had
bought it in a weak moment. A. E. wouldn't think very highly of that,
since they sold their own brand.

* * * * *

He wheeled the bartender into the kitchen, and told the door to open.

"A very good day to you, sir," Mr. Pathis said.

Pathis was a tall, imposing man, dressed in a conservative tweed drape.
His eyes had the crinkled corners of a man who laughs frequently. He
beamed broadly and shook Carrin's hand, looking around the crowded
living room.

"A beautiful place you have here, sir. Beautiful! As a matter of fact, I
don't think I'll be overstepping the company's code to inform you that
yours is the nicest interior in this section."

Carrin felt a sudden glow of pride at that, thinking of the rows of
identical houses, on this block and the next, and the one after that.

"Now, then, is everything functioning properly?" Mr. Pathis asked,
setting his briefcase on a chair. "Everything in order?"

"Oh, yes," Carrin said enthusiastically. "Avignon Electric never goes
out of whack."

"The phone all right? Changes records for the full seventeen hours?"

"It certainly does," Carrin said. He hadn't had a chance to try out the
phone, but it was a beautiful piece of furniture.

"The Solido-projector all right? Enjoying the programs?"

"Absolutely perfect reception." He had watched a program just last
month, and it had been startlingly lifelike.

"How about the kitchen? Auto-cook in order? Recipe-master still knocking
'em out?"

"Marvelous stuff. Simply marvelous."

Mr. Pathis went on to inquire about his refrigerator, his vacuum
cleaner, his car, his helicopter, his subterranean swimming pool, and
the hundreds of other items Carrin had bought from Avignon Electric.

"Everything is swell," Carrin said, a trifle untruthfully since he
hadn't unpacked every item yet. "Just wonderful."

"I'm so glad," Mr. Pathis said, leaning back with a sigh of relief. "You
have no idea how hard we try to satisfy our customers. If a product
isn't right, back it comes, no questions asked. We believe in pleasing
our customers."

"I certainly appreciate it, Mr. Pathis."

* * * * *

Carrin hoped the A. E. man wouldn't ask to see the kitchen. He
visualized the Castile Motors Bartender in there, like a porcupine in a
dog show.

"I'm proud to say that most of the people in this neighborhood buy from
us," Mr. Pathis was saying. "We're a solid firm."

"Was Mr.