until she's seen one of the things."
He glared dramatically in the general direction of his wife, who
pretended not to notice.

Anson led them into the Gray Room. He mentally went over the
applicable rule: _Rule 23; Always introduce the marked-down
merchandise first. It may provide the customer with an incentive for
buying something better._

"These are last year's models," he said, with just the right flavor
of distaste in his voice. "Of course, you may expect a slight
reduction ... a small percentage...."

Red-tie was muttering. "Damned mechanical things, full of wheels and
wires. What's to keep 'em from running amok and killing us all!"

"But dear, they don't have wheels anymore," protested the woman,
timidly. Her face was pretty, Anson decided, but it was obvious that
the man would be the deciding factor in this sale.

He made a mental note: _Rule 31: Pick the individual of a family group
who seems to hold the deciding voice, and SELL!_ He remembered a
portion of a sales talk he had memorized a few days before, and took
it up, almost chanting:

"... our Roboids are grown, much as crystals are grown, in great vats
in New Chicago. A Plasti-Cast Roboid is guaranteed...."

"A fat chance we'd have of collecting the guarantee if we were chopped
into mincemeat," Red-tie interrupted, shuddering slightly as the
implication of his own words hit him.

Anson felt a moment of panic as he failed to remember an applicable
rule from the Salesman's Guide, but it formed in his mind at the last
moment: _Rule 18: Never argue with a customer--change the subject._

"Why don't you come with me to the Green Room?" he asked. "The very
latest models are on display." He walked slowly at first, then more
quickly as the couple allowed themselves to be led. He slid his hand
near a hidden switch in the archway, and floodlights came on just as
they entered.

The woman uttered a little squeal of delight at the sight of a very
handsome figure dressed in a cutaway, standing in an attitude of
service.

"Oh!" she breathed dreamily. "He would make such a wonderful butler."

"Well, wind him up and let's see what he'll do," growled the man, his
face florid in the colored light of the Green Room.

"I'm so very sorry," Anson said, slightly flustered, remembering that
this was always the crucial moment in a sale. "The Roboid cannot be
activated for demonstration purposes."

"What?" roared Red-tie, incredulously. "Do you mean to say you wan