ld break a
few blood vessels inside her skull.... Sure, why not? Only the picture
in your mind is so distorted, I wouldn't know her. If she's like that,
why'd you ever marry her?"

"Because she seemed different from other women, I guess," Henry
admitted. "When I tipped the canoe over, and I figured she'd be mad
because her dress was ruined, all she said was something about not
being sugar, so she wouldn't melt." He shuddered, remembering all the
times she'd said it since. "You won't have any trouble. Look, can you
really read my mind?"

"Naturally. But it's all disorganized."

"Umm. Well." It gave him a queasy feeling to think of anyone seeing
his secret thoughts. But this fellow apparently didn't work by human
attitudes, anyhow. He groped about, and then smiled grimly. "All
right, then. You can tell I think of her as my wife. And just to make
sure, she'll be sure to say something about early to bed and early to
rise; she says that every single damned night, Alfear! She never
misses."

Alfear grunted. "Sounds more reasonable every minute, Henry. All
right, when your wife says that, I pop out and give her a stroke that
will kill her. How about dismissing me now?"

"No strings?" Henry asked. He watched carefully as Alfear nodded
assent, and he could see no sign of cunning or trickery. He caught his
breath, nodded, and closed his eyes. Seeing something vanish was
nothing he wanted. "Dismissed."

* * * * *

The fruit was still gone when he opened his eyes, but there was no
other sign of the thing. He found some fruit still in the refrigerator
and restocked the bowl. Then he closed the strange book and put it
away. He'd have to buy it himself, and burn it to make sure no one
else found the trick, of course. For a moment, uneasiness pricked at
him. Yet he was sure Alfear hadn't been lying, and the story the
creature had told made more sense than the older superstitions. Henry
adjusted his mind to having a well-conditioned demon on tap and then
began the harder job of bracing himself for Emma's incoherent but
detailed account of the movie when she came back.

Unfortunately, it was a more complicated plot than usual, and she went
on and on, from the moment she entered the door. He tried to close his
ears, but he'd never succeeded in that. He yawned, and she yawned
back, but went on until the last final morsel was covered for the
second or third time.

"He was wonderful," she finally c