serious play on. He settled back to watch it. It was about a young man

-who lived all alone in the city and of his groping toward a better life.</p>

-

-<p>"If I could only belong someplace," the young man said to the girl

-during the second act. "I've never belonged anywhere."</p>

-

-<p>"Everybody should belong," the girl said.</p>

-

-<p>The young man nodded and groped with his hands. "Or else they'll be

-like Henry Westing," he mumbled.</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Westing got up and turned off the set. He rotated it and looked at

-the back. There was a little box screwed in one corner.</p>

-

-<p>"Very clever," he said. He tore the box off and went to bed.</p>

-

-<p>He was just falling asleep when the phone rang. He reached for it in

-the dark.</p>

-

-<p>"Westing speaking."</p>

-

-<p>"Mr. Westing? This is Miss Beyle from the Organization. We're calling

-up to see if there are any questions you may have."</p>

-

-<p>"I'm afraid I don't. I'm trying to sleep."</p>

-

-<p>"So early?"</p>

-

-<p>"I felt like it."</p>

-

-<p>"You must be terribly lonely. Why don't you come down to Headquarters

-for cakes and coffee? We're having a good time."</p>

-

-<p>"Miss Beyle, I've done some canvassing myself. You're doing a good job

-but you've got the wrong man."</p>

-

-<p>She laughed. It was a very pleasant laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"Thank you, Mr. Westing. You sound like the kind of man we need. We've

-got a big job to do and there's a place here for you anytime you want

-it."</p>

-

-<p>"Doing what?"</p>

-

-<p>"Recruiting new members."</p>

-

-<p>"Good evening, Miss Beyle. I've always tried to be a gentleman. I'd

-better hang up before I forget myself."</p>

-

-<p>He hung up and tried to sleep.</p>

-

-<hr class="tb">

-

-<p>The next day an economist came to see him. The day after it was

-a social scientist and the day after that a political scientist.

-He listened patiently for a week as they sat in his apartment and

-explained the importance of the group to him.</p>

-

-<p>"Man is nothing," they said. "Unless he belongs to a group."</p>

-

-<p>"On the contrary," Mr. Westing said, "the group is nothing unless I

-belong to it."</p>

-

-<p>"That's egotism."</p>

-

-<p>"Probably."</p>

-

-<p>But he knew he was weakening. He held out with the stubborn feeling he

-was resisting the tides of history. He felt very brave and strong.</p>

-

-<p>There was a one-day lull. He woke up the morning after and heard a

-sound truck blasting away in the street one floor below.</p>

-

-<p>HENRY WESTING DOES NOT BELONG HENRY WESTING BELONGS TO NOTHING REFORM

-HENRY WESTING REFORM HENRY WESTING....</p>

-

-<p>"Outrageous," he said.</p>

-

-<p>He dressed, had breakfast and started for work. People stood on their

-doorsteps and stared at him when he stepped onto the sidewalk. He

-smiled pleasantly at the driver of the truck.</p>

-

-<p>"Good morning," he said. "Nice day, isn't it?"</p>

-

-<p>The driver nodded sullenly.</p>

-

-<p><i>Very good</i>, Mr. Westing thought. <i>You're doing splendidly.</i></p>

-

-<p>At work he was tired and drawn out. He had trouble concentrating. The

-Department Manager commented on it.</p>

-

-<p>"You're not acting like a Company man, Henry."</p>

-

-<p>"I'm a little tired. I had a hard night."</p>

-

-<p>"What was she like?"</p>

-

-<p>"Dismal."</p>

-

-<p>Everything was dismal. The jingles ran through his head endlessly. So

-did the slogans and the words from the sound truck. He was beginning to

-doubt himself.</p>

-

-<p>Perhaps they were right. Perhaps he <i>did</i> need to belong.</p>

-

-<hr class="tb">

-

-<p>That night the sound truck was still there. It circled the block,

-advertising the Organization and denouncing Henry Westing.</p>

-

-<p>There were signs on all the houses too. <i>We Belong to the

-Organization</i>, the signs said. There was a sign on every door except

-his.</p>

-

-<p>He went upstairs and made dinner. Then he sat by the window and tried

-to think. Down below he could hear the sound truck.</p>

-

-<p>They're getting to you, he thought. A little more and they'll have you

-whipped. You'd better do something.</p>

-

-<p>He picked up the phone and dialed.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes?" a voice answered.</p>

-

-<p>"This is Henry Westing."</p>

-

-<p>"Ahh, Mr. Westing. I thought you'd be calling soon."</p>

-

-<p>"You may send your representative over to my apartment this evening.

