f weird-looking apparatus which faintly resembled a
television set, although there were twice the number of dials and
knobs. To the uninitiated eye the legends under them would have been
perplexing--"Month Selector," "Reverse Day Fast-Forward,"
"Weekometer," "Minute-Second Divider." To Mrs. Mimms however the
instrument was simply standard equipment for all assignments. She
placed it carefully on the desk in her living room and, one by one,
drew out the five sensitive antennae from their sockets. Mrs. Mimms
did not need to use the electrical outlet under the desk for new d-c
ion batteries had been installed whose combined guaranteed life was
five years.

It had grown somewhat late at Greenlawn--the hands of Mrs. Mimms'
watch were nearing eleven--yet this did not deter her from flicking
the power on. She dialed to a position a few hours before on that same
evening and waited for the equipment to warm up. A roar of angry
static and strident voices suddenly filled the room until Mrs. Mimms
quickly cut the volume. The outburst was definitely an indication that
her work was cut out for her. Eyeing the red pilot indicator across
which a ribbon of names was flashing she slowly twirled the Master
Selector. Images flickered and disappeared on the screen; then
suddenly Mrs. Mimms leaned forward anxiously. A living room much like
her own came into view and in it a man and a woman faced each other
menacingly. The pilot was flashing the name Randolph, Apt. 14-B.

Reducing the volume slightly, Mrs. Mimms listened:

"You don't care, Bill Randolph. If you cared we could be out somewhere
right now. My God, it's Saturday night. I'll bet the Bairds and
Simmons are at a show right now. But not us. Oh, no. Honestly, I don't
think you'd stir out of that chair if it weren't for your meals and
the office."

"You're a great one to talk," snapped the young man. "Every time we
decide to line something up you get finicky about a sitter. How many
times have we sat for Ruth Whatshername? And we're up at Ellen Fox's a
couple of nights, too. Then our kid comes down with a cold or
something and they're not good enough. No wonder we never get out."

"Can I help it if Kenny takes after _your_ side of the family? You and
your mother are always coming down with something. He's _sensitive_. I
won't have some other woman taking care of my child when he needs my
attention. And I _won't_ have these teenage girls for Kenneth with
their boyfriends lolling a