all under wraps, eh? What about the Russians? Couldn'tthey get hold of the patent papers?"
"They could have," Thorn admitted, "but they didn't. They dismissedhim as a crackpot, too, if they heard about him at all. Certainly theynever requested a copy of his patent. The patent number is now topsecret, of course, and if anyone does write in for a copy, the PatentOffice will reply that there are temporarily no copies available. Andthe FBI will find out who is making the request."
"Well," said Colonel Dower, "at least I'm glad to hear that I was notthe only one who didn't believe him."
Captain Lacey chuckled. "And Mr. Thorn here believed a lie."
"Only because it made more sense than the truth," Thorn said. "And,"he added, "you shouldn't laugh, captain. Remember, we suckered theNavy in almost the same way."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Errata
could talk openly and at ease. [final . missing]Question: What is in the Little Black Box? [: missing]