At last, at long last, her voice said, "Yes, Bob?"
"Will you marry me?" I asked prayerfully and Munich got into the act with "Willst Du nicht mich heiraten?"
"Yes," she said so softly I barely heard.
I swung a frantic glance over my shoulder. His Honor the Mayor of Racine and sub-alterns were behind me.
"Elaine?" I yelled.
"Whoops!" she said; then, "I'm back at Hanford."
"Sosnowski," I said sharply. "You heard my order. You will not activate the AGS again!"
"I haven't been touching it for the last ten minutes," Sosnowski said. "There's something wrong with the activator; it's turning itself off and on at random."
"Then get a technician and damp the pile!"
"I'll do what I can," he said. "Anyway, Elaine's gone!"