her momentum carry her over him; she was at the edge of the rail, and
starting to fall.

He caught her feet in his hands and yanked her back. There was nothing
phony this time as she hit the floor.

"Just a matter of co-ordination, Cuddles," he told her. "Little girls
shouldn't play with knives; they'll grow up to be old maids that way."

Fury blackened her face, but she still couldn't function. He picked her
up and tossed her back into the room. From the broken mattress on the
bed, he dug out a coil of wire and bound her hands and feet with it.

"Can't say I think much of your choice of companions these days," he
commented, looking toward the bed where O'Neill was cowering. "It looks
as if your grandfather picks them better for you."

"You filthy-minded hog! D'you think I'd--I'd--One room in the place with
a decent door, and you can't see why I'd choose that room to keep
Jurgens' devils back. You--You--"

He'd been searching the room, but there was no sign of the notebook
there. He checked again to see that the wire was tight, and then picked
up the two henchmen who were showing some signs of reviving.

"I'll watch them," a voice said from the door. Gordon snapped his head
up to see Izzy standing there. He realized he'd been a lot less cautious
than he'd thought.

Izzy grinned at his confusion. "I got enough out of the Mother to case
the pitch," he said. "I knew I was right when I spotted the apeman
carrying a guy with a bad shoulder away from here. Jurgens' punks, eh?"

"Thanks for coming. What's it going to cost me?"

"Wouldn't be honest to charge unless you asked me to convoy you,
gov'nor. And if you're looking for the vixen's room, it's where you
bunked before. I got around after I spotted you here."

Sheila Corey forced herself to a sitting position and spat at Izzy.
"Traitor! Crooked little traitor!"

"Shut up, Sheila," Izzy said. "Your retainer ran out."

Surprisingly, she did shut up. Gordon went to the little space--and saw
that Izzy was right; there was a nearly used-up lipstick, a comb, and a
cracked mirror. There was also a small cloth bag containing a few scraps
of clothes.

He turned the room upside down, but there was no sign of the notebook or
papers from it.

He located her helmet and carried it down with him. "You're going
bye-bye, Cuddles," he told her. "I'm going to put this on you and then
unfasten your arms and legs. But if you start to so much as wiggle your
big toe, you won't