lon
felt the man's sneering contempt for "those beasts"--but could gain no
idea whatever about what that reference meant.

In so many ways this puzzle seemed to be growing worse instead of
better, and Hanlon knew a moment of frustration. But his sense of humor
came to his rescue. "You want the whole thing written out for you in
black and white?" he jeered at himself. "Snap out of it! Quit being a
defeatist."

Harder and more intently he tried to probe into the man's mind. Oh, if
he could only learn to read below those passing surface thoughts; to
follow them down and back along the memory-chains into the total mind!
Revealing though the thoughts he could catch were, for complete and
swift results he must find the technique of reading a mind completely.
If such a thing were possible.

But probe as he might, the way to those deeper, buried memories and
thoughts continued to remain locked from him.

And then Panek got up and left the observation deck.

* * * * *

A light touch on his knee some time later snapped George Hanlon's eyes
wide open, and he looked down to see a small, wriggly dog looking up
into his face, its tail frantically wig-wagging signals of proffered
friendship, the little tongue making licking motions toward the hand the
puppy could not quite reach.

"Well, hi, fellow," Hanlon reached down and lifted the little dog onto
his lap, where the latter wriggled and contorted in an ecstasy of joy,
climbing all over the young man, licking at his hands and trying to
reach his face. The puppy was so extremely happy and anxious to make
friends that Hanlon was soon laughing almost convulsively while trying
to avoid those well-meant but very moist kisses.

"Wait now, boy. Take it easy. I like you and all that, but let's not get
carried away with ourselves."

Hanlon scratched the puppy behind one of its floppy ears, and pressed it
firmly but gently down so it was lying on his lap.

"That's better. Just lie there and take it easy."

A sudden thought brought a grin onto the young man's lips. He tried to
get into the puppy's mind ... and got a real surprise. For after a few
anxious moments of testing and trying, he did it--actually got the dog's
thoughts of pleasure at finding such a wonderful new friend with such a
nose-appealing effluvium. Hanlon then tried to see if he could get into
the deeper parts of the dog's mind, and using what knowledge of the
technique he had deduced