lines, anyway.

It also meant that he hadn't been an ordinary burglar. There were plenty
of other things around for a burglar to make money out of. Unless he
knew what it was, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of stealing the
Converter.

On the other hand, if he had--

"Police Department," said a laconic voice from the speaker. At the same
time, the blue-clad image of a police officer appeared on the screen. He
looked polite, but he also looked as though he expected nothing more
than a routine call.

Bending gave the cop's sleeve a quick glance and said: "Sergeant, my
name is Samson Bending. Bending Consultants, 3991 Marden--you'll find it
in the phone book. Someone broke into my place over the weekend, and
I'd appreciate it if you'd send someone around."

The sergeant's face showed that he still thought it was routine.
"Anything missing, sir?"

"I'm not sure," said Bending carefully. "I'll have to make a check. I
haven't touched anything. I thought I'd leave that for the detectives.
But you can see for yourself what's happened."

He stepped back from the screen and the Leinster cameras automatically
adjusted for the greater distance to the background.

"Looks like you had a visitor, all right," said the police officer.
"What is that? A lab of some kind you've got there?"

"That's right," Bending said. "You can check it with the Register."

"Will do, Mr. Bending," agreed the sergeant. "We'll send the Technical
Squad around in any case." He paused, and Sam could see that he'd
pressed an alarm button. There was more interest in his manner, too.
"Any signs that it might be kids?" he asked.

Sam shrugged. "Hard to tell. Might be. Might not." He knew good and well
that it wasn't a JD gang that had invaded his lab. He grinned
ingratiatingly. "I figure you guys can tell me more about that than I
could tell you."

The sergeant nodded. "Sure. O.K., Mr. Bending; you just hold on. Don't
touch anything; we'll have a copter out there as soon as we can. O.K.?"

"O.K.," Sam agreed. He cut off as the cop's image began to collapse.

* * * * *

Sam Bending didn't obey the cop's order to touch nothing. He couldn't
afford to--not at this stage of the game. He looked over everything--the
smashed oscilloscopes, the overturned computer, the ripped-out
meters--everything. He lifted a couple of instruments that had been
toppled to the floor, raising them carefully with a big screwdriver,
use