it is," Tom said, and hurried to the door, feeling a
twinge of apprehension.

_Was this a new attempt by Brungarian agents?_

He switched on the porch light and peered out cautiously through the
one-way glass pane in the door. A slim, hatless figure in a dark suit
was just coming up the steps. Tom gave a smile of relief.

It was Harlan Ames!

"Hi, Harlan!" Tom opened the door before Ames had a chance to ring the
doorbell. "We heard you coming!"

The security chief was startled when he realized he had activated the
alarm system.

"That's strange," he said uneasily. "Tom, I wonder if--"

He broke off to dart a quick glance at his wrist. Then his face relaxed
into a look of chagrin.

"Great! I forgot my wrist watch!" he murmured. "Haven't visited your
house in so long I neglected to wear it."

The other Swifts smiled in amused relief, and Mrs. Swift invited him to
join them for dessert. Ames, however, declined politely.

"Thank you, but I just finished dinner myself," he explained. "I dropped
by to--"

Once again Ames's voice trailed off in midsentence, as he reached into
the side pocket of his coat.

"My amulet!" he gasped. "It's gone!"

"Are you sure?" Tom said with quick concern.

Ames nodded as he frantically tried all his other pockets. The
electronic amulet to which he referred had been issued to all
Enterprises personnel and family visitors who used the private gate. The
amulets were contained in slender bracelets and were designed to trap
radar impulses. This prevented them from showing up as blips on the
giant detector radarscope mounted on the main building. The purpose of
the scope was to reveal unauthorized visitors or spies.

"My bracelet broke this afternoon," Ames said. "I slipped it into my
pocket to have it repaired. But it's not there now!"

Tom grabbed a flashlight and dashed outside for a hasty check of the
walk. Ames followed, to look inside his black sedan. But the amulet did
not come to light.

"Did you go home after you left the plant today?" Tom asked.

Ames shook his head worriedly. "No, I stopped at a restaurant. Mind if I
use your phone?"

"Go ahead."

The security chief called Enterprises and asked his assistant, Phil
Radnor, who was on night duty, to make a thorough search. While awaiting
the results, Ames also called the restaurant, but learned that no such
item had been turned in.

Half an hour later Radnor called back to report no luck. "The amulet may
show up