If I Were You Summary

 

If I Were You Summary

This is the story of Gerrard, a cultured playwright. He is a mystery man. He is not very social, lives in a lonely hut in Wills, Essex, places his orders over the phone and never meets the tradesman.

The play answers a phone call with Gerard from a client whom he promises to support for rehearsal. He is busy packing for the trip in this regard when an attractive dressed intruder, wearing an overcoat and a soft hat and carrying a revolver in his hand, enters the room. However, before she takes Gerard by surprise, the intruder accidentally collides against a table, and alerts Gerard to her presence. Not at all impoverished, Gerrard tries to figure out who the intruder is when the latter threatens him with dire consequences if his questions are not answered. The intruder announces that he is not there to tell her about himself, but to learn more about Gerrard.

The Intruder, who somewhat resembles Gerrard, wants to assassinate Gerrard and then steals his identity. He is a bandit who specializes in the theft of jewelry and plans to use Gerard's house and car for his schemes. By assuming his identity, he can escape from the police and lead a peaceful life. The intruder surprised Gerard by stating that he had paid attention to (Gerrard's) manner of speech and that he had also looked like her. He needs to change his identity as the police are searching for him to kill on his teammates. He also tells Gerrard how he came to know about her, and his habit of keeping her apart, listening to the conversation between the two people.

But it is the clever Gerard who has the last laugh when he convinces the intruder that he too is running from the law and is about to run away. He explains to the intruder that one of his men has unfortunately been caught.

He is expecting trouble that night. So he is ready to take out his anger. He has a disguise ready; False mustache and what not.

He adds that he has posted a person on the street who sees him to the police.

The intruder appears to have been taken inside.

As the telephone rings, Gerard tells the intruder that it may be a call from the informer. He completely gets the intruder to check for himself if everything is safe before he runs away. He looks at her in a dark cupboard, realizing that it leads to the garage. The moment the intruder peeks inside, Gerard pushes him into the cupboard, beating the revolver with his hand.

While the intruder rips the door and shouts, "Let me get out of here!", Gerard goes down to trade. Very politely he answers a phone call, apologizing that he will not be able to support the stage in time for the rehearsal. At the same time, he requests the caller to send the sergeant to his place. All this while he guards the cupboard with the intruder's revolver.

Gerard is so impressed by the incident that he decides to use it as a plot for his next play.