Archy swung. The blow slipped harmlessly through the projection's jaw. "You're passe," said the projection. "Outmoded. Here, play with Andy. Come on, June." Archy cannoned a kick at the cartoon armadillo. His foot passed through, trailing a filmy tatter which snapped back into Andy's body. "Eat Teeny-Crunchy Peanut Butter, kids," sang Andy Armadillo. Eight minutes later Otto rang the buzzer. June had the projections doing a show in an office; when the scrambler kicked on they vanished. But an hour after that the White House called Archy. "You only nailed about ten percent of those characters of yours," shouted President Conklin. "The rest had wandered out of range--I mean the ones all over the country. What are you going to do about it?" "Don't worry, pops. All under control ... my best people are working on it." "Under control? With seven Pixie Owenses strip-teasing on the White House lawn? You get down here, House, and bring your staff." Conklin's receiver slammed before Archy could answer. He slowly rubbed his ear. "This is getting bad." * * * * * A week later things were still bad. Archy, June and Otto were still in Washington, and the President had called another conference. Of all the projections, the one of himself distressed Archy the most. They were insufferably arrogant. One had tried to pilot the plane that took him to the capital. Dozens had congregated at Full-Projection Studios, issuing orders to the staff. Twice, one had talked his way into a Presidential conference. "The only way you can tell they aren't real," said a guard, "is to poke them. I should poke somebody coming to see the President?" "Can't people tell they aren't me by the way they act?" Archy asked June. "Cheeky, bossy--OBVIOUSLY they aren't me." "Obviously, huh?" said June. "Let's go, or we'll miss the conference." President Conklin opened the discussion with general remarks. "In the first place, the Attorney-General informs me that Mr. House is legally responsible for the behavior of these projections--they are his agents, insofar as they are beings; his possessions, insofar as they are things. If Mr. House cannot rid the country of them, he is liable to extremely grave consequences." "Hold on," blurted Archy, with a dark glance at Otto. "My master-scrambler was sabotaged. I can't be held responsible for that." "Do you know who did it? Can you definitely prove it was sabotage?" Archy reddened. "I can tell you I'll find out." "Until you do, it's your responsibility. Now today we have two reports. Mr. Otto Kahler--a very capable man, and I understand he is the real inventor of the full-projection process--has discovered how the projections manage to survive although cut off from studio power. Also, he has some comments on their nature. Before we hear from him, there is a report from the Secretary of the Interior."