come by, assuming they started near New Didymus; actually, of course,
some of my corps brothers were recruiting on other parts of the planet
and the Government had been fully instructed not to hold any of them
up. I won't say that President Santa Claus understood what I was
doing, but he trusted me. He had faith--which was handy.

Hollerith was overjoyed when the reinforcements did arrive. "Now we
can really begin to work," he told me. "Now we can begin to fight
back in a big way. No more of this sneaking around, doing fiddling
little jobs--"

He wanted to start at once. I nearly laughed in his face; it was now
established that I didn't have to get rid of the man. If he'd decided
to delay on the big attack ... but he hadn't.

So, of course, I helped him draw up some plans. Good ones, too; the
best I could come up with.

The very best.

* * * * *

"The trouble," Hollerith told me sadly, a day or so later, "is going to
be convincing the others. They want to do something dramatic--blowing up
the planet, most likely."

I said I didn't think they planned to go that far, and, anyhow, I had
an idea that might help. "You want to take the Army armaments depot
near New Didymus," I said. "That would serve as a good show of
strength, and weaken any reprisals while we get ready to move again."

"Of course," he said.

"Then think of all the fireworks you'll get," I said. "Bombs going
off, heaters exploding, stacks of arms all going off at once--the
Fourth of July, the Fourteenth, and Guy Fawkes Day, all at once, with
a small touch of Armageddon for flavor. Not to mention the Chinese New
Year."

"But--"

"Sell it that way," I said. "The drama. The great picture. The
excitement. That, believe me, they'll buy."

He frowned while he thought it over. Then the frown turned into a
grin. "By God," he said, "they might."

And they did. The conference and the election were both pretty stormy.
All the new patriots were off to blow up the Government buildings one
after another, even more enthusiastic than the original members. It
was only natural; my instructions to the recruiters had been to pick
the most violent, frothing anti-Government men they could find to send
out, and that was what we got. But Hollerith gave them a talk, and the
vote, when it came, was overwhelmingly in favor of his plan.

Even Huey was enthusiastic. He came up to me after the meeting and
pounded me on the back; I suppos