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Ford shouted out, "Hey, listen! I think we've got enough proble at us, so if you could avoid laying your problems on us as well, I think we'd all find it easier to cope!"

Another pause, and then the loud hailer again

"Now see here, guy," said the voice on the loud hailer, "you're not dealing with any du y eyes and no conversation, we're a couple of intelligent caring guys that you'd probably quite like if youpeople and then bragging about it afterwards in seedy space-rangers bars, like soratuitously and then I agonize about it afterwards for hours to irlfriend!"

"And I write novels!" chih I haven't had any of them published yet, so I better warn you, I'm in a meeeean mood!"

Ford's eyes popped halfway out of their sockets "Who are these guys?" he said

"Dunno," said Zaphod, "I think I preferred it when they were shooting"

"So are you going to co to let us blast you out?"

"Which would you prefer?" shouted Ford

A ain, as bolt after bolt of Kill-O-Zap hurled itself into the computer bank in front of them

The fusillade continued for several seconds at unbearable intensity

When it stopped, there were a few seconds of near quietness as the echoes died away

"You still there?" called one of the cops

"Yes," they called back

"We didn't enjoy doing that at all," shouted the other cop

"We could tell," shouted Ford

"Now, listen to this, Beeblebrox, and you better listen good!"

"Why?" shouted Back Zaphod

"Because," shouted the cop, "it's going to be very intelligent, and quite interesting and huive yourselves up now and let us beat you up a bit, though not very much of course because we are firmly opposed to needless violence, or we blow up this entire planet and possibly one or two others we noticed on our way out here!"

"But that's crazy!" cried Trillian "You wouldn't do that!"

"Oh yes ould," shouted the cop, "wouldn't we?" he asked the other one

"Oh yes, we'd have to, no question," the other one called back

"But why?" demanded Trillian

"Because there are sohtened liberal cop who knows all about sensitivity and everything!"

"I just don't believe these guys,"his head

One cop shouted to the other, "Shall we shoot theain for a bit?"

"Yeah, why not?"

They let fly another electric barrage

The heat and noise was quite fantastic Slowly, the corate The front had almost alltheir way back towards where they were squatting They huddled further back and waited for the end

Chapter 33

But the end never came, at least not then

Quite suddenly the barrage stopped, and the sudden silence afterwards was punctuated by a couple of strangled gurgles and thuds

The four stared at each other

"What happened?" said Arthur

"They stopped," said Zaphod with a shrug

"Why?"

"Dunno, do you want to go and ask them?"

"No"