outer office, peering round, for a few minutes, and then, nodding his
head slowly, he went on and knocked at Mr. Fredericksohn's door.

"Who's there?" Mr. Fredericksohn called from inside.

"Mr. Gerne," said Mr. Gerne. There was a little pause, and then Mr.
Fredericksohn said:

"Ah. Come in."

The door opened and shut and Mr. Gerne was invisible.

Gloria picked up a folder and pretended to concentrate on it. Of course,
she could hear what was happening in the private office perfectly well.
She remembered studying medieval witchcraft and thought suddenly of
astral bodies.

But that had been a guess some distance from the truth.

The projection of the sense of hearing was such a simple thing, really;
why did people have to complicate it with all this talk about witches
and the soul--she was reminded of Mrs. Wladek but put the woman out of
her mind. Mr. Gerne was talking.

"... For instance, the new girl--what's her name?"

"Gloria Scott," Mr. Fredericksohn's voice said. "Yes?"

"What's she like?" Mr. Gerne's voice said. "I don't know her
personally--of course I've seen her there in the office, and she seems
like a friendly, pretty girl. But you deal with her every day--"

"Very nice," Mr. Fredericksohn said. "Pleasant and easy to work with. A
good type. Now, you take her record--"

"That's what I meant," Mr. Gerne said. "A record like that--it's just
not possible. There isn't any chance she's faking it?"

After a little silence Mr. Fredericksohn said: "No chance at all. I've
had follow-ups on a random selection of her cases--standard practice for
a newcomer. Of course, she doesn't know about any of that."

"Of course. And?"

"No fakes," Mr. Fredericksohn said. "And don't tell me it's hard to
believe. I know perfectly well it's hard to believe."

"No returns," Mr. Gerne said. "Not a single return in over a month."

"Except the old woman," Mr. Fredericksohn said. "Mrs. Wladek."

Gloria turned a page in the report she was holding, without taking her
attention from the conversation in the private room.

It was always helpful to know the kind of thing people said about you,
as well as what they thought. It gave you more facts to work with, and
made you more efficient and better able to work at your chosen
profession.

Mr. Gerne was saying: "You can discount Mrs. Wladek. That one's a
trouble-spot."

"Always has been," Mr. Fredericksohn said.

"All right, then discount her," Mr. Gerne said. "Forget abo