during the past two weeks, everyone I had met and talked to, and
everything we had talked about.

At the end of three and a half hours, I felt completely pumped out, and
Maxwell had a sheaf of notes the size of a best-seller.

Johnson said, "Well, I guess that'll do for a starter. We'll have
another session tomorrow."

He took the notes from Maxwell and put them in Maxwell's briefcase. He
stood up. "I'll have these transcribed and maybe check around a little.
I'll meet you here at six-thirty tomorrow night."

"What about--" I started. He cut me off: "Maxwell will stay with you.
He's not to let you out of his sight. In case anyone asks, he's your
brother-in-law from Sacramento."

* * * * *

I couldn't help laughing--but it was an admiring laugh. "You fellows are
nothing if not thorough. Does my real brother-in-law, John Maxwell of
Sacramento, know about this?" I was curious.

It was Maxwell who answered. "Your brother-in-law received a
long-distance emergency call from you at noon today, telling him to join
you immediately. Vision-reception was fuzzy, but he recognized your
voice and took the first strato. I changed places with him in Denver,
where I happened to be stationed, and he was smuggled back home. He's
with his family, but he'll have to stay in for a few days."

I shook my head. "It's marvelous. Thoroughness personified. Say, I'll
bet you fellows even thought of getting defense mechanisms ... but where
are they?"

Johnson and Maxwell looked at each other, jaws hanging.

"Well, I'll be damned!" Johnson said bitterly. "Thoroughness
personified! Son of a...." He slapped his hat on his bald head and
dashed out the door without looking back.

Maxwell grimaced. He got up from the bed and walked to an easy chair and
sat down again. "Well, Irvin Johnson will take care of _that_ little
detail. But it's going to take time...."

"It would have taken time anyway--a day or so--even if you'd thought of
it first thing," I said. "Besides, there's no danger until they find
your wave-band, and that takes time, too."

But he remained disconsolate. Not because of the danger, but simply
because they'd overlooked an angle. Under a system in which the agents
are given maximum responsibility for details and planning, that would
count heavily against them on their records. I almost felt guilty for
reminding them.

I said, "John, look--if all else fails, there's one sure quick defense.
Alc