Pied Piper

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THE Prime Minister--and Field Marshal yler Doctor Groot's secretary was obviously ex-cited.

Doctor Groot did not lift his eyes from the laboratory bench. With a gentle, steady grip he held a; tiny furry animal while he shaved an area on its thigh.

"So? Have them wait."

"But Doctor, it's the-"

"Are they more important than this?" He reached for a hypodermic needle, load-ed and waiting. His little specimen, a field mouse, did not resist the needle.

The secretary started to speak, bit her lip, and withdrew.

The statesman endured the wait some-what better than the soldier. "I don't like this, Excellency," the field marshal grum-bled. "Why should we be kept waiting while our host fiddles around among his stinks and bottles? Mind you, I'm not complaining on my own account; I learned to wait when I was a cadet; but you represent the state."

The Prime Minister twisted around in his chair to face Yler. "Patience, John. What does it matter if we are treated like job-seekers? We must have him to win the war, but does he need us? I doubt it from his viewpoint. Would you and I be here at all-if we were not already beat-en."

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