«I could leave him behind-«began Blade, but Cheeky interrupted him, squeaking angrily and making faces at everybody. Obviously he was determined to stay with Blade, sink or swim.

«Your friend doesn't seem to care for the idea,» said Leighton dryly. «If we don't send him through this time, we won't be able to field-test the telepathic link. I also suspect that the first few times we use Cheeky to test for telepathy, we'll need you around to communicate with him. I do appreciate your willingness to leave him in our hands, but it's not necessary this time.»

Leighton looked meditatively at the cracked plaster of the ceiling while he sipped more of his drink. «Actually, there is one more thing you could do. Would you object to reducing the amount of equipment you take with you? Or at least the amount of metal?»

J started to protest. One of the great blessings of the new booth was that it created an electrical field that flowed evenly around Blade, undisturbed by anything he wore or carried. This allowed him to go into Dimension X properly equipped for both battle and survival. «Why metal?» asked J. «Is there something wrong with the electrical field after all?»

«No. It's the telepathy I'm thinking about. Suppose it was all the metal in Richard's gear that disturbed the link last time?»

J didn't disagree. At least it was a comparatively reasonable hypothesis. However, he couldn't resist a chance to twit the scientist. «That sounds rather like the old legends about the fairy folk who were vulnerable to cold iron. What have you been reading lately?»

Leighton started to glare, then chuckled when he realized that J was pulling his leg. «If one assumes that paranormal powers exist, and that the 'fairy folk' were a people who had them-well, the legends make a certain amount of sense. Or at least as much sense as anything else in this whole confounded business!»