CHAPTER ONE


James Quincy Holden was five years old.

His fifth birthday was not celebrated by the usual horde of noisy, hungry
kids running wild in the afternoon. It started at seven, with cocktails.
They were served by his host, Paul Brennan, to the celebrants, the boy's
father and mother. The guest of honor sipped ginger ale and nibbled at
canapés while he was presented with his gifts: A volume of Kipling's
_Jungle Tales_, a Spitz Junior Planetarium, and a build-it-yourself kit
containing parts for a geiger counter and an assortment of radioactive
minerals to identify. Dinner was served at eight, the menu selected by
Jimmy Holden--with the exception of the birthday cake and its five proud
little candles which came as an anticipated surprise from his "Uncle"
Paul Brennan.

After dinner, they listened to some music chosen by the boy, and the
evening wound up with three rubbers of bridge. The boy won.

They left Paul Brennan's apartment just after eleven o'clock. Jimmy
Holden was tired and pleasantly stuffed with good food. But he was
stimulated by the party. So, instead of dropping off to sleep, he sat
comfortably wedged between his father and mother, quietly lost in his own
thoughts until the car was well out of town.

Then he said, "Dad, why did you make that sacrifice bid on the last