When she passed on without comment, Baxter sought to enter Annie's mind and enjoy her nightly snugged-down feeling of contentment. He probed gently, and to his surprise he met a barrier, an impalpable resistance, a shutting-out that he had never encountered. He pressed more firmly. Dim perceptions began to come through to him, but they were dominated by displeasure emotion. Annie cried out. Baxter withdrew instantly, feeling somewhat guilty. Then he tried again. Annie screamed. Rolanda came down the hall, paused at his door and said, "What do you suppose is the matter with her tonight? She always drops off." Without waiting for an answer, she passed down the hall to the nursery and comforted Annie to sleep. Baxter tried no more that night. * * * * * It was the same each time he tried thereafter. Abruptly, Annie had become irritable, intolerant of his probing. How she could understand what was happening mystified Baxter, but he was determined to retain contact. He kept pushing, gently but firmly, and although it brought on some furious yells, he succeeded in making at least one daily survey of his infant daughter's mind. For a week Rolanda became increasingly hostile for no apparent reason. Baxter felt that the tension that grew between them was in some way connected with Annie, but his wife never spoke of it. Never a particularly demonstrative woman, she became even colder, and often he caught her regarding him with an enigmatical look of suspicion. As a long-sufferer to her moods, Baxter had no fear that an open break might develop. His life was insured for $75,000, and Rolanda was much too hard-headed to consider divorcing such a solid "producer" of bread and luxuries as she and her female brood had learned to enjoy. Meanwhile, Annie's mind was becoming an even more fascinating field for exploration. In spite of her resistance, Baxter's shallow penetration revealed the amazing network of learning that daily increased her web of knowledge, experience and stimulus-response conditioning. Often Baxter pondered what a psychologist would give for such an opportunity as this. He became so bemused with his objective study that, the night Annie withdrew her barriers, Baxter fell into her mind like a lion into a game-hunter's animal pit. * * * * * He was, again, in his leather chair. Rolanda had just put Annie to bed and passed his open door. He probed for Annie's mind and leaned the heavy weight of his own strong mind on the expected barrier. It was gone! He sank deeply into his daughter's brain and caught his breath. He had forgotten what it was like, this total absorption with her physical and emotional sensations. Annie was feeling good. Her stomach was full, she was warm, dry and pleasantly tired from her evening romp. She stretched and yawned, and a feeling of euphoria swept over Baxter.