_Let them think anything they wished of him and his dog. All that mattered was the black thought slithering of the_ ... MINDSNAKE By JIM HARMON [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, November 1960. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] "Witch! Witch!" The cry was among the walkers, but he didn't bother to track it down. It was no longer a fighting word to Hammen. He wore it like a badge of honor. It tasted of brass, but it gleamed on him. A puzzled growl came from the Familiar at his heels. The dog could never understand how people could hate Hammen. Lad, the dog, often asked Hammen how anyone could possibly hate Hammen, and Hammen always told him to shut up; he couldn't understand--he was only a dog. The walk ramp was crowded this afternoon with people fresh from the transmatter stations, eager to tell themselves they were walking on a strange planet. Hammen passed among the nudists, the cavaliers, the zip-suiters, the zoot-suiters, the Ivy-coated, the Moss-covered, walking not for novelty or exercise but because he preferred to go everywhere under his own power. Even to the stars. Hale and Lora saluted him a few paces away from the entrance to the station. They were a beautiful blond couple, with brightly polished faces. Hammen didn't much like them, but he didn't feel sufficiently pressed to be rude enough to let them become aware of it. "How goes it, kids?" he asked them. "Couldn't be better," Hale said. "Of course not," Lora added. * * * * * Hammen's slate eyes moved from the man to the woman. "Are you troubled?" "This isn't the time to talk about it, not before you and Lad transmit yourself," the girl said quickly. It wasn't, Hammen admitted to himself. Only now that they had let it slip, he would rest better knowing the whole truth of it. "Come on," Hammen urged. "It's not as if I wasn't interested." Hale looked at his wife. "Lora doesn't like Wagner any more." "Perdition!" said Hammen. "I _never_ liked Wagner. She's growing up." Lora put a half-closed fist to her lips, and didn't look at either of the men, or at the dog who stood with freshly pointed ears. "No," she said softly. "I lost something on the last one. Gee, I wonder if the Mindsnake likes Wagner now? Still, it's not as if I had stopped liking music altogether, or books. Not this time." Hale grabbed her arm roughly. "You're sure doing a great job of getting Hammen ready for the jump." Lora's eyes clouded. "I'm sorry, Ham." She looked up, smiled warmly, kissed her fingertips and placed them on Hammen's lips. "Companion's Code, huh?" He took her hand and for the moment liked her. "Okay, honey. I guess even a Witch squeezes in under the wire for that."