condensed master

Will Bonner
thought the worst, she didn't seem very happy. "Is there something wrong, did you
fail to get good copies of the slides?"
"The slides are fine."
"Then why the long face?"
"I let you down."
"I'm having trouble understanding this line of talk. Shall we start over again?"
"I froze up, my mind went blank in the projection room."
"Did you complete the job?"
"Yes."
"Are you happy with the results?"
"Yes."
"Then it's time to celebrate. What happened back there happens to everyone
at some time or another. You see we pump ourselves up to a peak in readiness for
the event, and then suddenly, when we're on our own, the confidence plummets."
"Is that a fact?"
"Yes, so bring out the champagne."
The whole atmosphere changed and she was her old self again. "Sorry, there's
no champagne, but guess what? I brought the coffee percolator from the office!"
"Now that's what I call positive thinking."
During the course of the weekend Will collected the mini recorder from Adam
in preparation for Monday evening. There would be lots more activity, and to
some extent, the necessity to play things by ear, from one minute to the next, as
circumstances dictated. Before leaving on the Monday morning he told Dorothy
where he would be and not to expect him back until very late.
His day went extremely well and arriving on time he walked through the house
on his way to the study to find that his anticipations were well founded. He had
been met by security at the front door and people seemed to be everywhere.
Women waitresses were busy setting up the catering, and some politicians had
already arrived, partaking of drinks in the large living-room. There was no sign of
Margaret.
He was carrying a small suitcase containing instruments and hand tools, but the
recorder was in his pocket. The telemetry unit to remotely set the recorder in
motion was disguised amongst the instruments and the start button located under
the carrying handle. Adam had done a superb job getting it all set up. All that
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