ering down at him proved he had not
left the shower room.

"Get up," Joe said.

They dragged Potts to his feet. Nasen opened the door, clamped his
teeth, and then opened his mouth to say, "Dr. Bean wants Orville Potts.
I'll--"

"I'll take him," Joe said.

Potts winced as spatulate fingers almost met through his biceps. His
feet barely touched the floor of the corridor when Joe marched him to
the office of Dr. Lawrence D. Bean.

* * * * *

Dr. Bean, a thin bald man, sat behind a maple desk and peered at Potts
over spectacles attached to a black ribbon. Joe shut the door and leaned
against it.

"I've been hearing things about you, Orville," Dr. Bean said. "We'll
have a little examination. Now, hold your right arm out straight, close
your eyes, and touch the end of your nose with your index finger."

"Can't we do without the foolishness?" Potts asked. He sank into the
chair beside the doctor's desk and gently rubbed his bruised arm.

The doctor looked slightly startled, but said, "I'm pleased to hear you
speaking again, Orville. If you continue to talk to people, take an
interest in your surroundings, write home, you'll be out of here very
shortly."

"He choked me," Potts said, pointing a thumb at Joe. "He choked me with
a towel, and the other one, that Wilhart, hit me in the stomach."

Dr. Bean's spectacles jumped from his nose and dangled by the ribbon. He
focused a pair of bleary eyes on Potts and said, "You know they didn't,
Orville. The attendants are here for your benefit. They would never
subject a patient to physical violence."

Potts laughed for the first time since he was hospitalized. He said,
"Why don't you ask me what I did with the key?"

"What did you do with the key, Orville?"

"Talk about monomaniacs!" Potts snickered. "You all have one-track
minds. You can't think of any way I could have escaped without stealing
a key. Is any key actually missing? Did anyone see me crossing the grass
or coming through the halls? I'll tell you how I did it. Exactly how.
You already think I'm nuts, so it won't matter."

Again, Potts pointed at Joe. "Laughing boy here can bear me out. He was
about to whip me with his ice water, and I vanished. I vanished from the
shower and materialized in the dayroom."

Dr. Bean replaced his glasses and grabbed a pad and pencil.

"That's right, Doc," Potts approved. "Write it down. I'm giving you a
better break than you ever gave me. I've