pen the door!"

CHAPTER X

"Oh, oh," Julia whispered. "You keep your mouth shut, Walt."

She projected a distortion field around him.

The bed now appeared untenanted.

Walt was silent.

Julia opened the door. The manager stormed in.

"You, you creature!" he cried. "Tying a defenseless man on the bed for
God knows what evil pur--oh. Hummm," he stared at the bed.

"Oh," he said.

"There's no one here but me."

"The bell boy--"

The manager searched the room. He looked in the closet. He looked in the
shower. His face slowly began to take on color.

Foolishly he got down on his knees and peered under the bed.

"Well," he said, dusting off his trousers as he stood up, "well ...
oh.... Is the service all right, Miss? Do you have any complaints?
Plenty of towels? Soap? Did the bell boy raise the window--yes, I see he
did. There's enough heat? I, I seemed to have--I was on the wrong floor
entirely. You see--"

His face grew even more puzzled. "There's a woman on the, on the _ninth_
floor I guess it is--how could I ever have made such a mistake? this is
the seventh floor, isn't it?--has a man in her bed." His face got
redder. He waved his hands. "_Tied_ to the bed."

"Oh, my," Julia said.

"Yes, isn't it. Now, if you want anything, don't hesitate to ring. I'm
sorry about this mistake. Silly of me. This is the _seventh_ floor ...
isn't it?"

"Yes, this is the seventh floor."

The manager left.

Julia locked the door behind him.

She dissolved the distortion field.

"Whew!" she said. "He was mad, wasn't he?"

Walt tried to sit up.

"No--wait. I think I'll take a chance. I'm going to leave you alone to
think over what I've said. Then I'm going to come back and untie you.
You're going to help me, Walt."

"I, I don't know what to think."

"Here's one thing I want you to remember when you're thinking everything
out. _People can be convinced of anything as long as they have no way of
checking beliefs against facts._ Remember that. Forential had complete
control over you. You believed what he told you to. Now you've had a
chance to see for yourself. You're just like an earthling. There is no
war. Things like that. Think for yourself, Walt."

"How long will you be gone?"

Julia gathered up her handbag. She folded the birth certificates and
stored them in it. "I don't know. I've got to convince someone of some
facts that are going to be very hard to believe." She paused at the
door. "I won't