"

"A game!"

Her Majesty looked contrite. "Believe me, Sir Kenneth, the minute I
know exactly where he is, I'll tell you. I promise. Cross my heart and
hope to die--which I can't, of course, being immortal." Nevertheless,
she made an X-mark over her left breast. "All right?"

"All right," Malone said, out of sheer necessity. "Okay. But don't
waste any time telling me. Do it right away. We've _got_ to find that
spy and isolate him somehow."

"Please don't worry yourself, Sir Kenneth," Her Majesty said. "Your
Queen is doing everything she can."

"I know that, Your Majesty," Malone said. "I'm sure of it." Privately,
he wondered just how much even she could do. Then he realized--for
perhaps the ten-thousandth time--that there was no such thing as
wondering privately any more.

"That's quite right, Sir Kenneth," the Queen said sweetly. "And it's
about time you got used to it."

"What's going on?" Boyd said. "More reading minds back there?"

"That's right, Sir Thomas," the Queen said.

"I've about gotten used to it," Boyd said almost cheerfully. "Pretty
soon they'll come and take me away, but I don't mind at all." He
whipped the car around a bend in the road savagely. "Pretty soon
they'll put me with the other sane people and let the bats inherit the
world. But I don't mind at all."

"Sir Thomas!" Her Majesty said in shocked tones.

"Please," Boyd said with a deceptive calmness. "Just Mr. Boyd. Not
even Lieutenant Boyd, or Sergeant Boyd. Just Mr. Boyd. Or, if you
prefer, Tom."

"Sir Thomas," Her Majesty said, "I really can't understand this
sudden--"

"Then don't understand it," Boyd said. "All I know is everybody's
nuts, and I'm sick and tired of it."

A pall of silence fell over the company.

"Look, Tom," Malone began at last.

"Don't you try smoothing me down," Boyd snapped.

Malone's eyebrows rose. "Okay," he said. "I won't smooth you down.
I'll just tell you to shut up, to keep driving--and to show some
respect to Her Majesty."

"I--" Boyd stopped. There was a second of silence.

_"That's_ better," Her Majesty said with satisfaction.

Lady Barbara stretched in the back seat, next to Her Majesty. "This is
certainly a long drive," she said. "Have we got much farther to go?"

"Not too far," Malone said. "We ought to be there soon."

"I--I'm sorry for the way I acted," Barbara said.

"What do you mean, the way you acted?"

"Crying like that," Barbara said with some hesitation. "Making an--
a