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"Not a hell of a lot Oh sure, we're working hard and catching some s we'll 1take to court But it's like plugging a hundred leaks when you know there's ten thousand more out there if you just had the people and time to find 'em"

"How about that big office building? the one where you're keeping watch?"

"Zaco Properties We still have surveillance on it Nothing's happened yet I guess we're going through a flat spell" Uncharacteristically, Harry London sounded depressed Maybe it was infectious; perhaps he had transht and hung up

He was still restless, alone in the silent house So who else could he call?

He considered Ardythe, then dismissed the idea Nim was not ready yet-if he ever would be-to cope with Ardythe Talbot's onset of religion But thinking of Ardythe reminded him of Wally Jr, whom Nim had visited in the hospital twice recently Wally was now out of danger and reh ahead lay ery Not surprisingly, Wally's spirits had been low They had not discussed his sexual incapacity

Half guiltily, as he remembered Wally, Nim reminded himself that his own sexual ability was unimpaired Should he call one of his women friends?

There were several whom be had not seen for months but who, quite probably, would be available for drinks, a late dinner somewhere, and whatever followed If he ht alone

Somehow he couldn't be bothered

Karen Sloan? No As much as he enjoyed her company, he wasn't in the mood

Work, then? there ork aplenty piled on his office desk at GSP&L headquarters If he went there noould not be the first tie of the quietness to accoood idea The Tunipah hearings were already consu much of Nih his normal work load had to be fitted in somehow

But no, not that either; not desk work in his present mood How about some other kind of work to occupy his mind?

What could he do, be wondered, to prepare himself for his debut Monday on the witness stand? He was already well briefed But there was always so more to be prepared for-the unexpected

An idea ju from a pop-up toaster

Coal

Tunipah was coal Without coal-to be freighted fro plant was feasible And yet, 1while Nim's technical expertise on coal was considerable, his practical experience was li electric generating plant existed inside California Tunipah would be the first in history

Surelyso he e-to a coal-fueled plant And froht, sound, taste and smell of coal fresh in his senses Niht, advised hier witness if he did

It would also solve the problem of his weekend restlessness

But a coal-burning plant where?

When the easy answer occurred to him he mixed another scotch and water Then, with the drink at his side, he sat at the telephone once more and dialed directory assistance in Dewer, Colorado

10

Flight 460 of United Airlines made an on-ti 727-2oo beca sun, which minutes before had cleared the eastern horizon, tinted the landscape below a soft red-gold The world seeht, as it always does at dawn, a daily illusion lasting less than half an hour

While the jet steadied on an easterly course, Nim settled back in his co the trip this way, at co to the airport in darkness confirht's iht to Dewer An old friend, Thurston Jones, would meet him there