"You feel then," Cecil Cuff, the other man in the room, said, "that you're in the grip of something over which you have no direct control?" "Yes." "Are you certain that it is not the contact Wagner imposed on you?" "It came before Wagner was present," Buckmaster replied. Cuff turned to Oliver. "I know he believes what he is saying," he said. "But it's obvious that his mind has been tampered with. If we let him live, we'll be taking the risk that the General and Wagner are getting at us, through him." "That's right," Oliver answered. "I think he should be killed," Cuff said. Oliver was thoughtful for a long moment. "What do you think, Clifford?" he asked gently. He always called Buckmaster by his first name. Buckmaster breathed deeply. "Naturally I want to live," he answered. "But from the viewpoint of the Underground, I suppose Cuff is right." "You say that you feel that this Force is a protective one," Oliver said. "Does it seem to you that perhaps we couldn't kill you--that it would prevent us?" Buckmaster searched for words to express his thoughts. "I feel," he said, "that it won't let me be killed. It seems that I have a mission to fulfill, and that it won't let me die--at least not until I accomplish what it desires. However, I feel also that it will, or can, do nothing concrete to prevent my being killed. It will probably aid me by convincing you that it would be better to let me live." "Do you feel that its purpose might be much the same as ours, and that it will attempt to convince us of that?" Oliver asked. "Something like that," Buckmaster answered. "At least the urge to kill Koski is so strong within me that I know I would not hesitate if I had the chance, even if it meant my own life." "Would you attempt to stop us if we tried to kill you?" "No." Oliver closed his eyes. He was silent for so long that it seemed he must be sleeping. But Buckmaster knew that Oliver's brain worked with lightning speed while his body reposed. Oliver was the most intelligent man he had ever known. He was head of the Underground solely because he was the fittest man for the job. * * * * * Finally Oliver spoke. "We'll come back to it later," he said. "Did you learn anything that might help us, Clifford?" "I learned that the Plague is spread by contact--only after the first symptoms show themselves. I read that in Wagner's mind before he realized that I was reading his thoughts." "That will help. You say you made contact before you became _en rapport_ with Wagner. Can you control what you let him learn through you?" "I believe I can, but I can't be certain." "If you could be certain, we wouldn't have to kill you," Oliver said. "You would be taking a chance," Buckmaster replied. "We can't afford to take any chances," Cuff said. "He--"