A minute later—fifty-eight seconds was the exact time—the structure was suddenly obliterated by a tremendous explosion. The General sighed and said quietly, "That was TNT. We have a stockpile of atomic weapons ready."
"But the accuracy!" exclaimed a weathered full admiral. "With the wind and the earth's rotation to consid...." He hesitated, then said, "Oh, a guided missile."
The General nodded, and said, "We can put batteries of these new missile-launchers, completely-mobile and with atomic heads, anywhere in the world within twenty-four hours by plane. They have a reasonably effective range of small targets of just over two hundred miles—with air-guidance, of course, over target. Gentlemen, I think They are in for a surprise."
They got it two days later—in another special test of the new weapon. The General didn't even bother to watch it. His attention was focussed upon a stocky blond man who wore the gaudy shoulder-boards of a lieutenant colonel, and was present as assistant military-attache and qualified observer. His face remained impassive, save for a slight twitch of the lips, when the target was obliterated.
Which was enough to satisfy the General.
Denied a sure-thing victory They were forced to call off Their war—with violent internal results. It became quickly evident that They were going to be busy for a long time keeping order within their own boundaries. The international situation became easier and happier than at any time since Locarno.
The General, who was due shortly to receive his fourth star, played an active role in the military portion of the peace-making. He had little time even to think of Angus MacReedy and little Toby and the miracle-workroom on Long Island. When he did think of them it was with an inner warmth that was almost devout, with a resolve to see that the model-maker received a satisfactory reward.
Then one morning, while skimming through a stack of reports, a phrase caught his eye. It read—
... and in accord with current fiscal retrenchment-policies, all personnel on special duty were called in for terminal assignments. These included....