-Tell him to bring everything."</p>

-

-<p>"Application forms?"</p>

-

-<p>"Everything. Whatever you use to close the deal."</p>

-

-<p>"He'll be there at eight."</p>

-

-<p>"I'll be waiting."</p>

-

-<p>At eight o'clock the young man rang his bell. He was burdened down with

-equipment.</p>

-

-<p>"Come in," Mr. Westing said.</p>

-

-<p>"Thank you."</p>

-

-<p>"What's all that you're carrying?"</p>

-

-<p>"Educational material. Mind if I set it up?"</p>

-

-<p>"Go right ahead."</p>

-

-<p>He poured himself a brandy and soda and watched. The young man seemed

-nervous and strained as he set up a hemispherical device which seemed

-to be a projector.</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Westing glanced at a leatherette folder the young man had put aside

-while he worked. The folder bore a neatly labelled title: <i>Prospects</i>.</p>

-

-<p>His heart skipped a beat.</p>

-

-<p>He made sure the young man was absorbed in his work. Then he carefully

-leafed through the book.</p>

-

-<p>"This Marline Harris looks like an interesting case. What's she like?"</p>

-

-<p>"Did I leave that there? I'm sorry, I can't let you look at it."</p>

-

-<p>"Sorry. I didn't know."</p>

-

-<p>The young man took the folder and went back to work.</p>

-

-<p>"Do you have a girl?" Mr. Westing asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Too busy."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh." He sipped his drink. "That Harris girl certainly has been holding

-out, hasn't she?"</p>

-

-<p>"She's a tough one. I've been to see her six times. It's funny, too,

-because she's so lonely."</p>

-

-<p>"Really?"</p>

-

-<p>"She's too independent. Men don't like her. And she's pretty

-nice-looking, too. It's a shame she can't act like a woman."</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, I guess it is."</p>

-

-<p>"There," the young man said. "Now if you'll just sit down there."</p>

-

-<p>"Care for a drink?"</p>

-

-<p>"I don't drink."</p>

-

-<p>"Not even to be sociable?"</p>

-

-<p>"Sociable? Perhaps I should at that."</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Westing poured another brandy and soda. There was a great deal more

-brandy than soda.</p>

-

-<p>"You work hard, don't you?" he said.</p>

-

-<p>"We're in the middle of a big drive now. This is a very important job."

-The young man took a drink, the kind a man who has always drunk water

-takes.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, I guess it is rather important. Organizing, getting things done.

-A very active life."</p>

-

-<p>"That's what I like, activity. I like to <i>live</i>, not just sit around."</p>

-

-<p>"Very understandable."</p>

-

-<p>The young man took another drink. His face underwent a subtle change.</p>

-

-<p>"Let me turn the machine on. We'd better get started."</p>

-

-<p>"Did you have dinner yet?"</p>

-

-<p>"I've been too busy."</p>

-

-<p>"Good, good."</p>

-

-<p>"Good?"</p>

-

-<p>"Good that you work so hard. Shows character."</p>

-

-<p>"Thank you. Now if you'll just sit back there, we'll turn the machine

-on." The young man seemed to be having trouble focussing his eyes.</p>

-

-<p>Westing lit a good cigar and offered his guest one. "To be sociable,"

-he said.</p>

-

-<p>"In that case, all right."</p>

-

-<p>"You should have another brandy to go with it." He handed him one as he

-spoke.</p>

-

-<p>The young man took it, gulped it down automatically and turned on the

-machine. Westing pulled on his cigar and settled back in his chair. He

-made sure there was another drink by the boy's arm.</p>

-

-<p>"Do you know anything about drinking?"</p>

-

-<p>"Why no, I don't."</p>

-

-<p>"Three's the custom. Three drinks and you're friends. You belong."</p>

-

-<p>"Then I guess I better."</p>

-

-<p>The room turned dark. Stars covered the walls. The young man took

-another swallow.</p>

-

-<p>"To what do you belong?" a deep voice said. "Of what are you a part?

