"Would I say it if I didn't mean it?"
"Well—" Sanderson coughed. "In that case, you will be assigned duties."
"I'll take the duties."
"Without asking what they will be?" He seemed suddenly uneasy, and yet at the same time he seemed pleased.
"Yes."
He blinked at her, then nodded as if he was even better pleased. "Take your turn in line, please."
Men were already moving to the front of the hall. They lifted a large slab of stone from the floor there, revealing a box-filled cavity beneath. A man dropped down and began to hand up the boxes. A line was forming. Miss Tweedham moved into it. Sanderson was taking small objects from the boxes and was handing one to each person in line. Miss Tweedham did not see what the objects were until one was handed to her. Then she saw.
"But these are bum-bum guns!" she said. She did not take the weapon.
"Yes, they are," Sanderson said.
"That man, Early, had one of these."