nd earphones. There was also a tubular
attachment on the end of a thick wire.

Rick recognized it at once and a thrill shot through him. The stranger
was somehow connected with the mystery.

"Isn't that a Geiger tube?" he asked.

The stranger answered casually, "That's what it is. This is called a
survey meter. Most people know it as a Geiger counter. It's very
sensitive."

Rick knew better, but he wanted to probe for more information. "Are you
in Civil Defense by any chance?" he asked.

"Nope. I'm a geologist. My outfit is making a routine survey of the area
for radioactive ores. We don't expect to find any, but there was a
discovery in Maryland recently and we don't want to overlook any bets."

Rick was sure now that no bets were being overlooked. Any geologist
would eliminate the area simply on the basis of its rock formations with
no need of making a field survey.

He operated largely by instinct when there was a need, and this was
clearly the right occasion. The man looked clean cut and respectable,
and the daylight operation separated him from the nightly prowlers.

"You might find some Janigite around here," Rick said casually, and
watched sharply for the reaction.

"Possibly. Saw an interesting sample of it yesterday." The stranger was
offhand in his reply, but his eyes twinkled behind the glasses.

"So did we. It was wrapped in a cement bag."

The response was quick. The stranger held out his hand. "I'm Roger
Bennett from the Atomic Energy Commission. You're the boys who notified
JANIG about the cement bags."

Rick and Scotty identified themselves, and Bennett nodded. "I know John
Gordon of the Spindrift staff. We worked together on a test project a
few years ago. Now, what's the story?"

The boys told him what they knew, ending with yesterday's discovery.

The AEC man nodded. "This field is 'hot,' did you know that? It's
obvious that powdered carnotite was spread here before the corn was
planted. And from your story, it was spread in the field across the
creek, too."

Ghosts with a cart had marched up and down the fields, hunting for the
ghostly dead ... the image flashed through Rick's mind and he exclaimed,
"The cart! That was why the ghosts needed the cart! They were lugging
bags of powdered carnotite and spreading it around the fields when
Belsely saw them!"

"You've hit it," Scotty agreed.

Rick explained to Bennett about the ghosts and the cart, and then added
Belsely's reports on t