"... be going to a costume ball or something. Lookit that outfit he's wearing, willya? What's he supposed to be, a man from Mars or something? I read in the papers where Mars was pretty close a while back. My kid thinks there are...."
"Aw, shudap about your kid."
"Need any help, mister?"
"No. No, thank you. I'm all right."
"... got a nasty crack on his head, is all. See? See the blood?"
"He's getting up."
"... a cop. When you don't want 'em, they're around. Now you need them, where in heck are they, that's what I wanna know."
"The bracelet!" the stricken man said in sudden alarm. He stared at his own right arm in confusion, then his left. His arms were bare.
"You wasn't wearing no bracelet, mac," someone said.
"No bracelet," he said. "No bracelet." His eyes looked vague, confused.