barney woke up ravenous and without a trace of hangover. making a mental adjustment to his surroundings took no more time than opening his eyes; he'd been dreaming dr. mcallen had dropped him into a snake pit and was sadistically dangling a rope twelve feet above his head, inviting him to climb out. to find himself still in the softly lit cabin was—for a few seconds, at any rate—a relief.

the relief faded as he sat up and looked at his watch. still over an hour to go before mcallen's idiotic door became "apparent." barney swore and headed for the bathroom to freshen up.

there was an electric shaver there, the end of its cord vanishing into the wall. barney used it as meticulously as if he were embarking on a day of normal activities, prepared a breakfast in the kitchen and took it to the main room. he ate unhurriedly, absorbed in his thoughts, now and then glancing about the room. after a few minutes he uneasily pushed back the plate and stood up. if mcallen's twenty-four hours began with the moment the big clock in the room had been started, the door should be in evidence by now.

another tour of the place revealed nothing and left him nervous enough to start biting his nails. he moved about the room, looking over things he'd already investigated. a music cabinet—he'd thought it was a radio at first, but it was only an elaborate hi-fi record player; two enclosed racks of records went with it—mainly classical stuff apparently. and a narrow built-in closet with three polished fishing rods and related gear, which would have allowed for speculation on the nature of the cabin's surroundings, except that mcallen might feel compelled to have a sampling of his toys around him wherever he was. barney closed the closet door morosely, stood regarding the two crowded bookcases next to it. plenty of books—reflecting the mcallen taste again. technical tomes. great literature. dickens, melville, the life of gandhi.

barney grunted, and was turning away when another title caught his eye. he glanced back at it, hauled out the book:

"fresh water game fish; tested methods of their pursuit." the author: o. b. mcallen.

barney was opening the book when the cabin's door also opened.