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suddenly Elaine appeared. Benjamin rushed closer to the railing and leaned over to stare down at a piece of white lace on the top of her head. He began clenching and unclenching his hands in front of him.

She was walking with her arm in her father’s arm and wearing a white wedding dress whose long train followed her slowly over thethick red carpet and toward the front of the church. Benjamin began shaking his head, still staring at her and clenching and unclenching his hands. The guests turned slowly as she passed them. The girls in green dresses formed two rows at either side of the altar. Then Benjamin slammed his hands down on the railing of the balcony and yelled.

“Elaine!!!”

The organ music stopped.

He slammed his hands down again. “Elaine!!! Elaine!!! Elaine!!!”

From the altar the minister looked up quickly. The girls in green all looked up toward the back of the church. Mrs. Robinson stepped part way into the aisle, stared up at him then took another step toward him and began shaking her head. The man with the red face near the front of the church looked up and stopped smiling.

Benjamin slammed his hands down on the wooden railing. “Elaine!!!”

Elaine had turned around and was staring up at him. Behind her Carl Smith was looking up at him with his head tilted slightly to the side. Mr.

Robinson made a move toward the back of the church. Then he turned around quickly and took Elaine’s hand. He pulled her up toward the front of the church and to the minister. He said something to the minister, the minister bent slightly forward, he said it again, gesturing at Carl Smith, then the minister nodded. Mr. Robinson took Carl Smith’s arm and brought him over beside Elaine in front of the minister. The minister opened a small book he was holding.

“No!!!”

Benjamin turned in a circle. Then he lifted one of his legs up and put it over the railing. A woman screamed. Several guests immediately beneath him began pushing and shoving each other to get out of the way. Elaine turned around and took several steps down the aisle toward the back of the church and stared up at him, holding her hands up over part of her face. Then her father grabbed her arm and pulled her back up to the minister again.

Benjamin removed his leg from over the railing. He ran across the balcony to the door and through the door and down through a wooden The Graduate

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hallway leading to the front part of the church. At the end of the hallway were two doors. He threw one of them open and a man wearing black clergyman’s clothes loked up at him over a desk and began rising from his chair. Benjamin turned around and pushed open the other door. It opened onto a flight of wooden stairs. He ran down.

There were two more doors. He grabbed the doorknob of one and pushed it open.

Mr. Robinson was waiting for him. He was standing crouched in front of Benjamin with his arms spread out beside him. Behind Mr.

Robinson Elaine was standing staring at him with her hands still up beside her face. Benjamin jumped one way to get around him but Mr.

Robinson moved in front of him. He jumped the other. Mr. Robinson dove in toward him and grabbed him around the waist. Benjamin twisted away but before he could reach Elaine he felt Mr. Robinson grabbing at his neck and then grabbing at the collar of his shirt and pulling him backward and ripping the shirt down his back. He spun around and slammed his fist into Mr. robinson’s face. Mr. Robinson reeled backward and crumpled into a corner.

Benjamin hurried forward. Elaine stepped toward him and he grabbed her hand. “Come on,” he said. “Don’t faint.”

He pulled her part way back toward the door but then suddenly the man in black clergyman’s clothes from upstairs stepped in through it and closed it behind him.

“Get out of my way,” Benjamin said.

The man didn’t move. Benjamin bent his knees slightly and was about to move toward the door when he felt an arm closing around his neck.

He thrashed away. Carl Smith was standing behind him breathing heavily. His carnation had fallen off. Benjamin looked quickly back and forth from Carl Smith to the man still standing in front of the door then he grabbed a large bronze cross from off an altar beside him and raised it up beside his ear. He rushed at Carl Smith. Carl Smith stumbled backward, then turned and fled back down to the other guests. Benjamin gripped Elaine’s hand as tightly as he could and pulled her toward the door.

“Move!!!” he said. He drew the cross farther back behind his head.

The man in clergyman’s clothes hurried away from the door. Benjamin dropped the cross and pulled Elaine through the door and across the hallway and out another door onto a sidewalk in back of the church.

“Run!” he said. He pulled her after him. “Run, Elaine! Run!”

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She tripped and fell. “Benjamin, this dress!” she said.

“Come on!” he said. He pulled her up.

They ran for several blocks. Crossing one street a car had to slam on its brakes and turn up onto the curb to avoid hitting them.

Finally Benjamin saw a bus stopped half a block ahead of them loading passengers.

“There!” he said, pointing at it as he ran.

The doors of the bus closed just as they reached it. Benjamin banged against them with his free hand and they were opened. Hepushed Elaine up ahead of him and carried the train of her dress in after her.

“Where does this bus go,” he said to the driver, trying to catch his breath.

The driver was staring at Elaine and didn’t answer.

“Where does this bus go!”

“Morgan Street,” he said.

“All right then,” Benjamin said. He pulled a handful of change out of one of his pockets and dropped it in the coin box. Then he let go of Elaine’s dress and took her hand again to lead her toward the back of the bus. The driver got up out of his seat to watch them.

Most of the passengers stood part way up in their seats and stared at Benjamin’s torn shirt hanging down around his knees and then turned their heads to stare down at the train of Elaine’s dress as it dragged slowly past over the ends of cigarettes and gum wrappers in the aisle. There was a little girl sitting by herself on the seat at the rear.

“Excuse me,” Benjamin said. He helped Elaine in next to the window and sat down beside her.

Most of the passengers were standing, turned around in their seats.

One old man was bending his head around someone and out into the aisle to look back at them. The driver was still standing in the front next to the coin box staring at them.

“Get this bus moving!” Benjamin said.

The driver stood where he was.

“Get it moving!” Benjamin said, beginning to rise up again from the seat. “Get this bus moving!”

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The driver waited a moment, then turned around and climbed back up into his seat. He pulled a handle and the doors of the bus closed.

Benjamin sat back down.

Elaine was still trying to catch her breath. She turned her face to look at him. For several moments she sat looking at him, then she reached over and took his hand.

“Benjamin?” she said.

“What.”

The bus began to move.

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