on called curiously, "have you developed absolute
time sense?"

Fay grinned a big grin from the doorway--almost too big a grin for so
small a man. "I didn't need to," he said softly, patting his right
shoulder. "My tickler told me."

He closed the door behind him.

As side-by-side they watched him strut sedately across the murky
chilly-looking park, Gusterson mused, "So the little devil had one of
those nonsense-gadgets on all the time and I never noticed. Can you
beat that?" Something drew across the violet-tinged stars a short
bright line that quickly faded. "What's that?" Gusterson asked
gloomily. "Next to last stage of missile-here?"

"Won't you settle for an old-fashioned shooting star?" Daisy asked
softly. The (wettable) velvet lips of the mask made even her natural
voice sound different. She reached a hand back of her neck to pull the
thing off.

"Hey, don't do that," Gusterson protested in a hurt voice. "Not for a
while anyway."

"Hokay!" she said harshly, turning on him. "Zen down on your knees,
dog!"

III

It was a fortnight and Gusterson was loping down the home stretch on
his 40,000-word insanity novel before Fay dropped in again, this time
promptly at high noon.

Normally Fay cringed his shoulders a trifle and was inclined to
slither, but now he strode aggressively, his legs scissoring in a
fast, low goosestep. He whipped off the sunglasses that all moles wore
topside by day and began to pound Gusterson on the back while calling
boisterously, "How are you, Gussy Old Boy, Old Boy?"

Daisy came in from the kitchen to see why Gusterson was choking. She
was instantly grabbed and violently bussed to the accompaniment of,
"Hiya, Gorgeous! Yum-yum! How about ad-libbing that some weekend?"

She stared at Fay dazedly, rasping the back of her hand across her
mouth, while Gusterson yelled, "Quit that! What's got into you, Fay?
Have they transferred you out of R & D to Company Morale? Do they line
up all the secretaries at roll call and make you give them an
eight-hour energizing kiss?"

"Ha, wouldn't you like to know?" Fay retorted. He grinned, twitched
jumpingly, held still a moment, then hustled over to the far wall.
"Look out there," he rapped, pointing through the violet glass at a
gap between the two nearest old skyscraper apartments. "In thirty
seconds you'll see them test the new needle bomb at the other end of
Lake Erie. It's educational." He began to count off seconds,
vigorously sem