"_House built on a rock foundation will not stand, oh no, oh no,_" _You must join the Organization, now now, now now...._" He snapped off the hi-fi. But the chanting went on in his mind. _You must join the Organization, you must join the Organization...._ He put on his coat and went out for a walk. When he got back he didn't feel like reading so he turned on the television set. There was a very serious play on. He settled back to watch it. It was about a young man who lived all alone in the city and of his groping toward a better life. "If I could only belong someplace," the young man said to the girl during the second act. "I've never belonged anywhere." "Everybody should belong," the girl said. The young man nodded and groped with his hands. "Or else they'll be like Henry Westing," he mumbled. Mr. Westing got up and turned off the set. He rotated it and looked at the back. There was a little box screwed in one corner. "Very clever," he said. He tore the box off and went to bed. He was just falling asleep when the phone rang. He reached for it in the dark. "Westing speaking." "Mr. Westing? This is Miss Beyle from the Organization. We're calling up to see if there are any questions you may have." "I'm afraid I don't. I'm trying to sleep." "So early?" "I felt like it." "You must be terribly lonely. Why don't you come down to Headquarters for cakes and coffee? We're having a good time." "Miss Beyle, I've done some canvassing myself. You're doing a good job but you've got the wrong man." She laughed. It was a very pleasant laugh. "Thank you, Mr. Westing. You sound like the kind of man we need. We've got a big job to do and there's a place here for you anytime you want it." "Doing what?" "Recruiting new members." "Good evening, Miss Beyle. I've always tried to be a gentleman. I'd better hang up before I forget myself." He hung up and tried to sleep. * * * * * The next day an economist came to see him. The day after it was a social scientist and the day after that a political scientist. He listened patiently for a week as they sat in his apartment and explained the importance of the group to him. "Man is nothing," they said. "Unless he belongs to a group." "On the contrary," Mr. Westing said, "the group is nothing unless I belong to it." "That's egotism." "Probably." But he knew he was weakening. He held out with the stubborn feeling he was resisting the tides of history. He felt very brave and strong. There was a one-day lull. He woke up the morning after and heard a sound truck blasting away in the street one floor below. HENRY WESTING DOES NOT BELONG HENRY WESTING BELONGS TO NOTHING REFORM HENRY WESTING REFORM HENRY WESTING.... "Outrageous," he said. He dressed, had breakfast and started for work. People stood on their doorsteps and stared at him when he stepped onto the sidewalk. He smiled pleasantly at the driver of the truck.