George O. Smith

“ Miss Agatha Merrit went to her desk and sat down. "Today," she said, "we will learn about being afraid. It is known that ninety percent of all things that people fear will not harm them. I know of big strong men afraid of insects and many women are dreadfully frightened of mice."
Peter Manton, Junior, raised his hand and said: "My father built a Better Mousetrap," he announced irrelevantly.
Miss Agatha Merrit was annoyed at the sidetracking, but young Manton's father was becoming a financial force in the community and she felt it unwise to ignore the comment. ”

“ However, this is why Manton's trap was so effective. On Monday a plague of mice appears in an apartment. The master of the place goes out and rents one of the Better Mousetraps. He places it in his apartment and during the time it is there it hurls mice backward in time to create the plague! Naturally, the trap will be removed as soon as the mice stop—and because the trap will be removed in a few days, the trap itself stops the flow of mice. ”

“ Animals that had gone through the time-trap twice and were living their lives in parallel. You see, your honor, not only did Manton's Better Mousetrap hurl mice back in time, but it could hurl the same mouse back to the same era several times—and the Plague of Rats was a Man-Made Plague. ”

“ But the mice don't seem to understand that bringing food into the place is not only forbidden by law but dangerous."
"But there ain't a mousetrap in the country. Ding bust it, Peter, mousetraps take spring wire, and labor. The people who used to make mousetraps are now making bombsights and tanks. Besides, Peter, over at that laboratory of yours there should be enough brains and gear to really build the Better Mousetrap. If you can spot a plane at fifty miles, split atoms, and fire radio equipment out of a cannon, you ought to be able to dispose of a mouse or two." ”

“ The mice are delivered somewhere out of Manton's Better Mousetrap. I wonder if some foreign power might not have discovered even more of its powers and is using it to plague America?"
"That seems far fetched."
"Not at all. It might be likened to a bacterial warfare. Pests will vitiate a country as well as war—weakening a strong country to prepare it for easy conquest."
Tag Harris of the FBI Laboratory shook his head. "There's more than meets the eye," he said. "I've definite proof that some human agency is working at it." ”

“ Thanks to Manton's little registers we know that Manton's catch—overall—has been rising but definitely following the increase in rat population over the entire country. You see, gentlemen, Manton's traps have been made to fill a demand in every case. It started with friends who needed them. You're sort of insisting that Manton's traps come assembled with its own mice. ”

“ Manton."
Peter shrugged. "Most inventions are made to fill a definite need," he said. "Discoveries are made because of man's curiosity. An invention is an aggregation of discoveries collected because their principles add up to the proper effect to take care of the necessity. ”

“ Peter Manton blinked. "But it has a Four-A-One priority."
Brannon nodded—invisibly, of course—and said, "Sure you have a top priority. Anything your lab wants has top. But darn it, Peter, the best priority in the world isn't going to buy you a dozen mousetraps that are nonexistent."
"But—"
"Besides which, that building you're in is about as rat-proof as a sealed gasoline can. There isn't an item of comestible in the place."
"I know that. And the mice can go hungry for all I care. ”

“ The duplicate was almost new."
"They never did turn up with that key tag of Andrews, did they?"
"Nope."
"No one but a suspicious Power would conceal such a thing now that the search for it is out. The answer is obvious."
Treed nodded in agreement. "I shall recommend that Congress offer an award of twenty thousand dollars to whomever gives information to bring the truth to light." He shuddered. "This rat business is terrible. My wife is nearly out of her mind. Last night she swore that she saw a rat appear on the floor beneath the dresser. ”

“ The senator nodded. "Despite the population of the country—of the world—there are places where men seldom go," he said. "That tag may be lying in the rough at Bonnie Dundee Golf Course for all we know."
Miss Agatha Merrit placed her pince-nez firmly on her nose. ”

“ We were working on a closed means of radio communication—a method of wireless connection that would not only prevent the enemy from decoding or unscrambling, but which would be impossible to detect unless you were set up properly. ”