General Mosby said. "How fast can we get a tape
recorder?"

"Why waste time?" asked Bennington. "You can't use this in court."

"Hell, Jim, stop thinking about courts-martial; there's more than
_one_ court. Let's fry these boys in the court of public opinion. The
news services aren't bound by the rules of evidence. We can worry
about other courts later."

"I can get you a tape recorder in two minutes," Scott stated. "Our
patrol boys always carry them to take statements at accidents, before
the victims get over their shock enough to start lying. And we keep
one in the office, too."

Thornberry looked at Judkins and a self-satisfied smirk crept over his
face. "No need to worry about lies from this one."

* * * * *

Judkins spoke in a low monotone not much louder than the soft hiss of
the machine recording his words. Question by question--in Judkins'
condition, each query had to be specific, Thornberry said--the pattern
emerged.

Basing his request on his position as a member of the prison
commission, Senator Giles had invited Judkins to lunch with him. The
senator, however, despite his statement that he wanted only to be sure
that Duncannon was getting the best personnel, had not confined his
questions to Judkins' background.

Was the hypno-tech alone when he conditioned the men? Any set
statement to be made? Could Judkins add to the instructions given each
convict without the knowledge of the prison authorities?

The following day, both Senator Giles and Representative Culpepper had
called upon Judkins at his sister-in-law's home. Bluntly, they offered
ten thousand dollars if the technician could guarantee that Rooney
would never be able to talk about the income tax racket.

When Judkins had explained that any conditioning he could give would
be as easily removed by another tech, the two men had gone into a
corner and consulted in whispers.

They had emerged from the corner with this offer: First, they would
bargain with the new warden to get Rooney a job as a trusty. If that
failed they offered Judkins twenty thousand dollars and a hideout in
New York--until they could set him up outside the country--if he would
condition a group of prisoners to riot and discredit Bennington
immediately.

"What Rooney must be sitting on!" Mosby murmured in Bennington's ear.

"Was sitting on," Bennington said bitterly. "He was the fat belly with
Dalton and Clarens, the one who didn't make i