"You've got some mail right there. Earrings and a bracelet to match."
She looked at him with exasperation, and then gathered up a stack of memorandums and letters, his own envelope atop it. She came out of the press secretary's office two minutes later with Howells himself, and Howells said: "You there, Bridges. Come in here."
"Yes, sir!" Jerry said, breezing by the waiting reporters with a grin of triumph.
There were six men in the room, three in military uniform. Howells poked the envelope towards Jerry, and snapped:
"This note of yours. Just what do you think it means?"
"You know better than I do, Mr. Howells. I'm just doing my job; I think the public has a right to know about this spaceship that's flying around—"
His words brought an exclamation from the others. Howells sighed, and said:
"Mr. Bridges, you don't make it easy for us. It's our opinion that secrecy is essential, that leakage of the story might cause panic. Since you're the only unauthorized person who knows of it, we have two choices. One of them is to lock you up."
Jerry swallowed hard.