ut it, she thought--it wasn't equipped to eye
her back.

"It goes back to the time," the Commissioner said, "when Mantelish and
Fayle and Azol were conducting the first League investigation of the
plasmoids on Harvest Moon. You recall the situation?"

"If you mean their attempts to get the things to show some signs of
life, I do, naturally."

"One of them got lively enough for poor old Azol, didn't it?" Professor
Mantelish rumbled from his armchair.

Trigger grimaced. Doctor Azol's fate might be one of the things that had
given her a negative attitude towards plasmoids. With Mantelish and
Doctor Gess Fayle, Azol had been the third of the three big U-League
boys in charge of the initial investigation on Harvest Moon. As she
remembered it, it was Azol who discovered that Plasmoids occasionally
could be induced to absorb food. Almost any kind of food, it turned out,
so long as it contained a sufficient quantity of protein. What had
happened to Azol looked like a particularly unfortunate result of the
discovery. It was assumed an untimely coronary had been the reason he
had fallen helplessly into the feeding trough of one of the largest
plasmoids. By the time he was found, all of him from the knees on up
already had been absorbed.

"I meant your efforts to get them to work," she said.

Commissioner Tate looked at Mantelish. "You tell her about that part of
it," he suggested.

Mantelish shook his head. "I'd get too technical," he said resignedly.
"I always do. At least they say so. You tell her."

But Holati Tate's eyes had shifted suddenly to the table. "Hey, now!" he
said in a low voice.

Trigger followed his gaze. After a moment she made a soft, sucking
sound of alarmed distaste.

"Ugh!" she remarked. "It's moving!"

"So it is," Holati said.

"Towards me!" said Trigger. "I think--"

"Don't get startled. Mantelish!"

Mantelish already was coming up slowly behind Trigger's chair. "Don't
move!" he cautioned her.

"Why not?" said Trigger.

"Hush, my dear." Mantelish laid a large, heavy hand on each of her
shoulders and bore down slightly. "It's sensitive! This is very
interesting. Very."

Perhaps it was. She kept watching the plasmoid. It had thinned out
somewhat and was gliding very slowly but very steadily across the table.
Definitely in her direction.

"Ho-ho!" said Mantelish in a thunderous murmur. "Perhaps it likes you,
Trigger! Ho-ho!" He seemed immensely pleased.

"Well," Trigger said helples