Transcriber's Note:

 This etext was produced from Analog Science Fact & Fiction September 1961. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U. S. Copyright on this publication was renewed. 

 MODUS VIVENDI

 By WALTER BUPP

 _It's undoubtedly difficult to live with someone who is Different. He must, because he is Different, live by other ways. But what makes it so difficult is that, for some reason he thinks you are Different!_

 _Illustrated by Schoenherr_

 * * * * *

By the time I got to the office, I was jittery as a new bride. The daystarted out all wrong. I woke up weak and washed out. I was patheticwhen I worked out with the weights--they felt as heavy as thePyramids. And when I walked from the subway to the building where MikeRenner and I have our offices, an obvious telepath tailed me all theway. 

I was ready for a scrap. St. Francis himself would have irritated thehell out of me, and I'd have gone speechless with rage at the meresight of sweet Alice Ben Bolt. The guy sitting with Mike in our lawlibrary didn't have a chance. 

"What's this?" I growled, seeing Mike seated silent and staring at ourcaller across the big table. There wasn't a book or sheet of foolscapresting on the walnut. Work hadn't started. They were lying in waitfor me. Well, I was lying in wait for the first guy who opened hismouth. 

"The Grievance Committee!" Mike said in a tone of stifled fury. "Thisis Horace Dunn. "

"_Carpe Diem_, " I snarled at Horace, a hammered-down heavyweight. "What's Renner done now?"

"Me?" Renner demanded, letting his fat jowls quivver. He's one ofthose burly types who looks like he should be playing pro ball andinstead thrives on showing clients how to keep two sets of books whilestaying out of jail. 

"Not Renner, " Horace said. "You, Maragon. The Bar Association getsupset when reputable attorneys successfully defend one of these Stigmacases. "

"Forgive me my hobbies, " I sneered, sitting down beside my partner. "But I try to win them all. You know I didn't seek thatbusiness--Judge Passarelli appointed me Public Defender when that Psi, Crescas, bleated that he was destitute. "

Mike Renner apparently decided one of us had to be reasonable. "Coincidence, Dunn, " he said. "Pure coincidence. You can't hold itagainst--"

"No coincidence, " I snapped. It wasn't my day to agree with anybody. Renner's fat little eyes opened wide. 

"Judge Passarelli _knew_ I'd be in his courtroom, " I said. "His Honorwanted to get my views on a point I'd made in that pleading theprevious week. "

"Passarelli _again!_" Horace breathed. "Well, well. What do you know?And two weeks ago he found a Stigma case named Mary Hall 'Not Guilty'of bunco game against the 99th National Bank. You know the case?"

Renner was too upset for speech. He shook his head, looking over atme. I didn't give him the satisfaction. Mike hasn't any patience withmy interest in keeping abreast of Psi developments anyway. 

"This Mary Hall is a hallucinator, " Horace said. He leaned forward andgave it to us in not much more than a whisper. "This witch used her HCto pass five dollar bills off as hundreds, getting change. But theycaught her at it. " He laughed harshly. "And tried her for it, " headded. "Get the picture on that 'Not Guilty' verdict?"

"No, " Renner admitted. I slouched down, scowling. 

"She used HC on Judge Passarelli, too. Foozled his vision, whateveryou want to call it. When the 'cutor handed him the evidence, the fivedollar bill she had tried to pass for a hundred, all sealed up inplastic, Passarelli _saw_ a _hundred_, thanks to her Psi powers. "

"Get out of here, " I told Horace, getting to my feet. 

"Pete! For heaven's sake!" Mike protested. You didn't talk like thatto the Grievance Committee. Did you ever see a guy wring his hands?Renner was pathetic. 

"Can't you quit pussy-footing around, Renner?" I growled. "This comicisn't from the Grievance Committee!"

Horace Dunn paled on that one. "How do you know that?" he said. Hesounded a lot more dangerous. 

"Too polite, " I sneered. "And it ill becomes you. What's going on?"

"So I level, " Horace conceded. "So I'm _not_ from the GrievanceCommittee, and I'm not all hot that Maragon defended Keys Crescas. "

"Much better, " I said, sitting down again. 

"This guy Passarelli is coming up for re-election shortly, " our callersaid. A light began to dawn. "We're making sure he doesn't makeit--and that _our_ man does. "

My laugh was more a bark. "He can't find Mary Hall, " I told Renner. 

Horace's lower jaw shot out at me. "I don't like guys who know whatI'm thinking!" he snapped. 

I had to laugh in his face. "Who needs TP? You want to tar Passarelliwith the brush of Psi--and this hallucinator would be Exhibit 'A'. "

He subsided. "So I can't find her. What then?"

I shook my head. "You say it, " I suggested. "Too early to have to washmy mouth with soap. "

Dunn made his big pitch to Renner. "Maragon has a connection withthese Psis--it's all over town that he got Keys Crescas off. ThisCrescas can find Mary Hall--you know how Psis stick together. " Rennernodded rapt agreement. "And, " Dunn added, finally sticking it in us, "it would be good politics for Maragon to do it--would kind of sweetenup the stench of his getting Crescas off, eh?"

Renner thought he had to sell me: "Pete, " he insisted, "You've _got_to! Defending Crescas was sure to hurt our reputation. That girl hasit coming for--"

I waved a hand in his face, shutting him up. "Why should I care whathappens to the girl?" I said, getting up. "Just make sure Horace paysus a fat fee. After all, it's tax exempt. "

"Tax exempt?" he asked, frowning. 

"Sure, " I said, walking out. "Religious contribution. Thirty pieces ofsilver. "

 * * * * *

Keys Crescas is the kind of odd-ball you can't find till after dark. Good looking in a romantic, off-beat sort of way. No visible means ofsupport--a typical Psi. Renner made one white-jowled attempt to readme the riot act for failing to plead him guilty when Passarelli hadtapped me as Public Defender. I came close to throwing the meat-ballout of my private office. 

What could I have done? Sure, Crescas has the Stigma--he doesn't tryto hide it. It's only TK, though, and I don't suppose much of that. Just enough, the cops will tell you, to make him a good man at pickinglocks and earn his nickname--Keys. 

People like Crescas run to a pattern. I left my number in about ten ofthe spots he might turn up, and around six o'clock one of them hit paydirt. 

I pressed the "Accept" key when the phone rang, and Keys Crescas'olive face and curly black hair filled the screen. His black eyes hadthat lively watchfulness you associate with Psis. He had the gain waydown and the aperture wide, so that he wasn't in focus any fartherback than his ears. And that scope setting hid from where he wascalling as effectively as a veil. Did you ever know a Psi who didn'tseem to be harboring a secret?

"Hi, Mouthpiece, " he grinned, showing even white teeth. "How'd youknow where to find me?"

