have to put him in a
bottle for you before you'll believe it."

"Peace," Dr. Miller interposed. "Each to his or her own opinions. We're
here in pursuit of facts, not fancies. Rick, you're first at bat."

Rick considered. What were the most important facts? They had been
working on assumptions, but assumptions need proof before they can be
accepted as valid.

"Well, I'm not sure I'm listing the facts in order of importance, but
I'll try. First, the ghosts that walk the fields at night are humans."

Barby interrupted. "How can you be certain?"

"They looked human. We saw their silhouettes against the sky clearly
enough to see their shapes, and they were human shapes." As she started
to speak again, he held up his hand. "Whoa! Let me finish. Ghosts also
have human shapes is probably your counterargument. I'm not arguing that
ghosts don't really exist, but if they do, they are supposed to be sort
of nonsolid, aren't they? Like the Blue Ghost at the mine. But the field
ones were solid enough. No light showed through them."

"Not all ghosts are transparent," Barby insisted.

"She's got you." Dr. Miller chuckled.

Scotty spoke up. "Ghosts do not drive cars."

"And you've no proof the ghosts you saw in the field came from the car,"
Barby defended hotly. "Did you see them get in the car and drive away?"

Scotty held up his hands in surrender. "No. I passed them on my way back
from the car."

"Evidence not sufficient," Dr. Miller said with a grin. "The ghosts may
or may not be human. Your first fact needs more proof, Rick. Carry on."

Rick sighed. "All right. I'll start over again. First, we have uncovered
cement bags that contained radioactive ore, pulverized into a fine dust.
I'll amend that. The bags contain a small quantity of radioactive ore,
which gives some reason for believing they were once full of such ore."

The group laughed. "Now you're on the beam," Dr. Miller approved. "State
only what you know as fact and identify what you infer from the facts as
inference or speculation."

"Glad you all approve. Second, we believe the Frostola man was
interested in the cement bag Scotty carried. It is a fact that when we
returned from town the cement bag that we put in the trash can, and the
cement bags we left where we found them, had been removed. Because of
the Frostola man's apparent interest, we are of the opinion he took the
bags."

Jan Miller giggled. "You sound like a lawyer."

"I feel like one," Rick r