Science fiction; Short stories; Sociology -- Fiction; United States -- Fiction; Universities and colleges -- Fiction
He nodded, keeping a straight and sober face as if we were exchanging
admiring remarks about the techniques of clothes repairing, instead of
conspiring.
After the meeting, Caswell drew the tall woman in the green suit
aside and spoke to her confidentially, showing her the diagram of
organization we had drawn up. I saw the responsive glitter in the
woman's eyes and knew she was hooked.
We left the diagram of organization and our typed copy of the new
bylaws with her and went off soberly, as befitted two social science
experimenters. We didn't start laughing until our car passed the town
limits and began the climb for University Heights.
If Caswell's equations meant anything at all, we had given that sewing
circle more growth drives than the Roman Empire.
* * * * *
Four months later I had time out from a very busy schedule to wonder
how the test was coming along. Passing Caswell's office, I put my head
in. He looked up from a student research paper he was correcting.
"Caswell, about that sewing club business--I'm beginning to feel the
suspense. Could I get an advance report on how it's coming?"
"I'm not following it. We're supposed to let it run the full six
months."
"But I'm curious. Could I get in touch with that woman--what's her
name?"
"Searles. Mrs. George Searles."
"Would that change the results?"
"Not in the slightest. If you want to graph the membership rise, it
should be going up in a log curve, probably doubling every so often."
I grinned. "If it's not rising, you're fired."
He grinned back. "If it's not rising, you won't have to fire me--I'll
burn my books and shoot myself."
I returned to my office and put in a call to Watashaw.
While I was waiting for the phone to be answered, I took a piece of
graph paper and ruled it off into six sections, one for each month.
After the phone had rung in the distance for a long time, a servant
answered with a bored drawl:
"Mrs. Searles' residence."
I picked up a red gummed star and licked it.
"Mrs. Searles, please."
"She's not in just now. Could I take a message?"
I placed the star at the thirty line in the beginning of the first
section. Thirty members they'd started with.
"No, thanks. Could you tell me when she'll be back?"
"Not until dinner. She's at the meetin'."
"The sewing club?" I asked.
"No, sir, not that thing. There isn't any Sewing club any more, not
for a long time. She's at the Civic Welfare meeting."
Somehow I hadn't expected anything like that.
"Thank you," I said and hung up, and after a moment noticed I was
holding a box of red gummed stars in my hand. I closed it and put it
down on top of the graph of membership in the sewing circle. No more
members....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account