slightly shorter man, but very heavy and with a head that was bald as a
billiard ball. The older man marched straight to the door, opened it and
went out without a second look back. The fat man looked around, his face
beaming in a wide smile, eyes almost closed behind fleshy lids.

[Illustration: The weird machine clicked and clattered while the twins
dreamed of tomorrow.]

"And now, who's next?" he asked.

The one who was about Muldoon's age stepped forward. The fat man
motioned for the other to precede him. The door closed. Not more than a
minute went by, and the door opened again and the same act as before
with the older man was gone through.

"And now, who's next?" the fat man asked.

Muldoon noted even the inflection was the same.

So it went with the three who were left, until it was Muldoon's turn.
And now there were six others beside himself also waiting to be
interviewed.

It was a squarish room, simply furnished, with a couple of desks set
side-by-side with a narrow space between them. A chair was set up
facing the desks, obviously meant for the one to be interviewed. Seated
behind one of the desks was the twin of the man now coming to seat
himself at the other desk. Their smiles were identical as they waited
for Muldoon to make himself comfortable.

For a moment there was a blank silence. Muldoon studied them, and they,
smiling still, studied him. Muldoon broke the silence.

"You know," Muldoon said, "your ad didn't make sense to me."

The twins hunched forward slightly at their desks. Their eyes brightened
in anticipation. "No-o?..." said the one who had been waiting for
Muldoon. "Why?"

"With some four pages of brokers in the classified directory, you don't
have to advertise for one. And a live wire broker gets that reputation
as a salesman. Without selling, the wire is dead."

The twins beamed at each other.

"Evin," said the one to the left, "I think we've found our man. Will you
go out and tell those waiting?"

They waited for the twin to return.

"I am Robert Reeger, my brother Evin," said the first twin.

Muldoon introduced himself. There was no handshaking.

* * * * *

"You are right about the ad," Robert Reeger said. "We worded it that way
for a reason. We wanted a man of quick intelligence. Mind you, now, we
do want a broker, and one who will do no selling. The 'live wire' part
was my brother Evin's thought. He does sometimes have clever ideas."