“ After your decision, colonel!”
There was a pause and Montgomery heard the colonel’s sigh of irritation.
“I’ll make it as quickly as I can, but it may be three days at least, before I arrive. Keep in touch with the doctor. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
It probably would look bad, Montgomery thought, if he had to be committed to an institution, and word got out that it had resulted from an assignment the colonel had made. Dodge had reason to worry, he supposed. At least, he thought he did.
Montgomery ate quickly in the coffee shop of the hotel. It was still early enough to get in another three or four hours at the Institute. The place seemed to be open most hours of the day or night.
He met Wolfe as he passed along the loggia.
“I’m afraid I can’t allow you any more work for at least a couple of days,” said the counselor. “I just looked over the Mirror tapes you turned out today —”
“That’s all right,” said Montgomery. “I wasn’t headed for the Mirror. Now that I’ve gotten rid of a big chunk of my education I want to do some learning! It will be O.K. for me to work with the shadow boxes, won’t it?”
Wolfe nodded dubiously. “Don’t keep at it too long. You can say you’ve really had it!”
Montgomery found an empty learning room and sat down before the cube of the small shadow box there. Gingerly, he put on the headpiece. It was the first time he’d tried it — and even now he was glad he was alone.