When Comstock heard this the shock was too much for him. He swayed, and then sank, with an armful of books, into the deep recesses of an easy chair. A cloud of dust surrounded him. Instantly a whirring sound emanated from a screened section of the floor and he felt rather than saw the dust disappearing. Considerably shaken, Grundy came back into the library. Helen said, "What do you suppose it is, darling?" "Bowdler has told me about robots ... machines that act almost like we do, but I never, ever, thought that one could run a whole house this way!" Comstock was willing to accept the robot as he would have the word fairy when he was a child and he was even more inclined to confuse the two things, when at Grundy's mention of being hungry, the door swung open and a wheeled cart entered loaded down with food the like of which none of the three had ever seen. Sitting in a rather numb silence the three people stared at the food. But then the odors that came from it were too much for them and disregarding the magic of its appearance they ate as they never had before. * * * * * That was the beginning, for Grundy and Helen and Comstock, of an enchanted month. At first, from minute to minute, they expected pursuit, and capture. But as time passed happily by, as every fleeting fancy was instantly taken care of by the house, they relaxed, and what was most important, began to devote almost all their waking hours to the books that confronted them on every side, in every room of the house. No one ever seemed to pass the house, they heard no sounds from outside. They were in a charmed circle, in which every desire was instantly fulfilled. Comstock was not aware of how and when it happened, but soon he was not even embarrassed at the sight of Grundy and Helen kissing and caressing each other. He no longer wanted to swoon when he heard them exchange love words. But what did happen was that he wanted some one like Helen more and more as time went on. At first they waited impatiently for Bowdler to put in an appearance, but when days passed and there was no sign of him they ceased to expect him. Then worry began to take the place of expectancy. Suppose, they'd say, suppose he was found out by the Board of Fathers ... was a Father ever punished? They did not know. Occasionally, but only very occasionally, Comstock would put his hand to his chest and wonder why his heart disease no longer troubled him, but a question which is unanswerable ceases in some cases to be a question, and he almost forgot about it most of the time. Then too, the contents of the books which they were devouring with such avidity were so exciting that it almost seemed that there was not enough time in one day for all the reading they wanted to do.