Why should Weiss run out through the front door?" Scotty demanded.

"He didn't. It was a stall, to get Dad out of there in a hurry."

"But why?"

"I don't know," Rick said slowly. "For some reason, I just didn't want
him to have that dry-hair treatment!"

CHAPTER V

JANIG Runs a Security Check

There wasn't much evidence on which to base his reaction, Rick
admitted. But when he reacted, he just reacted and that's all there
was to it. Call it a hunch, or call it nonsense. That's how it was,
and he couldn't change it.

The barber had practically refused him a dry-hair treatment--and his
hair was rather dry. The same barber had tried to sell a treatment to
Hartson Brant--whose hair was not dry at all. And the elevator boy who
had carried the scientist down from the fourth floor had winked at the
barber.

Even admitting that it added up to no evidence of anything, it
bothered him. He had asked Tom Dodd how much JANIG knew about the
barber.

Tom admitted that JANIG didn't know much. After all, he pointed out,
it was impossible to check everyone in an office building of that
size, or at least impractical. Furthermore, it was a cover operation,
and any kind of a careful check on people in the building would warn
them that something was going on. Tom agreed, however, that it was
better to be safe than sorry. JANIG would run a check on the barber,
even though Rick's evidence was no evidence at all.

Rick wasn't satisfied. He felt he had to talk it over with Steve Ames,
and called the agent, who was in JANIG's New York office, as soon as
he got home.

There was a small switch box next to the telephone in the library. It
had only two positions, one marked "normal" and the other not marked
at all.

Steve asked, "Who is it?"

"Rick."

"Throw your switch."

Rick did so, with no apparent results. "Nothing happened," he said.

"Nothing audible," Steve corrected. "I threw mine at the same time.
We're scrambled. Go ahead, Rick, what is it?"

Rick told him the story. Steve didn't laugh. He had had experience
with Rick's hunches before. "All right. I've already talked with Tom
Dodd. He told me the story and I agreed we should run a check. He also
reported that Weiss had persuaded Marks to come to Spindrift so the
team could work together. I have Dodd planning how to get him out of
Washington."

"Tom told me why no check had been run on the people in the
building," Rick said hesitantly. "Honestly, Steve, I