l along," Bart said levelly. "The object all
along has been to let the Nipe work without hindrance as long as he did
not actually produce a communicator that would--as you put it--bring his
relatives into the tussle. Have things changed?"

"They have," Yoritomo acknowledged. "Why wouldn't they? We have been
working toward that as a _final_ deadline. If it appeared that the Nipe
were actually about to contact his confederates out there somewhere, we
would be forced to act immediately, of course. Plan Beta would go into
effect. But we don't want that, do we?"

"No," said Stanton. "No." He was well aware what a terrible loss it
would be for humanity if Plan Beta went into effect. The Nipe would have
to be literally blasted out of his cozy little nest.

"No, of course not." Yoritomo chuckled again, with as little mirth as he
had before. "Within a very short while, if we are correct, we shall,
with your help, arrest the most feared arch-criminal that Earth has ever
known. I dare say that the public will be extremely happy to hear of his
death, and I know that the rest of us will be happy to know that he will
never kill again."

Stanton suddenly saw the fateful day for which he had been so carefully
prepared and trained looming terrifyingly large in the immediate future.

"How soon?" he asked in an oddly choked voice.

"Within days." Yoritomo lowered his eyes from the ceiling and looked
into Stanton's face with a mild, bland expression.

"Tomorrow," he said, "the propaganda phase begins. We will announce to
the world that the great detective, Stanley Martin, has come to Earth to
rid us of the Nipe."

_[20]_

The arrival of the great Stanley Martin was a three-day wonder in the
public news channels. His previous exploits were recounted, with
embellishments, several times during the next seventy-two hours. The
"arrival" itself was very carefully staged. A special ship belonging to
the World Police brought him in, and he was met by four Government
officials in civilian clothes. The entire affair was covered live by
news cameras. No one on Earth suspected that he had been on Earth for
weeks before; a few _knew_ it, but it never even occurred to the rest.

Later, a special interview was arranged. Philip Quinn, a news
interviewer who was noted for his deferential attitude toward those whom
he had the privilege of interviewing, was chosen for the job.

Stanley Martin's dynamic, forceful personality completely ove