"We heard you coming!"
The security chief was startled when he realized he had activated the
alarm system.
"That's strange," he said uneasily. "Tom, I wonder if--"
He broke off to dart a quick glance at his wrist. Then his face relaxed
into a look of chagrin.
"Great! I forgot my wrist watch!" he murmured. "Haven't visited your
house in so long I neglected to wear it."
The other Swifts smiled in amused relief, and Mrs. Swift invited him to
join them for dessert. Ames, however, declined politely.
"Thank you, but I just finished dinner myself," he explained. "I dropped
by to--"
Once again Ames's voice trailed off in midsentence, as he reached into
the side pocket of his coat.
"My amulet!" he gasped. "It's gone!"
"Are you sure?" Tom said with quick concern.
Ames nodded as he frantically tried all his other pockets. The
electronic amulet to which he referred had been issued to all
Enterprises personnel and family visitors who used the private gate. The
amulets were contained in slender bracelets and were designed to trap
radar impulses. This prevented them from showing up as blips on the
giant detector radarscope mounted on the main building. The purpose of
the scope was to reveal unauthorized visitors or spies.
"My bracelet broke this afternoon," Ames said. "I slipped it into my
pocket to have it repaired.
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