He snorted in derision. Would he never finish having secrets to keep? Was his life to continue with one important phase hidden from the world? Would he never be free? Or, came the comforting thought, do all men have something hidden from their fellows? Finishing the instrument was impossible at the present time. That would take some work. But if Guy by-passed some of the finer circuits, he could at least gain a crude idea of a man's surface thoughts, especially if they were directed at him. Guy started to hook the partially-completed instrument together, and considered the effectiveness of the instrument. It was small, luckily. It fitted one pouch of the pocket-belt to perfection, and Guy closed the flap over the instrument and snapped the little catch with confidence. Guy nodded. Then he rang for his valet. "You rang." It was an introductory statement rather than a redundant question, and it held none of the abruptness that a query as to the wants of the lanee might have held. Guy faced the Ertinian and read in the man's mind that his name was Willadoran. "Willadoran, when is Leilanane expected to arrive?" In the man's mind Guy could see admiration for his lanee, enhanced since the busy governor had time to think of his younger sister no matter how busy he was. "Sometime today," answered Willadoran. "I wonder if I'll have time to see Charalas first." An annoying thought crossed Willadoran's mind--had Elanane forgotten that Charalas never awakened at this time? "I mean after Charalas arises," amended Guy. Elanane must be reading my mind, came the amused thought. "I'll see," came the reply, "that he is informed of your desire as soon as he awakens." "Good," said Guy. He reminded himself never to take an expressed thought for speech. He smiled inwardly at Willadoran's amusement and wondered what the valet would do if the truth were known. Willadoran was highly amused at the idea that Elanane was a mind-reader, and considered the act utterly impossible. A deep-seated impulse to shock the valet crossed Guy's mind, and it was only with trouble that he stifled the impulse. Guy tried to discern Willadoran's thought concerning Charalas again, but it was a blank. Thomakein was blank, as was Leilanane, and Guy decided that his instrument was not sensitive enough to dig these deep-seated thoughts out of the below-threshold level. Only the surface thoughts were available--which, thought Guy, were sufficient. Guy spent an hour speculating, and roaming the apartment to investigate its mysteries. Then Charalas came. The neuro-surgeon smiled affably, looked around, and asked: "Well, where is it?"