By this time Blade had finished the story. The Lady

Diana was a sometime film actress, a member of the Jet

Set, of the Now and Beautiful people, and she had an in dependent fortune. That mini-dress she had so raffishly tossed on the sand it had probably cost a hundred pounds.

«Very odd, that marriage. Can't imagine why either of them got into it. It isn't as though she were a totsy on the make-quite a good family, you know. Her father is Baron Gervase. Tons of money. Pulp and paper products in the Midlands, something like that.»

Blade gave his boss a sideways look. This was a facet of J he had never seen before. But then J was a spy-master and it was his job to know about people. All sorts of people. Still-

It rather amused Blade to see J on the defensive. «I do occasionally read Anthony Asquith's column in the Mirror,» the older man admitted. «Pays to keep up with things, you know.»

«Of course,» said Blade gravely.

«It's mostly guess and hearsay,» J continued. «But now and then one comes across a kernel of truth.»

Blade nodded. «I'm sure.»

J sucked at his pipe. It had gone out. «A little light reading is good for one at times.»

Blade laughed. «You needn't apologize, sir.»

«I'm not apologizing, damn it. It's just that, well, I know it is all a lot of bumf, but it is fascinating to read about these people at times. Utterly worthless, most of them, with far too much money, but one has to admit that they are not humdrum.»

«Yes,» agreed Blade. «One must admit that.» As the taxi lurched forward at last he regarded J covertly. J was head of M16, England's chief spy apparatus. Certainly nothing humdrum about that job-except, perhaps, to J. Since the advent of the computer J had been head of MI6A, the Security Authority set up to preserve the secret of Dimension X. He was a member of a select small group sharing the greatest secret since the Manhattan Project. Yet he read gossip columns to ease his boredom. Or, and in all honesty this must be a more likely reason, to ease his tensions, to gain some relief from the awesome burden of responsibility he carried.