"If I'm not offering it to you, what am I doing?"
"Propositioning me," said the young man. He had not raised his eyes from his slowly-turning beer.
"Very well, I'm propositioning you, to use your barbarous idiom. What is wrong with the proposition?"
"It's crazy."
"What is crazy about it, given the initial advantage of your existence?"
"No one could bring it off."
"It is not so long since a famous general whose face was a household word-if you will forgive the metaphor-was impersonated quite successfully by an actor in broad daylight and in full view of the multitude."
"That is quite different."
"I agree. You aren't asked to impersonate anyone. Just to be yourself. A much easier task."
"No," said the young man.