Scotty ignored the crack. "When do I get to see this beloved child of yours?"
"Come on over to the project any time. He"d like to meet you."
"I"ll do it, first time I can get away from those doggone trucks. Seems like they break down every hour."
At that moment John Gordon came out of the project building. Rick, who was facing the door, pretended surprise. "Aren"t you Dr. Gordon," he called.
The scientist turned and hesitated. "Yes. You"re ... let"s see ... you were at Spindrift for a while. I"m afraid I don"t remember your names."
Rick introduced himself and Scotty, for the benefit of a few men who were pa.s.sing by, en route to the mess hall.
"Ah, yes. I remember now. Going to eat? So am I. Come along and tell me where you"re working now. Obviously you"re employed on the base, but on what projects?"
They chatted idly as they walked slowly toward the mess hall. Then, when no one was in earshot, Rick said swiftly, "I was at the warehouse when the mark of the Earthman was found. Any developments we should know about?"
Gordon answered softly, "Yes. Inventory showed nearly a quarter of a million in transistors missing. Also, no one had called for transistors in nearly three weeks."
"Isn"t that unusual?" Scotty asked.
"Not particularly. Each project has its own stock-room. Since we"re a new base, the projects have been working from an initial supply."
"So the transistors may have been missing for some time?"
"They could have been missing since the last requisition, exactly nineteen days ago. But they probably were stolen during the Viking shoot."
"Is the warehouse guarded?"
"No. A clerk is on duty at all times when the warehouse is open. At night it"s locked. There was no sign of tampering, and anyway, the locks are tamper-proof."
Scotty said warningly, "Company coming." Then, in a louder voice, he continued, "Of course we worked for Dr. Zircon."
"Very capable man, Zircon," Gordon said, taking Scotty"s cue. "We could use him here. Any idea where he is now?"
"No, sir," Rick replied. "We haven"t seen him since we left Spindrift."
At the door of the mess hall Gordon left them with a polite handshake, explaining that he had to eat with someone else by previous arrangement.
During dinner Rick thought over the events of the day. But not until the meal was ended and he and Scotty wandered on foot toward the edge of camp could he put his idea into words.
"This business today puts a new light on the Earthman, Scotty."
"I read you loud and clear. A quarter of a million bucks makes a little sabotage worth while, huh?"
Rick nodded. "We can"t know, of course, but if you were a warehouse clerk and a big rocket went haywire, wouldn"t you be out watching it?"
"I"d be out where the view was best. So would you," Scotty replied.
"Remember where we saw a transistor recently?" Rick asked.
Scotty reached in his pocket, brought out his sling, and unwrapped it.
He picked up a stone, tested it for weight, then reconsidered and put the sling back. "I remember. Big Mac and Pancho. Mac said he must have stuck it in his pocket absent-mindedly while repairing his equipment."
"That"s what he said," Rick agreed. "Only transistors aren"t like radio tubes. They don"t need replacing often."
"Meaning?"
"He might have been telling the truth or he might not."
Scotty tossed the stone away. "How much s.p.a.ce would that many transistors take up?"
"Hard to say. We could find out, I suppose. But transistors are small, and they don"t weigh much. Besides, some of the types used here are fantastically expensive. A couple of hundred dollars might pay for a transistor the size of a kidney bean."
Scotty whistled. "They must be made of diamonds! Anyway, a quarter of a million is a lot of money, and even at two hundred bucks each the transistors would make quite a bundle. The Earthman would have to hide them, and then get them off the base. And I"ll tell you one thing: If Big Mac stole them, he didn"t take them off the base in his own car."
"How do you know?" Rick challenged.
"He"s got a Porsche. There"s about enough room in the luggage compartment for a spare handkerchief."
"I"ll buy it." Another idea hit him. "But he has some other transportation, hasn"t he? How about the radar unit he and Pancho run?"
Scotty snapped his fingers. "Now you"re cooking! It"s a panel truck, loaded with equipment, and they pull the radar antenna behind it on a trailer. There would be plenty of room in the truck. Only he doesn"t take it into town, remember?"
"Would he need to? He could drop the transistors somewhere to be picked up later."
"Careless Mesa."
"What?"
"That"s his station. Come on. Let"s look at a map of the area." Scotty turned and led the way to their barracks.
One thing about the robbery was a major puzzle to Rick. He could see that a rocket shoot might provide the opportunity to commit the theft, and he could see how use of a radar van might get the stolen goods off the base. But the thief had carefully emptied cartons, leaving the cartons as camouflage. That took more time than any thief would have. He considered various ways in which it might have been done and rejected them all.
Tacked up in the entryway of their barracks was a large-scale map.
Scarlet Lake was marked with crayon. The boys studied the area, looking for Careless Mesa. Finally Scotty found it, almost due north of the base. "About twenty miles. Only one road to the mesa, but two roads lead away from it. Let"s see where they go."
The first road from Careless Mesa ended at a point in the mountains marked "_Dry Spring_." The second road led to the town marked "_Steamboat_," where the road forked again. One branch eventually joined other roads in Pahrump Valley, the other led to Death Valley.
The boys looked at each other triumphantly. Rick said, "So you can get from Careless Mesa to state highways without returning to the base."
Scotty scratched his chin. "Any idea what"s at Careless Mesa?"
"Not the slightest."
"Neither do I. Maybe we"d better have a look."
That was fine with Rick. "When?"
"How about tomorrow?"