ve been a lot better
off if we could talk back and forth at a distance. There's no reason
why these have to be designed just for you and Barby to use in the
mind-reading act."

Scotty was right, of course. He usually was. "We'll make a pair of
transceivers, and a receiver for Barby. Unless you think we ought to
build a transceiver into her outfit, too."

"Would it be much work?"

"Not much. We might as well, I suppose."

They buckled down to the job. Rick found he couldn't work long,
however. "I've still got that guitar-string feeling," he admitted.
"I'm all tight inside." He didn't like it, and there was no apparent
reason for it. But that didn't help him to get rid of it.

Scotty knew Rick from long experience. "Wish I could help," he said,
"but I'm stymied. There's nothing we can get our teeth into. Those two
scientists bother me. I can't imagine what would put two perfectly
sensible and healthy people into a state like Steve describes."

"Same here." Rick had thought about it a number of times in the past
day, but had reached no conclusion. "But if it's from natural causes,
how did Marks and Miller--I mean Morrison--escape?"

Scotty grinned wryly. "You're not asking me because you expect an
answer."

"No," Rick agreed. He said abruptly, "I've had it. Let's hit the hay."

He might have felt better, or worse, had he been able to tune in on a
conversation between Tom Dodd and Steve Ames that was going on at that
very moment.

"We've had seven men on it ever since this morning," Tom was saying.
"We checked him from here to breakfast, and the record is absolutely
negative. Same for the elevator operator. The barber is a wanderer,
never stays in one shop for long. He's hunting another job right now.
The machine is his, and it's the only one of its kind. We sent Mike
Malone in for a treatment. He says the machine is good. Apparently
it's nothing but a hood with three massage machines installed on
spring mounts, so they fit the head. The barber applies oil, then
turns on the machine. It has dials, but they're fakes. It's a massage
machine, pure and simple, and it passed the health inspection board,
so we know it's not harmful."

Steve Ames said thoughtfully, "Negative record. Hmm. Well, at least no
one has ever caught up with him if he happens to be a wrong one. It
doesn't prove he's clean."

"Too true. Any ideas?"

"Just keep an eye on him. He's innocent until we get some evidence
that he may be guilty. S