'Never known you in a hurry to get off your feet, Aaron.' Arthur Lexington grinned. 'Not judging by your speeches.'

Stuart Cawston, nearby, had overheard. He called across:

'Why the tired feet, Aaron? Been delivering Christmas mail?'

'I should get humorists,' the Postmaster General said gloomily, 'when all I need is tenderness.'

'It was my understanding you had that already,' Howden said amusedly. The idiot counterpoint, he thought: comic dialogue on side-stage to Macbeth. Perhaps it was needed, though. The issues which had suddenly loomed ahead, touching the very existence of Canada, were formidable enough. How many in this room besides Lexington and himself had any idea… Now the others moved away.

Arthur Lexington said softly, 'I talked to Angry about an announcement of the meeting and he called the State Department again. They say the President has asked there be no announcement for the time being. Their thinking seems to be that coming so soon after the Russian note, there might be some obvious implications.'

'Can't see it'd do much harm,' Howden said, his hawklike features pensive. 'It'll have to be announced soon. But if that's what he wants…'

Around them conversation swirled as glasses clinked.'… I took off fourteen pounds, then discovered this heavenly bakery. Now it's all back…' '… explained I didn't see the red light because I was hurrying to meet my husband who's a cabinet minister…' '… I'll say this for Time; even the distortions are interesting…' '… Really, Toronto people nowadays are insufferable; they've a kind of cultural indigestion…' '… So I told him, if we want stupid liquor laws, that's our business; anyway, just try using the telephone in London…''… I think Tibetans are cute; there's a cave-man quality…''… Haven't you noticed, the departmental stores are billing faster? One time you could count on two extra weeks…' '… We should have stopped Hitler at the Rhine and Khrushchev in Budapest…' '… Make no mistake: if men had to be pregnant, there'd be a lot less – thank you, a gin and tonic.'