The first-level precautions had proved adequate; there had been no interference in the first ritual of the new cycle. Glover felt charged with energy. He wanted to call Hyde-White, but his secretary reported that the fat man still had not arrived at his office. Glover had not seen him since those wretched American runners had ruined the second cycle’s closing ritual. Hyde-White might be dead, but Glover doubted it. He felt sure that the fat man’s death would resonate in the Circle’s ritual. Glover had felt no diminution of power; therefore, the fat man must still be alive.