"No. You're wrong, McLeod. If it could have been avoided, it would have been avoided. The fact that some idiot in my public relations department gained access to my wire and found out you were returning is incontrovertible; it happened, despite precautions."
"Mr. Percy to see you," the annunciator said.
The angular figure of Lee Percy appeared on the screen. Walton told him to come in.
Percy looked frightened—terrified, Walton thought. He held a folded slip of paper loosely in one hand.
"Good morning, sir."
"Good morning, Lee." Walton observed that the friendly Roy had changed to the formal salutation, sir. "Did you get the clipping I sent you?"
"Yes, sir." Glumly.
"Lee, this is Leslie McLeod, chief of operations of our successful faster-than-light project. Colonel McLeod, I want you to meet Lee Percy. He's the man who masterminded our little newsbreak last night."
Percy flinched visibly. He stepped forward and laid his slip of paper on Walton's desk. "I m-made a m-mistake last night," he stammered. "I should never have released that break."
"Damned right you shouldn't have," Walton agreed, carefully keeping any hint of severity from his voice. "You have us in considerable hot water, Lee. That planet isn't ours for colonization, despite the enthusiasm with which I allegedly announced it last night. And you ought to be clever enough to realize it's impossible to withdraw and deny good news once you've broken it."