“But where do I come in? If you don’t have any of it I can’t analyze it for you. I probably couldn’t anyway — I’m a school teacher, not a professional chemist. What else can I do?”

“It’s because you’re a teacher — a sort of jack-of-all-trades in scientific matters, without being an expert at any of them — that we think you can help us. I mentioned that there seemed to be production troubles with the drug.

“Certainly the producers would like to increase volume. They would like, of course, to get a first-rate production engineer. You know as well as I that they could never do it; no such person could be involved secretly in such a matter. Every competent engineer is well employed since Velio was discovered, and it would be too easy for us to trace one who was approached for such a purpose.

“You, however, are a comparatively inconspicuous person; you are on vacation, and will be for another year; no one will miss you — we expect these people to think. That’s why we took such extreme precautions in arranging this interview.”

“But you’ll have to publicize me some way, or they would never know I existed, either,” Ken pointed out.

“That can be done — in fact, has already started. I trust you’ll forgive us for that; but the job is important. The whisper has already started in criminal circles that you are the manufacturer of the bomb that wrecked the Storm plant. We can give you quite a reputation—”

“Which will prevent my ever getting an honest job again.”

“Which will never be heard of by your present employers, or by any respectable person not associated with the police.”