"Best place for worms is under a manure pile, " I said. "I usedparallel logic. "

That took that smug, Stigma grin off his puss. "What do you want?" heasked, sullen now. 

"A lead to a Psi who's gone into hiding. "

You know what he told me to do. "Mary Hall, " I added. "She's gotStigma Troubles. "

"Not even counting you, eh?" Crescas sneered. He made the samesuggestion again. I let it ride. "Go on, " he dared me. "Make yourpitch. I'll laugh later. "

"That 'Not Guilty' verdict doesn't mean a thing, Crescas, " I told him. "That was a National Bank she tried to rob. There's a Federal rapstill to be settled. She has big Stigma troubles and needscounsel--and not one of those shysters who hang around the CriminalCourts building sniffing for Psi business. "

"She's in no trouble till they find her, " he said accurately, and Icould see his hand come up to cut the image. "For my dough they'vegiven up trying to find her and are using you for a stalking horse, "he added with fiendish accuracy. 

"So don't trust me, " I snarled. "You can send her saw blades baked ina cake. " I reached up, too. 

"Hold it. "

I stopped, trying to keep my glower going. 

"Passarelli would have to be in on it, too, " he decided. "And I can'tfigure _him_ for a louse. O. K. , Maragon. I'll pick you up at youroffice at about eight o'clock. "

 * * * * *

With nearly two hours to kill, I went out to eat. I still felt glumand lousy. Part of it was the knifelike penetration of Crescas'intuition--his knowing that I was just a stalking horse so that thebig guns could zero in on Mary Hall. And there was that little tremorof fear that comes from knowing that a Psi may think you'vedoublecrossed him. They have some powerful abilities when it comes toexacting vengeance. Well, if everything about the deal was as muchscrewed up as the part I had heard so far, I decided, I might get outwith a whole skin at that. 

That was my attempt at consolation--that and an order of sweet-breads, Financiere, which is a ridiculous dish for a sawed-off shyster tendingtoward overweight. 

I was back in the law library by ten minutes of eight, trying tooccupy my mind with the latest _Harvard Law Review_, when the 'phonerang. Keys' face, a little tight-lipped and bright-eyed, peered at mefrom the screen, which it completely filled. He must have darned nearswallowed the 'scope. 

"Ready?" he asked softly. 

"Sure. You picking me up?"

His lip curled in half a smile. "What do I look like?" he sneered. "Grab a cab. You know a bar called the Moldy Fig?" I nodded. "That'swhere. " He cut the image. 

Well, this was more like it. You can't deal with Psis without thewhole affair acting like something out of E. Phillips Oppenheim. Iclosed up the office, turned out the ceiling, and rode the elevatordown to the street. 

The night howled and shrieked with air-borne traffic. A hot-roddingkid gunned his fans up the street a way and ripped what silence mighthave remained to the night into shreds as he streaked past me. Thejerk wasn't forty feet off the ground, and was pouring the coal to histurbine. The whine of his impellers sounded a strong down-Doppler ashis ripped past me, nose dropped a good thirty degrees and draggingevery knot he could get out of his 'copter. 

I waved to a cab standing at the rank up the block a way and watchedthe skim-copter rise a couple inches off the ground as the hackerskimmed on the ground-cushion toward me. City grit cut at my anklesfrom the air blast before I could hop into the bubble and give him mydestination. He looked the question at me hopefully, over hisshoulder, his hand on the arm of his meter. 

"Oh, what the hell, " I said, still sore at the world, and a littleworried about what I was trying to do. "Let's 'copter!" He grinned andswung the arm over to the "fly" position with its four-times-higherrate. His turbine screamed to a keener pitch with wide throttle, andhe climbed full-bore into the down-town slow lane. 

 * * * * *

The swift ride down to the Village was long enough to induce that oddmotion-hypnosis so common in night flight over a metropolitan area. The dizzy blur of red and green running lights from air-borne trafficat levels above and below us, the shapes of 'copters silhouettedbeneath us against the lambent glow of the city's well-lit streets, all wove into a numbing pattern. 

[Illustration]

"Here's the _Fig_, Mac, " the hacker said as we grounded. I stuck mycredit card in the meter and hopped out, not fast enough to duck thefan-driven pin-pricks of sand as he pulled away. 

Crescas appeared as if by magic--Psis act like that--and had me by thearm. "Quick!" he said, pushing me back into the spot he had appearedfrom. It was a doorway beside the Moldy Fig, opening on a flight ofsteps running to an apartment above the bar. As we climbed the cleanand well-lit stairs, I reminded myself that I was probably entering aden of Psis--and clamped down tight on my thoughts. There was plentythey had better not peep. 

Keys didn't have to knock on the door--there's always a telepathhanging around these Stigma hideouts who knows who's coming. A huskyyoung man, quite blond and pink of face, opened the door. A softrustle of music spilled out around his big shoulders. He wore aT-shirt, and his powerful forearms were bare. 

"Hey!" he said to Keys, spotting himself as a Southerner as surely asif he'd had the Stars and Bars tattooed on his forehead. We followedhim down a short hall into a room furnished, with a couple of couches, an easy-chair, several small but delightful tables, and a piano. Herewas the music. A blond bombshell was drumming box chords on theivories, and grouped around her on side chairs were four young men, playing with her. It was jazz, if that's what you call the quietracket that comes out of a wooden recorder, a very large potteryocharina that hooted like a gallon jug, a steel guitar and a pair ofbongo drums played discreetly with the fingertips. 

My appearance stopped them right in the middle of a chorus of "MuskratRamble. " I'd have liked to hear more--it was Dixieland times two--whatthe Psis call Psixieland. That's jazz played by a gang of telepaths. Each one knows what the others are about to play. The result isextemporaneous counterpoint, but without the clinkers we associatewith jazz. Almost too perfect, yet untrammeled. 

My eyes ran around the room as the four men who had been playing withthe girl got up and prepared to leave. The place was spotless. Oh, thefurnishings weren't costly, but they were chosen with that sense offitness, of refinement of color and decor that is curiously Psi. Isuppose that's one of the little things that annoys Normals so much. Stigma powers seem to go beyond telepathy, clairvoyance andtelekinesis--they extend in some hard to define way into theaesthetic. A chaste kind of cleanliness is only part of it. _Taste_, Iguess that's the word. Their attire, their homes, everything aboutPsis, seems tasteful. 

 * * * * *

In moments only Keys, the blond Southerner and the still blonder bombon the piano bench were left to face me. Keys poked a finger at theplow-jockey in the T-shirt. "Elmer, " he explained. 

"Take off yo' hat, Yankee, " Elmer grinned. I felt it tipped from myhead by his TK. 

I glowered at him. "Kid stuff!" I snorted. "So you can lift fourounces from six feet away. But you don't have any idea whatincorporeal hereditaments are. Which is better?"

