en, to ignore this request as you would ignore the
statements of any person ... er, slightly demented. I should like to
offer a recommendation that the general's sanity be investigated, and an
inquiry be made as to the mental health of anyone else connected with
this preposterous proposal!"

The general smiled calmly. "I understand, Admiral, and really don't
blame you for being slightly annoyed. But, please let us not bring this
issue of national importance down to a shallow personal level. The Army
has facts to back up this request--facts that shall be demonstrated
tomorrow morning."

Turning his back on the raging admiral, General Wingrove included all
the assembled solons in one sweeping gesture.

"Reserve your judgment until that time, gentlemen, make no hasty
judgments until you have seen the force of argument with which we back
up our request. It is the end of an era. In the morning the Navy joins
its fellow fossils, the dodo and the brontosaurus."

The admiral's blood pressure mounted to a new record and the gentle thud
of his unconscious body striking the floor was the only sound to break
the shocked silence of the giant hall.

* * * * *

The early morning sun warmed the white marble of the Jefferson Memorial
and glinted from the soldiers' helmets and the roofs of the packed cars
that crowded forward in a slow-moving stream. All the gentlemen of
Congress were there, the passage of their cars cleared by the screaming
sirens of motorcycle policemen. Around and under the wheels of the
official cars pressed a solid wave of government workers and common
citizens of the capital city. The trucks of the radio and television
services pressed close, microphones and cameras extended.

The stage was set for a great day. Neat rows of olive drab vehicles
curved along the water's edge. Jeeps and half-tracks shouldered close by
weapons carriers and six-bys, all of them shrinking to insignificance
beside the looming Patton tanks. A speakers' platform was set up in the
center of the line, near the audience.

At precisely 10 a.m., General Wingrove stepped forward and scowled at
the crowd until they settled into an uncomfortable silence. His speech
was short and consisted of nothing more than amplifications of his
opening statement that actions speak louder than words. He pointed to
the first truck in line, a 2-1/2-ton filled with an infantry squad
sitting stiffly at attention.

The driver