big day for
Lawrence Applied Atomics. It was unusually active. Three hundred
shares changed hands. The day before it was one hundred. Once in my
memory Lawrence had a four thousand share day. That must have been
when Redgrave bought in. Now you tell me how I'm going to get you six
thousand shares, get them quietly, and get them at the current price!"

"Start buying," Black said, "because I've got a hunch you'll find
them. My mother had hunches, didn't she? Did she ever tell you or the
boss to buy the wrong stocks? Did she--"

"That was your mother, Marty. What about that hunch you had last year,
the one that cost you a couple of hundred thou--"

"That was last year!"

"So, what's changed?" asked Wythe.

"Maybe _I've_ changed, Charlie. Do it; that's all I ask."

"Okay, Marty. But I think you're out of your mind, especially with
what was on the morning news."

"And what was that?"

"Lawrence is in bad shape. He's not likely to pull through. They
operated last night, in case you didn't know."

"But that should drive the stock down!"

"Why? It won't affect the profits from the corporation's piles."

"No. I agree. But that's not the only thing that keeps the price up.
What about Lawrence's reputation?"

"Well, there's also a rumor about a government investigation of the
corporation," Wythe admitted. "That might have some downward effect."

"Buy, Charlie, buy! I'll ring you later."

Black rang off. He felt an overwhelming confidence. He had only one
small doubt in his mind--during or following one of those disturbing
dreams had he been sufficiently overwrought to have relaxed his mental
block, thereby letting in a fleeting probe from a service psi who
would then have gleaned, in a moment, knowledge of the proposed
transaction?

The unease waned. The exuberant confidence was in him again. The
prescience of Martha Black?

He went out and caught a heli-cab to the law offices. He'd be a good
trainee to the eyes and minds of anyone who might check. If the
service psis were on his trail, he'd show them how good a trainee he
was. He could check with Charlie Wythe later.

V

At ten A.M., Standskill's partner, G. D. Rich left the office to
attend court.

At ten-thirty A.M., a contact call came whispering to Black's mind. He
thought it at first a probe and blocked part of his mind; then
relaxed as it realized it was a psi asking with overbearing politeness
for him to connect the visiphone circuit. The mental