* * * * * _Doughboy...._ Bennington stopped after his first step back into the room, was jostled by Mosby following closely behind. He moved forward to where he could see both Judkins and Thornberry. The hypno-tech sat bolt upright, his face like that of a newly-conditioned prisoner, completely blank. Thornberry's face radiated pride. "These technicians are all alike," the psychologist sniffed. "Their work makes them especially sensitive to hypnosis." Bennington looked at Judkins, then back to Thornberry. "You mean...." "I mean that I can ask Judkins anything we want to know and he'll give a truthful answer." Another sniff. "I've forgotten more about hypnosis than he'll ever know." "This won't hold in a court," Chief Scott warned. "But it may save a life, maybe more than one," Bennington answered. "Thornberry, you did a good job of those guards. You question Judkins." "Wait a minute," General Mosby said. "How fast can we get a tape recorder?" "Why waste time?" asked Bennington. "You can't use this in court." "Hell, Jim, stop thinking about courts-martial; there's more than _one_ court. Let's fry these boys in the court of public opinion. The news services aren't bound by the rules of evidence. We can worry about other courts later." "I can get you a tape recorder in two minutes," Scott stated. "Our patrol boys always carry them to take statements at accidents, before the victims get over their shock enough to start lying. And we keep one in the office, too." Thornberry looked at Judkins and a self-satisfied smirk crept over his face. "No need to worry about lies from this one." * * * * * Judkins spoke in a low monotone not much louder than the soft hiss of the machine recording his words. Question by question--in Judkins' condition, each query had to be specific, Thornberry said--the pattern emerged. Basing his request on his position as a member of the prison commission, Senator Giles had invited Judkins to lunch with him. The senator, however, despite his statement that he wanted only to be sure that Duncannon was getting the best personnel, had not confined his questions to Judkins' background. Was the hypno-tech alone when he conditioned the men? Any set statement to be made? Could Judkins add to the instructions given each convict without the knowledge of the prison authorities? The following day, both Senator Giles and Representative Culpepper had called upon Judkins at his sister-in-law's home. Bluntly, they offered ten thousand dollars if the technician could guarantee that Rooney would never be able to talk about the income tax racket. When Judkins had explained that any conditioning he could give would be as easily removed by another tech, the two men had gone into a corner and consulted in whispers.