Dwight V. Swain

“ Now, in addition, every ne'er-do-well in the county comes prowling over our farm in order to spy on the naked numbskulls!"
Scowling ferociously, the gaunt scientist stamped violently back across the meadow's lush verdure toward the little country home he shared with his partner, Henry Horn. Beside him, matching his own long strides, came the savant's old friend, Major Ray Coggleston of Army Intelligence.
"None of us can hope for a bed of roses all the time, Joe," Coggleston remarked, grinning at the professor's outburst. "'Into each life some rain must fall,' you know. ”

“ All it did was to cut off our income for months on end, and nearly destroy our reputation for reliability as breeders of laboratory guinea pigs."
"Oh, Joseph!" Henry's voice was an abject wail. His goatee hung limp and bedraggled. "You know I didn't mean any harm any of those times. Really I didn't. I just want to be a scientist—" Again he began sniveling.
Professor Paulsen, still glaring, opened his mouth to denounce his partner further. Then, thinking better of it, he relaxed and put his arm around Henry's quivering shoulders. ”

“ I saw him when I looked through my glasses while I was showing Joseph how to use them."
Again Major Coggleston paced the floor. His face was lined with worry. He bit nervously at his lip.
"I'll be damned if I know what to do!" he exploded. "I've got to find that spy. But I can hardly seize a whole nudist camp just because a red-headed man bought a pair of binoculars."
"Couldn't you ask that all red-headed men be brought to the gate?" suggested Professor Paulsen.
"No." The officer shook his head. "If the man we want is there, that would tip him off." ”

“ Only the odds were a million to one that one way it would equal an explosive; the other, nothing at all. So I didn't hesitate to attack him."
"Joe," said Major Coggleston admiringly, "that's a lot faster thinking than I've ever done. And I don't need to tell you how grateful the Army will be."
"Really, Joseph, it was awfully clever!" Henry chimed in. "I'd never have thought of it—"
And then, changing thought in mid-sentence:
"Look! There's that pretty blonde girl with the—"
"Henry!" exploded Professor Paulsen. "You're old enough to behave like a grown man, not an inspectionistic schoolboy!" ”

“ He took the glasses from the professor. Again leveled them at the nudist colony.
Then, giggling:
"Doesn't that blonde girl have the cutest—"
"Henry!"
"Oh, all right." The little man returned the binoculars to his partner, who studied them with interest.
"Just what principle do these things work on, Henry?" he asked curiously.
Henry beamed. His goatee was at its jauntiest, most confident angle. The light of triumph played in his eyes.
"Really, Joseph, it's quite simple," he proclaimed. "There are lots of rays that go through anything, you know, except maybe lead. ”

“ Take any formula and transpose the symbols all the way through, and see what you get. Trinitrocresol, for instance. The formula is C7H5N3O7. Transpose it all the way through, and you have 7O3N5H7C. In that particular case, it wouldn't even make sense. But when our red-headed spy said he was a chemist and hadn't had any trouble compounding this new explosive, I figured the formula must be one that would be at least half-way logical, no matter which way you wrote it. ”

“ His little colleague bristled.
"And why shouldn't I be inventing, Joseph Paulsen?" he demanded querulously. "My inventions are mighty valuable. Why my new explosive—" [2]
"—Which you ran onto quite by accident, and which turned out not to be an explosive at all," the professor cut in grimly.
"Well, the government—"
"The government doesn't have to live with you. Nor to put up with your 'inventive' ways." Henry's tall partner was fierce in his vehemence. "You've cited one of your devil's devices that turned out well. Well, now let me mention a few. ”

“ Coggleston, I can't tell you how sorry I am—"
"What did he say?" Henry demanded excitedly as the other hung up. "Is it all right, Joseph—"
"No." The scientist shook his head, eyes dark with worry. "Coggleston says we can be practically certain the spy got that formula. He says the man in charge was having a staff meeting of his aides, and they had it written out on a blackboard for discussion."
"Joseph—"
"Ray's on his way over now. He wants to ask you some questions about the man's description—"
Even as the words left the savant's mouth, they heard a car roar up the driveway. ”

“ Confidentially, I understand he's just developed a new powder that makes TNT look like something to use for loading firecrackers. It's the greatest thing in years. The Nazis and Japs would give their eye-teeth for it. ”