ust your word against theirs," Crandall insisted obstinately.
"Their complaint is that you framed this whole thing up to get rid of
them."

"Why, I didn't even know who either of them were, until yesterday
morning."

"That's not the way they tell it," Crandall retorted. "They say you and
Keating have been out to get them ever since they were hired. You and
your supervisors have been persecuting both of those men systematically.
The fact that Burris has had grounds for all these previous complaints
proves that."

"It proves that Burris has a persecution complex, and that Koffler's
credulous enough to believe him," Melroy replied. "And that tends to
confirm the results of the tests they failed to pass."

"Oh, so that's the line you're taking. You persecute a man, and then say
he has a persecution complex if he recognizes the fact. Well, you're not
going to get away with it, that's all I have to say to you." Crandall
flung the test-sheet he had been holding on to the desk. "That stuff's
not worth the paper it's scribbled on!" He turned on his heel in an
automatically correct about-face and strode out of the office.

* * * * *

Melroy straightened out the papers and put them away, then sat down at
his desk, filling and lighting his pipe. He was still working at 1215
when Ben Puryear called him.

"They walked out on us," he reported. "Harry Crandall was out here
talking to them, and at noon the whole gang handed in their
wrist-Geigers and dosimeters and cleared out their lockers. They say
they aren't coming back till Burris and Koffler come back to work with
them."

"Then they aren't coming back, period," Melroy replied. "Crandall was to
see me, a couple of hours ago. He tells me that Burris and Koffler told
him that we've been persecuting Burris; discriminating against him. You
know of anything that really happened that might make them think
anything like that?"

"No. Burris is always yelling about not getting enough overtime work,
but you know how it is: he's just a roustabout, a common laborer. Any
overtime work that has to be done is usually skilled labor on this job.
We generally have a few roustabouts to help out, but he's been allowed
to make overtime as much as any of the others."

"Will the time-records show that?"

"They ought to. I don't know what he and Koffler told Crandall, but
whatever it was, I'll bet they were lying."

"That's all right, then. How's the reactor,