Атлант расправил плечи

           "Ihaveanothermattertodiscuss,themostimportantoneofall,the—"

           "Yourgrowingnumberoftrainwrecks?"

           "No!Notthat."

           "What,then?"

           "It’s...thatyou’regoingtoappearonBertramScudder’sradioprogramtonight."

           Sheleanedback."AmI?"

           "Dagny,it’simperative,it’scrucial,there’snothingtobedoneaboutit,torefuseisoutofthequestion,intimesliketheseonehasnochoice,and—"

           Sheglancedatherwatch."I’llgiveyouthreeminutestoexplain—ifyouwanttobeheardatall.Andyou’dbetterspeakstraight."

           "Allright!"hesaiddesperately."It’sconsideredmostimportant—onthehighestlevels,ImeanChickMorrisonandWesleyMouchandMr.Thompson,ashighasthat—thatyoushouldmakeaspeechtothenation,amorale-buildingspeech,youknow,sayingthatyouhaven’tquit."

           "Why?"

           "Becauseeverybodythoughtyouhad!...Youdon’tknowwhat’sbeengoingonlately,but...butit’ssortofuncanny.Thecountryisfullofrumors,allsortsofrumors,abouteverything,allofthemdangerous.Disruptive,Imean.Peopleseemtodonothingbutwhisper.Theydon’tbelievethenewspapers,theydon’tbelievethebestspeakers,theybelieveeveryvicious,scare-mongeringpieceofgossipthatcomesfloatingaround.There’snoconfidenceleft,nofaith,noorder,no...