Unless you have had the experience, you can't imagine what it is like to live with a telepath. It is disquieting in the extreme. One of the concomitants of consciousness is that it is _private_ consciousness. And when this isn't true, when someone, even a loved one, can creep into your mind and know what you think, your insides writhe. Caterpillars course around under your skin. And you resent. Sooner or later you will hate. I ran away from home because I couldn't stand Mother in my mind, and couldn't bear the thought of hating her. But now I _had_ to know what I should do to her. I let her into my thoughts. _Give me some sign_, I thought, as I waved a hand at Fred for quiet. _Mother, tell me what to do!_ _Poor Joe_, she thought. _He loves me in spite of it all. He can't bear to do what he has to do. Joe!_ her mind shrieked at me. _You read my mind!_ I snapped upright in my chair and grabbed its arms until I could hear my knuckles crack. My mind snapped shut with an almost audible crack. _I was a damned snake!_ I could dimly hear Fred yammering at me. With a sick fear I slowly opened my mind again. His thoughts surged into it. Well, Anita had been right. And Anita! _Yes_, Mother thought. _She does love you, Joe. A lovely girl. You lucky man._ Fred had me by the shoulder, yelling at me, shaking me, trying to get me to speak. He was almost slavering in his greed. I paid him no heed. _All right_, I thought. _What's to be done, Mother?_ _Throw the book at me_, Mother thought. "Shut up, Fred. And sit down." He kept his tight grip on my shoulder. "Sit down!" I yelled at him. "Three strikes and out, Fred. This is the third order you've resisted today!" "Now hear this," I said. "Under the powers vested in me ..." I sentenced Mother to indefinite detention in Oklahoma. I threatened her with worse--face it, the only worse thing was death--if she were found in a restricted area again. "Take her out, Fred," I said. He hadn't counted on my being able to do it, and it left him without a plan. "Four times?" I asked him. "No. No, Gyp. On my way," he said, taking Mother by the arm. Anita started to follow him. I stopped her and waited until the door had closed behind Fred and Mother. "You were right about Fred, Anita," I said. "Thank you for saving my life." "Oh, Gyp," she said, tears trying to brim over her eyelids. "He's such a cutthroat!" "Sure," I said. "But now we know it. Get me an appointment with George Kelly, will you, Anita?" She compressed her lips. "That's more like it!" she said angrily. "Get Fred kicked clear out of the Bureau. George Kelly is a great Director, Gyp, and he'll do it if you insist." "Maybe," I said. I stewed over what to tell the boss until Anita came back in. "Mr. Kelly can see you now, Mr. Tinker," she said, all calmed down again. I got up and came around the desk and took her by the elbow, standing at my door. "Just in case," I said, leaning down to kiss her lightly on the lips. "I love you, too."