"Good evening, doctor," he said. "Mr. Rush--" the doctor shook hands gingerly, "I hope you don't mind me bringing someone along--this is Mr. North. He is with the County Juvenile Office." The young doctor smiled. "How is the patient this evening?" "She is the same," John Rush said to the doctor. He turned to the other man, keeping his face emotionless, hands at his side. He had expected this for some time. "I think you will be wanting to look at the twins. They are by her bed." He opened the door and motioned them in and then followed. He heard the Juvenile man catch his breath a little. The twins were playing again. They had left their vigil at the bedside and they were moving swiftly around the small living room, their hands and arms and legs moving in some synchronized game that had no meaning--their movements quick and sure--their faces showing some intensity, some purpose. They moved with grace, avoiding obstructions. "I thought these children were blind," Mr. North said. John smiled a little. "It is unnerving. I have seen them play like this before--though they have not done so for a long time--since my wife has been ill." He lowered his head. "They are blind, deaf, and dumb." "How old are they?" "Twelve." "They do not seem to be more than eight--nine at the most." "They have been well fed," John said softly. "How about schooling, Mr. Rush? The teaching of handicapped children is not something that can be done by a person untrained in the field." "I have three degrees, Mr. North. When my wife became ill and I began to care for them I taught them to read braille. They picked it up very quickly, though they showed little continued interest in it. I read a number of books in the field of teaching handicapped children ..." He let it trail off. "Your degrees were in physics, were they not, Mr. Rush?" Now the touch of malice came. "That is correct." He sat down in one of the wooden chairs. "I quit working long before the witch hunts came. I was never indicted." "Nevertheless your degrees are no longer bona fide. All such degrees have been stricken from the records." He looked down and John saw that his eyes no longer hid the hate. "If your wife dies I doubt that any court would allow you to keep custody of these children." A year before--even six months and John would not have protested. Now he had to make the effort. "They are my children--such as they are--and I will fight any attempt to take them from me."