"What time did you get to bed last night?" 

"Oh, about ... well, fairly early." 

"Who were you out with?" 

"Brannan." 

"Then you didn't get to bed early! If you got in by three, it would be early, if I know Brannan." 

"I got in much before three!" 

"How much?" 

"Oh ... enough. You'd be surprised." 

"I'm sure I would! Mary, how do you expect us to get anywhere with this experiment if you come in dog-tired?" 

"Donald Jensen, I'm not dog-tired. It's you who's got me in bed in the wee hours, not me! I came in early." 

"Then why won't you state the exact time?" he was exasperated. 

She smiled at him archly. "I don't remember, exactly." 

"You don't seem to have much of a memory for anything when it comes to Brannan. What you see in a guy like that, I don't know." 

"What's wrong with him?" 

"Not a thing. He's a nice guy. Quiet, respectable, deep--and only one thing on his mind." 

"What?" 

He glared at her. "You're a smart girl," he said. "You work with me in this laboratory eight hours a day. You are engaged in a very complex experiment with the human brain, registering its waves and emanations in relation to thought, emotions and purely psychological relations. You've got a degree in psychology, another in psychiatry, a third in biology. You have written several advanced papers on the functions of the subconscious mind and its effect on the conscious mind. You have kept this job for three years, exacting as it is. You're a brilliant girl. And yet you can ask a stupid question like that!" 

  P 1/12 next