When freemen shall stand

By NELSON S. BOND
Earth was conquered by Venus and her master. But the mysterious faces of Mt. Rushmore became the gods that gave hope and fighting courage to beaten Man!
That, said Stephen Duane, is that! He wiped his hands on an acid-stained apron, turned to his assistant. We all set now, Chuck? Got the stuff?
Right here, Lootenant.
What? What's that you called me? Stephen Duane's voice flattened.
I said— Chuck began.
I heard you. Chuck, for Pete's sake, won't you lay off that 'Lieutenant' nonsense? I've got a front handle; one you've been using for three years. What's the matter? Don't you like it any more?
Chuck Lafferty shrugged. Them, he said patiently, was the good old days. But times has changed. We're in the Army now. You've got bars on your shoulders—remember?—and I'm just a sergeant. Which makes a difference.
Nuts! snorted Steve. I'm still a chemist, Chuck, and you're my lab assistant. And so far as you're concerned, I'm still just plain old Steve Duane. Get it?
Yeah. Yeah, sure, Lootenant.
Wha-a-at?
I mean, yeah, sure—er—Steve.