Part 1 (1/2)
The Electronic Mind Reader
by John Blaine
CHAPTER I
The Million-Dollar Gimmick
Rick Brant stretched luxuriously and slid down to a half-reclining, half-sitting position in his dad's favorite library armchair He called, ”Barby! Hurry up!”
Don Scott looked up from his adjustment of the television picture
”What's the rush? The show hasn't started yet”
Rick explained, ”She likes the commercials”
A moment later Barbara Brant appeared in the doorway, hastily finishi+ng a doughnut Rick cocked an eyebrow at her ”If you're going to eat, youa plateful, so we can have soulped ”Sorry I didn't intend to have a doughnut I went to the kitchen to see if Mohnuts and ive you We'll get ours later Are Mo?”
”Maybe later Now be quiet, please, so I can hear the commercial”
Dismal, the Brant pup, wandered in and paused at Rick's chair to have his ears scratched before taking up his favorite position, under the TV table Rick obliged and the shaggy pup groaned with pleasure
”Why all the interest in a breakfast-food commercial?” Scotty asked
”The announcer is cute,” Barby stated
Thisin front of the set, then rolled over on his back and looked up at the girl ”I don't get it Then why do you eat Cruuy sells?”
”The Crummies announcer is cuter,” Barby explained patiently
The boys grinned and fell silent as the cereal salese of a chair and listened attentively
Rick watched his sister's expressive face, chuckling to himself Barby always listened to the commercials It was only fair, she insisted, and the boys went along with her wishes Co to commercials was the price that had to be paid for entertain the price He didn't think that the point was particularly important, but there was a small eles on Spindrift, the private island off the New Jersey coast, usually ended with this particular program The members of the Spindrift staff were not TV enthusiasts at best, and they cared little about the program Mr and Mrs Brant so cora people watched alone
The program was a typical quiz Contestants ere expert on a particular category returned week after week on their build-up to a grand prize, which was a quarter of a million dollars This quiz, however, had eleer Brants liked In the first place, the contestants were ordinary people The producer didn't seerams did
For the past feeeks the hero-contestant had been an eighteen-year-old coalunusual about hi: he had beco of precious stones, and from there he had studied their history He was an expert on historical gereeted the miner, Barby said with adine hi over the chair arm ”See, Scotty? The perfect reaction”
”What do you nantly ”He absolutely does have a wonderful personality, and I think it's aerinned up at her ”Rick ood TV personalities And how eereed