. THE SWIMMER Sundays when everyone sts around ‘ying, “Ldrank to much last right?” You might have beard it swhigered by he parhioners aving church, heard ie from the lps of te rest himsl, struggling with his cam feck ia the cetera, heard ton the (golf Tinks and the eonmis cars, heard fin the widife preserve, where the Tender of the Avedon group war sal fering frm a terrible hangover. et eesteretig lee Westthazy, at he edge of the Wester= huzys pod “We all drank too smh,” sid Lucinda Mere “Te must have been the wine)” sid Helen Westerhazy. "I drank coo much ofthat claret” ‘The pool, fed by an arte well with a high om content, was a pale sade of green. Te was 2 Gne day. Tn fee eee real mul loud, so ke a iy een fom {t diance—ftom the how of 4 ap osching ship-—that t night ave had name, Litton, Hackensack, The sun vwashot Neddy Meri st by the green rater, one hand in i one areund 4 fas of gin, He wats dender man-—be Seemed fo have the special enderness ‘of youth—and while he was far from yong, he had sid down hi Banter terre ently eed ce tackle of Aphredite on the hall table srmacky ashe jogged towed the smal tf eafee in his dining room, He sight fave been compared toa suumer’s day, parculariy the lat houts of onc, and frhile he laced tennis racket or & I: was one of thse midwmmer sal tag, the impression was defiily Ee ote ae water He had teen wvinming, and Tow he was beading dcp seo- {ot bf be could gulp nto is res the compemcet of at mest te fea of the sn, the tence of i plcnies Teal Seed to fw it is ‘eat His own hows sto! in Bult Park, ght mento te sth, where his for Saul daggers woul ave had thc hunch and mig be plying serie oes een {Sing » dopleg w We sontveew, he could each iBone by water is life wat mx conGingy and the dalgh he tok In the thought ould tect explained by hs sgn of er Cape In ie mind be wil aca ogee cj, a rng orion yooly a qusaderrantan scam that Eure scene coun. He fad wide 1S Gacovery,» contrition to medern pee egal scndy afer his wif: He wan nt 2 jesse foe me we ie Bon eva dtrminey original, and bad vague and modes Hew of ime asa iegendacyHgnre The dy wo beret, id ksemed to him ta long sin ip cb nd cb ay eo Os swenter cat wre hang covers solders and doves He had 2 Simple contempt for men who id tee Mie ienatres ie goa He sam 1 choppy crv, breathing eiher Sherry ete use or evry fourth stroke, od counting vmncoherewelin the bck of hk mind the once one> two ofa Ber Kk, Te was ot er Scale sole for long dances at JULY 1851964 the domestication of swimming had sed ie i ipetieat eselcaeis el Jn his part of the sword eral wos customary. Being embraced and Se tained by he ightgrean water sered rot as much a please a the resi tion of a tattral ‘condition, and he Wwould ave Hed ‘to svi without trunks, but this was not posible, cane ‘Hering bis project. He hosted bizslt Feenstra Tndéer—and started actos the len ‘When Locndn ated where Be was go Jing, he ssid he was going to swim home. he only maps and ears he had to go by were eemembered or imaginary, Buetheve were clear enough, Fit there were che Grahams, the Hemmer, the Leas, the Howlands and che Cras ape, He wosld cress Ditmar Strect to the Bonkers and come, after a sort portage, to the Levys, the Welcher?, And the public pot in Lancaster, Then there were the Hallorne the Sachs the Biswanger’, the Shiky Alor’ the Gilmartins, and the Clyde. The day was lovey, and that be Bite ia a world so gener sped wth ter seemed like a demency, a benef ‘ence. His hear ws high, and he ran actos the gras. Making his way home by an wncommon route guve him the feaing that he was = pilgrim, an ox plorer, s man wih a destiny, and he Knew that he would Bind frends all along the ways frends would Tine the Tanks of the Lucinda River, He went through a hedge that separated the Westeraays land from the Grahams’, walked under seme flowering apple Gees, pased the shed that Reuse thee pun and filter, and ‘ame out xt the Grahane’ poo, Why, Neddy.” Mr. Graham std, “what & imarveloossupri, Pve boon trying t0 [get you on the phone all mening Here let me get you a drink" He se then ike any explorer, thatthe Bow faite cuscomy and. traditions of the atic would ave tabs handled ith Aplomscy if ke ars ever geing to reach his destination, He id.nces wane t0 mystify or seem rude to the Grahams, nor did he have time to Inger there He swam the length of their pol and joined them