here'd be nothing but
blinding, swirling chaos all around you. Then you'd kind of come to for
a minute, and there'd be the trees, the sky, the farm animals, the sea
in the distance.

You'd look down toward the village, and make a mental note, almost
absently, that people were getting to their feet now, some of them
clinging together the way you and Martha were--and then back down into
mental chaos you'd go again.

That went on several times, he remembered, before he'd begun to snap out
of it a little.

"But the funniest thing of all," Jed said, and looked at Cal quickly,
penetratingly. "I had the feeling all the time that we were being
watched!"

Cal said nothing.

"You know," Jed explained. "Like catching an animal in a trap? Then
watching it, to see what it will do?"

Cal nodded, without speaking.

"It was just another crazy thought, I guess," Jed said deprecatingly.
"Plumb crazy."

But, clearly, he didn't believe it was.

14

At E.H.Q. on Earth communication had been working fine. The operator sat
back and listened with trained ear alert for flaw or fade. A glance at
the adjacent recording instrument told him it was taking down everything
said--had been for hours.

Nice deal about those naked colonists. Maybe the astronavigator on the E
cruiser had been right. Maybe they'd all just gone back to nature, all
the way back.

He wondered if there were any pretty young female colonists. And how far
did that word experimental take you? Some experiment! He realized his
interest was running deeper than that of a detached technician's concern
for well-operated equipment--mechanical, that is. Well, let it. Live a
little once in a while. At least dream.

The department supervisor hovered near the back of the operator's chair,
breathing down his neck. He gnawed at the knuckles of his hand, and
hoped nothing would go wrong this time. That astronavigator, Louie
LeBeau, was probably right. Those colonists had turned nudist, and were
afraid to report what they'd done back to Earth!

Well!

He looked around guiltily, wondering if he'd exclaimed it aloud. He
decided he hadn't.

If _he_ were out there, instead of that E, _he'd_ make them put their
clothes back on, on the double. Getting everything all upset, causing
all this trouble, getting everybody excited, all of E.H.Q. aroused,
taking up the time of an E--just because they wanted to frolic around
without any clothes on!

If they were going to act l