e. And that kid's
the real thing--from way back. Better think things over a little,
maybe. See if you can remember any dizzy spells or anything."

"Oh, now check your synchs, Wells." Don waggled his head disgustedly.
"I've heard those yarns too--down here. Look. All my life, I've been
living on a ranch out in the mountains. Got Khlorisanu all over the
place. They work for us up there." He grinned.

"Isn't a thing they can do that you and I can't do, too. They've got no
special powers, believe me. I know."

"You'd find it pretty hard to tell that one to Doc Rayson and make it
stick," Wells told him. "And he's the guy you've got to talk to." He
reached into a basket on his desk and took out a stack of papers.

"Look, I've told you more'n I was supposed to all ready. Suppose you go
over and talk to them for a while. They're waiting for you over in room
Five."

Don looked at him for a moment, then went out.

* * * * *

He swung about and examined the closed door thoughtfully, then massaged
the back of his neck.

"What's wrong with these people?" he asked himself. "Don't they know
how to break down a rigged story? Or can't they recognize one when they
hear it?"

He crossed the hall.

"I'm Donald Michaels," he told the secretary. "I believe Dr. Rayson
wants to see me."

The woman looked at him curiously.

"Oh, yes," she said. "Just a minute."

She got up and went into an inner room. After a moment, she came out
and reclaimed her seat behind her desk.

"He's busy right now," she said. "I'll let you know when you can go
in."

Don shrugged and sat down in one of the chairs that lined the wall. It
wasn't a very comfortable chair.

"The anxious seat," he growled to himself. "Nice, time-tested trick."

There was no reading material at hand, and the walls of the oddly
shaped room were blank. He amused himself by directing a blank stare
toward the secretary. After a few minutes, she looked up from her work
and jerked her head indignantly.

"Stop that," she ordered.

"Stop what?" Don looked innocent.

"Stop staring at me like that."

"Not staring at you," he told her. "I have to look somewhere and the
chair faces your way. That's all."

The woman moved her hands. "Well, then face some other way."

"But I'd have to move the chair, and that would disturb your
arrangements," Don told her reasonably. He continued his blank stare.

The woman resumed her work, then twi