Cue for Quiet

and closed it again asMorgan went on.

  "Call it what you like, Senator; General Legree will agree with methat this perfect defense--if defense is the word--is equally well theperfect weapon. Right, General?"

  Legree pursed pontifical lips for a reply and was annoyed when Morganpaused only momentarily.

  "Perfect defense means the nullification of an opposing weapon.Obviously, a weaponless army is no longer anything but a disciplinedmob. In correlation, Senator, _our_ arms and weapons are stilleffective, and--you mentioned the distrust (or dislike, or hatred, orwhatever you will) held for us by Europe and Asia. Now, Senator, thinkof yourself and your constituents: is it not far better that Europeand Asia and the world be solaced and comforted by the announcementthat we would use our ... Iron Curtain only in our own defense? Wouldit not be better--how many years, Senator, have there been recorded ofuniversal peace? How many years?"

  Some men can sit poker-stiff, yet give the impression of teeteringslowly on their heels, slowly counting the horses' teeth. Suggs was ahorse trader from away back.

  He said, "Mr. Morgan, I say I can appreciate your viewpoint. I caneven appreciate the fact that you mean exactly what you say. But--!"

  Sharks must have teeth like that; broken and yellow, and razor-keen.The smile of the Senator fascinated me.

  "But--! Mr. Undersecretary, who's been doing all the fighting, andwho's been starting all these wars? The United States? No, sir! Wejust get in them too late to do anything but pay all the bills!" Heleaned forward and fixed the tabletop with a piscine stare.

  "Look at it this way, the only way. When this whatshisname dies, allthese countries look at the map and start mobilizing the Guards. Howdo we know how long he's going to live, or how long he's going to keepthis magic head of his?"

  My magic head itched, and I rubbed it.

  "Now, here's what I've said before, and here's what I say now--wecan't let the world get away with murder--'murder' is what I said, Mr.Undersecretary, and 'murder' is what I mean. Didn't you say--now, tellus the truth, now--haven't you always said that it would be just aquestion of time until just about anyone has the secret of the atomicbomb? Didn't you say that?"

  Morgan nodded. "Quite often I've said that, Senator. Too often forsome."

  Suggs was triumphant. "All right, now. You've hung yourself on yourown rope and you don't know it. Answer me this; now, what's to preventanyone who has the bomb from coming over here and using it on us?What's to prevent them?"

  * * * * *

  They had been all through that before, and Morgan knew it was no useto answer.

  Suggs was his own echo. "Nothing's to prevent them, not a thing in theworld. How many times have I come right out and said in public thatthe only way to keep the world where we want it is to just make surethat no one else is going to get it? How many times?"

  Morgan rubbed his cigarette in the ashtray and spoke to the table."You've said that many times, Senator. That's true, too true. I, onthe other hand, have asked you many times if you've thought that theonly way to make sure no other nation gets the bomb would be to goright in and make _sure_. You agreed with me that _that_ would meanforce. Force, meaning war. Right, Senator?"

  And the Senator, champion of Man and Humanity and Right said, "Right,Mr. Undersecretary. Right. We have the bomb, haven't we?"

  Morgan didn't say much in answer to that. I don't think there was muchhe could find to say. Psychologists claim there is hardly anyone,anyone with a modicum of logic in a brain-pan, who cannot eventuallysee the light of reason. Maybe. Maybe calm logic could force SenatorSuggs and his brain-pan off his muddy detour. Maybe humanity anddecency and all the other things that complement the civilized man tothis day lie submerged in that pithecanthropic skull. Maybe, but Ihated his guts then, and I do now.

  I cleared my throat, and it must have been louder than I thought,because all the eyes swung my way. Well, so what? If I had anything atall to say about what was going to happen, or if I was ever going tobe more than just a rubber stamp, now was the time to find out. Afterall, I'd been asked to bring my harp to the party, and I was going toplay.

  * * * * *

  So I said, "Senator. Senator Suggs!"

  He was a little taken aback. Like having the sweeper talk back.