in the sn, A. few mites Inter, ewo carloads of friends arrived from Connecscet. Dung the uprear= ‘uu runione he sag set lip ey. He went dawn bythe font ofthe Gra- am? house, stepped over 2 thorny hedge, and cowed a vacant It t0 the Hammer’. Mes. Hammer, looking vp feu her fons s hie ssn by, ale though she wasnt quite sure who was. The Lears heard him splashing past che open windows of the living‘THE NEW YORKER rom, The Huwlands tna te Crosse were say. After Teng the Cromupey he creed Ditmar” Stret and seared. for the Bun ers, where he could eae, even at that d= tance, the nis of rary. ‘The water refracted the sound of voices and fie eee eee ed spend tin mide ‘The Bunkers pou was ona ree, and he Climbed some starsto a terrace where tweny= five or shiny men and women were drinking. The only person ia the water ts Rosty Tow 3, who floated there Ana e how bonny and Tusk were the hate of the Lcinds River! Pros perous men and eom- fn gathered by the sp phte-colored waters fehl catere’s men in white coats passed them ld pel Orc, ted de Havilland tine {tr wia cling atound and around and round in che sy ith something He the glee cfs eld ina swing. Ned fle 4 pasing affection forthe scene, a ten ‘Aenest forthe gothering, a9 ie was somthing he might touch. Tn the d= tance he heard thunder ’As soon a8 Enit Bunker saw him, ‘be hogan wo scream, “Oh, Look who's bere! “Wart a mrvcllosa serprie! When Lucinda sid hat you couldn't some, [thought P' di? She made her way t him through the eoned, nd wvhen they had finkdhed Kssing, she led Tie to the bar, = progres that was slowed by the fac that he stopped to ss cight or tn other women and shake the hands of a= many men. A smiling Tartender he had seen at 2 hundred arcs gave him » gin-and-tonc, and Ned stood by the bar for a moment anniouy net fo get atuck in any com” Fetters ela When he seemed about to be sir zounded, he dove in and swam close 10 the se, to avid colliding with Rise’: raft, He climbed oxt atthe far end of ‘he poo, bypassed the Temlasens with 2 broad ale, and. jogged up the garden path. The gravel cut his fet, Beis was the only uaplesantness, "The party was confined to the peck, and he went toward the howe he a “His consuming desire is 10 make New York City a better ‘place ie hich to lve and work” head he balay, watery send of (bs Ete, hard the ne of 3 aio rom te” Banke? ieienwere someone wae inering to + fll game Stay aero, He rade Be way through the parked car and den he fgsy torr of er erveray to Riowred Lane: He aid oot want ie ten on th readin hs bathing Eee eee trade ihe shore dance tothe Leg? tiivewsy, satted oth 9 Pit Property? gn anda green tute forthe Titer Ale doors and windows of the ig bse were open but there were to agas of lie, noe ven a taking dag. He went around the ae of the hoc to the pool and so thatthe erelie Ce treses ae coed ad bots and des of nus wer on eat a he dup en, where thre teasa hubhous oe gerbe, hung Wi Pepa aera eer ee Foul, be gor hilt a lam and poured ts Ewan fou or Bin, tnd he had ora ney bf he iengh ofthe Encinds River. He fl ted cea, ad plead a that moment toe ale! paed wth eveything 1 woul tor. The wand fc tue cond cly--had en ad dalenedy and while he st tere, he heard Gonder. "The de Haviland tainer wat sl cling overhead ard it scemed to Ned that he could alent hear the ilo aug wieh pleasure inthe steenoons but when thre was sneer peal of thander, he took of fer home. ‘A tan whe blew, and he wondered ‘what time it had goten to bee Four? Five? He thought of the sation where, at that hour, a waiter, his euxedo con” Celed by a rincat, dwarf with se overs wrapped in newspaper, and = woman who had been eryng Would be Walting forthe Incl, It was suddenly growing dark vas. thar moment when the pinheadcd bids sccm to frganize thie song into some acute land knowledgeable cognition of the ‘tom's approach, From the cosh of fanvcak at hs tack, there was a fine noe of rushing water, as Hs spigct there had heen turned on. Then the fie of fauntsng came” from’ the frowns ofall the tll eres Why did he Tie arms? What nthe meaning sf his excemene when the frone doot sprang open and the rin wind fled fdsiy op the air! Why had the Smple ask of shuting the windows af neld house seemed ting and urgent Why dit the first watery notes of @ storm wind have for im the nmi fakable wind of good news chee, glad Siding? "There was an explosion, 8