take Norma Higgins dancing.

Peter Mansfield pressed the big button again and they watched the receiving end intently. Through the dark glasses, they saw the focal point of the receiver as a bright glow that (due to the retention of vision) made a small vertical square plane come into being, to move swiftly back across the table. It disappeared at the end of its traverse. And from the swift-moving plane of bright blue radiance there poured an ultra-fine silt.

Again, a small pyramid of palpable dust decorated the receiving table.

"Well, young man, how do you explain this?" stormed Higgins.

Harrison fingered the dust and said, "Indubitably, this is glass."

Higgins turned on the executive angrily. "Indubitably you are an imbecile! It was glass. It is now a mass of worthless powder." He turned on Mansfield again. "Maybe," he said cynically, "you'd like to try my wrist watch?"

He held the watch out on his fingertips. It was platinum, exquisitely tiny, and it had thirty-six jewels; twenty three in the works, twelve diamonds in place of the hour-glass figures, and one in the hub of the hands. On the back, although Peter could not see it, was an inscription that said this was a gift from the board of directors in honor of ten years of active financial machinations that had resulted in collecting one of the largest economic empires in the world.

Peter backed away from the bauble. It had probably cost more money than the total amount of money that Peter Mansfield had ever seen, handled, or earned in the course of his thirty years of age.

"Afraid?" roared Higgins in a peal of sarcastic laughter.

"When I get this working," said Peter firmly, "I'll accept your offer, Mr. Higgins. As it is—well—"

"As it is, try your damned cheap alarm clock!" snapped Higgins, putting the watch back on his wrist and winding it ceremoniously. It did have a self-winding movement, but the self-wind could be augmented by stem winding if and when the watch was parked on a dresser for more than forty-eight hours.

Peter looked unhappy. "There's no point—"

"I said try it! Who's paying for it?"

Peter shrugged. He put the dollar alarm clock on the transmitting stand, fired up 

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