Joan Drake shot back.

"I've already got them," he replied. "Which reminds me, am I seeing you
tonight?"

The girl held a tight grip on the leash and looked at him coyly.

"Let's see. We'll take in a movie, stop for a bite to eat at Joe's
Hamburger Palace, and then drive out to North Butte. You'll park the car
and then you'll ask me when I'm going to quit my job and settle down
raising a family for you, and I'll say--"

"You'll say not until I get the biggest scoop in Arizona, a big raise,
and a bonus as a down payment on a house," he completed her sentence.

"There! You see? We might just as well not have our date. In effect,
we've had it already."

He looked at her for a long moment, and when he spoke again his voice
had lost its humorous note.

"You forgot one very important item. When I ask you that usual question,
and after you give your usual answer, I'll take you in my arms and tell
you how much you mean to me, and--"

"You win," she interrupted him. "I had forgotten about that."

* * * * *

The dog started to pull against the leash again and Fred reached out to
help her hold the big animal in check. Then she looked at him again.

"What brings you to the outskirts of Tucson? Don't tell me there's a big
story breaking on the edge of town."

He shook his head. "Not exactly. I'm on my way to the Rocket Research
Proving Grounds. Just a routine story on the experiment they're going to
pull off this evening. I've got to interview Mathieson, Gaddon, and a
few other scientists on the project."

The girl laughed. "That's something of a coincidence. Dr. Blair Gaddon
is in Dr. Fenwick's office right now."

Fred Trent's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"That so? Something wrong with him?"

"No. He's just having a physical checkup. Seems to be worried about his
heart. Dr. Fenwick didn't need me since it's a routine job, so I took
Brutus for a walk."

Trent nodded. "That's a bit of luck. I think I'll stick around and give
Gaddon a lift out to the Proving Grounds. I wanted to talk to him
anyway."

"In that case," the girl replied, "you can give me a hand putting Brutus
back in his kennel. Once he gets out he's something of a problem."

Fred nodded, taking the leash from her hands and feeling the big dog tug
against him.

"Never could figure out why Fenwick wanted a big hound like this. Seems
to me a terrier would be more practical."

"That's a matter of taste," Joan answere