Чужак в чужой стране

           "You’vegothimboxedupinthere

           "Eh?Don’tbesilly.He’sseenlotsofgirls.Nurses

           "ButIdon’tknow.Iunderstoodhehadnothingbutmalenursesandthatfemalevisitorshadbeenrigidlyexcluded."

           "Eh?Don’tbeanymorepreposterousthanyouhavetobe."Berquistlookedannoyed,thensuddenlygrinned."Yousawanursewithhimonstereojustlastnight."

           "Oh.SoIdid."Caxtonshutupandlethimselfbeledout.

           Theydidnotdiscussitfurtheruntilthethreewereintheair,headedforCavendish’shome.ThenFrisbyremarked,"Ben,Idon’tsupposetheSecretaryGeneralwilldemeanhimselftosueyou,sinceyoudidnotprintit.Still,ifyoureallydohaveasourceforthatrumoryoumentioned,wehadbetterperpetuatetheevidence.Youdon’thavemuchofalegtostandon,youknow."

           "ForgetitMark.Hewon’tsue."Bengloweredatthefloorofthecab."HowdoweknowthatwastheManfromMars?"

           "Eh?Comeoffit,Ben."

           "Howdoweknow?Wesawamanabouttherightageinahospitalbed.WehaveBerquist’swordforit-andBerquistgothisstartinpoliticsissuingdenials;hiswordmeansnothing.Wesawatotalstranger,supposedtobeapsychiatrist

           Cavendishansweredcarefully,"Itisnotmyfunctiontoformopinions.Isee,Ihear-thatisall."

           "Sorry."

           "Bytheway,areyouthroughwithmeinmyprofessionalcapacity?"

           "Huh?Oh,sure.Thanks,Mr.Cavendish."

           "Thankyou,sir.Itwasaninterestingassignment."Theoldgentlemantookoffthecloakthatsethimapartfromordinarymortals,foldeditcarefullyandlaiditontheseat.