"What'd Halloway do?" "Halloway jumped right inside the monster's mouth--right inside!" "What happened then?" "The animal looked dumbfounded. It tried to spit out. Then, to top it all, what did Halloway do, I ask you, I ask you, what did he do? He drew forth his boy-scout blade and went _chikk-chikk-chikk_ all around the bloody interior, pretending like he's holed up in an ice-wagon, chipping himself off pieces of ice." "No?" "On my honor! The monster, after taking a bit of this _chikk-chikk-chikk_ business, leaped around, cavorting, floundering, rocking, tossing, and then, with a spout of blood, out popped Halloway, grinning like a kid, and on he ran, dodging spears and pretending they were pebbles, leaping a line of crouched warriors and saying they're a picket fence. Then he lifted Berman and trotted with him until he met a three hundred pound Martian wrestler. Halloway supposed that it was the truant officer and promptly kicked him in the face. Then he knocked down another guy working furiously at the buttons of a paralysis machine which looked, to Halloway, like a popcorn wagon! After which two gigantic black Martian leopards attacked, resembling to him nothing more than two very bad drivers in dark automobiles. Halloway sidestepped. The two 'cars' crashed and tore each other apart, fighting. Halloway pumped on, shooting people with his 'flashlight' which he retrieved from the 'popcorn' man. Pointing the flash at people, he was amazed when they vanished and--oh, oh, Halloway's waking up, I saw his eyelids flicker. Quiet, everyone. Halloway, you awake?" Yeah. I been listening to you talk for five minutes. I still don't understand. Nothing happened at all. How long I been asleep? "Two days. Nothing happened, eh? Nothing, except you got the Martians kow-towing, that's all, brother. Your spectacular performance impressed people. The enemy suddenly decided that if _one_ earthman could do what you did, what would happen if a million more came?" Everybody keeps on with this joking, this lying about Mars. Stop it. Where am I? "Aboard the rocket, about to take off." Leave Earth? No, no, I don't want to leave Earth, good green Earth! Let go! I'm afraid! Let go of me! Stop the ship! "Halloway, _this_ is Mars--we're going back _to_ Earth." Liars, all of you! I don't want to go to Mars, I want to stay here, on Earth! "Holy cow, here we go again. Hold him down, Gus. Hey, doctor, on the double! Come help Halloway change his mind back, willya!" _Liars! You can't do this! Liars! Liars!_