the station house--to talk about it." He looked around
nervously, waving his gun to open a path through the tightly packed
crowd. They moved back grudgingly, with murmurs of disapproval.

Jon's thoughts swirled in tight circles. How did a catastrophe like this
happen, where was it going to end? He didn't dare tell the truth, that
would mean he was calling the man a liar. There had been six robots
power-lined in the city since the first of the year. If he dared speak
in his own defense there would be a jumper to the street lighting
circuit and a seventh burnt out hulk in the police morgue.

A feeling of resignation swept through him, there was no way out. If the
man pressed charges it would mean a term of penal servitude, though it
looked now as if he would never live to reach the court. The papers had
been whipping up a lot of anti-robe feeling, you could feel it behind
the angry voices, see it in the narrowed eyes and clenched fists. The
crowd was slowly changing into a mob, a mindless mob as yet, but capable
of turning on him at any moment.

"What's goin' on here...?" It was a booming voice, with a quality that
dragged at the attention of the crowd.

A giant cross-continent freighter was parked at the curb. The driver
swung down from the cab and pushed his way through the people. The
policeman shifted his gun as the man strode up to him.

"That's my robot you got there, Jack, don't put any holes in him!" He
turned on the man who had been shouting accusations. "Fatty here, is the
world's biggest liar. The robot was standing here waiting for me to park
the truck. Fatty must be as blind as he is stupid, I saw the whole
thing. He knocks himself down walking into the robe, then starts
hollering for the cops."

The other man could take no more. His face crimson with anger he rushed
toward the trucker, his fists swinging in ungainly circles. They never
landed, the truck driver put a meaty hand on the other's face and seated
him on the sidewalk for the second time.

The onlookers roared with laughter, the power-lining and the robot were
forgotten. The fight was between two men now, the original cause had
slipped from their minds. Even the policeman allowed himself a small
smile as he holstered his gun and stepped forward to separate the men.

The trucker turned towards Jon with a scowl.

"Come on you aboard the truck--you've caused me enough trouble for one
day. What a junkcan!"

The crowd chuckled as he pushed Jo