The Secretary of State and the Secretary of War started to answer together, but it was State that got the first word in. "I think they'll clean this one up," he said. "It would be a direct threat on which they'll demand surrender terms. That's just a guess, of course. "The best teams of doctors are being organized and jetted over. The best bacteriologists the nation has at its command. Every antibiotic available is being sent." "Will that make a dent?" "No." "How long can we keep it under wraps?" "A week. Ten days, perhaps, with top security." "Give it everything you've got. But keep it quiet until we know what the next move is. Twenty-four hour alert, of course, immediately." "Even if the alert itself endangers the security wraps?" "Yes. A week to ten days of security isn't enough to pay for taking a chance the other way." * * * * * By 4:00 p.m. Oswald was on the phone to Randolph. "We've got the antidote," he said jubilantly. Randolph was quiet for a minute, chewing his lip. Then: "I'm being vilified in the press as the creator of a hoax that even those who stood to benefit by it couldn't take," he said. "The few who have decided that a real miracle occurred have also decided that I'm in league with the devil, and that witches are for burning. Mostly Witch is the butt of every joke that can be dreamed up by every cub reporter in the nation. Saxton has started laying the groundwork for making Witch a political issue. There is talk of an FCC investigation." [Illustration] "I trust," he said formally, "that your antidote is an efficient one." Oswald's voice sounded smug, and not at all disgruntled. "Try this on for size," he said. "First, Witch is known far and wide as nothing less could have made it known--" "Yes, and if the churches ban the use of Witch, we'll wish we weren't." "O.K., O.K. Tonight we explain carefully that the 'miracle' was a miracle of cleanliness, and that carpenters and contractors and all that did the miracle. You know, American technology and mass production in operation, something to be proud of. Tie Witch right in to the whole picture of the United States as the leader of mechanical--stress mechanical--miracles. "Then--what's the most appealing thing in the world?" He didn't wait for an answer. "A child. A small, crippled child, for whom Witch can provide the funds to make her walk." Oswald hurried on, knowing that Randolph had to go through a bit of lip chewing before he could interrupt, and taking advantage of the fact to ride over objections. "We've got a kid that an expensive operation will save from being a cripple. I've consulted two top surgeons already, and they say it's nearly positive.