“Would you try to reserve a room for tonight at the Palace Hotel?” he said.

“I'd be happy to, Mr. Austin. I'll ready your bill for checkout.”

Austin went up to his room, where he took a shower and shaved. The phone rang as he was toweling himself dry. The desk clerk said that his room at the Palace was all set and that he had taken the lib- erty of canceling the previous reservation at an airport hotel. Austin packed his bag and called Professor Jorgensen. The professor was in class, so Austin left a message saying he would like to see him later in the day if possible. He said he would be en route to Copenhagen and suggested that Jorgensen leave a reply at the Palace Hotel front desk.

Austin gave the desk clerk a generous tip, then he caught the hel- icopter shuttle from Torshavn to Vagar Airport and took the At- lantic Airways flight to Copenhagen. Later that day, the airport taxi dropped him off at Radhuspladen, the city's main square. He made his way past the statue of Hans Christian Andersen and the spout- ing dragon water fountains to the stately old Palace Hotel overlook- ing the busy square. Two messages waited for him. One was from Therri: Tivoli it is! See you at six. The other note was from Professor Jorgensen, saying he would be in his office all afternoon.

Austin dropped his duffel bag off in his room and called the pro- fessor to tell him he was on his way. As Austin was leaving the hotel, it occurred to him that jeans and turtleneck were hardly appropri- ate for a night out with a beautiful woman. He stopped at a men's clothing shop in the concourse and, with the help of a knowledgeable salesman, quickly picked out what he wanted. A hefty bribe to the salesman and tailor insured that the clothes would be ready for him at five.

The University of Copenhagen campus was a short cab ride from the central square. The Marine Biological Laboratory was part of the Zoological Institute. Park lawns surrounded the two-story brick building. The professor's cubicle had exactly enough room to ac- commodate a desk and computer and two chairs and a clutter limit that the professor had far exceeded. Graphs and charts covered the walls, and folders were piled everywhere.

“Pardon the mess,” he apologized. “My main office is at the Helsingor campus. I use this closet when I'm teaching classes here.” He removed a pile of papers from a chair to make room for Austin. Nonplussed at what to do with the mess, he placed it precariously atop a teetering stack of other papers on his desk. “Wonderful to see you again, Kurt,” he said with his big-toothed grin. “I'm so glad you were able to make it to our beautiful city.”