The pink of his face got red. He could have broken me in two. 

"Just making a point, " I said. "I'm stupid about TK. You're stupidabout the law. I figure that makes us even. "

He clamped his mouth shut. I turned back to Keys and the girl I wassure was Mary Hall. "What I came here for--"

"What we _got_ you here for, " Keys interrupted, "was to set youstraight on something. " I guess I looked as surprised as I felt. Theimpossibly blond girl giggled. "Over the phone, Maragon, " Keys wenton, sitting down on the bench beside the girl, "you said there was aFederal rap hanging over Mary's head on this 99th National Bankfracas. "

I nodded. 

"The theory being, " he went on, "that the law doesn't let anybody withthe Stigma get away with a thing, right?"

"Right. "

"Then relax. Mary hasn't got the Stigma. Have you, Mary?"

"No, " she said. I looked her over more carefully. She was closer totwenty than thirty, round-faced, with blue eyes that were about asimpossibly bright as her hair was impossibly white. It could have beena corneal tattoo, but somehow I doubted it. Impossibly red lips madeup the patriotic triad of colors--but that was lipstick, pure andsimple. 

"No Stigma?" I demanded. "I know Psixieland when I hear it, Miss Hall. Don't tell me that wasn't telepathic jazz. "

She tossed her short hair-do around. "My side-men were TP's, " sheconceded. "Why do you think I was playing box chords? They knew what Iwas playing--I didn't know what they'd play. "

Well, some of it was adding up. Still, I had to be sure. "I see. Tellme, Mary, where were your parents on the 19th of April in '75?"

She sat up straight beside Keys on the bench, and her fair faceflushed pinkly. "Drop dead!" she told me. 

I stood up. "See you in jail, " I said, and started for the door. 

 * * * * *

Elmer had played tackle for Ol' Miss--he sure stopped me in my tracks. "I reckon we ain't through with you yet, Yankee, " he grinned. He hurtme with his hands, big as country hams. My stiffened fingers jabbedhis T-shirt where it covered his solar plexus, and he dropped back, gasping. 

"You could learn a little about fighting, too, Psi, " I growled. "Andyou're through with me if that bottle blonde won't answer myquestions. "

"Hey!" Keys protested. "Come on, relax. Everybody!" he snapped, asElmer got his breath back and came in for another tackle. I signaledfor a fair catch, and he eased up. 

I peered over my shoulder at the girl at the piano. "Well?" I askedher. "Where _were_ your parents on the 19th of April in '75?"

Her eyes sought out Keys'. He nodded, dropping his gaze to the floor. "About fifty miles from Logan, Iowa, " she said. 

"And you don't have the Stigma?" I scoffed. 

"Not everybody inside the Logan Ring was affected, " she reminded me. "Which is my tough luck. But I _am_ being crucified because Motherand Dad _were_ in the Ring the day the N-bomb went off, whether I havethe Stigma or not. "

I came back to stand in front of her. "I'm an attorney, " I said. "Ihave an idea what can happen to you if the Courts get hold of you. Right now they can't find you--which must mean you've been hiding. "She confirmed that with a nod, biting her red, red lips. "They _are_after you, and a Federal rap is just the start, " I said. "You haveonly one chance, Mary, and I'm glad you claimed it. The only way youcan keep them from putting you over a barrel is to prove you don'thave the Stigma. I think I know a way to do it. Are you ready to letme help you?"

"Not _that_ fast, " she said, looking worried. "Oh, I trust Keys'judgment about you. Yes, I _do_, " she said earnestly, turning toCrescas. "Yes, I _know_ he got you off, Keys. But it doesn't soundright. Why should he take a chance helping a Psi--even if I really_don't_ have the Stigma? What's his angle?"

"Fair enough, " Keys said. "How about it, Maragon?"

"I knew it was a bum rap they were trying to pin on Mary as soon as Iheard about it, " I explained. "This business about Mary having HC. There just isn't any such Psi power as hallucination, and every one ofyou knows it--it's an old wives' tale. I wouldn't touch this littlelady with a ten-foot pole if I really thought she had the Stigma. Ihave a living to make around this town--and you can't handle Stigmabusiness and get any decent trade, too. "

I looked back at Mary. "How _did_ you work your swindle at the bank?"I asked quietly. 

She sighed. "Sleight of hand, " she said. "A damned fool stunt. Ifigured to put the money back in a day or so. If somebody else hadn'tbeen working the same racket, they'd never have caught me. But theyhad set a trap--"

"I _thought_ it was some light-finger stuff, " I grinned. "Well, itwill take me a while to set up a real test of your Psi Powers. Wherecan I reach you--or are you spending the night here?"

"Certainly not!" she said, casting an annoyed glance at Elmer. Shelooked at her watch. "Would it be much longer than an hour? I mightstill be here, if Elmer--"

"Jes' fine, " T-shirt said. "Unless yo' mine watching Keys and mepractice. " He grinned at me. "Keys is he'ping me build up mah TK, " heexplained. 

"That'll make you popular, " I sneered, as I wrote down Elmer's phonenumber. They let me out. It had been a pretty room, and in a way Ihated to leave it. Still, by the time a cruising 'copter had taken mehalfway back to my office up-town, I could relax the shield over mythoughts--and that was worth getting out of that Stigma hideaway. 

 * * * * *

It was a little after nine when I walked into the lobby and rang forthe elevator. A man lounging against the wall over near the buildingdirectory raised a wrist-phone to his mouth and spoke quietly into itas I waited for the car to come. He didn't seem to be interested inme--but then, he wouldn't want to show it if he were. Fool around withthe Stigma, would I?

The building was mostly dark--in our circle we make too much dough tobe interested in overtime. I keyed myself into our waiting room, turned on the ceiling, and went into my private office. There wasenough light leaking in from our foyer, so I added none. 

I found Lindstrom at home--after all, he should have been by nineo'clock. "Maragon!" he said. "Kill your focus. I have guests!"

I reached up to twist the 'scope so that my image would be a blur onhis screen. Nice beginning. I was as welcome as a thriving case ofleprosy. 

"I want you to make a test for me, Professor, " I said. "Tonight. "

He shook his head. "I told you I had guests. We're entertaining. Nothanks, Maragon. "

"A Normal is being crucified, " I said quietly. "They've got her peggedas a Psi. I've got to get her off the hook. "

"How could this happen?" he demanded. 

"She hangs with a bunch of Stigma cases, for one thing, " I said. 

"Nobody forced her to associate with a gang of Psis, " he said. "Servesher right. "

"Nobody forced you to, either, Prof, " I snarled. "But you have asteady stream of Stigma cases going through your laboratory. "

"That's different!" he protested. 

