But he was shaking his head. "You haven't got a chance," Wally said. "She'll never forgive you for having precognition. _That's_ why she made the study of psi her life-work. She's wanted PC for herself, and was sure she was pure enough of heart to deserve to have the power. Well, she doesn't have it, and she'll hate you for having what she thinks she deserves. Forget her." Talk about your cup brimming over! Well, if I had to get used to being cut off from the human race, perhaps Shari was the place to start. That's what happens to superhumans! There was one desperate hope. "This wasn't hallucination?" I tried. "No, Tex," he said calmly. "This was on the level. Just for fun," he went on. "Can you do it when there isn't any money riding on it?" Reluctantly I came back to his desk and looked down at the back of the top card. "Heart," I said dully. I hit ten in a row for him. The spade was on top four times, the heart six times. "And was that on the level?" I asked. He scowled at me and chewed his thin lips. "Yeah," he said. "That settles it," I said, sagging back into my seat. "I'm a snake. A rotten PC!" "Don't you believe it!" Wally growled, lunging out of his chair. He started to pace back and forth across the office, his chin stuck way out ahead of him as he prowled. "I don't know what you are, Tex," he declared. "But you're no PC!" "I'm a Normal after all!" I gasped, feeling a surge of blessed relief. He swiped at the air with a hand. "Don't be silly!" he snapped. "You've got a psi power so incredible that--" He whirled on me while I died for good. "You explain it," he insisted. "After your lovely Dr. King flew out of here, I shuffled the cards ten times under the desk, and you hit ten in a row, right?" "Right." Dismally. "I cheated on the shuffle," he told me. "I used TK to make sure that I put the two of spades on top all ten times." "No," I insisted. "Six times the heart was on top. You turned them over yourself." "That's just it," he whispered, leaning toward me. "_I put that spade on top every time!_ I _did_! But when I turned it over, more than half the time it was a heart. What did you do?" "You mean I'm a hallucinator?" I asked. "Look, this is getting ridiculous! I was kidding myself, too?" "Nonsense. It was real." His face jerked in surprise. "You couldn't!" he gasped, as the idea hit him. "But you did!" he reminded himself. "Wait till Maragon hears this!" And then he told me. It couldn't be, I knew. But it _was_. He proved it to me--or I proved it to us.