noon
No one knew where he was , though , again , there were all kinds of speculations , all of them erroneous . Actually , he was a carefully guarded and willing prisoner in a suite in one of the big hotels in Government City . On the fourth day , the big operation began without fanfare . The actual maneuvering to capture the alien that had terrorized a planet began shortly after noon . At a few minutes before three that afternoon , the man whom the world knew as Stanley Martin suddenly suffered a dizzy spell and nearly fainted . Then , almost like a child , he began to weep . _ FINAL INTERLUDE _ Colonel Walther Mannheim said : `` It will take five years , Stanton . ''