-In all this vast Universe, you alone are nothing. You alone have no

-meaning. But you as part of something bigger...."</p>

-

-<p>A sunrise crept along the walls. The coloring was very good and Mr.

-Westing enjoyed it immensely.</p>

-

-<p>Next to him he heard a low sound. The young man was singing.</p>

-

-<p>"It's nice to watch the room spin, isn't it?" Mr. Westing asked.</p>

-

-<p>"I was just thinking that. It's beautiful."</p>

-

-<p>"I know. Excuse me a minute."</p>

-

-<hr class="tb">

-

-<p>He got up and took the phone into the next room. As soon as he was out

-of earshot, he dialed the number he had memorized earlier.</p>

-

-<p>The phone buzzed a few times. "Hello?" a woman answered.</p>

-

-<p>"Is this Miss Marline Harris?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, who is this?"</p>

-

-<p>"My name is Henry Westing. There's a man here trying to get me to join

-the Organization and I saw your name and your picture in his Prospects

-book."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, are they after you, too?"</p>

-

-<p>"They've been after me for a long time. Your picture looks very

-attractive, Miss Harris."</p>

-

-<p>"Thank you."</p>

-

-<p>"Do you like music?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, I do."</p>

-

-<p>A few minutes later he tip-toed into the living room. The film was

-still playing, the persuasive voice still speaking. Now it was martial

-music and there were flags all over, waving, inspiring.</p>

-

-<p>It takes two, Westing thought. Alone they were getting me. But the two

-of us together will be stronger.</p>

-

-<p>He bent over the couch. The boy was asleep and dreaming. His face

-looked peaceful.</p>

-

-<p>Mr. Westing turned on a record. It was an unexpurgated reading of <i>The

-Arabian Nights</i>. He placed the speaker close to the boy's ear.</p>

-

-<p>Then he got dressed and went out to meet Marline. He had beaten them

-once again. Maybe they'd get him someday, but way down deep he didn't

-believe it.

