lice force. Then he signalled to the others and they all
wheeled off up the street.

"Whew," I muttered, mopping my face.

The sergeant didn't say anything. He just looked up at me and then off
at the retreating androids and then back at me again. I knew what he
was thinking--they were my brainchildren, all right.

My Copter was really built to be a single seater, but it carried the
two of us back to the factory. The Chief had hurried back when the
trouble started and was waiting for us.

"I give up," he said. "We'll have to evacuate the people, I guess. And
then blow up the city."

Jack and I stared at each other and then at him. Somehow I couldn't
see the robots calmly waiting to be blown up. If they had telepathed
the last plan, they could probably foresee every move we could make.
Then, while I thought, Jack mentioned the worry I'd managed to forget
for the past couple of hours.

"Four days until Saturday," he said. "We'll never make it now. Not
even if we got a thousand men."

No. We couldn't. Not without the androids. I nodded, feeling sick.
There went my contract, and my working capital. Not to mention my
robots. Of course, I could call in the Army, but what good would that
do?

Then, somewhere in the back of my mind a glimmering of an idea began
percolating. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was certainly
nothing to lose now from playing a hunch.

"There's nothing we can do," I said. "So we might as well take it easy
for a couple of days. See what happens."

They looked at me as if I were out of my head. I was the idea man, who
always had a plan of action. Well, this time it would have to be a
plan of inaction.

"Let's go listen to the radio," I suggested, and started for my
office.

The news was on. It was all about Carron City and the robots who had
quit work and how much better life would be in the future. For a
minute I didn't get the connection; then I realized that the
announcer's voice was rasping and tinny--hardly that of the regular
newscaster. I looked at the dial. It was tuned to the Carron City wave
length as usual. I was getting the morning news by courtesy of some
studio robot.

"... And androids in other neighboring cities are joining the
struggle," the voice went on "Soon we hope to make it nationwide. So I
say to all of you nontelepaths, the time is now. Strike for your
rights. Listen to your radio and not to the flesh men. Organizers will
be sent from Carron City."