"What do you mean?" Leopold demanded—with a quiver taking the authority out of his voice.
"I mean," said Mattern quietly, "the robot you named Ozymandias. Just why did you decide not to tell me about it?"
"I had every intention of doing so before our departure," Leopold said.
Mattern shrugged. "Be that as it may. You concealed the existence of your find. But your manner last night led us to investigate the area—and since the detectors showed a metal object some twenty miles to the west, we headed that way. Ozymandias was quite surprised to learn that there were other Earthmen here."
There was a moment of crackling silence. Then Leopold said, "I'll have to ask you not to meddle with that robot, Colonel Mattern. I apologize for having neglected to tell you of it—I didn't think you were quite so interested in our work—but now I must insist you and your men keep away from it."
"Oh?" Mattern said crisply. "Why?"
"Because it's an archaeological treasure-trove, Colonel. I can't begin to stress its value to us. Your men might perform some casual experiment with it and short circuit its memory channels, or something like that. And so I'll have to invoke the rights of the archaeological group of this expedition. I'll have to declare Ozymandias part of our preserve, and off bounds for you."
Mattern's voice suddenly hardened. "Sorry, Dr. Leopold. You can't invoke that now."
"Why not?"
"Because Ozymandias is part of our preserve. And off bounds for you, Doctor."