-</p>

-<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T SIGN UP ***</div>

-</body>

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+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
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+      The Man Who Wouldn't Sign Up | Project Gutenberg
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+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T SIGN UP ***</div>
+
+<div class="titlepage">
+
+<h1>the man who wouldn't sign up</h1>
+
+<p class="ph1">By THOMAS E. PURDOM</p>
+
+<p><i>Chances are you'll sympathize deeply<br>
+with Henry Westing, who merely wanted<br>
+to go on living his own life in his own<br>
+manner. But under the same circumstances,<br>
+how would you go about doing it?</i></p>
+
+<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br>
+Infinity October 1958.<br>
+Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br>
+the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p>
+
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap">
+
+<p>All his life people had been trying to get Henry Westing to sign up.
+They were all signing up themselves and they wanted everybody else to
+sign up too.</p>
+
+<p>In college it had been the fraternities. Mr. Westing hadn't tried to
+join one.</p>
+
+<p>"But you've got to belong to something," they said. "Everybody does."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't."</p>
+
+<p>"Sure you do. You're just being rebellious."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps."</p>
+
+<p>"Everybody's got to belong. Ask any psychologist."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps. I wouldn't know."</p>
+
+<p>After college it had been work. He had lost three jobs in a row for
+the same reason.</p>
+
+<p>"We're sorry, Westing, but you just don't seem to fit in with the
+group."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't I do my work well?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but you don't seem to <i>belong</i>. We like men who consider
+themselves part of The Company, not just people who work here."</p>
+
+<p>In the end he had found a job in a large travel agency in the center of
+Philadelphia. This is a business in which everyone at least pretends to
+be cynical about his work, so Westing was able to keep his position no
+matter how he acted. Of course by this time he had learned to keep his
+mouth shut.</p>
+
+<p>All around him he watched people signing up. "You've got to have
+something bigger than yourself," they said. "You've got to belong."</p>
+
+<p>He watched them do it and went on living his own life. He loved
+concerts and books and plays. He loved his friends, who were good
+company and whom he saw often. He loved a couple of girls, too, and
+hoped that someday he would love one well enough to marry her.</p>
+
+<p>He lived a very happy life and belonged to nothing.</p>
+
+<p>Then one night in January someone knocked on his door. It was a
+Saturday and he was just getting dressed to go to the Academy of Music.
+He opened the door of his apartment and looked into the hall.</p>
+
+<p>There was a young man standing there. He had black rimmed glasses and a
+crew cut. He wore a slim, well-tailored suit.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Westing?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm from the Organization. We'd like you to join."</p>
+
+<p>"What organization?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>The</i> Organization. The Organization for people who don't belong to
+any organization."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid I'm not interested."</p>
+
+<p>"But you must be. It says here that you don't belong to anything. We're
+here to give you a chance to belong."</p>
+
+<p>"What's the purpose of the organization?"</p>
+
+<p>"It gives its members a feeling of belonging to something. Everybody's
+joining. You don't want to be left out, do you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not if I can help it. But I'm afraid you'll have to try somebody else."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't. We never give up."</p>
+
+<p>"I see. Good night, young man."</p>
+
+<p>He tried to close the door. Before he was quite certain what was
+happening, the young man had slipped into the apartment.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to a concert," Mr. Westing said. "They're playing Brahms'
+First. I've never heard it and I've been looking forward to hearing it
+ever since I heard his Second. I'd appreciate it if you left."</p>
+
+<p>"But don't you <i>want</i> to belong, Mr. Westing?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"Not to anything?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>The young man shook his head. "But most people are glad to join. We
+offer them what they've been looking for all their lives."</p>
+
+<p>"Then go see them." He put on his jacket and adjusted his tie. "Care
+for a drink?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't drink."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?"</p>
+
+<p>"It interferes with my work. We're out to double the size of the
+Organization. I work very hard at it."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you? Why?"</p>
+
+<p>"It gives me a sense of belonging."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Westing started for the door. "I'm about to leave," he said. "I
+think it would be best if you left too."</p>
+
+<p>The young man sighed. "I can see where you're going to be a difficult
+case."</p>
+
+<p>"Probably. Will you turn off the light, please?"</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>He met his date and immediately put the incident out of his mind. They
+listened to Brahms' First and it was everything Westing had hoped it
+would be. Afterwards, when they were sitting in a bar, he told her
+about the Organization.</p>
+