  "Senator," I said, "you talk big. Let's get right down to rock-bottom,and let's stay there until we're finished. Okay?... All right; inwords of one syllable, you want us to do what amounts to declaring waron the rest of the world, winning the war and then running things ourway. Right?"

  The Senator teetered on those mental heels again. His lips sucked inand sharp hollows formed in his cheeks. I could see his mind reach allthe way across the table and throw face-up the cards, one by one.

  "You're Mr. Miller, I presume, although we haven't been formallyintroduced." His eager eyes flickered over me. "You haven't said muchso far, and it's just as well that you spoke when you did."

  Legree groped for his cigar case, and Suggs rumbled on.

  "You said I talk big, Mr. Miller, and I'm going to take that as acompliment. Yes, I do talk big. And you talk plain. I like men whotalk plain. We're going to get along well together." And he paused tolet his thoughts catch up.

  I gave my needle a little push. "You're still talking big, Senator," Ireminded him.

  He resented that, and tried to hide it. "Hardly, Mr. Miller. Hardly.But you asked a question, and I'll try to talk plain, like you do. Ifwe have to fight the rest of the world to do things our way, theAmerican way, then my answer is yes. Yes!"

  Legree grinned his saturnine smile through a blue wreath of smoke andMorgan sat back in his chair with an almost silent exhalation. Therest of the group seated around that great table affected me hardly atall one way or another. Suggs was the spokesman for one faction andI--well, Morgan was willing to let me talk; the Old Man was sunk inthe dumb obscurity of his chair, and who else was there to speak forme? Who else?

  All right, Miller. Take it slow and easy. Watch your temper. Say whatyou have that's important, and let it go at that. But--say it!

  Now, there's one thing I learned long ago; you get a lot further ifthe other loses his temper first, and the best way to pry the lid of atemper is the use of the unexpected. The man who is handy with hishands will crack wide open with ridicule, with words used as thelever. The man who is handy with words is a different nut to crack;slap him down with insults while his verbal guard is down. If histemper doesn't snap in the first two minutes, it never will.

  So, because I thought it was the right thing to say, and because Ididn't like the Senator anyway, I said, "Senator Suggs, you talkedplain. That's good. I like men who talk plain. Let's have some more ofthat talk. Let's get this right on the record for everyone here to seeand hear.

  "I don't like you, Senator. I like neither you nor your ideas, noranything about you or your thoughts. How long has it been, Senator,since anyone has told you right to your face--not in a newspaper--thatyou're a self-convinced liar and a hypocrite, and that you and yourideas and everything about you stink to high heaven?"

  "Stink" was the word that got him. He'd expected a nice gentlemanlyquarrel with gentlemanly words above the table and rapiers below, andinstead had walked around the corner and taken a barrel-stave acrossthe mouth. His face flushed in an instant to a livid unhealthy red,his lips pulled away from his yellow teeth, his eyes seemed toprotrude visibly. A beautiful sight.

  It took him long seconds to throttle his gasping shock. I gave himjust enough time to inhale for a long tirade, just long enough to openthat fish-like mouth for words that might have been anything, then Ilet him have it again. And I don't know whether or not I told you, Iwas a sergeant before I got busted back to private, first class.

  "Shut up!" I bellowed, and my roar boomed back at me from all thosestartled, those stunned faces. Shut up shut up shut up shut up....

  * * * * *

  I'm certain that those walls had never he
ard anything above a quietmurmur before that night. I just shocked Suggs and the rest into apanicky silence while I ranted. I had to talk fast, because whilevolume and violence are a good temporary substitute for brilliance, Iknew I wasn't going to have the floor forever.

  "Let's talk straight, Suggs. Get this once, because I'm not repeatingit, and get that silly look off your face--" I'd heard he wasvain--"you and your constituents and your Army and your Navy can go tohell, as far as I care for any of them. I'm the man you want to keepyour shirt clean while the rest of the world wallows in filth; I'm theman that's supposed to let you and your type, God forbid, rule theworld;