ife man
demanded sarcastically, trying to hide his terror beneath a blustering
tone, "that from one mouse, your great-great-grandfather Michael,
there must be now at least twelve billion descendants--or six times
the human population of Earth!"

"No, I didn't know," George said, interested despite himself.

"Don't tell me it never occurred to you," the man from the F.B.I.
said, shaking a finger at him, while George could see that he kept the
other hand on the revolver in his pocket, "that you mice have access
to and could destroy every secret file we have!"

"No, it didn't," George said, shrinking from that huge, shaking
finger. "We mice would never destroy anything uselessly."

"Or that you could cut the wires on any plane, tank, vehicle, train or
ship, rendering it completely inoperable!" the General broke in,
slamming a meaty palm down on the table so hard that George was thrown
over on his back.

"Of course it never occurred to me!" George said, climbing rockily
back on his feet. "We mice wouldn't think of such a thing. Don't be
afraid," he pleaded, but it was no use. He could feel the panic in
their breasts.

"Didn't you ever consider that you could cut every cable, telephone
line, power line, and telegraph line from the States to Alaska?" the
man from Alaskan Affairs said, just for the sake of saying something.
Then, to show his bravery and defiance, he took his glass of water and
emptied it on George. It was ice water, and poor George, dripping wet,
began to tremble uncontrollably.

"I suppose you never considered that you could sabotage and blow up
every atomic plant we have," the man from the A.E.C. said, before
George even had a chance to answer Alaskan Affairs. And, working
himself into a rage to overcome his fear, he emptied _his_ glass of
ice water on the trembling mouse.

* * * * *

George began to weep. "It _never_ occurred to me," he sobbed. "We mice
aren't like that."

"Nonsense!" the General said. "It's the unchanging law of nature. We
must kill you or you will kill us. And we'll start by killing you!"
The General roared louder than all the rest because he was the most
frightened.

His hand, huge and terrible, swept swiftly down on poor, wet, weeping
George. But the General really didn't know mouse tactics very well,
because George was down the leg of the table and halfway to the
mousehole before the huge hand struck the table with a noisy bang.

And poor