“I heard you talking Indian,” said Joe.
“You’re gonna hear some more,” said the Chief. “We’re the first war party of my tribe in longer’n my grandpa woulda thought respectable!”
Joe found it difficult to restrain a smile. The Chief took him off to one side.
“Fella,” he said kindly, “it bothers you, this business, because it ain’t organized. That’s what this world needs, Joe. Everything figured out by slide rules an’ such—it’s civilized, but it ain’t human! What everybody oughta be is a connoisseur of chaos, like me. Quit worryin’ an’ get outside and pick up that security guy the Major was gonna send to meet you!”
He gave Joe an amiable shove and rejoined his fellow Mohawks, each of whom, Joe noticed suddenly, had somewhere on his person a twelve-inch Stillson wrench or a reasonable facsimile to serve as a substitute tomahawk. They grinned at him as he departed.
At the bottom of the flight of narrow wooden steps there was a third security man. He greeted Joe.
“Major Holt told me to pick you up,” he observed.
Joe walked to one side with him. Major Holt had promised to send a first-class man to meet Joe at this place, with orders to take instructions from Joe. Joe said curtly: “You’re to snag as many Security men as you can, place them more or less out of sight under the Platform here, and tell them to turn off their walkie-talkies and wait. No matter what happens, they’re to wait right here until they’re needed, right here!”
He looked harassedly around him. The Security man nodded and moved casually away. This was close timing. Something made Joe look up. He saw the catwalk gallery nearly overhead. The expected guard was there. Haney, though, was with him. There was nothing else in sight. Not yet. But Haney was on the job. Joe saw a Security man step out of sight in the scaffolding. He saw his own assigned security man speak to another, who wandered casually toward the Platform’s base.