"Nuts. Now name a time when I can see you there. "

"I don't want any part of it. If you're along, it will just meantrouble, Maragon. You got too much publicity on defending that TKlocksmith. I've got a professional standing to maintain. "

"You'd sure look silly if all the Psis in town blackballed you, " Isnarled at him. "Let me pass the word around--and you darned well knowI've got the contacts to do it--and you've tested your last Stigmacase. Then let's see what kind of a professional standing you've got. "

He knew some pretty dirty words. "What time?" I pressed him, knowingthe profanity was a confession of defeat. 

"Not before eleven, " he said glumly. "I won't forget this, Maragon. "

"What the hell, " I said. "I'm on every S-list in town already. Youhardly count beside the other enemies I'm making. " I cut the image. 

As if at a signal, there was a tapping on the door to the corridor. Igot out of my swivel, walked into the waiting room and opened up. Theman who stood there was faintly familiar--but it was the gun in hisfist that got most of my attention. 

"Maragon?" he asked softly. 

I spread my feet a little. "I knew I was making enemies pretty fast, "I said to him. "But I didn't know how strongly. Listen, " I snapped, "I'll bet one thing never occurred to you. "

He was taken back. You're not supposed to snarl at a guy who pokes agun at you. In theory it gives him the edge of any conversation. "Huh?" he said. 

"The only thing that lousy pop-gun of yours is good for is shootingpeople. I don't think you came here to shoot me. Now what can you do?"

"Clown, " he growled. "Where's Renner?"

"In bed, if he has any sense, " I decided. "Make up your mind. Whom doyou want?"

"For Pete's sake, " he said. "Grammar at a time like this!" He lookeddown at his gun, decided I was right, and stuck it in a shoulderholster. Then his wrist came up in front of his mouth and I recognizedhim. It was the man who had lounged near the building directory when Ihad come in. "Come ahead, " he said into the mike. 

 * * * * *

I turned my back on him and stomped into my office. Let them followme. 

But only one man came in, a minute or so later. "Does it have to be sodark?" he asked politely. 

"Rheostat's by your elbow, " I said. He reached for it and turned onthe ceiling, closing the door that cut us off from the waiting room. 

"Good evening, Counselor, " he said, taking the seat across my deskfrom me. He looked different without his judicial robes, not quite asmuch my senior as I had thought. He wasn't any taller than I was, perhaps five feet nine, and thirty pounds lighter. Between us we hadabout an average forehead--his went up to the top of his head--myhairline starts about where my eyebrows leave off. Robes or no robes, there was something judicial about him, as though he'd been born witha gavel in his hand. 

"Good evening, Your Honor, " I said to Judge Passarelli. "You have apretty active pipeline into Stigma circles, don't you?"

It didn't bother him. "As long as judgeships are elective offices, Maragon, " he said. "Judges will play politics. Fill me in on this MaryHall thing. "

"Without violating professional ethics?" I asked. 

"You'll try cases again, in front of judges, " he snapped not veryjudicial. "Don't get me angry with you, Maragon. "

I countered: "The shoe is on the other foot--I'm darned sore at you. "He tried to find his receding hairline with his thin eyebrows. "Don'tlook so amazed--do you think I haven't figured out my defending thatTK Crescas was no accident? You set me up for it. "

"Set you up for a resoundingly successful defense, " he observed. 

"And a resoundingly bad press!" I said. "I have a living to make inthis town--"

"Psis are still citizens, " he said. "I'm tired of seeing them thrownto the wolves by the jackals who practice law from a phone booth. Psisdeserve a decent defense. Without you, Crescas would be in prison. "

[Illustration]

"And without _you_, " I growled at him, "I might still have a lawpractice. "

"So you're helping them find Mary Hall--to embarrass me?"

"I've already found her, " I said. "Feel embarrassed?"

"Not yet, " he conceded. "What are you planning to do?"

"We've accepted a fee to turn her over to a client, " I revealed. "Iguess that's not unethical to tell you. "

"And you'll do that?"

"After one more step. "

"And that is?"

"Prove that she hasn't got the Stigma. "

"_Hasn't_ got it!" He hopped out of his chair and pressed his knuckleson my desk. 

"You'd better do a little more research, if you're going to let yourblack heart bleed over these Stigma cases, Judge, " I grinned at him. "All this talk about Mary Hall using HC on your vision. That willnever embarrass you. There isn't such a thing as HC--hallucination isan old wives' tale. It was sleight of hand, in the bank and in yourcourtroom. Don't stand still for that noise about HC. "

"I'll be switched, " he said. "You're serious?"

"Sure. "

He frowned at me. "She's still in trouble, " he reminded me. "TheFederal Grand Jury--"

"Restitution ought to cure that, " I said. "Especially if we threaten alawsuit for slander--I think it's libelous to claim a Normal has theStigma. Mutual release all around. "

"You'll represent her?" he asked. 

"Would you consider it ethical? I don't see how my assignment to turnMary Hall over to your political opponents will stop me fromrepresenting her in a lawsuit, do you?"

He shook his head, straightening up. "I don't see how, " he agreed. "Ihope you do defend her, Maragon. The Courts have had to be prettytough on these pathetic people. If they had reputable representatives, I for one would be a lot more ready to suspend sentences and findother ways to help them out of the jams their weird powers get theminto. "

"I'll think about it, " I said. "In the meantime--stay away from me. "

"We're both poison right now, " he agreed. "And thanks. "

 * * * * *

Mary Hall was still at T-shirted Elmer's when I dialed his phone, andshe agreed to meet me on the street in front of the Moldy Fig. My'copter had barely settled to the pavement when she came running fromthe doorway to the stairs and hopped into the bubble with me. 

"Columbia University, " I told the hacker. "Rhine Building. "

Professor Lindstrom was waiting for us in his laboratory, in carpetslippers and without his tie. "Laboratory" is a perfectly silly term. The "apparatus" in any Psi lab is no more complicated than a foldingscreen, some playing cards, perhaps a deck of Rhine ESP cards and aslide rule. This place went so far as to sport a laboratory bench anda number of lab stools, on which Lindstrom, Mary Hall and I perched. My egghead Psi expert was barely able to restrain himself--he had somebitter things to tell me. 

I beat him to it. "Take that injured glower off your puss, " I snapped. "Your business is testing people for their Psi powers. Why shouldn't Icall on you for help? What are friends for?"

"For a friend I might, " Lindstrom said. "You don't rate that well withme any more. "

"I'll try to bear up under it, " I told him. "In the meantime, this isMary Hall, a reputed Psi. Her power is HC. "

He was interested in spite of himself. "Hallucination?" he said. "Wedon't see much of that, Miss Hall. And you claim you can demonstratethis power under controlled conditions?" These eggheads all talkalike. 

Mary shook her head. "No, I certainly do not. I'm as Normal as youare, Professor. " He sagged slightly in disappointment. 

