lly. I wouldn't dare reduce it to syllogistic form, because
it might not hold much water, logically speaking. But the evidence seems
conclusive enough to me."

He walked back to his seat. Colonel Mannheim was watching him, a look of
interest on his face, but he said nothing.

"To me," Stanton said, "it seems incredible that the combined
intelligence and organizational ability of the UN Government is
incapable of finding anything out about one single alien, no matter how
competent he may be. Somehow, somewhere, someone must have gotten a line
on the Nipe. He must have a base for his operations, and someone should
have found it by this time.

"I may be faster and stronger and more sensitive than any other living
human being, but that doesn't mean I have superhuman powers, or that I'm
a magician. And I'm quite certain that you, Colonel, don't credit me
with such abilities. You don't believe that I can do in a short time
what the combined forces of the Government couldn't do in ten. Certainly
you wouldn't rely too heavily on it.

"And yet, apparently, you are.

"To me, that can only mean that you have another ace up your sleeve. You
_know_ we're going to get the Nipe fairly quickly. You either have a
sure way of tracing him, or you already know where he is.

"Which is it?"

Colonel Mannheim sighed. "We know where he is," he said. "We have known
for six years."

_[6]_

The Nipe prowled around the huge underground room, carefully checking
his alarms. If anyone entered the network of tunnels at any point, the
instruments would register that fact. They had to be adjusted, of
course, for the presence of the small, omnivorous quadrupeds that ran
through the tunnels in such numbers, but anything larger than they would
be noted immediately.

He did not like to leave this place. Here, over a period of ten
revolutions of this planet about its primary, he had built himself a
nest that was almost comfortable. Here, too, were his workshops and his
storehouses. He had reason to believe that he was safe here, screened
and protected as he was, but each time he left or entered he ran the
chance of being observed.

Still, there was no help for it. Thus far, he had been hampered by
technical problems. There were things he needed that he could not make
for himself. Even his own vast memory, with its every bit of information
instantly available, could only contain what had been acquired over a
lifetime, and even his long