Eich's principal psychic power, Schurz went on to say, was an ability to beam confusion and fear in their raw form. This had come to light in secondary school, when the severity of his bullying, and an unwise choice of targets, had earned him the serious attention of school authorities. And through them the attention of psychological researchers at the University of Leipzig. They in turn had uncovered his talent. One of them, aware of Colonel Landgrafs needs, had written to him about this unusual and unpleasant youth.

Eich had been brought to the schloss the preceding summer. Fortunately, psychics, even Philipp, had at least some innate resistance to psychic coercion.

Schurz had a covert motive in telling all this to Montag: He wanted to see his reactions. And though the newcomer looked confused by it, his aura reflected alert interest.

They went from the recreation room to the dining room. By then Macurdy had no doubt at all that Schurz had seen through his pretense. But there was no hint of hostility or distrust, simply interest. This might, Macurdy decided, work out after all.

The meal was boiled potatoes, sauerkraut, bread, margarine, and cheese, and the decoction masquerading as coffee. All in all it was adequate. Macurdy wondered, though, if perhaps the SS troops got oatmeal-loaded sausage with theirs.

It was at supper he first saw the female psychics, who ate at their own table somewhat apart from the men. There were four of them: two more or less young, one middle-aged, and one whom Macurdy thought might well be in her seventies. He was aware that one of the two younger-the larger-had given him evaluative looks, her aura reflecting more than curiosity and sexual interest. Also there was a knowingness, as if, like Schurz, she saw through his facade.

He first got to know one of them, a little, in the recreation room after supper. There the women more or less segregated themselves-perhaps in response to Manfred Eich's unpleasant vibrations-but after a bit, one of them came over to Kurt Montag, bringing with her one of the folding chairs, and sat down facing him. Her aura marked her as a basically dominant person, but not innately aggressive. Simply bold and impulsive. Physically she was in her early or mid-thirties, and rather tall, about five feet-eight or nine. And pretty, with lovely coloring despite an indoor life and marginal nutrition. If they served seconds in the dining room, Macurdy thought, she might be heavy.

"You are new here," she said. "My name is Berta Stark. What is yours?"

"Kurt. Kurt Montag."

"Where are you from, Herr Montag?"

"Kleines Torfland Gebiet. It is in East Prussia. Where are you from?"

"I am from Kassel."

Macurdy had no doubt at all now that Berta Stark realized he was not what he seemed. But judging from her lack of reaction to his lie-that he was from East Prussia-she didn't read minds. Auras then, but not in much detail.

Her own aura suggested no threat. She was hoping for something from him, not primarily sexual. Could she be a spy for the British? He was already aware, from London, that the SIS and the OSS withheld things from each other.

"What did you do in Kassel?" he found himself asking.

"I was a nurse..A healer, actually; I heal with my hands. Most doctors would have nothing to do with me, but some did. I worked for them." According to her aura, she spoke truthfully, with a trace of irony.

She took Montag's right hand in hers, and while regarding him calmly, traced a pattern on his palm with a finger that raised goose bumps. That definitely felt sexual, but still Macurdy read something more immediate in her aura: some interest other than sex. What it was, he had no idea, nor was it anything he could ask about, certainly not there.

He would let it be for now. Let her find a way to talk privately, if she wanted to. When she left, she had something on her mind. Perhaps just that: how they could be alone.

Montag stayed in the recreation room till 9:20, when Schuz told him to come with him. Lights out, Schurz said, was at 10 o'clock; Montag needed to put the sheets on his bed before that.

They left Otto, Manfred, and Philipp behind, the old farmer reading a well-worn bible, and Manfred an old journal on parapsychology, of which there was a sizeable stack on a table. Philipp sat alone, playing with a deck of cards, a seemingly aimless, repetitive activity whose purpose, if any, was known only to him. It was how he spent his evenings.

As they walked to their quarters, Schurz told Montag that to be in the corridor at all, after lights out, was against the rules and would be punished.

It seemed to Macurdy that the curfew simply reflected the Nazi impulse to control, but the other restrictions might protect important information. The corridors were not well lit, but how much light might it take for an attentive guard to see throu his invisibility spell? And how attentive might the guards be After he'd had made his bed-without any difficulty-he -and Schurz sat down facing each other. "Berta found you interesting," Schurz commented.

"She is a nice lady. Friendly." Macurdy would maintain his Montag persona, even though Schurz saw through it. Schurz grunted. "She is rather interested in men. If circumstances permitted, I believe she would try us out. And I believe she finds you more interesting than she does the rest of us. She sees something in you that most do not- something more than your large and powerful physique." He raised a knowing eyebrow at Macurdy.

It seemed to Macurdy that Schurz had said this to read his response. "I would like to try her out," Montag answered. "I like ladies."

Schurz's smile flicked on, then off. Macurdy realized that the Herr Doktor Professor would like to try her out too. "Why is she here?" Macurdy asked. "Why are any of us here?"

"According to her folder, she sometimes exhibits poltergeist phenomena when she drinks. Colonel Landgraf finds that promising."

Montag looked confused, and Schurz, instead of explaining poltergeist, changed the subject. "Did you pay any attention to the other women?" Macurdy's lack of auric response told him he hadn't. "The small, younger woman is Anna Hofstetter. I believe she must have an interesting history, but Colonel Landgraf has not told me what it is. Nor do I know why she is here. Her talent is listed as broad-band telepathy, but so far as I know, telepathy does not contribute to the purpose of this project."

He smiled. "Incidentally, do not be alarmed by her. Such telepathy is not continually operative. At least under ordinary circumstances it must be consciously turned on, otherwise the constant mental noise becomes intolerable. Also, persons like ourselves seem to have a built-in shield against telepathic snooping; she is unlikely to discern your thoughts. Your secrets. It would be interesting to know hers however."

"The round-shouldered, graying red-haired woman is a gypsy. She…"

That was as far as Schurz got, because Otto and Philipp came in. Macurdy took toothbrush and paste from the small kit issued to him and went into the latrine. When he was done, he came back.

"What is our job here?" he asked Schurz. "No one has told me what I am to do."

Manfred Eich had returned by then, and it was he who answered, before Schurz had time to. "Each of us has his own work, according to his intelligence," Eich said. "In the morning you will report to the stable, to clean up behind the colonel's horses."

"Oh," said Montag, "that will be easy for me. It was part of my work at home when I was a boy."

Manfred sneered, disappointed that his victim showed no hurt. Schurz simply looked at Montag quizzically.

At 9:55, Schurz blinked the lights. By that time Macurdy was already in bed, eyes closed, reviewing the day. Somehow neither he nor the OSS people who'd prepared him had foreseen the risk of psychic detection, an oversight that seemed to him a major bit of stupidity on their part and his. Kupfer hadn't noticed anything, but what might Colonel Landgraf see? Landgraf or someone else. He wasn't convinced that a persistent and perceptive telepath couldn't learn something dangerous from his mind; his aura had already compromised him. And if Landgraf lacked the talent, what of the instructors here? Almost certainly they were psychics, and presumably more powerful, even much more powerful, than Edouard Schurz or Berta Stark.