w of." Jaeger shook his head.

Kweiros looked at the boy. "Elwar?"

"Why, all the village knew it, Master." The boy shook his head. "One had
but to be near Master Jaeger for a time, and he could feel the power,
just as I can feel it now." He shook his head again. "But it is very
strong, Master. You must be one of the ones of truly great power."

Kweiros looked speculatively at Jaeger.

"I understood they were nontelepaths. All the reports agree on that."

"Definitely, sir, they are. They're absolutely mute. Not a trace of
radiation, even when they're close. And they don't receive. You can try
it now, sir. It's just like punching into space itself. No resistance,
no reflection, just nothing."

"Shield?"

"No, sir. Just no indication. Makes me feel as though I were in free
space with a dead drive."

* * *

Kweiros looked for a moment at Jaeger, then sent out a probing thought,
searching for some indication of mental activity from the boy. But there
was nothing. It wasn't anything like a shield, he thought. It seemed
more like an infinite baffle.

But there was some reaction. The boy shrank back in terror.

"Please, Master," he begged. "Do not place me under enchantment." He
held up his hands in a peculiar gesture.

"What made you do that?" Kweiros raised a hand slowly, palm out. "I have
no intention of harming you."

"But I could feel you, trying to cast me under a spell."

"You ... felt me?"

"To be sure, Master, just as I have felt the same power from my master,
Jaeger. But this was far stronger. It hurt. And it seemed as though you
wanted me to do something."

Kweiros nodded. "I think I'm getting an idea," he remarked. "And it
scares me a little. They're not really nontelepathic, any more than the
Kierawelans, for example, are nonvocal. I think we've got something here
that's almost unique in the galaxy." He rubbed his neck. "Excuse me a
few minutes. I want to check something in one of these tapes."

Jaeger nodded and leaned back in his chair, looking curiously at the boy
beside him, then back at his superior, who had selected a tape reel. He
threaded it into the playing heads, put on a headband, and snapped a
switch. Jaeger and the boy watched as Kweiros leaned back.

The officer's face became vacant, then twisted, seeming to reflect
painful mental effort. Slowly, he leaned forward again, touching another
switch. Then, he sank back, to concentrate on his thoughts.

Jaeger loo