+<p>The girl seemed surprised. It was the second time he had taken her out
+and she didn't know him very well.</p>
+
+<p>"You ought to belong to something," she said. "Why don't you join?"</p>
+
+<p>"You mean that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Everybody should belong to something. You can't be useless."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm not useless. I make my contribution. More than most people, in
+fact."</p>
+
+<p>"But you can't just live for yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?"</p>
+
+<p>She struggled. "Because you can't," she said.</p>
+
+<p>He took her home when the bar closed at midnight. The conversation was
+one he had engaged in with other girls but it still depressed him. He
+hopped the subway and went across the river to Camden, New Jersey,
+where they are more reasonable about the hours at which bars remain
+open.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>The next morning he had a hangover. He was just pouring some tomato
+juice when someone knocked at his door.</p>
+
+<p>"Just a minute," he said.</p>
+
+<p>He opened the door. A man in a tweed suit stood in the hall. He had a
+relaxed, pleasant face and he smoked a pipe.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Westing?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm Dr. Cooper. May I come in?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't ask for a doctor. I could use one but I haven't called one
+yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh? What's your trouble?"</p>
+
+<p>"Hangover. I had a rugged night."</p>
+
+<p>"Why? What made you do a thing like that?"</p>
+
+<p>He shrugged. "It's hard to say."</p>
+
+<p>"Insecurity," Dr. Cooper said. "Many people try to evade their
+insecurities by drinking. Why don't you tell me about it?"</p>
+
+<p>He hesitated. "Well," he said. "It's early."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Cooper started forward and he automatically stepped back to let him
+in.</p>
+
+<p>"Who sent you anyway?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't they tell you I was coming?"</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't who tell me you were coming?"</p>
+
+<p>"The Organization. I'm their head psychologist."</p>
+
+<p>"I should have known."</p>
+
+<p>"You sound annoyed."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid I don't want to join the Organization. Ever."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Cooper lit his pipe. "I think you should," he said. "It would
+relieve you of your insecurities. You obviously need to belong to
+something."</p>
+
+<p>"Why?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is a natural need in all human organisms. A man by himself is
+incomplete and unsatisfied. He has no outlet for his energies and his
+talents."</p>
+
+<p>"I have very little energy and no talent."</p>
+
+<p>"You're being modest. I understand you have a great deal of both."
+Cooper looked around the apartment. "Don't you <i>want</i> to belong, Mr.
+Westing?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you belong to anything?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"You're sure? You were a political canvasser in the last election,
+weren't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but that was different."</p>
+
+<p>"Didn't it give you a sense of belonging?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, but I didn't like it. I felt trapped."</p>
+
+<p>"Then why did you do it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm a citizen. I like to keep my accounts even."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you didn't really belong?" the doctor said.</p>
+
+<p>"Not the way you mean."</p>
+
+<p>"This is very interesting. You honestly think you can live without
+belonging to anything?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you belong to the human race?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and I try to keep my dues up, too. But it's more of a strain than
+a pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Cooper puffed on his pipe. "I can see you're going to be a real
+challenge," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you. I intend to be."</p>
+
+<p>"I've got some literature outside. I think you should read it."</p>
+
+<p>"You can leave it if you like."</p>
+
+<p>"I will." A few more puffs. The psychologist looked extremely serene.
+"You know, you're a very sick man."</p>
+
+<p>"So I've been told."</p>
+
+<p>"Why don't you let me cure you?"</p>
+
+<p>"First you have to convince me I'm sick."</p>
+
+<p>"That's true."</p>
+
+<p>They talked aimlessly for another half-hour. Cooper left, and Westing
+looked over the literature.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>He started to throw it away. Then his conscience twinged. If he was
+going to fight this thing, he was going to fight it honestly. He would
+meet their techniques of persuasion, not evade them.</p>
+
+<p>He sat down and read all the pamphlets. <i>The Need to Belong.</i> <i>The
+Sense of Unity.</i> Testimonials from members of the Organization who had
+found salvation in its ranks. It was all very well done and rather
+weakening to a man with a hangover.</p>
+
+<p>He sat for a long time in his apartment, brooding over it. Then he got
+up and threw all the literature in the trash.</p>
+
+<p>"They'll have to do better than that," he said.</p>
+
+<p>The next evening, when he got back from work, he found a package in his
+mail. It was a long-play, high-fidelity Calypso record. The notice said
+it was a Get-Acquainted Gift from the Jamaican Record Society.</p>
+
+<p>After supper he put the record on. When it had been playing for a while
+he got up and, as he often did, began to improvise dance steps to the
+music. It was great fun and the record was half over before he noticed
+the words had been subtly changing.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+  <div class="stanza">
