sappeared. And
you said you've seen nothing. No trace of the train. That right?"

The other shook his head. "Not even a cargo sling."

"You're making up a train now, aren't you? I'd like to go along on this
next trip. Fact is, I've been thinking some nasty thoughts. And I'm
going to be uneasy till I find out whether I'm right or not."

Dar Girdek rubbed his chin. "Want to buy in, maybe?"

"No, I don't think so. I'll work my way--as your lead driver."

"Oh, no!" Dar Girdek laughed. "You don't put a psionic on some
long-neck. Lead driver's pseudoman, just like the rest." He sobered.

"Oh, sure. You could handle the drivers, but it just isn't done."

Naran smiled. "Oh, as far as the other drivers'll know, I'm just another
pseudoman. I've been a ship's non-psi agent, remember? We earn our keep
by dealing with the people in non-psi areas."

"It won't work." The caravan master shook his head. "These drivers can
get pretty rough with each other. You'd have to set two or three of them
back on their heels the first day. It would be either that, or get a lot
of bruises and end up as camp flunky."

"Could be," Naran told him. "Tell you what. You turn me loose in an
experimental chamber so I can't fudge. Then send your toughest driver in
and tell him to kick me out of there. I'll show him some tricks I
learned from the non-psi's overseas and he'll be a smarter man when he
wakes up."

* * * * *

Leuwan, Kio Barra, Lord of the Mountain Lake, Master of the Estates Kira
Barra, and Protector of the Common Good, stood examining the assortment
of crystals in a cabinet. He hesitated over a large, brilliantly
gleaming sphere of crystallized carbon, then shook his head. That one
would be pretty heavy going, he was sure. The high intensity summary
said something about problems of the modern world, so it could be
expected to be another of those dull reports on the welfare of the
Commonwealth.

Why, he wondered, did some projection maker waste good time and effort
by making up things like that? And why did they waste more time and
effort by sending them around? When a man wanted to relax, he wanted
something to relax with. What he was looking for was something light.

He turned his attention to other crystals, at last selecting a small,
blue prism. He held it up, regarding it, then nodded and placed it on
the slender black pedestal near his chair, where he could observe
without undue effort.

He t