ight cross the
room, go behind us, and then come back to its place on the desk. She
had never seen a demonstration of trained ability, and to her it was
so much magic.

"You've been doing the same thing, Pheola," I told her as I put an arm
around her shoulder. "Only you've been doing it first to my nerves and
later to my insides. Now let me see you do it to this little ball."

She looked at the little sphere of pith, similar to the ones that
Evaleen Riley had used for practice, but nothing happened.

"I can't feel it," she protested, "It ... It isn't you, Lefty. I'll
never feel anything that isn't _you_!"

"Don't get mystical," I snapped. "You did some healing before you met
me, and I don't suppose you were in love with every one you helped,
were you?"

"Of course not."

"Try again."

"Nothing," she said, and the pith ball did not budge.

"Now watch this," I said, and popped the little ball into my mouth.
"Feel for it," I insisted, pushing it into one cheek where it did not
interfere with my speech.

She closed her eyes. "Where is it?" she demanded. "Did you swallow it,
Lefty?"

"I either swallowed it or I kept it in my mouth," I said. "Feel for
it!"

"There!" she gasped. "It's in your mouth!"

I rolled the piece of pith on to the top surface of my tongue and
opened my mouth so that she could see it. "Agh!" I said, pointing at
my tongue. I gestured again, and her face paled as the little ball
left my tongue and floated in the air before my face. Suddenly her
lift broke and it fell wetly onto my hand, in my lap.

I leaned over, put an arm around behind her neck and kissed her. It
was a most sedate embrace. "There," I said, "that performance alone
will get you into the Lodge. Now do you believe you're a TK?"

She gave a little shriek. A ladylike "Eek!"

"It's not that awful," I said. "A lot of Psi's can do it."

"You _kissed_ me!" she said, paying no attention to my question.

"Sure," I agreed. "And you managed your first lift." I picked the
pith ball up in my fingers, showed it to her, and laid it on my palm.

"Feel my hand first," I suggested. "Then lift it over onto the desk."

She looked, wild-eyed, at the pith, shaking her head.

"I'll kiss you again," I suggested.

The little ball came away from my palm, floated erratically around,
crossed over to my desk and dropped with a soft smack to the teak. She
came to me like a tigress. I don't know why I expected a repetition of
our first innocen