his face pointed toward the ceiling. “I’m open.” He swung back to face Archer and smiled. “Not very open. But enough.”
“Good,” Archer said. “Now, may I ask you another question?”
“Of course.”
“What about the sponsor? Does he know about this?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Hutt said. “He was sent the article and a letter from the magazine the same day I was.”
“What is his reaction?”
“He called me that morning and told me to fire the five people immediately. Really, Archer, you can’t blame him.”
“I’m not blaming anyone—yet,” Archer said. “Now—what if I went to the sponsor with absolute proof and he …?”
“That would be quite out of the question,” Hutt said coldly. “It is the policy of this office to keep all problems about the programs within the organization. You may speak to the sponsor only at his request, when he wishes to invite you on social occasions. On all other matters I am his one and only contact. I hope that’s perfectly clear, Archer. Two years ago, on a much smaller matter, I was forced to release an account executive who broke this rule and out of misplaced enthusiasm went over my head to talk to a sponsor. You understand what I’m saying?”
Archer nodded, registering the threat. He stood up. “Well,” he said, keeping himself calm, “that does it for now, I guess.”
Hutt stood up politely. “I wonder,” he said, with uncharacteristic hesitancy, “if I might deliver a small warning, Archer. For your own good.”
“Yes?” Archer said, putting on his coat and picking up his hat.
“Be careful. Don’t be hasty,” Hutt said earnestly. “Don’t expose yourself. Don’t be quixotic, because the world doesn’t laugh at Quixote any more; it beheads him. Be discreet in your methods, and in your choice of friends whom you wish to defend. Don’t depend too much upon reason, because you are being judged by the crowd—and the crowd judges emotionally, not reasonably, and there is no appeal from an emotional conviction. Avoid the vanguard because you will attract attention up front, and it is hard to survive attention these days. You’re a valuable man and I admire you and I don’t want to see you destroyed.”
“Wait a minute,” Archer said, puzzled. “I haven’t done anything. Nobody’s accused me of anything.”
“Not yet.” Hutt came around from his desk and put his hand lightly and in a friendly manner on Archer’s elbow. He seemed dapper and insignificant standing up, away from the cold bulwark of his desk. “But if you become known as a partisan of an unpopular group—for whatever innocent reasons—you must expect to have the searchlight put on you. Your reasons will be investigated—everything about you will be investigated. People you’ve forgotten for ten years will come up with damaging misquotations, memories, doubtful documents. Your private life will be scrutinized, your foibles will be presented as sins, your errors as crimes. Archer, listen to me …” Hutt’s voice sank even lower and it was hard for Archer to hear him even though he was standing next to him. “Nobody can stand investigation. Nobody. If you think you can you must have led your life in deep freeze for the last twenty years. If there were a saint alive today, two private detectives and a newspaper columnist could damn him to hell if they wanted to, in the space of a month.” Hutt dropped his hand from Archer’s arm and smiled, to show he was through being serious. “There is a motto,” he said, “I am thinking of putting up over the doorway here—‘When in doubt, disappear.’ ”
“Thanks,” Archer said, shaken and disturbed because he saw that Hutt was really trying to help him and that Hutt actually did like him—or liked him as much as he could like anyone. “I’ll keep all this in mind.”
“It was very good of you to come up this afternoon,” Hutt said, moving to the door and opening it. “I’ve enjoyed our little
“Good,” Archer said. “Now, may I ask you another question?”
“Of course.”
“What about the sponsor? Does he know about this?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Hutt said. “He was sent the article and a letter from the magazine the same day I was.”
“What is his reaction?”
“He called me that morning and told me to fire the five people immediately. Really, Archer, you can’t blame him.”
“I’m not blaming anyone—yet,” Archer said. “Now—what if I went to the sponsor with absolute proof and he …?”
“That would be quite out of the question,” Hutt said coldly. “It is the policy of this office to keep all problems about the programs within the organization. You may speak to the sponsor only at his request, when he wishes to invite you on social occasions. On all other matters I am his one and only contact. I hope that’s perfectly clear, Archer. Two years ago, on a much smaller matter, I was forced to release an account executive who broke this rule and out of misplaced enthusiasm went over my head to talk to a sponsor. You understand what I’m saying?”
Archer nodded, registering the threat. He stood up. “Well,” he said, keeping himself calm, “that does it for now, I guess.”
Hutt stood up politely. “I wonder,” he said, with uncharacteristic hesitancy, “if I might deliver a small warning, Archer. For your own good.”
“Yes?” Archer said, putting on his coat and picking up his hat.
“Be careful. Don’t be hasty,” Hutt said earnestly. “Don’t expose yourself. Don’t be quixotic, because the world doesn’t laugh at Quixote any more; it beheads him. Be discreet in your methods, and in your choice of friends whom you wish to defend. Don’t depend too much upon reason, because you are being judged by the crowd—and the crowd judges emotionally, not reasonably, and there is no appeal from an emotional conviction. Avoid the vanguard because you will attract attention up front, and it is hard to survive attention these days. You’re a valuable man and I admire you and I don’t want to see you destroyed.”
“Wait a minute,” Archer said, puzzled. “I haven’t done anything. Nobody’s accused me of anything.”
“Not yet.” Hutt came around from his desk and put his hand lightly and in a friendly manner on Archer’s elbow. He seemed dapper and insignificant standing up, away from the cold bulwark of his desk. “But if you become known as a partisan of an unpopular group—for whatever innocent reasons—you must expect to have the searchlight put on you. Your reasons will be investigated—everything about you will be investigated. People you’ve forgotten for ten years will come up with damaging misquotations, memories, doubtful documents. Your private life will be scrutinized, your foibles will be presented as sins, your errors as crimes. Archer, listen to me …” Hutt’s voice sank even lower and it was hard for Archer to hear him even though he was standing next to him. “Nobody can stand investigation. Nobody. If you think you can you must have led your life in deep freeze for the last twenty years. If there were a saint alive today, two private detectives and a newspaper columnist could damn him to hell if they wanted to, in the space of a month.” Hutt dropped his hand from Archer’s arm and smiled, to show he was through being serious. “There is a motto,” he said, “I am thinking of putting up over the doorway here—‘When in doubt, disappear.’ ”
“Thanks,” Archer said, shaken and disturbed because he saw that Hutt was really trying to help him and that Hutt actually did like him—or liked him as much as he could like anyone. “I’ll keep all this in mind.”
“It was very good of you to come up this afternoon,” Hutt said, moving to the door and opening it. “I’ve enjoyed our little
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