+    <div class="verse indent0">"<i>House built on a rock foundation will not stand, oh no, oh no,</i>"</div>
+    <div class="verse indent0"><i>You must join the Organization, now now, now now....</i>"</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p>He snapped off the hi-fi. But the chanting went on in his mind. <i>You
+must join the Organization, you must join the Organization....</i></p>
+
+<p>He put on his coat and went out for a walk. When he got back he didn't
+feel like reading so he turned on the television set. There was a very
+serious play on. He settled back to watch it. It was about a young man
+who lived all alone in the city and of his groping toward a better life.</p>
+
+<p>"If I could only belong someplace," the young man said to the girl
+during the second act. "I've never belonged anywhere."</p>
+
+<p>"Everybody should belong," the girl said.</p>
+
+<p>The young man nodded and groped with his hands. "Or else they'll be
+like Henry Westing," he mumbled.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Westing got up and turned off the set. He rotated it and looked at
+the back. There was a little box screwed in one corner.</p>
+
+<p>"Very clever," he said. He tore the box off and went to bed.</p>
+
+<p>He was just falling asleep when the phone rang. He reached for it in
+the dark.</p>
+
+<p>"Westing speaking."</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Westing? This is Miss Beyle from the Organization. We're calling
+up to see if there are any questions you may have."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid I don't. I'm trying to sleep."</p>
+
+<p>"So early?"</p>
+
+<p>"I felt like it."</p>
+
+<p>"You must be terribly lonely. Why don't you come down to Headquarters
+for cakes and coffee? We're having a good time."</p>
+
+<p>"Miss Beyle, I've done some canvassing myself. You're doing a good job
+but you've got the wrong man."</p>
+
+<p>She laughed. It was a very pleasant laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, Mr. Westing. You sound like the kind of man we need. We've
+got a big job to do and there's a place here for you anytime you want
+it."</p>
+
+<p>"Doing what?"</p>
+
+<p>"Recruiting new members."</p>
+
+<p>"Good evening, Miss Beyle. I've always tried to be a gentleman. I'd
+better hang up before I forget myself."</p>
+
+<p>He hung up and tried to sleep.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>The next day an economist came to see him. The day after it was
+a social scientist and the day after that a political scientist.
+He listened patiently for a week as they sat in his apartment and
+explained the importance of the group to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Man is nothing," they said. "Unless he belongs to a group."</p>
+
+<p>"On the contrary," Mr. Westing said, "the group is nothing unless I
+belong to it."</p>
+
+<p>"That's egotism."</p>
+
+<p>"Probably."</p>
+
+<p>But he knew he was weakening. He held out with the stubborn feeling he
+was resisting the tides of history. He felt very brave and strong.</p>
+
+<p>There was a one-day lull. He woke up the morning after and heard a
+sound truck blasting away in the street one floor below.</p>
+
+<p>HENRY WESTING DOES NOT BELONG HENRY WESTING BELONGS TO NOTHING REFORM
+HENRY WESTING REFORM HENRY WESTING....</p>
+
+<p>"Outrageous," he said.</p>
+
+<p>He dressed, had breakfast and started for work. People stood on their
+doorsteps and stared at him when he stepped onto the sidewalk. He
+smiled pleasantly at the driver of the truck.</p>
+
+<p>"Good morning," he said. "Nice day, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>The driver nodded sullenly.</p>
+
+<p><i>Very good</i>, Mr. Westing thought. <i>You're doing splendidly.</i></p>
+
+<p>At work he was tired and drawn out. He had trouble concentrating. The
+Department Manager commented on it.</p>
+
+<p>"You're not acting like a Company man, Henry."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm a little tired. I had a hard night."</p>
+
+<p>"What was she like?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dismal."</p>
+
+<p>Everything was dismal. The jingles ran through his head endlessly. So
+did the slogans and the words from the sound truck. He was beginning to
+doubt himself.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps they were right. Perhaps he <i>did</i> need to belong.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>That night the sound truck was still there. It circled the block,
+advertising the Organization and denouncing Henry Westing.</p>
+
+<p>There were signs on all the houses too. <i>We Belong to the
+Organization</i>, the signs said. There was a sign on every door except
+his.</p>
+
+<p>He went upstairs and made dinner. Then he sat by the window and tried
+to think. Down below he could hear the sound truck.</p>
+
+<p>They're getting to you, he thought. A little more and they'll have you
+whipped. You'd better do something.</p>
+
+<p>He picked up the phone and dialed.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes?" a voice answered.</p>
+
+<p>"This is Henry Westing."</p>
+
+<p>"Ahh, Mr. Westing. I thought you'd be calling soon."</p>
+
+<p>"You may send your representative over to my apartment this evening.
+Tell him to bring everything."</p>
+
+<p>"Application forms?"</p>
+
+<p>"Everything. Whatever you use to close the deal."</p>
+
+<p>"He'll be there at eight."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll be waiting."</p>
+
+<p>At eight o'clock the young man rang his bell. He was burdened down with
+equipment.</p>
+
+<p>"Come in," Mr. Westing said.</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you."</p>
+
+<p>"What's all that you're carrying?"</p>
+
+<p>"Educational material. Mind if I set it up?"</p>
+
+<p>"Go right ahead."</p>
+
+<p>He poured himself a brandy and soda and watched. The young man seemed
+nervous and strained as he set up a hemispherical device which seemed
