But inside his office, with the roar and hubbub of the streets cut off, the interview was much the same as the two previous. He passed a box of cheroots across the desk, leaned back and smoked contentedly. "And to think," he said, "that a week ago I was ready to join the list of suicides. Mr. Dulfay, I wonder if you realize what this means to the people. Freedom from the plague. It seems incredible." "You must remember," I cautioned, "It's only an experiment as yet. I can promise nothing." He waved this aside. "You will be successful," he said. "The hopes of thousands cannot be denied. And now the power. All we have is at your disposal." <tb> Voltar! Xynan! Malakan! In the fourth, fifth and sixth cities everything worked like clockwork. My welcome in each succeeding metropolis was greater than the last. Crowds screamed "<i>Tepondicon!</i>" to the echo. The cities must have ransacked every corner of their confines to festoon their battlements and parapets with tinsel. Hope was hysteria. The black spectre of the plague was pushed to the background. As the legendary hero, Tepondicon, I was the embodiment of all their dreams and hopes. Before entering each city I swallowed three of Hoi-Dai's pellets. Before leaving, I tapped the power centers and put transmitting sets in operation. And now Klovada, the seventh and final city. In a few hours my beam would be discharged along the planes of the seven cities. The space warp would be nullified. Remained then only to go to the royal palace, open the glass case and remove the Jupiter Stone. With that stone my life would begin anew. No more swindlings or petty thieveries. I would be king in my own right. I did not realize the strain under which I had been living until the official reception in Klovada was over and I was ushered into the Commissioner's office. There I slumped wearily into a chair and waited impatiently for him to enter. The Commissioner was a girl. Not a girl like the seductress of Senar, but a small dainty child with golden hair and blue eyes. She strode forward briskly, a pleasant smile on her lips, and extended her hand. "I bid you welcome, Sir Tepondicon," she said. "You have reached the end of your goal." There was something in her tone of voice that made me look at her sharply. Could it be possible that she suspected...? "You have come a long way," she said, speaking slowly. "You have braved many dangers, and you have conducted yourself in a most ethical manner. May I ask, Mr. Dulfay, what your personal profit will be in this venture?" "No profit," I said easily. "A scientist has only research as his aim. That and the welfare of the people." She nodded. "Still, it is unusual for a man to risk so much." "About the matter of power," I broke in. "As you know, I'll need sixteen thousand <i>graphlos</i> and...."