so colossal a fool of
himself that a mental asylum would yawn for him.

He went into the one coffee-shop in Salonika which served drinkable tea.
It was dark and dingy inside, though the tablecloths were spotless. He
went in, and there was Dillon.

Coburn's flesh crawled. If the figure sitting there with the _London
Times_ and a cup of tea before him were actually a monster from another
planet ...

But Dillon read comfortably, and sipped his tea. Coburn approached, and
the Englishman looked up inquiringly.

"I was ... up in the mountains," said Coburn feverishly, "when those
Bulgarians came over. I can give you the story."

Dillon said frostily: "I'm not interested. The government's officially
denied that any such incident took place. It's merely a silly rumor."

It was reasonable that it should be denied. But it had happened,
nonetheless. Coburn stared, despite a consciousness that he was not
conspicuously rational in the way his eyes searched Dillon's face
hungrily. The eyes _were_ different! The eyes of the Dillon up in the
mountains had been larger, and the brown part--But he had to be sure.

Suddenly, Coburn found himself grinning. There was a simple, a perfect,
an absolute test for humanity!

Dillon said suspiciously: "What the devil are you staring at me for?"

Coburn continued to grin uncontrollably, even as he said in a tone of
apology: "I hate to do this, but I have to be sure...."

He swung. He connected with Dillon's nose. Blood started.

Coburn zestfully let himself be thrown out, while Dillon roared and
tried to get at him through the flying wedge of waiters. He felt an
enormous relaxation on the way back to his office in another cab. He was
a trifle battered, but it was worth it.

* * * * *

Back in the office he called Hallen again. And again Hallen answered. He
sounded guilty and worried.

"I don't know whether I'm crazy or not," he said bitterly. "But I was in
your office. I saw your secretary there--and she didn't feel pins stuck
in her. And something did happen to those Bulgarians that the Greeks
don't know anything about, or the Americans either. So you're to tell
your story to the high brass down in Athens. I think you'll be locked up
afterward as a lunatic--and me with you for believing my own eyes. But a
plane's being readied."

"Where do I meet you?" asked Coburn.

Hallen told him. A certain room out at the airport. Coburn hung up. The
telephone