"You feel," Dowland said, "that Miguel first went somewhere else--or somewhen else, let's say--and then came back and wound up a little bit away from where he'd started?" "Yes." "Any idea of how he was hurt?" The girl shook her head. "The grid-power failure shows there was an accident of some kind, of course. But I can't imagine what it was." "What about Paul? Do you think he's still in the lab?" "Not unless he's also injured--or dead." Dowland felt the chill again. "You think he may be in some other time at this moment?" "Yes." "And that he'll be back?" "Yes." "Can you describe that machine?" he asked. "No. I've never seen the plans, and wouldn't understand them if I did. And I've never been inside the lab." "I see. Do you have any reason, aside from the way Miguel reappeared, to think that the test was a partial success?" "Yes. At three different times since this morning I've heard the sounds of a river flowing under the house." "You heard what?" Dowland said. "A river flowing under the house. The noises were quite unmistakable. They lasted for about thirty minutes on each occasion." "What would that indicate?" he asked. "Well, obviously ... this time period and another one--the one in which that river flows--have drawn close to each other. But the contact is impermanent or imperfect at present." "Is that the way the machine is supposed to operate?" "I don't know how the machine is supposed to operate," Jill Trelawney said. "But that's what seems to have happened." Dowland studied her face for a moment. "All right," he said then, "let's leave it for now. Who developed this machine?" "Miguel did. Paul helped, in the later stages. Others have helped with specific details--I don't know who those other people were. But essentially it was Miguel's project. He's been working on it for almost twenty years." And that simply couldn't be true. Unless.... "Miss Trelawney," Dowland said, "do you know what Miguel's I.Q. reading is?" "Of course. It's 192." "And Paul's?" "189." She smiled. "You're going to ask whether they faked lower levels when they were tested by the university authorities. Yes, they did. This thing has been prepared for a long time, Dowland." "What's your own I.Q., Miss Trelawney?" "181." * * * * * Her dossier I.Q., based on records of her known activities and behavior, was an estimated 128. The Freeholders did seem to have planned very thoroughly for the success of this operation. "Do you know who hijacked the Ym-400?" Dowland asked. "Yes. Paul arranged for that." "Have you seen the stuff yourself?" "I have. Two small cases of blue ingots. A very dark blue. Individually, the ingots appear to be quite heavy, though they aren't very large." That described exactly what the Overgovernment was looking for. Dowland asked, "How much of it is in the laboratory?" "It's all there."