"Well, " Lindstrom said. "This is going to be difficult to prove, MissHall. Merely by withholding your HC ability, you can act Normal--butwhat would that prove?"

She turned to me. "I thought you said you had a way to get me off thehook, " she protested. "How are we--?"

"Quiet, " I told her. "I didn't come up here for a lecture in logic. Especially from a dumb blonde. " She started to bristle, but thoughtbetter of it. 

"It goes like this, Prof, " I said. "This innocent looking piece offluff was caught slipping a five-dollar bill to a teller at a bankdown town, and asking for change for a hundred dollar bill. She saysit was nothing more than sleight of hand. You are an experiencedobserver. I want you to watch her work her little trick. If she canfool us, and not use Psi, the legal position is that she didn't needPsi to fool the teller. " I turned to her. "And the logical principle, Miss Aristotle, " I told her, "is equally simple: Occam's Razor. Preferthe simpler explanation. Can you show us how you palmed the hundredand slipped the teller a five?"

"You'll be watching for it, " Mary protested, letting those ripe lipspout. 

"I suppose the teller wasn't? It's his business to watch the billswhen he's making change. " I took out my wallet and handed her a oneand a five. "Hand me the one and make me think it's the five, " I said. 

Lindstrom leaned his elbows on the black composition top of the labbench, watching her narrowly. Mary got down off her stool and cameover closer to me, smoothing the two bills in her fingers. The fivewas on top. 

"I'd like change for a five, " she said, handing it to me. She workedit three times while we watched. 

"Utterly smooth, " Lindstrom said. "I didn't see her make the switch. "

"Me, too, " I agreed. I could see the tension drain from Mary's face. She was prettier when she wasn't worried. She was pretty all the time, when you got right down to it. No wonder she could fool a teller. Heprobably hadn't taken his eyes off that dazzling smile. 

"Is that all?" Lindstrom asked. 

"Would you certify that you saw her make these switches, and that Psiwas not involved?" I asked him. 

"Of course. I don't want to, but, if you call me as a witness, I'lltestify to what I saw, " he said glumly. 

"It may not be necessary, " I said. "I really ought to call you, justto teach you some manners, Prof. But then, we all have a right to be alittle yellow. "

Mary would have preferred to remain in silence as we rode a cab backto the Moldy Fig, and huddled over in her corner of the bubble. Therewasn't enough light, that high over the city, to read her expression. 

"Here's the strategy, " I said, about midtown. "If we can get the Bankto agree to restitution, and to sign an admission that you did not useHC or any other Psi powers to work your theft, I think you'll be offthe hook. I doubt the Federal Jury will listen to an information. "

"I hope you're right. "

"This is my business, " I growled. "Do you want me to represent you?"

She didn't answer that until the 'copter had grounded in front of theFig. "All right, " she said. "I don't know what you're so mad at allthe time, but it doesn't seem to be me. I'd like you to represent me. "

I watched her scoot across the sidewalk and run up the stairs toElmer's place. For some screwy reason I hoped she had another place tohole up for the night. I was getting as bad as Renner--lookinglecherously at the raffish display of shapely leg as the blondbombshell beat it. 

 * * * * *

I directed my hacker to my apartment, and grabbed the phone in thebubble. The Mobile Operator got me Vito Passarelli at his home. Hesounded as if he had already retired. 

"This is you know who, " I said. "It's late, I know, but we'd bettertalk before morning. My apartment is the safest spot I can think of. I'm in the Directory. "

"Now?"

"Now. "

I beat His Honor to my apartment by long enough to hang up my jacket, turn the ceiling on to a dim but friendly glow and get out a bottle ofScotch. Judges don't drink bourbon. 

I let Passarelli in when the buzzer sounded. "I'm reasonably surethere are no microphones in this place, " I said. "This Mary Hall thingis getting hot--we'd better start taking precautions. "

"Always, " he said, running a hand over his balding head. His eyes sawthe bottle and asked me a question. I threw some of the Pinch Bottleover ice and handed it to him, taking mine neat. 

"Here's to crime, " he said, sipping the liquor. "What happened?"

I poked a finger at my favorite easy-chair, which Passarelli took. Istood in front of him, still holding my drink. "I got myself in ajam. "

"You're talking to the wrong man, " he said coldly. "Get yourself alawyer--a _good_ Lawyer. "

"You're in it with me, Passarelli. "

"Never met you, " he said, getting up. "Thanks for the drink. " Hestarted for the door. 

"That witch has the Stigma after all, " I said to his back. Thatstopped him. He came back and poked his angry face into mine. 

"You had her tested?"

"Professor Lindstrom, at Columbia, " I told him. "She is slick as awhistle. Lindstrom fell for her yarn that it was sleight of hand--butit was HC. I'd have sworn it didn't exist. "

"Well, " he said. "Well, well. All right, Maragon. What's the jamyou're in?"

"You suggested I should represent her, and I'm going to. But with theStigma? That's more than I bargained for. You know no reputableattorney can afford to represent a Psi. Not if he wants any Normalbusiness. Too much feeling. "

"Going to duck out on her?"

"Damned if I'll welch!" I said, more hotly than I had meant to. "Yousure don't seem very shaken up by the news. "

"It's not any news to me, " Passarelli said tightly. "You forget thatI've had first-hand experience with that little lady. She gave me thebusiness right in my courtroom. I'm no credulous egghead likeLindstrom. I know the difference between sleight of hand and anhallucination. She made me see just what she wanted me to see. "

"Now you know why I think you're in the same jam, Judge, " I said. "You'll look great running for office, with your opposition tellingthe public how a Psi foozled your vision. They'll stomp on the loudpedal about how you let her get away with it and wangle a 'Not Guilty'verdict when she was guilty as sin. "

"Yes, " he agreed. "It's a hot potato, all right. "

"There's just one out, " I insisted. "That girl would have maderestitution long ago if the Bank would have permitted it. And I'vebeen asking myself how come--why should the Bank get sniffy and notwant its money back?" That was the right question. He went back to theeasy-chair and sat down. His eyes came up to meet mine, and then heheld out his glass. I splashed some more Pinch in it. 

"Politics, politics, " he mourned. "The social workers are after me onthis thing. They _want_ that girl to be in a jam. They've asked me towork on the Bank, asked that I make sure restitution can't be made. They want the threat of a Federal indictment to hang over her head. "

"Why?"

"So she'll agree to my committing her to their care. You know whatthey try to do--it's the doctrine of sterilization. Remove young Psisfrom the Psi society--cut them loose from their natural contacts, force them to quit using their powers. It's the same technique theyuse on narcotic violators, if they aren't too deeply committed todrugs. "

"And you are really resisting that?"