+to be a projector.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Westing glanced at a leatherette folder the young man had put aside
+while he worked. The folder bore a neatly labelled title: <i>Prospects</i>.</p>
+
+<p>His heart skipped a beat.</p>
+
+<p>He made sure the young man was absorbed in his work. Then he carefully
+leafed through the book.</p>
+
+<p>"This Marline Harris looks like an interesting case. What's she like?"</p>
+
+<p>"Did I leave that there? I'm sorry, I can't let you look at it."</p>
+
+<p>"Sorry. I didn't know."</p>
+
+<p>The young man took the folder and went back to work.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you have a girl?" Mr. Westing asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Too busy."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh." He sipped his drink. "That Harris girl certainly has been holding
+out, hasn't she?"</p>
+
+<p>"She's a tough one. I've been to see her six times. It's funny, too,
+because she's so lonely."</p>
+
+<p>"Really?"</p>
+
+<p>"She's too independent. Men don't like her. And she's pretty
+nice-looking, too. It's a shame she can't act like a woman."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I guess it is."</p>
+
+<p>"There," the young man said. "Now if you'll just sit down there."</p>
+
+<p>"Care for a drink?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't drink."</p>
+
+<p>"Not even to be sociable?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sociable? Perhaps I should at that."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Westing poured another brandy and soda. There was a great deal more
+brandy than soda.</p>
+
+<p>"You work hard, don't you?" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"We're in the middle of a big drive now. This is a very important job."
+The young man took a drink, the kind a man who has always drunk water
+takes.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I guess it is rather important. Organizing, getting things done.
+A very active life."</p>
+
+<p>"That's what I like, activity. I like to <i>live</i>, not just sit around."</p>
+
+<p>"Very understandable."</p>
+
+<p>The young man took another drink. His face underwent a subtle change.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me turn the machine on. We'd better get started."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you have dinner yet?"</p>
+
+<p>"I've been too busy."</p>
+
+<p>"Good, good."</p>
+
+<p>"Good?"</p>
+
+<p>"Good that you work so hard. Shows character."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you. Now if you'll just sit back there, we'll turn the machine
+on." The young man seemed to be having trouble focussing his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Westing lit a good cigar and offered his guest one. "To be sociable,"
+he said.</p>
+
+<p>"In that case, all right."</p>
+
+<p>"You should have another brandy to go with it." He handed him one as he
+spoke.</p>
+
+<p>The young man took it, gulped it down automatically and turned on the
+machine. Westing pulled on his cigar and settled back in his chair. He
+made sure there was another drink by the boy's arm.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know anything about drinking?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why no, I don't."</p>
+
+<p>"Three's the custom. Three drinks and you're friends. You belong."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I guess I better."</p>
+
+<p>The room turned dark. Stars covered the walls. The young man took
+another swallow.</p>
+
+<p>"To what do you belong?" a deep voice said. "Of what are you a part?
+In all this vast Universe, you alone are nothing. You alone have no
+meaning. But you as part of something bigger...."</p>
+
+<p>A sunrise crept along the walls. The coloring was very good and Mr.
+Westing enjoyed it immensely.</p>
+
+<p>Next to him he heard a low sound. The young man was singing.</p>
+
+<p>"It's nice to watch the room spin, isn't it?" Mr. Westing asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I was just thinking that. It's beautiful."</p>
+
+<p>"I know. Excuse me a minute."</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>He got up and took the phone into the next room. As soon as he was out
+of earshot, he dialed the number he had memorized earlier.</p>
+
+<p>The phone buzzed a few times. "Hello?" a woman answered.</p>
+
+<p>"Is this Miss Marline Harris?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, who is this?"</p>
+
+<p>"My name is Henry Westing. There's a man here trying to get me to join
+the Organization and I saw your name and your picture in his Prospects
+book."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, are they after you, too?"</p>
+
+<p>"They've been after me for a long time. Your picture looks very
+attractive, Miss Harris."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you like music?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I do."</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes later he tip-toed into the living room. The film was
+still playing, the persuasive voice still speaking. Now it was martial
+music and there were flags all over, waving, inspiring.</p>
+
+<p>It takes two, Westing thought. Alone they were getting me. But the two
+of us together will be stronger.</p>
+
+<p>He bent over the couch. The boy was asleep and dreaming. His face
+looked peaceful.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Westing turned on a record. It was an unexpurgated reading of <i>The
+Arabian Nights</i>. He placed the speaker close to the boy's ear.</p>
+
+<p>Then he got dressed and went out to meet Marline. He had beaten them
+once again. Maybe they'd get him someday, but way down deep he didn't
+believe it.
+</p>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T SIGN UP ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>