“It’s Sally. Let her in.” Sam’s voice. I pushed the door open. A path of light fell into the room. Smoke rushed past me and escaped. The room was hot and stank sweetly. The belly watcher sat on the bed with his legs folded, the angle of his knee and the arch of his foot prescribed for ambitions to Buddha. He kept his fists clenched and his belly sucked in so we could see his muscles.

Sam crouched in front of a little woodstove. The hatch was open and glowed red, filled the room with heat. Rennel sprawled at the end of the bed, flexing. I slid onto a table next to the stove. Everyone was looking at me.

“Did I interrupt?”

Sam sucked on his pipe. “Well, it’s kind of a secret.”

“You’re Captain Midnight and this is the Rangers’ clubhouse?”

Sam looked hurt. “I’m applying to medical schools in India.”

Rennel leered. The belly watcher nodded. I made a noncommittal noise.

Sam waved his pipe. “Let me tell you about it before you say anything.” He gestured to the belly watcher. “Oh, this is Lichtenstein.”

He went on, “Well, Lichtenstein knows all about it. It seems you don’t have to have any formal education, degrees, or anything. All you have to do is pass an examination. Well, exams are the same all over. A few tricks and a lot of bullshit and you’re fine. All the classes are taught in English and it doesn’t cost anything because the government is so desperate for doctors that they run the medical schools free. And you know how cheap it is to live in India!”

“Is it?” I asked Lichtenstein. He nodded.

Sam looked at me, triumphant. “Isn’t that fantastic?”

“I didn’t know you wanted to be a doctor.”