le and ineffective maiden aunt in
trousers, pounded frantically with his gavel. "Order!" he fairly
screamed. "This is disgraceful!"

"You can say that again!" Brigade commander Chernov boomed. "What do
you people over on the right think this is; an Illiterates'
Organization Political Action meeting?"

"Vote! Vote!" Cardon bellowed.

Literate President Morehead banged his gavel and, in a last effort,
started the call bell clanging.

"The motion has been presented and seconded; the amendment has been
presented and seconded. It will now be put to a vote!"

"Roll call!" Cardon demanded. Four or five other voices, from both
sides of the chamber, supported him.

"The vote will be by roll call," Literate President Morehead agreed.
"Addison, Walter G."

"Aye!" He was a subordinate of Harvey Graves.

"Agostino, Pedro V."

"Aye!" He was a Lancedale man.

So it went on. Graves voted for the motion. Joyner voted against it.
All the Lancedale faction, now convinced that their leader had the
opposition on the run, voted loudly for it.

"The vote has been one hundred and eighty-three for, seventy-two
against," Literate President Morehead finally announced. "The motion
is herewith declared carried. Literate Lancedale, I appoint you to
organize a committee to implement the said motion, at once."

* * * * *

Prestonby flung open the door of the rest room where Sergeant
Coccozello and his subordinate were guarding the unconscious Pelton.

"Sergeant! Who's in charge of store police, now?"

Coccozello looked blank for an instant. "I guess I am," he said.
"Lieutenant Dunbar's off on his vacation, in Mexico, and Captain
Freizer's in the hospital; he was taken sick suddenly last evening."

Probably poisoned, Prestonby thought, making a mental note to find out
which hospital and get in touch with one of the Literate medics there.

"Well, come out here, sergeant, and have a look around the store on
the TV. We have troubles."

Coccozello could hear the noise that was still coming out of the
darkened screen. As he stepped forward, Claire got another pickup,
some distance from the one that had been knocked out. A mob of women
customers were surging away from the Chinaware Department, into
Glassware; they were running into the shopping crowd there, with
considerable disturbance. A couple of store police were trying to get
through the packed mass of humanity, and making slow going of it.
Coccozel