as quiet, and Forrester had time to get dizzy. Maybe, he thought,
he had been traveling too much. After all, he had started in New York,
and then he had found himself on what he suspected was Mount Olympus, in
Greece. And now he was somewhere else.

He wasn't entirely sure where. The Court of the Gods existed; he knew
that. But he had never heard just where it existed, and it was entirely
possible that no mortal knew. In which case, Forrester thought
confusedly, I don't even know where I am.

For the first time, he began to think seriously that, perhaps, he was
sane after all. Maybe everything he was seeing and hearing was true. It
was certainly beginning to look that way. And, in that case, maybe the
dizziness he felt was just airsickness, or spacesickness, or whatever
kind of sickness came from traveling through those blue Veils.

At least, he told himself, thinking of the old man he had met on the way
downtown, at least it beat the subway.

He looked behind him. He and Venus were standing in the center of the
room. There was no blue veil behind them. It had, apparently, done its
duty and gone away.

The subway, Forrester told himself solemnly, didn't do that.

Zeus cleared his throat ponderously. "I count eight of us," he said.
"Eight, all told. Of course, that's eight without the mortal." He
paused, and then added: "If you count the mortal in, there are nine."

Pan stirred. "That's a quorum," he announced in a hoarse voice that had
a heavy vibrato in it. It reminded Forrester, oddly, of the bleating of
a goat. Pan crossed his legs and his hooves clashed, striking sparks.
"Pluto and Poseidon said they'd accept our judgment."

"Why the absence?" Vulcan said shortly.

"A storm, I think," Pan said. "Out in the North Atlantic, if memory
serves--and it does. As far as I recall, there are four ships sunk so
far. Quite an affair."

Vulcan said: "Ah," and reclined again.

Hera leaned forward. "Where's Apollo? He said he might come."

"Sure he did," Mars said heavily. "Old Sunshine Boy never misses a bit
of excitement. Only he probably found something even more exciting. He's
in California, all dressed up as a mortal."

"California?" Ceres said. "My goodness, what would that boy be doing in
California?"

Mars guffawed. "Probably showing off--how Sunshine Boy loves to show
off! Displaying that gorgeous body to the girls on Muscle Beach, I'll
bet."

"Eight to five," Pan said at once.

Mars turned to him and