the last word

"I want to retract that."

"You can't retract it."

"I can't?"

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Why ask why?"

"Why not ask why?"

"Because then you'd be going against the old saying."

"Well, you retract the old saying and I'll retract what I was said. The Stevens, they're evens."

"Look, there are squirrels next to crows on the telephone line."

"And look at that, there's a sky behind the crows and squirrels and wire. It's blue and greasy with smog. Now stop trying to distract me from retracting."

"Bluff."

"This is the flatlands, friend."

"What? No, I'm not talking about topography. I meant I was calling yours."

"Saying 'bluff' doesn't mean you're calling anything. You're just saying a word with kaleidoscopic meanings. And you're trying to distract me. Distract me from retracting. As I said and am saying. Still."

"And a job well done, I say, you chapped ole chap."

"I disagree."

"Let's agree to."

"To retract?"

"Fair enough."

"Agreed?"

"Agreed."