dy it. And as he drifted into troubled sleep a
greater and more pressing question wormed upward into his mind.

He woke with a jolt, just as the sun was going down, and he knew then
with perfect clarity what he had to do. He checked quickly to see that
he had been undisturbed, and then manipulated the controls of the
'copter. Easing the ship into the sky toward Washington, he searched out
a news report on the radio, listened with a dull feeling in the pit of
his stomach as the story came through about the breakdown of the Berlin
Conference, the declaration of war, the President's meeting with
Congress that morning, his formal request for full wartime power, the
granting of permission by a wide-eyed, frightened legislature. Shandor
settled back, staring dully at the ground moving below him, the whisps
of evening haze rising over the darkening land. There was only one thing
to do. He had to have Ingersoll's files. He knew only one way to get
them.

Half an hour later he was settling the ship down, under cover of
darkness, on the vast grounds behind the Ingersoll estate, cutting the
motors to effect a quiet landing. Tramping down the ravine toward the
huge house, he saw it was dark; down by the gate he could see the
Security Guard, standing in a haze of blue cigarette smoke under the
dim-out lights. Cautiously he slipped across the back terrace, crossing
behind the house, and jangled a bell on a side porch.

Ann Ingersoll opened the door, and gasped as Shandor forced his way in.
"Keep quiet," he hissed, slipping the door shut behind him. Then he
sighed, and walked through the entrance into the large front room.

"Tom! Oh, Tom, I was afraid-- Oh, _Tom_!" Suddenly she was in his arms
sobbing, pressing her face against his shirt front. "Oh, I'm so glad to
see you, Tom--"

He disengaged her, turning from her and walking across the room. "Let's
turn it off, Ann," he said disgustedly. "It's not very impressive."

"Tom--I--I _wanted_ to tell you. I just didn't know what to do. I didn't
believe them when they said you wouldn't be harmed, I was afraid. Oh,
Tom, I wanted to tell you, believe me--"

"You didn't tell me," he snapped. "They were nervous, they slipped up.
That's the only reason I'm alive. They planned to kill me."

She stared at him tearfully, shaking her head from side to side,
searching for words. "I--I didn't want that--"

He whirled, his eyes blazing. "You silly fool, what do you think you're
doing when yo