Part 4 (1/2)

”I trust,” he said formally, ”that your antidote is an efficient one.”

Oswald's voice sounded smug, and not at all disgruntled. ”Try this on for size,” he said. ”First, Witch is known far and wide as nothing less could have made it known--”

”Yes, and if the churches ban the use of Witch, we'll wish we weren't.”

”O.K., O.K. Tonight we explain carefully that the 'miracle' was a miracle of cleanliness, and that carpenters and contractors and all that did the miracle. You know, American technology and ma.s.s production in operation, something to be proud of. Tie Witch right in to the whole picture of the United States as the leader of mechanical--stress mechanical--miracles.

”Then--what's the most appealing thing in the world?” He didn't wait for an answer. ”A child. A small, crippled child, for whom Witch can provide the funds to make her walk.” Oswald hurried on, knowing that Randolph had to go through a bit of lip chewing before he could interrupt, and taking advantage of the fact to ride over objections.

”We've got a kid that an expensive operation will save from being a cripple. I've consulted two top surgeons already, and they say it's nearly positive.

”We don't do any hocus-pocus. We just say that Witch is going to pay for the operation. She leaves the broadcast and goes straight to the hospital. We get a movie of the operation, and we do movies on her convalescence, and we play it for weeks until she walks on stage cured--weeks later.”

Now Oswald waited. It was a long wait, an unusually long wait, even for Randolph. Finally, he said:

”All right. But if anything unusual occurs you will answer for it in court.”

”Nothing unusual could occur. I admit I still don't know what happened last time, but we'll find out.

”Meantime, we'll take a week to build this one up,” Oswald continued.

”The buildup will stress that this is a cure being bought by money. No miracle, except the miracle of American medical know-how. No miracles meantime. Just keep Witch clean and stay well, and Witch buys the operation the kid needs. She's pretty, too,” he added as an afterthought. ”Ten years old.”

That night Bill Howard leaned across the desk toward the TV audience, and tiny droplets of sweat stood on his forehead. His voice was calm, though. A big map of New York City hung on the wall behind him.

The big news that night was a dope raid. He described the dope traffic in the nation, the efforts of the FBI and every law enforcement body in the country, to track it down, clean it out. He described what it did to the young, who got caught and were slaves for life, unless they could be cured--and he spoke of the meagerness of the cures that were known.

Then he described the raid. He took a pointer from his desk and he outlined how the raid had been staged, and he pointed out the location of the building where it had occurred. Then he followed with his pointer the route to the precinct jail where the victims were being held.

”Cannot our best researchers find a cure for this addiction?” he asked in his husky voice. ”Cannot our best law-enforcement agencies find the real perpetrators of these crimes? The perpetrators are the fiends who import dope and create addicts to peddle it for them. These who are confined are the victims. If no way can be found to cure them, they must be confined again and again and again, for that addiction will force them to ever-increasing crime to satisfy it.

”If no way can be found to cure them, these are potential slaves for life--”

As he ended the station break came, and the camera s.h.i.+fted to the Witches, dancing on stage, crying their chant.

”Witches of the world, unite to make it clean, clean, clean, Witch clean--NOW!

”Which soap or detergent, Witch cleanser upsurgent--”

The announcer's voice, when it came in over the muted jingle ”explained” the miracle of the slum-clearance again--a miracle of American technology. Then he outlined the next ”miracle” the Witch Corporation would promote. This, he said, would be a miracle of American Medical know-how. Witch would pay for the expensive operation needed to make a little girl walk again after a crippling disease several years before. Bone would be grafted, new muscles would be grafted, American medical know-how in its full extent would be put at her service.

Keep healthy by keeping clean with Witch, the announcer suggested.

Witch would pay for the expensive operation to undo the effects of one disease. Meanwhile, Witch's customers could use the preventive medicine of cleanliness to help them in their fight against disease, while the researchers of American medicine ”seek to find you real protection.”

It was 10:30 the next morning when the doorbell rang.

A big man was standing outside in a topcoat, hat in hand. Randolph stood in the door, waiting.