g?"
"Thank you," said the major-general grimly. "I'll have concrete ones
made."
Sergeant Walpole grunted suddenly.
"Look here, sir! The Wabbly stops when it uses that dinkus on top. This
guy here says it uses a lotta power--four or five thousan' horsepower."
"More likely ten or twenty," said the 'copter pilot.
"Maybe," said Sergeant Walpole profoundly, "it takes all the power they
got to work that dinkus. They were workin' it just now when the
artillery was slammin' 'em. So next time you want to tackle it, stick a
flock o' bombs around an' attack the bombers too. If they're kept busy
down below, maybe the planes can get the bombers, or otherwise they'll
get a chance to use a big gun on the Wabbly."
The major-general nodded.
"We four," he observed, "are the only living men who've actually seen
the Wabbly and gotten away. I shall use both your suggestions. And I
shall not send those orders by radio--not even tight beam radio. I'll
carry them myself. Good luck!"
A non-commissioned officer of the Eastern Coast Observation Force and a
yet uncommissioned flying cadet waved a cheerful good-by to the
major-general in charge of home defense in three states. Then they went
on into the town.
"Monocycles first," said Sergeant Walpole. "An' a sender."
* * * * *
The 'copter man nodded. The street-lights of the town dimmed and
brightened. The Wabbly had paused only to create havoc, not to produce
utter chaos. It had gone back and forth over the town two or three
times, spewing out gas as it went. But most of the town was still
standing, and the power-house had not been touched. Only its untended
Diesels had checked before a fuel-pump cleared.
They found a cycle-shop, its back wall bulged in by wreckage against it.
Sergeant Walpole inspected its wares expertly. A voice began to speak
suddenly. A television set had somehow been turned on by the crash that
bulged the back wall.
"The monster tank has been held in check," said a smug voice
encouragingly. "Encountered by home-defense troops and artillery, it
proved unable to face shell-fire...."
"Liars!" said the 'copter man calmly. He picked up the nearest loose
object and flung it into the bland face of the official news-announcer.
The television set went dead, but there were hissings and sputterings in
its interior. He had flung a Bissel battery at it, one of a
display-group, and its high-tension terminals hissed and sparked
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