He unbuttoned his blouse, untied the white collar about his neck and flung it to the floor.
“You remove strait-jacket of liberties.”
He wriggled out of his tight coat and flung it on one of the berths.
“You remove shirt of Nessus.”
Swish, his shirt came off.
“You practice sabotage against moralities.”
His putties and shoes went clattering on the floor.
“Now look at me. A free man. A symbol of released spirit. A symbol—I say I’m a symbol. Listen to me syming—sym; sym, sym, sym, sym.”
He began beating a rhythm against the table with his bottle.
“I’m a symbol—”