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That's the way the Liveright office was. He just couldn't wait for us to read the book. And about six of us sat around while he read the book. We were falling off our chairs laughing. He described Liveright's office--the pictures...

Had he seen it?

He hadn't seen it yet. Hummell read it to us, and we were screaming with laughter. I said, “Fred, how could you waste your time this way? Liveright will kill you when he reads this book.”

Fred said, “I couldn't help myself. I was carried away. He is a bastard, the charm guy. He is a guy who would sleep with everybody's wife and do everything under the sun and not think about it twice.”

So he was going down to tell Liveright about it, and Liveright was going to glance at it. I waited for the explosion. Late that afternoon a call came for me to come down to Mr. Liveright's office. He was down on the second floor. I walked in, and here was Fred Hummell sitting. He was a very gay man. He was sitting with his arms folded. Liveright closed the door. He said, “Bennett, I understand that you think that the man in this book is like me.”

I looked at Hummell and looked away. I began stammering and stuttering. Liveright said, “Just what part of this man reminds you of me?”

It was the same thing as the letter. He out-bluffed me. I hemmed and hawed. I didn't want to say, “It's you absolutely