Professor Harold and the Trustees

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They were meeting in the conference room just off the President's office. It was a stalwart old room, panelled in walnut and lighted by tall lamps in the corners. Beneath them were low bookcases and one tall one, filled with leather-bound volumes that looked as though they'd never been opened. The chairs were upholstered in burgundy plush, and the Trustee's were upholstered in pin-striped suits.

"It's rather difficult for me to answer any of your questions, gentlemen," Shea temporized. "I'm only a junior member of the staff."

"Yes, we're aware of that," said Trustee Incise. He was the lean, ferret-faced publisher of the local newspaper, and wrote editorials that were carried by papers in St. Louis, Chicago, and Cincinnati.

"Since three of the tour members of the Institute's professional staff have taken leave of absence, you can understand our concern," said Archangle, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. He was in his sixties, still affecting a pince-nez with a long black ribbon connecting it to his lapel. He had bulldog jowls and a few strands of hair arrowing back from the center of his forehead to the grizzled fringe, neatly trimmed, looking very much the banker that he was.

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