ad never attempted to watch him all the time. In the first
place, it was physically impossible; in the second place, she didn't
think Snookums would develop properly if he were to be kept under
constant supervision. But now, for the first time, she didn't have the
foggiest notion of what was going on inside the robot's mind, and she
couldn't find out. It puzzled and worried her, and between herself and
Dr. Fitzhugh there were several long conferences on Snookums' peculiar
behavior.

Mike the Angel found himself waiting for something to happen. He hadn't
the slightest notion what it was that he was waiting for, but he was as
certain of its coming as he was of the fact that the Earth was an oblate
spheroid.

But he certainly didn't expect it to begin the way it did.

A quiet evening bridge game is hardly the place for a riot to start.

Pete Jeffers was pounding the pillow in his stateroom; Captain Quill was
on the bridge, checking through the log.

In the officers' wardroom Mike the Angel was looking down at two hands
of cards, wondering whether he'd make his contract. His own hand held
the ace, nine, seven of spades; the ten, six, two of hearts; the jack,
ten, nine, four, three, and deuce of diamonds; and the eight of clubs.

Vaneski, his partner, had bid a club. Keku had answered with a take-out
double. Mike had looked at his hand, figured that since he and Vaneski
were vulnerable, while Keku and von Liegnitz were not, he bid a weakness
pre-empt of three diamonds. Von Liegnitz passed, and Vaneski had
answered back with five diamonds. Keku and Mike had both passed, and von
Liegnitz had doubled.

Now Mike was looking at Vaneski's dummy hand. No spades; the ace, queen,
five, and four of hearts; the queen, eight, seven, and six of diamonds;
and the ace, king, seven, four, and three of clubs.

And von Liegnitz had led the three of hearts.

It didn't look good. His opponents had the ace and king of trumps, and
with von Liegnitz' heart lead, it looked as though he might have to try
a finesse on the king of hearts. Still, there _might_ be another way
out.

Mike threw in the ace from dummy. Keku tossed in his seven, and Mike
threw in his own deuce. He took the next trick with the ace of clubs
from dummy, and the singleton eight in his own hand. The one after that
came from dummy, too; it was the king of clubs, and Mike threw in the
heart six from his own hand. From dummy, he led the three of clubs. Keku
went over it