ld his own posh oasis in
Escondido in order to preside at H. H., as the communications fraternity
affectionately styled the restaurant. Today, however, Cam was aware of
Michel's subtle disapproval as they glided into the Caribbean milieu.

And little wonder: The character awaiting Cam in the booth was
definitely not the H. H. type. Far from being cast in the approved lean,
sickly, bespectacled mold, Everett O'Toole featured jowls wider than
Cam's natural shoulders; and his gut threatened to thrust their tiny
table into the houris' concourse. Manhattan innkeepers often confused
Everett with Ralph Kramden, a classic comic character of the Sixties
still cast occasionally for the _cognoscenti_.

Cam viewed this great flow of flesh with dispassionate eyes. The
behemoth spoke:

"Can't resist a fast megabuck, eh, Cam?"

"As you know, hippo, I agreed to meet you here in the naive hope that
you had something to contribute to the science of marketing," said Cam.

"Science! Hah!" Everett sucked on his goblet. "I do have something to
sell, but it's probably over your head."

"Very possibly. In which event, I'll whirl on to something more
productive, and you can pick up your own tab for those half-gallons of
equatirial garbage you've been gulping."

Sobered by this threat, Everett looked about with a conspiratorial air
and leaned across the table.

"You and that giggle gang you call the Market Research Group have been
groping around like so many blind mice. How would you like to know in
advance, beyond any cavil, the exact future reaction to any product,
new, old or sea-changed--or to any campaign to be inflicted on the
peasantry?"

"How would _you_ like to be Duke of the Western World, with your castle
in Acapulco?"

"That's what keeps alive my faith in you," said Everett. "You _do_
understand, a little bit. That's what we call Empathy."

* * * * *

Cam signalled for a Bellafonte Sunrise to fortify himself for the
forthcoming adventure in non-Aristotelian ratiocination.

"Empathy is our merchandise," Everett continued, looking around again.
"My associates and I have discovered our propensity for experiencing
vicariously--with unfortunate intensity--the emotional reactions of
others."

"I have encountered many ridiculous routines," Cam advised the Dominican
beauty placing new potables before them. "But this wins the Freberg."

"Exhibit A coming up." Everett lapsed into a pose of deep