"Wouldn't you? Of course I had to tell the Bank to refuse restitution. But do you think Psi is a sickness, like narcotic addiction? Nonsense. Telepathy is no more sickness than the ability to discriminate colors, or hear the tones of a scale. This is equivalent to the color-blindand tone-deaf asking that the rest of us stop perceiving color orhearing the pitch of sound. Ridiculous. "

"What is the cure?"

"We could argue all night, " he said wearily. Then my buzzer sounded. "Expecting anybody else?" he said, alarmed in an instant. 

"I can't think of anybody I'd like to find out that you were here, " Isaid. "Get out of sight. " He carried his drink into my bedroom. 

 * * * * *

Mike Renner was at the door. For a fat-faced bookkeeper with a lawdegree, he looked pretty grim and formidable. 

"You rotten double-crosser, " he greeted me. I was the darling ofpractically everybody in New York that night. 

"It happens every time. Now what do you want, Renner?"

"To break your neck, " he said. "You have found that Psi, Mary Hall, and you haven't turned her over to Dunn. That's a dirty double--"

"With good reason, " I cut in on him. "Do we both have to be idiots?I've just finished having the girl tested. She hasn't got the Stigma, Mike. Dunn will look like a fool trying to pin anything on theJudge. "

"That's not our business. Our fee depends on giving her to Dunn!" Heshook a fist in my face when he said that. He just doesn't look thepart. 

"And the reputation of our firm can very well depend on mysuccessfully representing her, and proving that she hasn't got theStigma. "

"You don't honestly mean you're going to represent that Psi!"

"I just _told_ you she hasn't got the Stigma!"

"You are a rotten lair, " Renner said, getting dangerously red in theface. "What kind of games are you playing with Passarelli? What has_he_ got to do with the reputation of our firm? Don't try to lie, " hesaid sharply. "I know he's here. He's been tailed all night. "

That was enough for Passarelli. He came out of the bedroom and walkedup to Renner. "Forgive me for saying this, Renner, " he said. "But Ijust hope you have a case in my court. I'll find some way to pin oneof your slippery tax frauds to you!"

Renner grew pale. He's conditioned to toady to judges. He didn't havethe guts to answer Passarelli, and took it out on me, instead. "Ourpartnership is dissolved, as of right now, " he seethed. He draggedsome money out of his pocket and threw it on the rug. "There's yourshare of the rent. I'm throwing your stuff out in the hall in themorning. The auditors will be there at nine o'clock for an accounting. You won't need that address any longer--only reputable people come toour building. " He stormed out. 

Passarelli and I faced each other in silence. "Jerk!" I raged at himat last. "You couldn't check to see if you were being followed!"

"I regret that, " he said. "But you invited me. "

"Don't remind me, " I snarled. "What now?"

"I don't know about you, " Passarelli said. "But I'm going to startlooking out for myself. You're too tricky, Maragon. "

"And I suppose you think it's time I ditched Mary Hall, eh?"

"What for?" he said mildly. "You're just one more Criminal Courtshyster now--Renner gave you the heave-ho. You might as well defendher, even if I can't work with you. "

I could feel my belly tighten with rage. "I thought you'd welcome areputable attorney who would represent Psis, " I reminded him. 

"Yes, I suppose I would. Very much. "

"All of a sudden I'm not reputable?"

"Reputable?" he sneered. "You've been on every side of this thing. Would you like to explain why you told Renner one thing and meanother?"

"Same reason you've been going through some contortionsyourself--trying to save my profession and occupation. "

"Too tricky for me, " Passarelli said. 

I measured him with my eyes. "That's not the reason you're walking outof here. What's bugging you?"

"Reading my mind?" he said coldly. It wasn't the first time I'd beenaccused of it. "But you're right. You lied to me. "

"To you? Not so. "

"Oh, yes. How do you know that Mary Hall used HC on you in Lindstrom'slaboratory? Nothing but Psi could detect that. You had a TK there withyou. Admit it. "

"Never, " I said. "How did you spot it in your courtroom? If I needed aTK, so did you. What about that?"

"That was different, " he argued. "I had the--"

"Nuts, " I told him. "Just because I have made as much of a study ofPsi as you have, don't blackball me. You going to act the same way ifI decide to specialize in Stigma cases?"

"Are you going to?"

"What else is left? I'll never get Normal trade after Renner finisheswith me. I come back to it: A reputable attorney representing Psis. "

Passarelli paused with his hand on the door. "It would have someinterest, I guess, " he conceded, "if I thought for a moment you couldguarantee the behavior of your clients. But no Normal can, Maragon. That's the curse of the Logan Stigma. Normals are panicked by it. Lookat the Bar Association and all the trouble that's gone to just to makesure no one with the Stigma is ever admitted to the Bar. Look at thosepathetic social workers--trying to control what they can't evenperceive. The color-blind man trying to make sure no one else seesred. No, only Psis will ever be able to make Psis behave. They willhave to police themselves, and society is unwilling to give them anystanding to do it. This I believe is called a dilemma. "

"It's a mess, that's for sure, " I said gloomily as he left. 

Well, what do you do when the props have been pulled out from underyour world? I like to believe that the reasonable man sits down andthinks. That's what I did, anyway. I was a guy with very little leftto lose. It was time I bet the limit--shot my wad. There was onepossibility. .. . 

I looked at my watch. It was well after one in the morning. Still, Itried Elmer's place again. He came sleepily to the phone. 

"Mary there?"

"Of course not. "

"Keys?"

"What if he is?"

"Put him on. "

There was a delay, but Keys' romantic good looks replaced Elmer'sleft-tackle belligerence. "What now?" he asked. 

"Do you know where Mary is?" I started. 

"Maybe. "

"She tell you I'm her attorney?"

"Yes. "

"I just found out that she's in twice the trouble I thought before. The kid's a pawn in a fight for power between political oppositions. They'll crucify her gladly, without respect to the merits of the case. Too much is riding on it for justice to wind up triumphant. "

"That's what I thought, " he said. "She stays under cover. "

"Think it over, " I suggested. "I'm going to bed, but I'm leaving mydoor unlocked--at my apartment. Dig her up, if you start making anysense, and both of you beat it over here. Before dawn. Do you hearme?"

[Illustration]

"Oh, I hear you, " he said sourly. "I just don't know whether to trustyou. "

"We all have the same trouble, " I said, cutting the image. 

 * * * * *

They showed up about three o'clock. I hadn't been able to go back tosleep--feeling almost sure Keys would bring her there--and had spentthe time with the weights. I was back to strength. The surprise wasthat Elmer came with them. Well, perhaps it was a help. 

Nobody wanted a drink. Mary looked around the apartment a little--itis a nice place, restful and homey, if you can ever achieve that in anapartment fifty floors up. 

