sand pins, thirty two broke.

"Bart, will you dictate a one-page preliminary report to Vera and rush
it over to Building One as fast as you can? I'll go over and tell
Moulton a few things."

Major Moulton was, as usual, "in conference," but Kinnison was in no
mood to wait.

"Tell him," he instructed the Major's private secretary, who had barred
his way, "that either he will talk to me right now or I will call
District Safety over his head. I'll give him sixty seconds to decide
which."

Moulton decided to see him. "I'm very busy, Doctor Kinnison, but...."

"I don't give a swivel-eyed tinker's damn how busy you are. I told you
that the minute I found out what was the matter with the M2 mine I'd
talk to you again. Here I am. Brittle firing pins. Three and two-tenths
percent defective. So I'm...."

"Very irregular, Doctor. The matter will have to go through
channels...."

"Not this one. The formal report is going through channels, but as I
started to tell you, this is an emergency report to you as Chief of
Safety. Since the defect is not covered by specs, neither Process nor
Ordnance can reject except by test, and whoever does the testing will
very probably be killed. Therefore, as every employee of Stoner and
Black is not only authorized but positively instructed to do upon
discovering an unsafe condition, I am reporting it direct to Safety.
Since my whiskers are a trifle longer than an operator's, I am reporting
it direct to the Head of the Safety Division; and I am telling you that
if you don't do something about it damned quick--stop production and
slap a HOLD order on all the M2AP's you can reach--I'll call District
and make you personally responsible for every premature that occurs from
now on."

Since any safety man, anywhere, would much rather stop a process than
authorize one, and since this particular safety man loved to throw his
weight around, Kinnison was surprised that Moulton did not act
instantly. The fact that he did not so act should have, but did not,
give the naive Kinnison much information as to conditions existing
Outside the Fence.

"But they need those mines very badly; they are an item of very heavy
production. If we stop them ... how long? Have you any suggestions?"

"Yes. Call District and have them rush through a change of spec--include
heat-treat and a modified Charpy test. In the meantime, we can get back
into full production tomorrow if you have District slap a
hundred-per-cent i