"I don't believe you," said the General flatly--"I mean about working these things out through logic and guesses. But however you do it, surely you can appreciate that you're much too dangerous to be walking around loose. Especially since _They_ know about you. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you back with me." "Nothing doing," said MacReedy. "I can take care of myself. Besides, this is my home. I like it here." "You're being close to treasonable," said the General. "Not I--_you_ are," came the incredible reply. "You, not I, are attempting to deny a citizen his rights under the Constitution." "Damn it, man!" the General backpedaled quickly. "Can't you understand? Suppose _They_ got hold of you--_They'd_ have you dishing up our innermost secrets to them ahead of time. I don't need to tell you what that could mean in the present world situation." "You don't, General," said MacReedy. "But I don't think _They'd_ get much out of me--much that was useful, I mean. I can't think clearly under drugs or torture; I'd be more of a menace than a help. I explained that to my visitor before you came. He seemed to believe me." "Maybe _he_ did," said the baffled General, "but don't bet on his superiors. You've been an Army officer, MacReedy; I can have you called back into service." "With a permanent medical discharge?" MacReedy countered. The General sighed. He knew when he was beaten. He said, "You'll have to stand for a guard then--twenty-four hours. We'll keep them out of sight as much as possible." He wished the whole business were rationally explicable to his own superiors. As it was he knew his hands were tied when it came to drastic action. "I suppose it's necessary," said MacReedy sadly, but not defiantly; "I should never have tried to show off." "It's too late for that sort of thing," said the General. "I'm going to have to take some of your models with me--it's too late to do much about the new tank, but I'll have to have the rocket-launcher and the A-gun. And I'll want your promise not to indulge in any more such experiments except as I request." "That I am glad to give you," said MacReedy and there was no doubting the sincerity of his words. "I'll pay you for them," offered the General. "Of course," replied the model-maker; "my name isn't MacReedy for nothing." As he handed over a couple of hundred dollars the General found himself almost liking the man. _Damn these screwballs_, he thought. He wondered when he was going to wake up and find it hadn't happened. It _couldn't_ be happening, any of it. But the perilously-perfect models, of weapons that were yet to be, felt terribly real to his touch. He said, "Toby, run upstairs and tell Sergeant Riley to come down here and take some stuff out to the car." And, when the boy was gone, "MacReedy, will you do some work for us?" "Of course," said the other. "A man gets feeling a bit useless making toy soldiers in times like these." "The pay won't be much...." the General began.