"A Psi decorated this place, " she said. Well, she was right, and Iadmitted it to her with a nod. "What couldn't wait until morning, Maragon?" she asked me. 

"First, Mary, I want you to know that while you fooled Lindstrom, youdidn't fool me. You have the Stigma. Wait, " I said, raising my hand asshe started to protest. "Lies won't do any longer. The chips are down. You wouldn't even be here if the Council of the Lodge hadn't decidedit was time to protect you. "

Keys took it away from her. "Lodge? What Lodge?"

"We'll come to that, " I promised. "First, let's cut away theunderbrush. Yes or no. Does she have the Stigma?"

He sought out her eyes, and the way they dropped to my rug I knew thatthe subterfuge was over. "Yes, " he said in a strained, thin voice. "Mary has the Stigma. "

"And it is HC?"

All three of them nodded, and Mary's head came up with an odd sort ofpride. Well, she should have been proud--for all I could find out, shewas unique. 

"All right, " I said. "And now you can get out of my easy-chair, Elmer. I'd like to sit there. " He was obviously surprised by my bad manners. "Get out!" I growled. "It's time you pups got used to taking orders. You'll get your bellies full of it from now on. "

"From you?" Elmer scoffed. "Ah reckon not, suh!" But he got out of thechair, and I sat in it. 

"Oh, yes you will, " I said. "The Lodge will see to that. "

"The Lodge again, " Keys protested. 

"Never heard of it, did you?" I taunted him. "Proof positive thatyou're small potatoes in Stigma circles. Well, get set for a shock: Irepresent an organization of Psis--an organization devoted toprotecting Stigma cases from Normal society, an organization devotedto establishing discipline among Psis so that our conflicts withNormals are kept to a reasonable minimum. "

"And you call this a Lodge?" Mary Hall said. "What's its full name?"

"No other, " I said. "It's . .. Well, it's a sort of benevolent andprotective order. It's as secret as Psis can make anything--a selectgroup. "

"I'll bet, " Keys sneered. "No TP's in it, " he said, reminding me thattelepaths can't close their minds to the peeping of other TP's. 

"Unfortunately, none, " I agreed. "We are getting ready, however, toextend membership beyond the TK's, CV's and HC's who are nowenrolled. "

"I don't believe it, " Mary said. "There aren't any otherhallucinators!"

"None foolish enough to reveal it, " I conceded. "You had to louse usup there--I wonder if any other Stigma power is as feared by Normals?Certainly they're making a Roman circus over you. "

Elmer stood up. "Ah've had enough, " he said. 

"One thing, " I said to him. "The Lodge has a rule that no Psi may usehis powers to the detriment of a Normal, or reveal the existence ofthe Lodge. Our discipline is formidable, Elmer. Remember what I say. "

 * * * * *

Keys was frowning in thought. "Wait a minute, Elmer, " he said. "Let metry this one on him for size. " He turned to me. "Are you trying totell me that you are a part of this Lodge, Maragon?"

"I'm their counsel, " I said. 

"A Normal?" he demanded. "It would make sense for Psis to gettogether--I've often wondered why it has never worked out moreformally than it has. But to trust a Normal to represent them? Never!"

I grinned at him. "Know any attorneys with the Stigma?" I demanded. "Iknow darned well you don't. The Bar Association screens every would-belawyer from the moment he enters law school. No, sir. The Lodge had nochoice. They picked on me as an attorney sympathetic with StigmaTroubles, and trustworthy. "

"You make it sound good, " Keys admitted. "But then I know you are aliar. " He looked over at Mary Hall. "Although you can prove differentif you're able. "

I raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Tell me how you knew Mary hadn't used sleight of hand in Lindstrom'slaboratory, " he demanded. 

There was nothing I could say. I bit down on my teeth. Well, I haddecided to shoot the wad if I had to. He'd called my bet. 

"I'll tell you, Maragon, " he said. "I hate to admit it of a skunk likeyou, but you've got the Stigma. You kept a TK grip on those bills sheshuffled. Her hallucination is too good for you not to think it wassleight of hand. "

"No!" Mary shrieked. 

"Not him!" Elmer said. 

I stood up to face them. "Yes, " I said. "I _do_ have the Stigma. Theonly lie was that I was the Lodge's counsel. I'm not. "

"What then?" Keys demanded. 

"I'm Grand Master of the Manhattan Chapter, " I told him. "And you, like every Psi who is made aware of the existence of the Lodge, arenow subject to my orders. "

"Not me, " Elmer said. "You ain't got the Stigma. "

I fired a lift at an ashtray on the table beside him, and it sailed inan arc toward the kitchen and crashed against the wall. My TK wascertainly a lot better than it had been in the morning. Well, I'dspent an hour or so warming up before they had come in. 

"_Who_ hasn't got the Stigma?" I said. 

He looked at Keys. "You didn't do that, " he said. "You _couldn't_!"

Keys was openmouthed. "What a bruiser!" he marveled. 

"So I've got the Stigma, Elmer, " I said quietly. "Now why won't you dowhat I tell you?"

"Ah don't do what _anybody_ tells me!"

"What do you hate and fear the most?" I asked him. 

"Snakes, ah reckon, " he decided. 

"Show him a snake, Mary, " I said. Her face twisted in indecision. Irammed a lift in under her heart--I know it hurt her. "Show him!" Isnapped. 

Elmer didn't jump more than three feet. Mary gave all of us the samehallucination. Her first try was a pretty sad kind of a snake, but itwas bigger than the nine-by-twelve rug it squirmed on, and was makingright for Elmer's legs, hissing in a horrible fashion. 

"Enough, " I said. "That's how, Elmer. And if that doesn't trouble you, how about this?" I gave him a sample of what TK means when it'sclamped on the mitral valve. A heart attack is no joking matter, andjust before he hit the deck I eased off. 

"Now, " I said, "will you do what I tell you, or do I have to kill yououtright?"

He sank down to his knees, resting his palms on the carpet so recentlyvacant of illusory snake. "Yo' got me convinced, suh, " he admitted. "No mo', you hear?"

"Any more protests?" I said. I got none. "Here's what we have to do, "I went on, and spelled it out for them. At last they were ready to go, three shaken young people. "I repeat--absolute secrecy--none of you isa telepath, so only your lips can give you away if you keep yourthoughts screened around TP's. Later that may change--the Lodge ispreparing to come a little more into the open with Psis. "

My whole membership nodded and left me. I was shaking from head tofoot. 

 * * * * *

We had things to do in the forenoon, and I didn't try to see His HonorJudge Vito Passarelli until after lunch. But the docket was crowded, and there was no chance until after court had adjourned, which waswell on toward four o'clock. His Honor was hanging his robes on aclothes-tree as I came into his Chambers, and he nodded me politely toa chair, just as if our last words hadn't been pretty heated. 

