"Approve Captain Hofner's and send the rest of his on through. I'll
get Haulwell's fraudulent forms from you tomorrow and put through her
Eyefer status officially then. I'm too busy now."
"Thank you, Commissioner." The screen went black.
Crawford's face when he turned back to Herl was tired and disgruntled.
"That's the third girl in a couple of years. They just have no
consideration for their jobs. She was the best of the three, too." He
riffled some more papers in the drawer and came up with a small green
card.
"Why didn't you tell him you meant to add her name to your note?" Herl
asked curiously. "You could have given her a scolding or something,
couldn't you?"
"Oh no. You don't understand. She might have married and had children
and I wouldn't have been able to say a thing, or I'd have been an
accessory after the fact." He pressed a button on his desk. "Being
Chief Commissioner of Delight is a responsible and tough job, Captain.
But we owe it to our children's children to make them a hundred times
as responsible and tough."
The door opened and Agnes Haulwell advanced a few steps into the room.
"You wanted me, Commissioner?"
"Yes, Miss Haulwell. You may leave now and go home and pack your
things. I'll phone Placement to get an assignment for you so you can go
right there to turn in your permits when you've packed."
"P-placement, Commissioner?"
"Eyefer placement, Miss Haulwell. Sub-commissioner Torrin has just
informed me about your having added a number of your personal
applications to the rush approvals for Captain Hofner."
Agnes Haulwell turned pale, then began to tremble and burst into tears.
"Oh, no, Commissioner. I ... I couldn't. None ... well almost none of
those permits has really lapsed ... I'm engaged ... I just can't," she
sobbed, "I mustn't ... you can't ... oh, I'll go to detention or ...
or ... temporary curtailment of privileges or anything, but you can't
make me go Eyefer!" she wound up defiantly.
Crawford was seemingly regretful, gentle. "Had the housing permit
lapsed? and the cooking fats? and the winter clothes?"
"Yes, but that was all. I forgot just those three. The others all had
hours to run yet."
"'I forgot, I forgot.' Miss Haulwell, there's one thing you can't
forget and that's that an adequate memory and constant attention is the
mark of those fitted to survive. Now I'm very disappointed in you," his
voice became more gentle as she sobbed anew, "but I would consider it a
personal favor if you'd come in in the morning to show your successor
how to operate the switchboard and doors and where the supplies are."
"OH!..." Miss Haulwell fairly shrieked and ran blubbering from the
room.
Crawford said sadly to Hofner. "They never do come in tomorrow morning.
It just shows they were Eyefer stuff from the beginning. I only wish
we had some way of weeding them out before they reached adulthood, but
we don't. Now let's go and eat. By the time we get back, your permits
should be here."
* * * * *
The restaurant was in the basement. Progress between tables had been
slow as Commissioner Crawford acknowledged greetings from numerous
small groups and introduced Captain Hofner. Finally, however, they were
seated at a table for two at a corner of the yellow-brick walled room.
A brown-overalled waiter approached them.
"My guest permit," Crawford explained in loud clear tones, "is for
cereal foods and fruit. But you're probably in the mood for breakfast
anyway." He spoke to the waiter. "Bring him," he nodded at Herl, "one
of your regular breakfasts. I'll have steak and mushrooms and mashed
wathros ... and how's the bean puree to start with? and enchil salad
and thollet pudding for dessert. We'll both drink morgen."