"Stop clutching at me!" he shrieked. "My diaper is coming loose!"
The clutching however, did not stop, nor did the yanking, hauling, and pulling. Slowly, the diaper slithered loose from A.P.'s pudgy mid-section and dropped to the floor. The future dictator of the world blushed furiously.
"Stop!" he yelled. "For heaven's sake!"
After a moment, the fact that they had literally snatched the poor infant naked finally penetrated the minds of the struggling group. There was a sudden shame-faced silence.
"Well!" A.P. said indignantly, "the least you could do is turn me over. Now, unhand me, the lot of you, before I really lose my temper!"
Under this threat, all concerned acted almost as though under a hypnotic command. Simultaneously, everyone withdrew their support. All hands, so to speak, returned from active combat. The obvious, though unforeseen, result followed swiftly and shockingly; A.P. dropped to the floor, meeting its polished surface with the back of his head and a dull, ominous thud.
There was a sudden communal gasp, then horrified silence. Ginny was the first to recover her voice.
"He's dropped!" she said in a ghastly whisper. "On his head!"
"He told us to let go of him," the nurse said.
"He didn't mean all of us," a distinguished grey-haired gentleman said. "I should have realized it."