"Mary Hall?" he asked, fumbling around to find his in-Chambersglasses. He's too vain to wear them on the bench. 

I nodded an answer to his question as he came back to take a creakyhorse-hair swivel, relic of more judges and years than I like to thinkabout. "I'm here as her counsel, " I said. 

"What else?" he asked mildly, taking the lid off a big humidor on hisdesk and starting to fill a pipe. 

"We'd like you to know that Mary has joined an organization thatshould do for her all that the social workers would like to see donefor her. She's no longer a behavior problem for Normal society. "

"Quite some organization, " he said, showing interest. "What one?"

"It has no formal name, " I said. "Being a secret organization. Inpoint of fact, it's an organization of Psis that is revealing itselffor the first time. "

"Odd that I never heard of it, " Passarelli said, looking at hisfingernails. He puffed smoke around the stem of his pipe. His coolnessbothered me. He should have been much more excited about what I wassaying. I threw my high hard one. 

"This organization exercises a formidable discipline over itsmembers, " I went on. "One of its firm rules is that no Psi may use hispowers to the detriment of a Normal. "

He chuckled softly. "You're taking advantage of what I told youyesterday, Maragon, " he said calmly. "You know, and I know, that Psishave never done any such thing. And if they had, why would they pickyou to run their errands? What Psi would ever trust a Normal?"

It was getting sticky. I was skating perilously close to thebrink--once I revealed to a Normal that I had the Stigma, my days asan attorney were done. "This organization--I'll call it the Lodge, ifI may--has to have an attorney to represent it in Court. And you knowas well as I do they can't hire a Psi attorney--the Bar Associationhas taken care of that. They came to me because. .. . "

"Yes, yes, " he interrupted, taking his eyes off his nails, and showingsome real interest at last. "If you only knew how much I want tobelieve you, Maragon. But I will never believe that Psis would permitthemselves to be represented by a Normal. Too bad, but the socialworkers, and not your mythical Lodge, will get Mary Hall. That or aFederal Grand Jury. "

Well, this was the fork in the road, I had been kidding myself, andnow I knew it. Persist in my masquerade as a Normal, and I'd never getMary off the hook. But reveal myself as a Psi, and I was through as anattorney. It really wasn't much of a decision--I had made it when Irevealed myself to Keys, Mary and Elmer. 

I looked at the humidor of tobacco on his desk. Without changingexpression, I aimed a lift at it. The container came up smoothly fromthe polished walnut and hovered in the air before us. 

Passarelli looked at it blandly. I don't think anything in my life hasever been a greater shock than his unconcern. He should have droppedhis teeth. Slowly I let the lift break, and lowered the humidor to hisdesk. 

"Fairly good TK, if that's all you're capable of, " Passarelli said. "Or can you do better, Maragon?"

"You slimy Normal!" I exploded. "You _tricked_ me into exposingmyself!"

"What am I, an idiot?" he snapped. "I had to know. "

I stood up. "Until now, I never really hated Normals, " I began. 

"Oh, sit down, for Heaven's sake, " he said testily. "Now don't getemotional and lose all your perspective. Doesn't it occur to you thatthere's been just too much coincidence in this whole thing?"

I think the word for it is "collapsed. " I fell back into my chair. "You'll have to spell it out, " I said. 

 * * * * *

Passarelli leaned forward, his face concentrated, almost angry. "Youhave the Stigma, you admit it?"

"Of course I admit it. "

"You think any other attorney is a Psi?"

"No. I certainly do not. It's only a miracle that I ever got throughthe screening and made it. "

"And yet you, the only attorney with the Stigma, gets tapped to bePublic Defender for a Stigma case--Keys Crescas. Doesn't this strikeyou as more than coincidence can account for?"

"Now it does, " I admitted. "Are you trying to tell me. .. . "

"I'm telling you I've been suspicious of you for a long time, Pete, "Passarelli said. "Perhaps you didn't know it, but I was one of theyoung attorneys on the Committee from the Bar Association that checkedyour heredity. No, you were born in San Francisco. No, your parentsdidn't live in the Logan Ring--their home was in Sausalito. But--theday that neutron bomb was accidentally fired and started the rash ofPsi mutations in the ring outside the fatal area centering on Logan, your parents were in a jet airliner. I found that out--and kept mymouth shut. I never told the rest of the Committee that on the 19th ofApril in '75 that jet was over Iowa, en route to San Francisco, andpossibly close enough to Logan for its passengers to have beenaffected by the neutron spray. Even then I knew the law was paintingitself into a corner with its attitude toward Psi. I hoped. I hopedyou _did_ have the Stigma, and I've waited my time to force you intothe open. "

"Stinking Normal!"

"Stop acting like a child. I said I _hoped_!"

"Hoped?"

"Yes. I meant what I said about wishing there were a responsibleorganization of Psis we could turn to. Are you serious about thisorganization, this Lodge?"

"I guess I am, " I said, shaken. 

"How many members does it have?"

"It's a secret organization, " I protested. 

"How many members?"

"Four, including me. "

He shrugged. "You start somewhere. Mostly with a man you can trust, and I trust you, Maragon. You can keep this girl in line?"

"Our discipline is formidable, " I reminded him, trying a grin. It waspretty sick. 

"I'll bet, " he grinned back. "Well, it had better be, for I'm going totake a chance on you. Sooner or later the law will have to admit theexistence of Psi. I know as well as you Stigma cases that this gene isdominant--that there'll be more Psis every generation. We've got tofind some common ground between the two societies--some way to getalong. Give me your personal surety in this Mary Hall thing. As anattorney, you're an officer of the Court, and I guess I have theright to make her your responsibility. I certainly don't want itgetting out that I'm playing footsie with an organization ofPsis--this is an elective office, after all. "

"After all, " I agreed. "But I am glad to hear you sounding like apolitician again. "

"We'll have to keep our dealings off the record, " Passarelli insisted. "But if I thought I could call on you when we get one of these stickyPsi cases before the Courts. .. . "

You'd recruit for the Lodge, I thought to myself. "You've got yourselfa deal, Your Honor!" I said fervently. 

"Call it a _modus vivendi_, " he smiled. "Now my big problem is to finda way to eat my words, and let the 99th National Bank acceptrestitution of what Mary Hall stole from them. "

"No sweat, " I grinned, beginning to feel better. "It's already beendone. "

"Done? How could it be? I told the bank not to. .. . "

"You told them, " I conceded. "But they had no choice, Your Honor. MaryHall went to the 99th National Bank this morning and asked for changeof a five dollar bill. "

"What!"

"And passed to the teller a hundred dollar bill. After all HC worksboth ways. They've got their money back. By noon they had half a dozenIBM technicians in there trying to figure why they were out ofbalance!"

THE END

 * * * * *