Tom Swift and His Megascope Space Prober by Victor Appleton II Page A

covering their tracks, and Collections didn’t have a name on her."
    "Did he tell you to be careful?" asked Ames.
    "Didn’t bother!"
    "We do have some further info," Ames continued. "Her business-card fiber matches traces we found on the message card from Sandy’s magazine, and her prints match those of ‘Big Bertha’, including the scarring on her fingers."
    "And as we told you, Tom, Soder-Mambreekt clammed up right away, which could mean anything , I suppose—or nothing. They say they’re in the process of establishing an office in New York, no public phone number as of yet, no comment on a laboratory in New Jersey, and no intention of sending invites to you two Swifts!" said Radnor with a grin.
    "It’s obviously some sort of hoax, and probably a trap for us," stated Mr. Swift.
    But Tom did not entirely agree with his father. "But it’s obvious we’d be suspicious of the setup and would check with SMT. They’d expect it. An outright trap or kidnapping would be foolish, don’t you think? We’d be prepared."
    "All true," agreed Ames.
    "My guess is, they don’t plan to tip their hand at all, not this time," Tom went on. "They’ve taken a chance because they want to show us something, maybe something that will warn us away from them."
    "A sort of threat, but in subtle form," murmured Tom’s father thoughtfully.
    "Yes—something they can deny if we ‘call’ them on it. This ‘Julia’—if that’s even her name—may well be a real employee of SMT. For all we know, maybe all of the ‘Women With Issues’ are."
    "So why not just alert the cops?" asked Phil Radnor. "There’s plenty of cause to pull ’em all in for questioning."
    Tom responded, "If we have the State Police or the FBI go swooping down on this ‘lab’ of theirs, it would just ensure that we won’t learn anything significant. They’ve probably set it up in a way that looks entirely innocent and legitimate. Li Ching isn’t stupid."
    Harlan Ames gave out a humorous sigh. "Why do I have the sinking feeling you two are going to go charging right on into this, like two caffeinated bulls?"
    "Now, now, Ames," remonstrated Mr. Swift with a smile, "have you ever known a Swift to take chances?"
     
CHAPTER 13
LAB IN THE WILDS
    WHEN Tom and his father touched down in Trenton the next day in one of Enterprises’ Whirling Duck jetrocopters, the supposed Julia Furster was awaiting them next to a nondescript cream-colored sedan. She surprised them by taking out a small handheld electronic device and sweeping it over each of them in turn, up and down, front and back.
    "I hope you’ll pardon me for this," she stated. "We have our own security policies. And also, it’s just like being in a passenger plane. Electronic devices—even a teeny tiny cellphone—can affect the delicate calibrations of our instruments. That’s what the lab boys tell us, anyway. Oh, and those very handsome wristwatches—electronic?"
    "Yes," replied Damon Swift.
    "Then I must ask you to hand them over, please. I’ll keep them nice and safe in a shielded container inside the car."
    Tom and his father exchanged the tiniest of glances. Good thing we anticipated our being searched , Tom thought. They had considered carrying locator devices or secreted voice transmitters, but had ultimately decided against it. Such aids might be discovered, and it was important to keep the game going to its conclusion.
    They entered the car and meandered slowly through downtown Trenton, then onto the highway leading north along the Delaware River. "We had assumed your laboratory was in the Trenton vicinity," commented Mr. Swift.
    "Oh? I suppose it’s all a question of what you mean by vicinity ," replied Furster breezily. "We like privacy for our test work. Better radio reception, too."
    Tom couldn’t resist saying: "Radio reception? I understood that your devices were only designed to communicate with each other. Do they also pick up broadcasts?"
    Miss Furster frowned. "They’ve been designed