uldn't do
it himself, no matter how carefully he tried to follow the raging
emotions that acted as two opposing jaws of a pair of tongs to lift
and move the object.

And so engrossed was he with the process that he did not notice that
Konrad Bern had eluded the FBI. He was unaware of what had happened
until one of the Federal agents rapped loudly on the workshop door.

Almost instantly, MacHeath picked up the information from the agent's
mind. He glanced at Griffin and Benbow. "You two can handle it. Be
careful you don't overdo it."

Then he went to the door and opened it a trifle. "Yes?"

The man outside showed a gold badge. "Morgan, FBI. You David
MacHeath?"

"Yes." MacHeath stepped outside and showed the FBI man his
identification.

"We were told to co-operate with you in this Konrad Bern case. He's
managed to slip away from us somehow, but we know he's still in the
area. He can't get past the gate."

MacHeath let his mind expand until it meshed with that of Dr. Konrad
Bern.

"There is a way out," MacHeath snapped. "The acceleration tube."

"What?"

"Come on!" He started sprinting toward the elevators. He explained to
the FBI agent as they went.

"The acceleration tube of the ultracosmotron runs due north of here
for two miles underground. The guard at the other end won't be
expecting anyone to be coming from the inside of the target building.
If Bern plays his cards right, he can get away."

"Can't we phone the target building?" the FBI man asked.

"No. We shut off all the electrical equipment and took down some of
the wires so we could balance the acceleration fields."

"Well, if he's on foot, we could send a car out there. We'd get there
before he does. Uh ... wouldn't we?"

"Maybe. But he'll kill himself if he sees he's trapped." That wasn't
quite true. Bern was ready to fight to the death, and he had a heavy
pistol to back him up. MacHeath didn't want to see anyone killed, and
he didn't want stray bullets flying around the inside of that tube or
in the target room.

MacHeath and the FBI agent piled out of the elevator at the bottom of
the shaft. Dr. Roger Kent was standing at the head of the stairs that
spiraled down to the gun chamber. Dr. Kent knew that Bern had gone
down the stairway, but he didn't know why.

"He's our saboteur," MacHeath said quickly. "I'm going after him. As
soon as I close the door and seal it, you turn on the pumps. Lower the
air pressure in the tube to a pound per