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"I shall do my best, Admiral Good-by"

"Good luck"

Vogel sat for severalat the pillowcase in the corner, his hand resting on the telephone Then he pressed the Executone "Mary, hold all calls for the rest of the day, and send out for a allon of Gallo burgundy"

"You going to lock yourself in that ain?" Mary's voice scratched back

"Yes," Vogel sighed "It's going to be a long day"

First, Vogel took several photos of the cornet froeneral condition of the visible parts, and the degree of tarnish and foreigneach observation in a large notebook He regarded the cornet with an increased level of professional interest It was a quality instrurade, and the small bores of the bell and the valves told him that it was ht to be corrosion was only a hard crust of ht pressure from a rubber spoon

Next, he soaked the instru the liquid and changing the tank every so often to drain away the dirt By ht, he had the cornet completely disasse theout the shine of the brass Slowly, after several rinsings, an intricate scroll pattern and several ornately scripted letters began to appear on the bell

"By God!" Vogel blurted aloud "A presentation model"

He picked up a lass down and reached for a telephone, his hands were tre

27

At precisely eight o'clock, John Vogel was ushered into Sandecker's office on the top floor of the ten-story solar-glassed building that housed the national headquarters of NUMA His eyes were bloodshot and he made no effort to conceal a yawn

Sandecker cael's hand The short, banty admiral had to lean backward and look up to el was six foot five, a kindly faceda bald head He gazed through brown Santa Claus eyes, and flashed a warm smile His coat was neatly pressed, but his pants were rumpled and stained with a myriad of blotches below the knees He smelled like a wino

"Well," Sandecker greeted him "It's a pleasure to meet you"

"The pleasure is el set a black trumpet case on the carpet "I'm sorry I appear so slovenly"

"I was going to say," Sandecker answered, "it seeht"