"Dozens of them. Want some, cheap?" He laughed, a brittle, unamused laugh.
"Seriously, Roy. You ought to go on the air again and smooth this thing over. The people are yelling for war with these Dirnans, and half of us over here at the UN aren't even sure the damned creatures exist. Couldn't you fake it up a little?"
"No," Walton said. "There's been enough faking. I'm going on the air with the truth for a change! Better have all your delegates over there listening in, because their ears are in for an opening."
As soon as he was rid of Ludwig he called Lee Percy.
"That program on the conquest of space is almost ready to go," the public relations man informed him.
"Kill it. Have you seen the noon Citizen?"
"No; been too busy on the new program. Anything big?"
Walton chuckled. "Fairly big. The Citizen just yanked the rug out from under everything. We'll probably be at war with Procyon IX by sundown. I want you to buy me air space on every medium for the 1900 spot tonight."
"Sure thing. What kind of speech you want us to cook up?"
"None at all," Walton said. "I'm going to speak off the cuff for a change. Just buy the time for me, and squeeze the budget for all it's worth."